Members markmann Posted June 12, 2006 Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 I thought I'd share some info for those who may have wondered about this. There are obviously many ways to attach pedals to a pedalboard but in my case I change my arrangement often so need a method that allows interchangeability. In the past I've used metal tabs that scewed into the pedal and then to the board, I've used straps and even scewed effects down directly but I ended up with velcro as the best method so far. That said I know that many folks use the short indoor/outdoor loop or carpet designed for speaker cabinets and claim to have had good results. I also know that certain pedalboard manufacturers use similar carpet for attaching pedals but I've been skeptical of how good it really is so I did a little test over the weekend. I compared veltex, AKA velcro loop material against several carpets that people have said worked well. The best of the bunch I tried was from Home Depot and is sold as indoor/outdoor and comes in three colors - gray, blue and green. For the test I used a piece of standard 3/4 inch hook material from the local hardware and stuck it to the carpet as well as the veltex. Both stuck and held very well. I then pulled off and restuck in the same spot over and over while counting. What I found was that after repeating the attach and unattach process to the carpet there was a very noticable decrease in holding power after ten times. After fifteen times there was almost no holding power at all. When I performed the same process with the Veltex it never lost it's holding power even after approximately 30 times and is where I stopped. So I concluded that whether I'm going to plunk down my hard earned cash to buy a board or spend my valuably time to build one it's going to have Veltex on it. I know that Velcro hook and loop can be expensive but if you look around you can find the Veltex material in sheet form relatively cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpectralJulian Posted June 12, 2006 Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 I got 25 feet of velcro hook and loop sew on rolls. I just layed a bunch of strips down on my board and glued them down, then nailed them in 3 places for additional security. Works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nedsteve Posted June 12, 2006 Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 Sounds like very thorough testing. Thanks for the heads up, I'm am in the process of building a pedal board now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 12, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 Originally posted by SpectralJulian I got 25 feet of velcro hook and loop sew on rolls. I just layed a bunch of strips down on my board and glued them down, then nailed them in 3 places for additional security. Works well. My current home-made board has strips too and works very good, but I'm ready to build a new one and I'm thinking of going the one piece route this time... just for looks really. This will be my third and each time I try to refine and improve. If I hadn't found a place that sells Velcro loop in sheet form I'd be using strips again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 12, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 Originally posted by nedsteve Sounds like very thorough testing. Thanks for the heads up, I'm am in the process of building a pedal board now. You're welcome. I hope this info comes in handy and good luck with the project. I've got a bit of experience and resources so if you have questions fire away because I'd be happy to help if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members comfortablynumb Posted June 12, 2006 Members Share Posted June 12, 2006 When I built my latest board I covered it completely with Industiral Strength Velcro. It was kind of expensive, but it works great. My pedals are sometimes pretty darn hard to get off of there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by comfortablynumb When I built my latest board I covered it completely with Industiral Strength Velcro. It was kind of expensive, but it works great. My pedals are sometimes pretty darn hard to get off of there. Yeah, that's one downside of covering the entire surface, you have to limit the amount of hook material that you put on the pedal or it will stick TOO good. At least you'll know that your pedals won't come loose duing transport... I hate when that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Tweedbucket Posted June 13, 2006 Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 I always put the fuzz on the pedal and the hooks on the board, that way if you want to use the pedal separate sometime, it doesn't grab carpet and hang on for dear life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Dr. Tweedbucket I always put the fuzz on the pedal and the hooks on the board, that way if you want to use the pedal separate sometime, it doesn't grab carpet and hang on for dear life I would prefer that as well but AFAIK Veltex (Velcro loop)is the only Velcro type product that comes in sheet form so if I want to cover the entire surface of the board I'm forced to put the hook on the pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nedsteve Posted June 13, 2006 Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Markmann, where did you get the Veltex. Was it local in Michigan or did you order online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lorax Posted June 13, 2006 Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 I used cheap black automotive carpet you can get for 69 cents a Sq ft from Menards.... Never once has a pedal fall off it even carrying the board upside down.....You have to pull up hard to remove them - but not so hard it was a chore. Never had a problem with holding power over many times of use/changes....But at that price - it doesnt matter anyways. three bucks to cover a good sized board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by nedsteve Markmann, where did you get the Veltex. Was it local in Michigan or did you order online? I don't know of any local dealers but I found this place where you can buy it in one yard ammounts at a very reasonable price:http://www.augresources.com/vindex.html?cat4.htm I haven't bought mine yet but this is where I'll order from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Lorax I used cheap black automotive carpet you can get for 69 cents a Sq ft from Menards....Never once has a pedal fall off it even carrying the board upside down.....You have to pull up hard to remove them - but not so hard it was a chore. Never had a problem with holding power over many times of use/changes....But at that price - it doesnt matter anyways. three bucks to cover a good sized board. No argument from me, carpet will work fine if you don't rearrange your pedals often. In my case I don't want to be re-carpetiing my board every few months, that's why I did the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nedsteve Posted June 13, 2006 Members Share Posted June 13, 2006 Thanks for the link markmann:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markmann Posted June 14, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 14, 2006 Originally posted by nedsteve Thanks for the link markmann:thu: No prob. Check back in and let us know how things worked out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ed reed Posted June 14, 2006 Members Share Posted June 14, 2006 I got this scrape of indoor outdoor carpet and gorilla glued it to this home made board. It works great and you can move the pedals around any way you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -todgemistro- Posted June 14, 2006 Members Share Posted June 14, 2006 I'm skeptical about velcro as last time I pulled a pedal off which was velcro'd down (this was cheap velcro aswell) it pulled up the bloody carpetty stuff of the bottom, meaning I had to glue it back down and now the corner looks {censored}.. Now I am using the bike chain type method (used like the metal tabs that you can get, Mounty or something) and it works really well, them pedals aint moving without my permission Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.