Vangoa (Ghost Fire) Guitar Pedal Board Review (Compact, Lightweight, Sturdy & Attractive)

As a guitarist, if you’re fussy about your on-stage effect pedal setup, at some point you’re going to want to pick up a pedal board to organize your mess.

You don’t want your singer or other band mates tripping on your cables. You don’t want to accidentally rip out your patch cables as you’re playing (trust me it happens). Kicking your pedals clear across stage or into the audience is also embarrassing to say the least.

No. Effects pedals can be expensive, and you likely want to use your prized possessions for a long time to come. After all, your pedals are your “secret weapons” for crafting a killer tone, right?

Protecting your gear is important.

So, if you’re just getting started and don’t have a pedalboard yet, I’d urge you to consider the Vangoa Guitar Pedal Board as a solution. Here’s why:

Ghost Fire Pedal Board Overview

This guitar effects pedalboard is compact, lightweight, sturdy and attractive. Let’s talk about each of these things in more detail.

Although small, this pedalboard can fit roughly 10 compact effects pedals (though you may not want to cram in that many).

At 3.3 lbs., you shouldn’t have any trouble carrying it around. Of course, that’s a slightly different matter once you’ve fastened all your pedals to it.

If you’re wondering exactly how durable this pedalboard is, Vangoa claims it can withstand the weight of a human adult.

I couldn’t let claims like that go untested, so I tried standing on it (with one leg — I didn’t want to risk breaking it) and it didn’t even budge. Impressive.

Its minimalistic design is nice. I wouldn’t say it’s revolutionary by any means, but it’s always good when your gear isn’t an eyesore.

The folding legs allow you to elevate the back of the board such that your pedals are facing you instead of towards the ceiling. It’s small things like these that sometimes make all the difference.

As with other similar pedalboards, you can attach an underneath power supply. But if you do, the pedal board may no longer fit in the carrying case.

Pedalboard Features

The Vangoa pedal board features a lightweight (3.3 lbs.) aluminum alloy construction and measures 19.8" x 11.5".

It comes with a 600D oxford cloth heavy-duty padded lightweight carry bag, three six-inch 1/4" cables, self-adhesive hook and loop, self-adhesive cable mount base holder, mounting tape and cable ties.

The pedalboard comes with folding legs, which allows you to elevate your pedalboard.

The Vangoa should fit up to 10 compact pedals, though it would probably be snug.

Ghost Fire Pedalboard Pros (What’s Good About It)

This pedalboard is simple and reliable. And, because it’s lightweight, you can take it with you anywhere you go.

The carrying case, cables, adhesive, mounting tape and cable ties make for good starter kit.

And, we can’t ignore the fact that the pedalboard is incredibly affordable, making it accessible for practically every guitarist. In my opinion, it’s good value for money.

Additionally, as with most pedalboards, the Ghost Fire should help you tame the onstage cabling chaos us guitarists have a tendency of creating.

The thing that I’m most impressed with is the pedalboard’s durability. Some manufacturers say their products are durable, but their claims are as empty as a bar the day after St. Patrick’s Day.

Not so with the Vangoa. It can withstand a considerable amount of weight (I weigh more than 200 lbs. and it didn’t break after I stood on it with one foot).

Ghost Fire Pedalboard Cons (What’s Not So Good About It)

This is not a perfect product by any means, though in most regards it works great.

The weakest link is the carrying case.

Because it is a soft case, it’s not designed to withstand a lot of weight (even though the pedalboard is). When packing this into your car, you’ll likely want to put it on top of all your other gear or set it aside.

And, while you might be able to squeeze all your pedals into the case (in addition to the pedalboard itself), there’s a limit to how much you can fit in there.

They’re certainly not lying about the padding, so the case should help you protect your pedals. But I could see it being prone to ripping if you aren’t careful.

One other aspect that might be less than appealing to some is the Velcro system.

Now, some guitarists love Velcro, while others prefer zip ties. It’s basically one or the other.

I don’t think the Velcro on this board would wear down quickly, but if you’re constantly swapping out pedals and changing your configuration, this could become a bit of an issue over time.

If you’re looking for a zip tie board, you’re welcome to look elsewhere.

Final Thoughts

The Vangoa guitar pedal board is an excellent choice for beginner and intermediate players with a small collection of pedals to organize.

If you have a larger stable of pedals or need to accommodate a variety of sizes, you may want to find alternatives.

Further, if you’re an advanced player with exacting needs, you might consider going in the custom pedalboard direction instead.

With that in mind, this is a great product in the price range and should hold up to plenty of abuse (I’m not saying you should abuse it though).

Have fun!

Originally published at http://www.musicentrepreneurhq.com on September 16, 2019.