GB2544517A - Audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals - Google Patents

Abstract

An audio pedal box, for supporting audio pedals such as guitar effects pedals, comprises a pedal plate 100 and a base 10 supporting the pedal plate. The pedal plate and base together may form a wedge shape and define a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply. The audio pedal plate comprises at least one connector block, comprising plug sockets located inside and outside the cavity, for passing signals from inside to outside of the audio pedal box. An optional array of holes 110 in the pedal plate are able to receive pedal straps to retain audio pedals to the pedal plate with the aid of split pin anchors. Preferably a plurality of spaced lamps 28 are mounted to an outside of the audio pedal box for indicating a current audio mode based on a received MIDI signal.

Description

AUDIO PEDAL BOX FOR SUPPORTING AUDIO PEDALS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, for example audio pedals that control various sound characteristics such as reverb, equalisation (EQ), etc.

Such audio pedals are well known in the audio industry, and may be used by a performer to control the sound that is being produced during a performance.

In these circumstances, audio pedals need to be easily accessible and reliable, and may also be visible to an audience. An audio pedal is typically understood to be a device which is controlled by foot to alter audio signal(s) passing through or being generated by the audio pedal.

Various audio pedals may be connected together with one another via an audio controller such as a MIDIR™ controller, to control the overall sound that is produced. Individual performers may have different types and combinations of pedals, and these need to be arranged and connected in a manner that is convenient to the performer for during a performance. The audio controller may be configured in different modes, to mix the inputs from the various pedals in a variety of different ways. A known audio pedal board comprises a raised platform for attaching audio pedals using hook-and-loop fasteners. The platform may also be used to attach the audio controller and a power supply, and various electrical cables may be connected between the audio pedals, audio controller, and power supply.

However, this arrangement does not allow for effective cable management, and cables may become tangled and/or flail away from the platform causing a trip hazard for other performers. Cable ties may be used, although these restrict the ability to re-arrange the audio pedals when desired. Additionally, whilst the use of hook-and-loop fasteners enables the audio pedals to be easily removed from the platform, the audio pedals are not very secure in their positions and are too easily moved by accident, either during a performance or during transportation between different performances.

Another problem is that it can be difficult for a performer to keep track of what mode the audio controller is currently operating in during a performance, potentially leading to errors in the performance.

It is therefore an aim of the invention to solve one or more of the above-mentioned problems.

According to various embodiments of the invention, there is provided an audio pedal box according to any one of the appended claims. In one aspect of the invention, there is provided an audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate. The pedal plate and the base together define a cavity inside of the audio pedal box, and the cavity may be used to hold devices such as a power supply and/or audio controllers. An audio controller could simply be an audio pedal that is inside the box and therefore not easily available for adjustment. The audio pedal box comprises a connector block inside of the cavity, the connector block having a first group of plug sockets at an inside of the cavity, and a second group of plug sockets extending to an outside of the audio pedal box, the first group of plug sockets electrically connected to respective ones of the second group of plug sockets inside of the connector block, for passing signals from inside to outside of the audio pedal box.

Therefore, it becomes possible to mount audio pedals on the audio pedal box, and to hold connecting cables safely within the cavity of the audio pedal box. Additionally, audio inputs and outputs from the pedal box may be connected via the connector block, making it easy to plug new audio pedals and/or components into the connector block when they are added to the audio pedal box, and making their outputs available outside of the connector block.

The pedal plate may define an upper surface of the audio pedal box, and the base may define a lower surface of the audio pedal box, and the upper and lower surfaces may be in non-parallel planes to one another, such that the audio pedal box is wedge-shaped. Then, the pedals mounted on the pedal plate will be conveniently tilted towards the performer when the base is supported on a horizontal floor. Additionally, there will be sufficient space for the power supply at the thickest end of the wedge, and the thinnest end of the wedge allows the audio pedals to be close to the floor, which is ergonomic for performers. The shape of the audio pedal box is optimised to allow a wide variety of commercially available audio devices to fit inside the cavity in a space efficient manner.

