Using these tools

A quick guide to each tab. Close this any time and come back to it from the "? Help" button.

Basics

• Save Rig downloads your current canvas (every block, connection, label, and setting) as a single JSON file to your computer — that file is your saved rig.
• Load Rig opens a file picker; choose a JSON file you saved earlier (from this same tab) and it replaces the canvas with that saved rig. Loading doesn't merge with what's currently on screen, so save first if you want to keep your current work.
• Each tab (Rig Map, Pedal Board, Build a Circuit) saves and loads its own separate JSON file — a Pedal Board rig won't load on the Rig Map tab or vice versa.
• Nothing is auto-saved to the cloud — your rig only persists if you click "Save Rig" and keep the downloaded file somewhere you can find it again.
• "Export Image" downloads a PNG straight to your browser's default downloads folder — most browsers don't pop up a "choose file type" dialog for this, they just save it (some let you set a "ask where to save each file" option in browser settings if you'd rather choose the folder each time). If you need a different image format like JPEG, export the PNG and convert it, or ask for that pedal to be added if it comes up often.
• "Export Rig" is a dropdown with two options — "Export SVG" (vector, editable in design software) or "Export Image" (a PNG raster snapshot, rendered at 2x resolution for print/sharing). Either way it's a one-way export — not something you can load back in to keep editing; use "Rig Backups" for that.

Rig Map

• Drag components from the left palette onto the canvas — amps, cabs, switchers, power units, or the configurable Amp/Cab Selector and Switched Power Strip.
• Double-click any block to rename it right on the canvas.
• Drag a resize handle (bottom-right corner) to resize a plain block.
• Select a block, text, callout, or divider and press Cmd/Ctrl+C then Cmd/Ctrl+V to duplicate it.
• Click "Enable Connect Mode" and click two blocks to draw a cable — or drag directly from a jack on the Amp/Cab Selector or Power Strip to another jack for a precise, documented connection. The canvas tints dark blue and the button turns solid blue and reads "Disable Connect Mode" while it's active, so it's obvious when you're still in it.
• Every connection can be hidden from the map (uncheck "Show on map" in its Inspector) while staying tracked — open "Connections Log" to see everything, visible or not.
• Numbered Callouts feed the on-canvas Legend automatically — toggle the Legend on/off with "Toggle Legend."
• "Rounded Corners" / "Square Corners" toggles the corner style for all blocks on the wall.
• Amp Heads, Combo Amps, and Cabs: ten presets each, with a small F/B badge (top-left corner) to flip between Front and Back views. Wattage, Knobs, Speaker count/size, and Ω rating are all editable in the Inspector. Back view shows labeled jacks (power, standby, main/ext speaker out, FX send/return, reverb in/out, fuse) — choose Top or Bottom for where that row sits, and the title automatically swaps to the opposite edge so they never overlap.
• "Demo" opens a dropdown with two options — Quick Demo walks through building a small rig, step by step, right on the canvas — adds a head, wires it to power and an 8x8 switcher, adds a cab, flips front/back, opens the Connections Log. Detailed Demo goes deeper — the Square/Rounded Corners toggle, a Combo Amp, back-jack Top/Bottom positioning (watch the title swap edges to avoid overlap), Numbered Callouts and a Divider, resizing the Amp/Cab Selector and Power Strip, hiding a connection while keeping it in the Connections Log, and Cmd/Ctrl+C/V duplication. Click "Next" (or press Enter / → / Space) to advance at your own pace — nothing auto-advances. Your own work (if any) is backed up automatically and restored when you click "Finish" or "Exit Demo" (or press Esc).
• Display / Compute Station: screen size, computer, mount type (Fixed or Swing Arm), and swing reach are all editable in the Inspector — for documenting a wall-mounted screen and computer setup alongside the rest of the rig.
• "Rig Backups" is a dropdown for "Save Rig" / "Load Rig"; "Export Rig" is a dropdown for "Export SVG" / "Export Image."

