My power supply is another high-value purchase. Donner DP-1 isolated power supply for $40 US off Amazon.
Pro tip: pedals are small. Have them shipped to your workplace or pickup point and smuggle them home. A friend told me that works! 
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So many hoursā¦.
Sometimes itās good to practice with and sometimes without the pedals; with helps to nail the tone youāre chasing and without to clean up any sloppiness in the playing.
Iām more at the with end 
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I was gonna say Iām the odd man out and Iāve not gone down the rabbit hole.
But.
Then I counted how many pedals I got.
9 + Iāve got three amps set up to use, ea. one has a factory pedal. So, now Iām up to 12.
That seems like too many to me.
So maybe I have gone down that rabbit hole.
In my defense, I counted a pedal tuner and a a/b/y switch. 10 is still to many.
In my defense, 2 pedals are in a drawer and not used. Now Iām down to 8.
In my defense, 2 are redundant, reverb and tremolo pedal. Now Iām down to 6.
In my defense, 3 amps, ea. with itās own factory pedal. Now Iām down to 3.
Delay, overdrive and compressor.
Iām back to nope, I didnāt go down the rabbit hole.
I think Iāll play acoustic music todayā¦ No Rabbit hole to go down thereā¦ 
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I recently bought a 5 watt tube amp, thinking that at that low power level Iād be able to crank it up for that tube distortion, without upsetting the neighbours. Oh was I wrong, I canāt turn the volume above 2 without needing earplugs myself! So, Iāve now got my eye on an attenuator from Thomann, Itās on my list of āthings I need to buy when Iāve got the cash flowā I am wondering if this is the start of another slippery slope (I say āanotherā because Iām now up to 6 guitars)
Oh yea you are going down that hole
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I think exploring tone has been misrepresented in this way. If someone is happy with their tone then there really isnāt anything else to say. If your tone is fat and not thin, if you get the crunch and space that you desire with your playing/attack, guitar & controls and amp, thatās well and good.
I practice about an hour and a half a day, for over 7 years. I still stink. Donāt have a single pedal. I dialed in a tone Iām comfortable with on my amp, occasionally change the pickup selection for a specific song. I guess Iām a minimalist.
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fwiw,
try turning up the amp, then rolling back the guitar vol. and tone controls to taste. You may find some very fine tones in that area. Can be quite touch sensitive. Pluck hard, breakup (loud), pluck soft (quieter), clean.
Just food for thought. Experiment with this idea a bit. Might save ya some bread.
Thatās pretty much where Iām at Clint.
There is a time for pedals for sure. But for what and how I play, pedals generally seem like a distraction (kinda sorta). Granted, I do use reverb and tremolo often. So itās not like I donāt like effects.
fwiw, I just came in from playing 3+ hours of wooden music on the back stoop. No pedals. No amps.
I thought I sounded well enough.
And it was me and the straight up music that I can make w/o technologyā¦
That said, I still like the three pedals I got for elec. though. They perform the work that I think I need when I need it. And for the qty. of pedals I have. I really donāt think Iāve gone down the rabbit hole. For pedals that are tone altering anyways. Barring oem pedals that are tone altering in them selvesā¦
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Iāve heard this and the rabbit hole line before, but never agreed with it fully. That makes a lot of things like trying different strings or picks, trying other guitars, and any other number of things distraction/rabbit holes. We are where we are right now based on what we have learned so far and what gear we have used up to this point.
Itās kind of funny to me as most of my pedals are 1 to 3 knobs and an on/off switch --with one or two of the knobs (depending on the pedal) enhancing the tone and volume controls of the guitar (in interesting and unique ways) within the signal path.
As far as the pedal board part I am thinking of building one out of some nice oak but I need to have it sit on top of amp when not in use . So not sure if I can find what I want to fit my needs . Like I said it needs to be small in size and fit at least 8 pedals . So I am figuring it out right now, so anyone done this let me know?
A significant factor is the cabling. Even with low-profile patch cables, you will need around 1cm between pedals, possibly more if the connectors align.
Itās probably a good idea to experiment building the pedals on the floor with patch cables to see how you can fit them together.
Cheers,
Keep
I would strongly encourage you to get patch cables instead. While what you are considering may work for all your Boss pedals, this will really only work if you want everything lined up in a straight line. It also wonāt work if you have any pedals where the in/out are on the top.
I have now reconfigured my board twice and having some flexibility with where you can place things is very helpful. Granted, I have a wah pedal and some other ones that are shaped differently, but still, you may not be happy down the road only being able line everything up straight.
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I also seen these for that case you say but if it was on top then yup these wouldnāt work and wah pedal would need cable . So your probably right for cleaner look and more flexibility cables would be better.
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That type of rigid connector is notorious for breaking pedals. I would strongly recommend that you use a nice flexible cable that is not going to transfer your body weight to the 1/4" jack of the pedal next to the one you are stomping on.
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Richard thanks for that with all that said I will stick to cables .
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Does your pedal board fold up into your amp for transport? Because, if so, that is really really cool!
Iāve been there.
This is phase 2. Iām in phase 7
phase 3: wiring and constant rewiring of pedal boards.
buying some more, seldomly selling one
phase 4: optimization:
more rewiring, how to maximaize your pedalboard estate
go into phase 4+ with looping/routing pedals.
Selling and buying to find the āboard spectrumā
phase 5: cognitive dissonance
diminishing returns, getting fed up with wiring, failign contacts, power needs and having to spend $200+ for GOOD power supplies alone. Selling, with a HEAVY heart, some stuff youāre not using
phase 6: the naughty dream of downscaling, finding peace with yourself imploding your setup
Once again, with a HEAVIER heart, sellign some pedals you actually kinda liked but never used. You need the cash for a campact solution
Phase 7: you end up with a fraction of what you once had or went fully digital, digital amps, IRās and FRFR speaker/PA speaker included
Parallel track besides ALL THIS: your very own custom guitar 
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