Michael Tait, is credited with developing one of the first commercially available pedalboards for guitarists in the late 1970s. His company, Tait Towers, was known for its innovations in stage production, but he also played a key role in revolutionizing the way guitarists managed their effects..

Before pedalboards, guitarists had to manually switch effects on and off, often leading to complicated setups with multiple cables and power supplies. Tait’s custom pedalboard solutions helped organize these effects into a single unit, making live performances smoother and more efficient.

His work laid the foundation for modern pedalboards, which now include features like programmable switching systems, power management, and MIDI control.

His innovation became widely used in large-scale concerts, particularly in rock and pop music, influencing the development of advanced pedalboard systems used by professional musicians today.