The base may comprise a bottom and a plurality of sides extending from the bottom, the plurality of sides supporting the pedal plate, and the bottom, sides, and pedal plate together defining the cavity. The cavity may be substantially fully enclosed by the bottom, sides, and pedal plate, aside from the holes through the pedal plate, so that cables connecting various audio components are retained inside of the audio pedal box and do not create trip hazards.

The plurality of sides may define a bezel rim around a perimeter of the audio pedal box, the pedal plate sized to fit within the bezel rim, so that it will not slide off the base accidently during performances. The bezel rim may comprise a raised portion surrounding the pedal plate and a step down to a lower portion that extends beneath the pedal plate. Then, an edge of the pedal plate may be raised upwardly to gain access inside of the cavity, without the pedal plate sliding off the base, since an opposite edge of the pedal plate will bear against the step to prevent the pedal plate from slipping.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, the audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate, the pedal plate and the base together defining a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply. The pedal plate comprises an array of holes therethrough for receiving pedal straps to retain audio pedals to the pedal plate in positions alterable by a user of the audio pedal box, by selecting which holes the pedal straps are passed through, the pedal plate further comprising a plurality of anchor points for anchoring the pedal straps to the pedal plate.

Therefore, audio pedals can easily be added to the audio pedal box by using straps that are secured to anchor points, improving the security of the audio pedals on the pedal plate. The array of holes may comprise at least 16 holes to provide multiple possible positions for retaining the audio pedals to the pedal plate.

The plurality of anchor points may be a plurality of smaller holes, the smaller holes being smaller than the holes of the array of holes. The straps may comprise anchors for fitting into the smaller holes to secure the pedal straps to the pedal plate. For example, each anchor may be a split pin having tines which are compressed together when the tines are inserted into one of the smaller holes.

The tines may comprise bulbous distal ends, or may simply rely on friction, to retain the anchor in the smaller hole.

The anchor points may be distributed amongst the array of holes, and could for example be posts for inserting through holes in the straps, instead of being smaller holes. The pedal straps may comprise lengths of silicone, which are stretchy and have a high coefficient of static friction against typical audio pedal finishes, to assist in securing the audio pedals to the pedal plate.

In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided an audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, the audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate, the pedal plate and the base together defining a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply. The power supply may be used to power the audio pedals. The audio pedal box comprises at least one lamp mounted to an outside of the audio pedal box, and a lamp controller inside of the cavity, the lamp controller comprising a plug socket input for receiving a signal specifying an audio mode, for example a MIDIR™ signal. The lamp controller is configured to light the at least one lamp in a lighting mode that is selected from a plurality of lighting modes based on the specified audio mode.

Therefore, it becomes possible for a performer to more easily see what audio mode their audio setup is currently in, without needing to stare at buttons and/or switches and/or indicators on the individual audio components attached to the audio pedal box. Rather, the lamp(s) on the audio pedal box provide an overall indication of what mode the overall audio setup is currently in. The lighting modes may for example correspond to the lamp(s) lighting up in different colours, or different combinations of colours, or flashing at different intervals. The lamps may also add to the overall performance as they may be visible to the audience.

Advantageously, the plug socket input for receiving a signal specifying an audio mode may be a MIDIR™ plug socket for connecting to a MIDIR™ audio controller that controls what audio mode the audio setup is in.

The at least one lamps may comprise at least five lamps, for example 48 lamps, or 64 lamps. The lamps are preferably spaced apart from one another, so that the lamps can be easily seen and recognised from a variety of different directions or distances, for example for viewing by other performers so they are also aware of what audio mode is being used, or by an audience. Preferably, the at least five lamps are distributed over at least two sides of the audio pedal box to assist in viewing from different directions.

The lamp controller may comprise at least one programming button or switch for a user to specify which lighting mode should be selected for each specified audio mode. Then, the user can specify how they want the various audio modes to be represented by the lamps. The lamps may for example be light emitting diodes (LEDS) that are embedded in the sides of the audio pedal box at regular intervals from one another.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a rear perspective view of an audio pedal box according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a front perspective view of the audio pedal box of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a front perspective view of the audio pedal box of Fig. 1, with a pedal plate separated from a base of the audio pedal plate;

Fig. 4 shows a front perspective view of the audio pedal box of Fig. 1, with the pedal plate tilted upwardly from the base of the audio pedal plate;

Fig. 5 shows perspective view of a portion of the pedal plate of the audio pedal box of Fig. 1, when fitting an audio pedal to the pedal plate;

Fig. 6 shows a cross sectional view through the audio pedal shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 shows an enlarged view of part of the pedal box of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 8 shows a view of connecting the pedal box of Fig. 1 to a MIDIR™ controller.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. Beginning with Fig. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of an audio pedal box comprising a base 10 and a pedal plate 100.