Pedal Board

• Drag a pedal footprint from the palette onto the board — ten common sizes to choose from.
• Double-click a pedal to rename it; drag its corner to resize if the footprint needs adjusting.
• Set Category, Polarity, and Current Draw (mA) for each pedal in the Inspector on the right.
• The total current draw for your whole board is shown at the top — handy for sizing a power supply.
• Pedalboards (mounting surfaces): ten sizes, PB-4 through PB-40, named for roughly how many pedals fit. Fully resizable — the name automatically updates to match the new size (e.g. stretching a PB-8 toward 16 pedals' worth of space relabels it PB-16) until you manually rename it, at which point it's yours to keep. Un-check "Name follows size" in the Inspector to lock a custom name in permanently, or re-check it to hand control back to the size.
• Isolated Power blocks: six starting presets (MTR, TheTides, Striker, Yoodoo, Blender, Weasel Audio) with jacks, voltage, mA per jack, and mount position/side — all editable per unit; treat the presets as reasonable starting points, not exact specs.
• Power blocks snap to the nearest edge of a pedalboard when dragged close to one — the Mount Side field updates to match, and moving the board carries any attached power blocks with it. Change Mount Side manually to re-snap to a different edge of the same board. Mount Position "Bottom" renders the block dimmed and dashed, for underside-mounted supplies. Un-check "Attach to pedalboard" for free placement.
• "Snap pedals to board" (toggle at the top): when on, dropping a pedal onto a board — or dragging one and releasing it there — attaches it, so moving the board carries its pedals along. Moving a pedal off the board and releasing it there detaches it again. Turn the toggle off and boards go back to being just a background outline: pedals stay put when a board moves.
• A pedalboard's Name position (Top/Bottom/Left/Right/Center) and Name layer (In Back / In Front) are both set in the Inspector — handy since pedals mounted on a board can otherwise cover its name. "In Front" keeps the name readable on top of any pedals, with a small backdrop for contrast; "In Back" (default) keeps the original look, tucked behind whatever's on the board.
• Click "Enable Connect Mode," then click two pedals or power blocks to draw a signal-chain cable between them (pedalboards themselves aren't wireable — they're just a mounting surface). The canvas tints dark blue while it's active as a reminder.
• Cmd/Ctrl+C / Cmd/Ctrl+V duplicates a selected pedal, board, power block, or text label.
• "🔍 Browse Pedal Database" — 1,100+ real pedals (search, brand/category filters). Star (☆) any pedal to add it to "My Pedals," then check "My Pedals only" to browse just your own collection — specs that aren't publicly documented (common on small hand-wired builders) are honestly marked "Not published" rather than guessed. Click "ℹ Details" on any pedal for a full-size, easier-to-read view of everything known about it. Check the box on 2 or more pedals and click "Compare Selected" for a side-by-side spec table — remove a pedal from the comparison with the "✕ remove" button in its column header, or "Clear" to start over. "Add to Board" drops it onto the canvas with all known specs pre-filled. Your search text, filters, "My Pedals only" toggle, and compare selections all stay put the next time you open the dialog — click the red "✕ Clear Selections" button at the top of the dialog to reset everything back to a blank slate in one click.
• "Demo" opens a dropdown with two options, in the same step-through format as the Rig Map demo (click "Next," or Enter/→/Space, to advance; Esc or "Exit Demo" to stop). Quick Demo covers the basics: board, pedals, power, wiring. Detailed Demo goes deeper — board auto-naming and resizing, the pedal database and favorites, and power-block auto-attachment including re-snapping to a different edge and the dimmed "Bottom" mount rendering. Your own work is backed up and restored automatically either way.

Build a Circuit

• For wiring-level work — rotary switches, resistors, jacks, relays — drag components and wire port-to-port, or click "Enable Connect Mode" and click two components to wire them using each one's first port (a quicker, less precise alternative). The canvas tints dark blue while Connect Mode is on, and the button turns solid blue and reads "Disable Connect Mode" so it stays obvious.
• Toggle "Wires: Right-Angle / Curved" to switch how connections are drawn.
• Enclosures: ten real Hammond-style sizes and shapes (1590A through 2U Rack), each with editable Width, Height, Depth (mm), and Material in the Inspector — change any of those and the drawn size updates live. Enclosures render as a dashed, translucent container behind everything else, so components you place "inside" stay visible on top.
• "Rig Backups" (Save Rig / Load Rig) and "Export Rig" (Export SVG / Export Image) work the same way as the Rig Map.