RhysP Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I was thinking of building a pedalboard, but instead of using Velcro to hold the pedals I'd paint it with magnetic paint & use stick-on magnetic strip on the base of the pedals. This seems like a good idea to me but I've never heard of anyone else doing it so I wondered why not. Will the magnetism cause any problems with interference or damage the circuits in the pedals in any way? Apologies to the electronics experts out there who will no doubt think this is a really stupid idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I know bugger all about electronics, but it seems dodgy to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Magnetic paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I would imagine that you'd need really strong magnets to hold the weight of your pedals. And really strong magnets in close proximity to expensive electronic equipment is a pretty bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 An interesting idea. I doubt that the magnets would affect the pedals or the sound. A varying magnetic field would be more worrying but I can't really see a static magnetic field causing problems for the type of electronics in the average effects pedal. But. I'm not sure what you mean by 'magnetic paint' though I suspect that such a thin coating of material would not provide adequate magnetic attraction to keep a pedal in place, especially when knocked about in the heat of a gig. Also, the stick-on magnetic strips that I think you're referring to (like fridge magnets?) are not that strong anyway. A steel-boxed pedal could probably be held in place with a suitably strong magnet, though things could get heavy, bulky or expensive depending on the types of magnets used. So, all in all, I think I'd stick to velcro. However, many an invention is the result of people rejecting the conventional and I doubt you'll do any damage to your pedals so it could be worth experimenting a bit - though I wouldn't recommend going to all the trouble of building a nice pedal board/case first. A bit of scrap wood would be a good starting point to test the concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burno70 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I think a magnet strong enough to hold pedals down - and not let them move around in transit - would weigh a tonne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 In transit, the pedals could be held in place by the foam padding of the pedal board lid. But I agree with your basic point about strong enough magnets weighing a tonne - well, half a tonne maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 What about digital pedals with memory chips. Are they cool with magnets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Check out neodymium magnets on ebay. They are tiny and fiendishly strong. They can be the size of the small rubber feet on some pedals. Just bought some 6mm neodymium magnets for another project (holding up curtains in my camper van). For example, a 6mm x 3mm disk shaped magnet has a pull of over a kilo. Not sure what they would do to the electronics though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 [quote name='Walker' post='1336359' date='Aug 11 2011, 01:06 PM']Check out neodymium magnets on ebay. They are tiny and fiendishly strong. They can be the size of the small rubber feet on some pedals. Just bought some 6mm neodymium magnets for another project (holding up curtains in my camper van). For example, a 6mm x 3mm disk shaped magnet has a pull of over a kilo. Not sure what they would do to the electronics though.[/quote] And in 6 months you can flip them for a profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Hard drive magents are very strong and pretty small. You can use 2 to remove those annoying red tabs in DVD cases if the shop forgets to take them off. That said, you would have to buy hard drives for this and each magnet would cost you £20 minimum.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 (edited) Even if you could get a magnet strong enough and light enough to secure your pedal without messing with the pedals [i]electronic [/i]you still would have to find a way to prevent them from sliding aside when you step on them... [i]edit: a forgot a word! [/i] Edited August 12, 2011 by Ghost_Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote name='cheddatom' post='1336270' date='Aug 11 2011, 11:49 AM']What about digital pedals with memory chips. Are they cool with magnets?[/quote] No problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I can't see any problems with magnets and digital circuits - as already mentioned, they coexist well enough in hard drives. But this all sounds like trying to build a better moustrap really. I'm sure it's possible, but what's the point when velcro is already a pretty good 'mousetrap'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1336760' date='Aug 11 2011, 05:35 PM']Hard drive magents are very strong and pretty small. You can use 2 to remove those annoying red tabs in DVD cases if the shop forgets to take them off. That said, you would have to buy hard drives for this and each magnet would cost you £20 minimum....[/quote] Or just stick an ad on Freecycle for dead hard drives, i bet you could get a few from computer shops too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote name='flyfisher' post='1337482' date='Aug 12 2011, 12:10 PM']I'm sure it's possible, but what's the point when velcro is already a pretty good 'mousetrap'?[/quote] I just happen to have lots of magnetic strip knocking around the house and a tin of magnetic paint from some project the kids were going to do that never materialised. I was just thinking aloud when I started the thread really, and wondered what other people thought. I still might give it a go when I've got some spare time. It won't have to be able to withstand loads of abuse as I don't gig anymore, it's just a way of keeping them all neat in one place rather than plugging & unplugging all the bloody things any time I want to use them. I also happen to hate Velcro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Let us know if it works out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote name='Johnston' post='1337486' date='Aug 12 2011, 12:12 PM']Do we want to know how you know that [/quote] I never tried it, just looked into it after Virgin and HMV both forgot to remove the tabs after I legitimately purchased Mad Men season 1 and Crysis. I had a spare HDD lying around but it wasn't dead so I didn't dismantle it, just took them back with the receipts and they removed them. Never seem to see the tabs these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.