The base 10 comprises five plates, a horizontal base plate 15, and four side plates 12, 14, 16, and 18 that extend vertically upward from the horizontal, as best seen in Fig. 4. The plate 12 is a front side plate, the plate 14 is a left side plate, the plate 16 is a rear side plate, and the plate 18 is a right side plate. In this embodiment, the plates are formed integrally from carbon fibre cloth, although use of alternate materials such as aluminium is also envisaged.

The rear side plate 16 shown in Fig. 1 has plug sockets including a power inlet 20a, a MIDlR™ output 22a, and a collection of four audio outputs 23a. The plug sockets are female plug sockets in this embodiment, although could alternatively be male plug sockets.

There is also an on/off switch 21, and multiple LEDs spaced at regular intervals along the plate 16. The LEDs additionally extend along the right side plate 18, and along the front and left side plates 12 and 14. The right side plate 18 has a group of control buttons 26, and handle holes 25b passing through the right side plate 18 to assist carrying of the audio pedal box. Corresponding handle holes 25a also pass through the left side plate 14, as best seen in Fig. 3.

The pedal plate 100 fits to the tops of the side plates 12, 14, 16, 18, and is held in place by bolts 30 which pass through holes 130 at all four corners of the pedal plate, and into the tops of the side plates, as best seen Fig. 2. The left and right side plates 14 and 18 each have a top which extends at a non-perpendicular angle to the bottom plate 15, such that the heights of the left and right side plates progressively increase from the front side plate 12 to the rear side plate 16, and make the overall pedal box wedge-shaped (e.g. see Fig. 1).

The tops of the sides 12, 14, 16, and 18 together form a bezel rim which runs around the perimeter of the pedal plate 100. As best seen in Figs 3 and 4, the bezel rim comprises a raised portion 40 surrounding the pedal plate, and a step 44 down to a lower portion 45 that extends beneath the pedal plate. The step 44 creates a depression in which the pedal plate can rest on the lower portion 45, and so the step 44 helps to keep the pedal plate in place on top of the pedal box. Accordingly, the bolts 30 add additional security to the pedal plate, although are not essential, and other types of fastening means could be used instead in alternate embodiments. In this embodiment, the tops of the bolts 30 are knurled so they can be rotated by hand without any need for tools.

As shown in Fig. 4, the pedal plate 100 can be pivoted upwardly from the front side plate 12, about the step 44 running along the rear side plate 16. The step 44 keeps the pedal plate from sliding off the base 10, and means that the top of the pedal plate lies flush with the top of the raised portion 40 when the pedal plate is laid into the depression to rest upon the lower portion 45. The depth of the step 44, and the thickness of the pedal plate 100, is around 3mm in this embodiment.

The pedal plate 100 has an array of one hundred and twenty holes 110 through the pedal plate, which are regularly distributed over the area of the pedal plate, and in this particular embodiment are arranged in rows and columns. The holes 110 each have a diameter of 26mm, to optimise the strength of the plate yet maximise compatibility with known audio pedals. The diameter of 26mm allows compatibility with all commercially available connectors known to the inventor. The hole size may vary in alternate embodiments, although is preferably between 20mm and 30mm in diameter.

In between the holes 110, there are provided smaller holes 120 through the pedal plate, which are also regularly distributed over the pedal plate, in between the holes 110. The smaller holes 120 each have a diameter of around 5mm in this embodiment. Clearly, different numbers and arrangements of the holes 110 and 120 are possible in alternative embodiments.

The holes 110 and 120 are present over substantially the whole area of the pedal plate, and substantially over the whole of the area of the pedal box, to allow different arrangements of audio pedals to be fitted to the pedal plate, as will be described in more detail later with reference to Figs. 5 and 6.

