Securing pedals to a board

[Martin E]

After many years of playing without any FX I've been taking a couple of pedals along to recent gigs

I bought a small Stagg pedal case came with the usual Velcro strip.

A couple of outings later the Velcro is firmly attached to the board but the pedals are rattling around in the case with the double sided tape attached to them but not the Velcro.

I know Velcro is the norm but it seems hopeless for this application. The double sided tape does not adhere sufficiently to the back of the Velcro.

Any better suggestions for fixing these things down?

[gilmour]

You can get velcro that is itself sticky, I bought industrial stuff off of ebay. Alternatively I've seen some people drill holes in their board then loop cable ties through.

[mike257]

I imagine the velcro that is included with pedal boards is cheap and cheerful stuff. You can buy heavy duty velcro from a couple of the big brands (Velcro, 3M) and a plethora of ebay sellers. An effects crazy guitarist I play with sometimes is a firm advocate of the "drill and cable tie" method because he doesn't have to stick anything to his pedals, pry the feet off etc, so they stay in better condition for when he inevitably sells them on for the next one!

Another option is using screw fasteners - Johnnyshredfreak.com sell kits to fit a wide variety of pedals. Basically they're little washers with two holes (like a number 8) and you remove the screws from the base of your pedal, screw them back in with these washers attached, then screw through the second hole on the washer into your board. In fact, here's a link: [url="http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=44"]http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=44[/url]

Plenty of options, sticky or otherwise!

[JakeBrownBass]

I've got a stagg case and the velcro that comes with it is useless. Get some proper heavy duty stuff for your pedals.

You can also use some heat to melt the glue to try and get a better grip.

[Martin E]

Thanks for the helpful advice chaps - the screw fasteners look interesting.

My knowledge of music technology does not extend to the finer points of Velcro I'm afraid.

[Al Heeley]

Even good heavy duty velcro for new pedals with plasticised rubber bases (Boss, Digitech,...) is useless as the plasticiser oil in the rubber will render the velcro adhesive useless in a short time.
Screw fastenings are a bit of a pain if, like me, you tend to swap out and juggle your pedals round every few weeks.

[icastle]

I just used evostick to fix the velcro to the pedals in the end - the stuff that comes with pedalboards is generally pretty poor.

[bertbass]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/0-5M-HEAVY-DUTY-50MM-WIDE-BLACK-VELCRO-STICKY-BACKED-/170708332160?pt=UK_Crafts_Sewing_Supplies_MJ&hash=item27bf026e80

[ezbass]

I have found that the problem is often that a heavy pedals Velcroed down come adrift when they're being jiggled around to and from your transport, this is what happened to me with my Diago case. My solution was to put foam in the lid so that when it's closed they are are firmly, but gently held in place. So far, so good.

[Al Heeley]

For me the Digitech pedals are the worst, there's so much plasticiser in the rubber base that even the really good heavy duty velcro strip won't stick long to them. The Boss board has foam cutouts so the pedals fit snugly in without needing further fixing. The foam-lined case keeps them in place when transporting.