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Cable Dressing the underside of a pedalboard


Stylon Pilson
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About 6 months ago my collection of pedals grew to the extent that it was no longer practical to be connecting them up at the start of each gig, and disconnecting them at the end. I needed a board!

It's coming along nicely, and my latest acquisition is a rechargeable power supply which just about fits into the underside, however there's a wodge of surplus cable that I want to tidily and securely tuck into the negative space beneath the board.

Any suggestions on how to go about doing this?

Thanks,

S.P.

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I use double sided Velcro, 10mm wide, great for keeping everything tidy, when I bought the heavy duty Velcro to build my board I was left with loads of the "hook" Velcro left over, so i'v stuck some to the underside of the board and then used the double sided Velcro to hold down cables.



Matt

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Yeah the velcro tip is great.

Can use double sided as Matt said above or if you have loads of adhesive velcro left over just stick to bits together (sticky side to sticky side) and cut out strips from that as needed, ive always got tons of velcro left over so i usually just use that up.

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Thanks for all the advice. I did a first pass at trying to get everything neatly arranged this morning using velcro (I've got double-sided and also sticky-backed), but was struggling to get enough contact area for it to hold securely. I think I just need to be a bit more imaginative in how I put it together.

S.P.

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[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1455025965' post='2975136']
Yeah - can be difficult when not much contact area available.
Any possibilty you'd be okay to drill through some small holes to mechanically fix cable management fixings - P clips etc ?
[/quote]

Possible, but for now I'm applying my mind to alternate methods of deploying velcro. I have a cunning plan, and I'm actually quite impatient to get home so I can try it out.

S.P.

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If I don't want to drill an anchor point, I like these:

[Img]http://images2.cableorganizer.com/adhesive-clips-bases/images/01-adhesive-base_red-cable-tie.jpg" class="ipsImage" />

However, I don't know if you can get them with a big enough slot for Velcro.

Edit: You can get them large enough to take a variety of Velcro widths. The generic term for them seems to be Grip Tie Mounts. I could do with some myself.

Edited by KingBollock
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[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1455029724' post='2975184']
If I don't want to drill an anchor point, I like these:



However, I don't know if you can get them with a big enough slot for Velcro.

Edit: You can get them large enough to take a variety of Velcro widths. The generic term for them seems to be Grip Tie Mounts. I could do with some myself.
[/quote]

Those type of cable tie bases are good but there's still the issue of the adhesion not always being strong enough. Depends on the surface you're sticking it to but I've experienced them failing over time/temperature on steel and aluminium (vertically mounted so dropping off). But with silicon sealant applied round the edge as adhesive they have performed well.

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[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1455037373' post='2975291']
Those type of cable tie bases are good but there's still the issue of the adhesion not always being strong enough. Depends on the surface you're sticking it to but I've experienced them failing over time/temperature on steel and aluminium (vertically mounted so dropping off). But with silicon sealant applied round the edge as adhesive they have performed well.
[/quote]
I've had the exact opposite problem with them, I keep putting them in the wrong place and they're a right pain to get off again! And then I have to use new sticky pads to put them back on.

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[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1455045325' post='2975412']
I've had the exact opposite problem with them, I keep putting them in the wrong place and they're a right pain to get off again! And then I have to use new sticky pads to put them back on.
[/quote]

Well they do stick well at first (generalising here as I dare say different manufacturers and adhesive formulations may perform differently) but have a tendency to fail over time if used on vertical surfaces (or 'upside down' I guess) if extra adhesion not used.

But yeah - the residue left behind if yo remove them when they are stuck well can be a pain to remove - IPA / White Spirit etc

Edited by rmorris
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I really like the look of the little self-adhesive squares for mounting cable ties. I might consider that for some point in the future. For now, this is what I've come up with:



...and a close up of each affixment:



There's a fairly large piece of self-adhesive fluffiness stuck to the board itself. I then use a loop of double-sided velcro (hook side outwards) to wrap the cluster of cables along with a large piece of double-sided velcro (also hook side outwards). This then means I've got a decent-sized contact area between the two large pieces. Everything's holding up quite nicely.

The only gripe I have now is that the power supply isn't as securely supported as I'd like. I'm worried that I might be packing away at the end of a gig, and the power supply will just fall off and I'll forget about it. I'll figure something out.

S.P.

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[quote name='AustinArto' timestamp='1455575531' post='2980459']
Main thing: Try not to run power cables alongside audio cables. It can cause noise problems even with well-shielded cables and unless you've thought about it you might not realise.
[/quote]

I'm conscious of this, and since all the signal lines are on the top and the power lines below, it shouldn't be an issue. That said, effects pedals draw a very low current, so it's not going to be as big a problem as if you were wiring up, say, a home recording studio.

S.P.

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