Looking at Fig. 4, it can be seen that the pedal plate 100 creates a substantially fully enclosed cavity 13 within the audio pedal box when the pedal plate 100 is attached to the tops of the sidewalls 12, 14, 16, and 18, aside from the holes 110 and 120. In use, the cavity 13 may be used to house a power supply and/or various audio controllers, and cables connecting those devices to audio pedals on the pedal plate.

Within the cavity 13, there is a connector block 50 that is mounted to the bottom plate 15 and rear side plate 16, The connector block 50 has plug sockets including a collection of audio inputs 23b, a MIDIR™ input 22b, and a power outlet 20b. The connector block 50 provides an electrical connection from the power outlet 20b to the power inlet 20a, an electrical connection from the MIDIR™ input 22b to the MIDIR™ output 22a, and electrical connections from each one of the audio inputs 23b to respective ones of the audio outputs 23a. Therefore, signals from cables inside of the cavity 13 can be supplied to the outside of the audio pedal box by the connector block 50.

Within the cavity 13, there is also provided a lighting control unit 60 which is integrated as part of the connection block 50, although could be implemented separately from the connection block 50 on alternate embodiments if desired. The lighting control unit 60 is connected to each of the LEDs 28 via electrical wires (not shown in Figs) that run around the side plates 12, 14, 16, 18 of the base 10. The lighting control unit 60 controls the LEDs 28, based on an input into the MIDIR™ plug socket 65, as will be described in more detail later on with reference to Fig. 7 and 8.

The fitting of audio pedals onto the pedal plate 100 will now be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. These Figs show an example audio pedal 200, which comprises a button 210, and a rotary dial 220. The audio pedal 200 is held to the pedal plate 100 using a strap 300, and the strap 300 comprises a silicon strip 310 and two anchors 320a and 320b that are used to anchor the strap to the pedal plate, around the audio pedal 200. In this embodiment, the two anchors are two aluminium pins. Referring to Fig. 6, which shows a cross-sectional view taken through the strip 300, each one of the anchors 320a and 320b comprises two tines 324 and 325, which can be forced into the smaller holes 120 of the pedal plate to retain the anchors to the pedal plate. Each anchor also comprises a substantially cylindrical body portion connected to the tines, the cylindrical body portion having least one rib 326, each rib being a region of enlarged diameter at a point along the cylindrical body portion.

There is further provided a hole punch 350 for punching 3mm holes into the silicon strip 310, the hole punch creating holes in the silicon strip that are just large enough to stretch over the ribs 326 of the anchors.

To secure the audio pedal 200 to the pedal plate, the strip 310 is cut to a suitable length, and holes for the anchors 320a and 320b are punched in opposite ends of the strip 310. The audio pedal 200 is then placed in a desired location on the pedal plate 100, and the strip 310 is laid over the audio pedal 200 and the ends of the strip are passed through the most convenient holes 110, in this embodiment the holes 110a and 110b, as shown. The anchors 320a and 320b are then inserted into the most convenient smaller holes 120, in this embodiment the holes 120a and 120b. Then, the punched hole at one end of the strip 310 is passed over the rib 326 of the anchor 320a, and the punched hole at the other end of the strip 310 is passed over the rib 326 of the anchor 320b, to secure the audio pedal 200 to the pedal plate 100.

Audio input/output cables (not shown in Figs) from the audio pedal 200 can be passed through one of the holes 110 in the pedal plate 100, and then plugged into the one of the audio input plug sockets 23b of the connection block 50, so that the audio can be routed outside of the audio pedal box via the corresponding audio output plug socket 23a at the outside of the audio pedal box. Any excess length of audio cable connected between the audio pedal 200 and the audio input plug socket 23b can be stored inside of the cavity. Alternatively, audio cables from the audio pedal 200 can be routed through one of the holes 110, and then back up through another one of the holes 110 to another audio pedal and/or another audio component that is mounted on the pedal plate 100, with any excess cable length being stored inside the cavity 13. This means that no cable ties are required to hold the excess cable length, so that pedals can be easily moved about.

