Sounds simple but

Hi, bear with me,

Of all the discussions of homemade pedal boards I've read, I see no specific info on how you all keep the pedals secured when you you pack up and walk out... Velcro alone wouldn't do it would it ?

Are you using big foam in the lid? Or is there something beyond velcro that will hold everything when lugging around the case ?

thanks

I've used a few different types of pre-fab pedalboard over the years, and I've always used Velcro with no problems.

I've currently got two different pedal boards, both of which are PedalTrains. For the regular run-of-the-mill Boss-sized pedals, Velcro works fine. For somewhat larger pedals, I'll use Velcro, and a zip-tie-wrap or two.

Also of note - less Velcro can often be more effective than more. In other words, a thin strip across the top of the base, and a thin strip across the bottom of the base will often hold tighter than one large piece covering the entire base of the pedal.

Another thing - if the pedal has some type of rubber-ized bottom on it (like a Boss or Ibanez pedal), or if it has feet on it...you'll need to remove all of that for best results.

OK I see,

but you can pack it up and lug it around and the pedals don't break loose? That would be great. So no big foam in the lid?

thanks

OK I see,

but you can pack it up and lug it around and the pedals don't break loose? That would be great. So no big foam in the lid?

thanks

Yeah - the PedalTrains come with a decent little road case, and it is lined on the inside with padding. It's not thick, but it is dense. It doesn't press down on all the pedals when you close it, but the pedals do stay in place.

I was just in Guitar Heaven ( www.gtrheaven.com ) on Saturday and the have them for sale, for $99.98....for the board, the case, and a roll of Velcro. A good deal in my opinion.

I made my board with a piece of plywood, drilled holes through it, and hold down the pedals with tie wraps. Everything stays put, no need for foam in the lid.

And when I say they "stay put", I mean you can turn the whole board upside down, and everything will stay in place.

And when I say they "stay put", I mean you can turn the whole board upside down, and everything will stay in place.

Yep - mine does that too, with just Velcro. I've made them out of wood too, and that's fine. But the PedalTrain is made of an aluminum tube frame, and it weighs about 1/2 as much as the same size wooden one.

My pedalboard is just a .75" piece of plywood, sanded smooth. I laid out the pedals, outlined them, drilled some holes and zip-tied the pedals to the board. I used the thickest zip-ties I could find. For large pedals like my Fulltone FD2, I use 2 ties; for smaller pedals, like Boss TU2 I use one tie. I slide the pedal board into a 2-space rack case and away I go. (I cut the plywood to specifically fit into the case.)

I've seen guys do the zip-tie thing and use an old piece of Samsonite luggage from the 60s/70s with a piece of foam on top of the pedalboard for a snug fit.

The other guitarist in our band uses velcro on his SKB board (the larger one) and was disapointed when the velcro weakend, so he zip-tied his pedals to it - after drilling holes into the board, which is a thick plastic, I believe.

Every once in a while, the zip-ties need to be tightend (mostly when new) and I've only broken one. I gig out about twice a month.

I can send a pic if you'd like.

Cheers,
Carl
www.jebweb.4t.com
=======================
looking for a Roots-Rock band in L.A., know any?

Yep - mine does that too, with just Velcro. I've made them out of wood too, and that's fine. But the PedalTrain is made of an aluminum tube frame, and it weighs about 1/2 as much as the same size wooden one.

I considered using velcro, but I didn't want to stick the stuff to the bottom of my pedals & then have to clean it off later if I change my mind - what if I want to take it off of the board & just put it on the floor? I still want the original rubber to be making contact with the floor, ya know?

Tie-wraps/zip ties can just be snipped off & replaced easily. Velcro is good strong stuff though - stronger than people realize - a little goes a long way.

I considered using velcro, but I didn't want to stick the stuff to the bottom of my pedals & then have to clean it off later if I change my mind - what if I want to take it off of the board & just put it on the floor? I still want the original rubber to be making contact with the floor, ya know?

Ok, you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, since I almost never use my pedals off of the pedal board. But yeah, if I did just place them directly on the floor, I'd surely want that rubber on the bottom.

Excellent/thanks afor all the notes

but, one :oops: :oops: question:

how do you secure the zip ties to the pedals?
/edit/ oohhh, maybe across the top underneath the knobs?

=curbinati

maybe I would like to see your picture. If you can't get it on here maybe put up a link or email me?

thanks

how do you secure the zip ties to the pedals?
/edit/ oohhh, maybe across the top underneath the knobs?

Yep, underneath the knobs, or near the LED, or wherever you can fit it/them. Different brand pedals are laid out different ways - some you'll be able to fit 2 zip ties, others only one.

But yea, you go over the top of the pedal, down thru a hole in the board (drilled right next to the pedal), under the board, and back up through another hole on the other side of the pedal. Tie it off on the side of the pedal so the knobby end of the zip tie is out of the way, pull it tight & cut off the extra.

When I did my board, all those zip ties running underneath made the whole board kinda wobbly, so I put rubber feet at the four corners underneath to lift the board up a little. The kind of feet that would be on a piece of stereo equipment or dvd player. Think I got em at Radio Shack & used wood screws to mount them to the board.

Sorry, I don't have a digital camera at home, otherwise I'd post a pic - but I hope this helps.

you can buy it in the crafts section of walmart 5 ft for 5 bucks this stuff works great you get both sides and it already has the really heavy duty adhesive on it just peal the backing off and stick it down it dont come off with out some muscle.it comes in 2 1/2 " and 4" wide

I've got a homeade board I carry in a cheap anvil style case. I put a big thick piece of foam (the grey egg crate style that a buddy had been using for sound reduction in his home studio) in the lid (actually the bottom, which is deeper - the board goes in the lid)

It works great - some of my pedals have velcro, but most of them stay put fine with just the pressure from the foam. Been using it this way for about 4-5 years with no problems.

I use velcro on my Boss typre pedals with absolutely no trouble. For my larger pedals like Route 66 and Reverende Drivetrain I remove the battery lid screw and carefully mark the spot where I want it on the board and drill a hole through the board and replace the screw with one long enough to go through the board and into the pedal. This works really well. You don't have to remove the feet or anything.

On a couple of other pedals like the Morley JD-10 I have taken the the housing apart (very simple) and actually drilled a couple of small holes in the base and screwed it to the board.

thanks guys

one last question

if I use velcro,is there a difference in where I use the rough side compared to the fuzzy side.? My gut tells me the rough side should go onto the pedal and the fuzzy side goes on the board. So when I put on/change the pedals I'm putting pressure into the base and make the velcro hold

thanks

The ABSOLUTELY strongest material on the planet!

It costs a bit more than velcro but you also need very little to secure a pedal.It is by and far the BEST!

Do a google search to see what I am talking about,I use it religiously.

excellent/thanks :D