Is it on? Can’t see the lights.

[Cliff Edge]

Playing outside gigs in the sunshine is great. But if you’ve got pedals at your feet it’s often impossible to see the power lights. 
So any creative ideas to overcome this or do we just have to stand on one foot and use the other to try and shade the pedal to see if its on?
 

[Franticsmurf]

I've never encountered that problem but I'm thinking a shallow collar of gaffa tape or card to shade the LED? I guess it depends on the pedal layout. 

 

[SteveXFR]

If you're in Britain, just wait 5 minutes and it'll be overcast and drizzle again.

[Downunderwonder]

Depending on the brightness of the LED and the sun it might be just enough to surround the LED with black tape. I know this is not enough for some LED eg Samsamp BDDI deluxe which is already black, so it's a bit of a longshot but lots of  LED are painfully bright indoors so maybe you get lucky.

 

Otherwise you'll have to rig some shade. If a general hood over the board doesn't give you enough darkness you'll have to shade individual LED with little tunnels to view down. Line the bottom cm with aluminium foil and the rest black for a boost in the effective viewable angle.

[Nail Soup]

Should be easy to design a simple doohickey with a light sensitive resistor on the led which has a small circuit attached which controls a stepper motor to move a small flag into an up or down position.

Or just make a shade like suggested above.

[Bolo]

A simple beach shelter will keep the sun off your pedals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lady can easily tell you whether they're on or not.

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Bolo

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

If it is a fuzz pedal you can tell when it is on as the bass will sound like a flatulent elephant—but in a good way. I hope this helps.

[toneknob]

1 hour ago, Bolo said:

A simple beach shelter will keep the sun off your pedals.

 

 

My bandmates often tell me something about a wind break, it all makes sense now

 

[Dood]

Here's a few I've seen over the years:

 

Chad Boston does a bunch of stuff:

https://www.gearbyceba.com/line6-family-international/helix-sun-shield-splash-guards-int

 

Get someone to 3D print a little cover:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272238438718

 

Using your pedal board over as a shield:

https://imgur.com/a6FJ1He

[Doctor J]

If you can't hear the difference, do you really need the effect?

[Cliff Edge]

21 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

If you can't hear the difference, do you really need the effect?

No but it’s good to know it’s on before you start the song. 

[Doctor J]

You could replace the LEDs in your pedals with higher intensity versions which would be easier to see in daylight. It's fairly straightforward if you can wield a soldering iron.

[Bolo]

1 hour ago, Doctor J said:

If you can't hear the difference, do you really need the effect?

I'm using the booster solely for confidence 

[bass_dinger]

3 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

 . . .   the bass will sound like a flatulent elephant—but in a good way. I hope this helps.

My bandmates often tell me something about a break wind - it all makes scents now . . .

 

 

[Cliff Edge]

28 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

You could replace the LEDs in your pedals with higher intensity versions which would be easier to see in daylight. It's fairly straightforward if you can wield a soldering iron.

Yes. Probably the best solution. 

[Doctor J]

Adding a piece of white insulating tape over the LED would subdue it nicely for indoor shows, too.

[Grahambythesea]

Just go old school and plug straight into the amp.

[musicbassman]

Just leave the important ones on all the time, problem solved.

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by musicbassman