An expanded view of the group of control buttons 26 marked in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 7. The control buttons comprises a “Store” button 70, left and right “Program” buttons 72, and higher and lower “Brightness” buttons 74. The buttons are connected to the lighting control unit 60 (Fig. 4), and are used to program how the lighting control unit 60 will control the LEDs 28. The higher and lower “Brightness” buttons 74 can be used to control how brightly the LEDs 28 are lit by the lighting control unit 60. A view of the audio pedal box being connected to a MIDIR™ controller 400 is shown in Fig. 8. The MIDIR™ controller 400 comprises a ΜIDIR™ output that is connected to the MIDIR™ plug input socket 65 via a MIDIR™ cable. For illustrative purposes, Fig. 8 shows the MIDIR™ cable passing directly from the controller 400 to the plug input socket 65. However, in practice the controller 400 will be strapped to the pedal plate 100 in a similar manner to the audio pedal 200, and the MIDIR™ cable will be passed through one of the holes 110 to the plug input socket 65.

The MIDIr™ controller 400 may be connected to the audio pedals and may be set in a variety of different audio modes using control knobs. The current audio mode that the MIDIR™ controller 400 is set in is communicated to the lighting control unit 60 via the MIDIR™ cable and MIDIR™ plug input socket 65. An alternate MIDIR™ controller 400 may be a “Looper” MIDIR™ controller that comprises multiple audio inputs for receiving audio from the audio pedals, and multiple control knobs for mixing and/or modifying the audio from the audio inputs.

In use, the lighting control unit 60 receives the current audio mode from the MIDIr™ controller 400, and the lighting control unit 60 lights up the LEDs 28 in a lighting mode corresponding to the current audio mode. Therefore, the performer can see what audio mode is currently selected by viewing the LEDs 28.

An association between the current audio mode and a desired lighting mode can be set using the left and right “Program” buttons 72 and the “Store” button 70. Pressing the left or right “Program” buttons 72 causes the lighting control unit 60 to cycle through the various lighting modes that are available. Once the performer is happy with the lighting mode of the LEDs 28, the performer can press the “Store” button 70 to store an association between the current audio mode and the lighting mode. Then, whenever the lighting control unit 60 is informed via the MIDIR™ plug input socket 65 of the selection of that audio mode, the lighting control unit 60 will light the LEDs 28 in that lighting mode. A number of different audio modes can be associated with respective lighting modes in the same manner.

In this particular embodiment, referring to Figs. 7 and 8, the brightness of the LEDs may be included as part of the lighting mode, and a specific procedure is used between the MIDIR™ controller 400 and the lighting control unit 60 to confirm the association between the audio mode and the lighting mode. Specifically, the procedure may comprise steps of: #1 Plug the MIDIR™ controller 400 into the MIDIR™ plug socket 65; #2 Select an audio mode on the MIDIR™ controller 400; #3 Select the lighting mode using the “Program” buttons 72; #4 Select the LED brightness using the “Brightness” buttons 74; #5 Push the “Store” button 70 until an Indicator LED 76 flashes; #6 Press a Channel button on the MIDIR™ controller 400 to store the association. The LEDs 28 may be flashed once to confirm the association has been stored.

The flashing of the Indicator LED 76 indicates the lighting control unit 60 is ready to sample the current audio mode of the MIDIR™ controller 400, and the pressing of the Channel button on the MIDIR™ controller 400 causes the MIDIR™ controller 400 to send the current audio mode to the lighting control unit 60, so that the association can be made and stored.

Further alternate embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims will also be apparent to the skilled person. For example, the invention is clearly applicable to other types of audio controllers than MIDIR™ audio controllers, and other types of plug sockets than MIDIR™ plug sockets.

Claims (22)

1. An audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, the audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate, the pedal plate and the base together defining a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply, the audio pedal box comprising a connector block inside of the cavity, the connector block having a first plurality of plug sockets at an inside of the cavity, and a second plurality of plug sockets extending to an outside of the audio pedal box, the first plurality of plug sockets electrically connected to respective ones of the second plurality of plug sockets inside of the connector block, for passing signals from inside to outside of the audio pedal box.

2. The audio pedal box of claim 1, wherein the pedal plate defines an upper surface of the audio pedal box, wherein the base defines a lower surface of the audio pedal box, and wherein the upper and lower surfaces are in non-parallel planes to one another, such that the audio pedal box is wedge-shaped.

3. The audio pedal box of claim 1 or 2, wherein the base comprises a bottom and a plurality of sides extending from the bottom, the plurality of sides supporting the pedal plate, the bottom, sides, and pedal plate together defining the cavity.

4. The audio pedal box of claim 3, wherein the plurality of sides define a bezel rim around a perimeter of the audio pedal box, the pedal plate sized to fit within the bezel rim.

5. The audio pedal box of claim 4, wherein the bezel rim comprises a raised portion surrounding the pedal plate and a step down to a lower portion that extends beneath the pedal plate.

6. The audio pedal box of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the cavity is substantially fully enclosed by the bottom, sides, and pedal plate, aside from the holes through the pedal plate.

7. The audio pedal box of any preceding claim, wherein the pedal plate comprises an array of holes therethrough for receiving pedal straps to retain audio pedals to the pedal plate in positions alterable by a user of the audio pedal box, by selecting which holes the pedal straps are passed through, the pedal plate further comprising a plurality of anchor points for anchoring the pedal straps to the pedal plate.

8. The audio pedal box of claim 7, wherein the array of holes comprises at least 16 holes to provide multiple possible positions for retaining the audio pedals to the pedal plate.

9. The audio pedal box of claim 7 or 8, wherein the plurality of anchor points are a plurality of smaller holes, the smaller holes being smaller than the holes of the array of holes, the smaller holes being distributed amongst the array of holes.

10. The audio pedal box of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the audio pedal box further comprises the pedal straps for securing to the anchor points.

11. The audio pedal box of claim 10, wherein the pedal straps comprise lengths of silicone.

12. The audio pedal box of claim 10 when appended to claim 9, or the audio pedal box of claim 11 when claim 10 is appended to claim 9, wherein the pedal straps comprise anchors for fitting into the smaller holes to secure the pedal straps to the pedal plate.

13. The audio pedal box of claim 12, wherein each anchor is a split pin having tines which are compressed together when the tines are inserted into one of the smaller holes, to retain the anchor in the smaller hole.

14. The audio pedal box of any preceding claim, wherein the audio pedal box comprises a kit of strips and anchors, the strips for cutting to desired lengths and the anchors for fixing to ends of the cut strips to form pedal straps of desired lengths, the anchors for anchoring to the anchor points.

15. The audio pedal box of claim 14, wherein the kit further comprises a hole punch configured to punch holes in the ends of the cut strips, the punched holes sized to receive the anchors therethrough.

16. The audio pedal box of any preceding claim, further comprising at least one lamp, and a lamp controller inside of the cavity, the lamp controller comprising a plug socket input for receiving a signal specifying an audio mode, the lamp controller configured to light the at least one lamp in a lighting mode that is selected from a plurality of lighting modes based on the specified audio mode.

17. The audio pedal box of claim 16, wherein the plug socket input for receiving a signal specifying an audio mode is a MIDIR™ plug socket.

18. The audio pedal box of claim 16 or 17, wherein the at least one lamps comprise at least five lamps that are spaced apart from one another.

19. The audio pedal box of claim 18, wherein the at least five lamps are distributed over at least two sides of the audio pedal box.

20. The audio pedal box of any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the lamp controller comprises at least one programming button or switch for a user to specify which lighting mode should be selected for each specified audio mode.

21. An audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, the audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate, the pedal plate and the base together defining a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply, wherein the pedal plate comprises an array of holes therethrough for receiving pedal straps to retain audio pedals to the pedal plate in positions alterable by a user of the audio pedal box, by selecting which holes the pedal straps are passed through, the pedal plate further comprising a plurality of anchor points for anchoring the pedal straps to the pedal plate.

22. A audio pedal box for supporting audio pedals, the audio pedal box having a pedal plate and a base supporting the pedal plate, the pedal plate and the base together defining a cavity inside of the audio pedal box for storing a power supply, the audio pedal box comprising at least one lamp mounted to an outside of the audio pedal box, and a lamp controller inside of the cavity, the lamp controller comprising a plug socket input for receiving a signal specifying an audio mode, the lamp controller configured to light the at least one lamp in a lighting mode that is selected from a plurality of lighting modes based on the specified audio mode.