Sustain pedal slides on hardwood floor

[Delaware Dave]

Once again, turn the damn pedal 90 degrees so it is sideways.  Done.  No gaffer tape, no mats, nothing additional to add......

[ewall08530]

15 hours ago, Krakit said:

I used to use a smaller mat for the same solution and I have 7 pedals that I regularly use on gigs. Works great.  

The beauty of this solution is:

*it works with any pedal that you can attach velcro to, including the light weight Roland Expression pedals. On band gigs I have 2 sustain and 2 expression pedals.  
*the rug looks great on beautiful floorings at events as well as that greasy, don’t touch it, floor in the corner of the bar that is your stage tonight.  (try getting gaffer’s tape to stick to that disgusting surface).
*the rug gets rolled up and a small bungy holds it, and it fits under your arm leaving your hand free to carry something else like a tabletop stand. 

In all fairness, the drummer in my band suggested this solution. 👏🏻👏🏻

[Stokely]

yep, I'd be bringing my rug even if I had no pedals.   One more bit of cushioning for the dogs and it looks nice on stage.  Helps a bit with things shifting in the back of my vehicle too    I wouldn't say it's quite to the "how'd I ever gig without this?" level, like my cart and my lasko fan, but I consider it part of my rig.  

The bandleader has a great big one that sometimes gets brought out, it creates a "stage" in places where there isn't one.  Not that often though since he's bringing the entire PA  

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, Delaware Dave said:

Once again, turn the damn pedal 90 degrees so it is sideways.  Done.  No gaffer tape, no mats, nothing additional to add......

 

I applaud your foot technique if this works for you. The homemade chain setup I posted earlier is what I use for local gigs, but with AWB I use your 90 degree method (due to the angle of the Apex's legs), and am constantly readjusting the pedal! What's your secret? 🙂 

 

(The leg stops the pedal moving forward but it always winds up going sideways!)

 

[Rodan88]

I share everyone's pain!

 

I really wish I could turn a pedal 90° and be "done," but in my experience, both large piano-style pedals and small square pedals will not stay put on a smooth surface, no matter how they're oriented.  YMMV, and I certainly don't doubt those who say it works for them.

 

Like some others have mentioned, my solution is to use black gaffer's tape.  A few pieces will do it, and years of practice have taught me the best taping strategies for pedals of varying sizes and designs.  

 

Here in NYC, I get special compact rolls of gaffer's tape at a great place called Set Shop, which sells supplies for stage/TV/film sets.  Here's a link to the product I use - 2" x 10 yards. 

 

https://setshop.com/pro-gaffers-tape-black-2-x-10-yds/

 

It's a bit pricey, but a roll lasts a long time, and fits handily in the pocket of any keyboard gig bag.  I've not found a similar size elsewhere.  I keep a roll in each of my bags (7 or 8 of them floating around my apartment at the moment)!  Help!

[elif]

non-slip shelf liner, also comes in black

 

[obxa]

Been chasing  damn pedals my whole life!!

 

I carry a huge roll of the  waffle shelf liner  stuff Chopped Ham posted. Brilliant for keeping keyboards from sliding on the stand,  or positioning  a Nano controller or ipad  on top a keyboard.  Works great  holding a pedal  carpet, riser carpet,  and tile- but on many  shiny theater -stage floors not so well.  I have bamboo floors in my studio and it's the same thing.  Have resorted using a hand weight. 

 

Gaffers works.  My problem is I never remember to tape my pedal(s) until I start the first song.😉   I do the side pedal thing Piano Chuck invented;  works somewhat better than nothing but still scoots.  

 

On my road rig, I carry a small 6x8 Persian looking carpet (if the venue isn't already doing it) looks vibey, and works better for the keyboard stands, and  the shelf liner works great there.   I can't do a pedal board because my rig is always different, and my pedals are pretty wide apart. 

 

 

 

I often wondered if there was a way to do a suspended pedal like real pianos and digital pianos use?   I like the chain idea!

[Reezekeys]

I like my homemade chain approach mostly because it adds virtually nothing to the schlep, but it also takes seconds to thread though the legs of my stand and doesn't care what kind of floor the stage is. Rugs, mats, weights... not for me, then again my little x-stand seemed to have the ideal design & geometry to make it work. I couldn't do this with an Apex stand like I usually get on the road. I don't bring my own sustain pedal with me on the road anyway (just an emergency small footswitch pedal). The pedal I get does slide around and it's annoying but I deal with it. I think I'll try the small piece of shelf liner or sticky material, although I wonder - don't those get pretty funky after a few gigs? I guess you can wash them.

[EscapeRocks]

I rolled my own pedal board years ago.

Works great

 

 

 

[DJkeys]

On 12/26/2022 at 2:30 PM, ChoppedHam said:

non-slip shelf liner, also comes in black

 

I use this stuff for everything, including on top of my rack so my speaker doesn't slide.  It is right up there with duct tape and velcro. Always have a roll of black in the house-

 

-dj

[DovJ]

On 12/25/2022 at 12:00 AM, cassdad said:

Folks:  This is the easiest and best solution, really works great, sincerely.  (I have no financial interest in it, just a musical one.). https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/cool-tool-creep-no-more/

 

 

Follow On:  UGH, I’ve tried to find it for sale, and I cannot seem to find it anywhere.  Don’t know if covid killed the company or what?….  Also, to those reviewers who said it didn’t work, I would respond that they do not know how to correctly use a sustain pedal.  The reason this works so well is that the downward weight of your heal keeps it in place under your foot, wherever your foot goes.  Works wonderfully for me.  YMMV.d

 

Seconding this. The downward force of your heal really keeps this in place on my tile floor and has for 4 years.

 

Shame it’s no longer available.

 

 

[Tom Williams]

Rug is good.

 

I use a pro-grade 6'x4' rubber-bottomed entry mat (~$50) when I play out, and have lined the bottoms of my pedals with self-adhesive 40-grit sandpaper. 

The mat gives me consistent standing texture on wood, concrete, carpeting, and grass surfaces.  Plus it's electrically insulated.

I would also use the mat at home if I didn't already have a rug on the music room floor. 

[Joe Muscara]

heal | hēl | verb [with object] (of a person or treatment) cause (a wound, injury, or person) to become sound or healthy again: his concern is to heal sick people. • [no object] become sound or healthy again: he would have to wait until his knee had healed. • alleviate (a person's distress or anguish): time can heal the pain of grief. • correct or put right (an undesirable situation): the rift between them was never really healed.

 

heel | hēl | noun the back part of the human foot below the ankle. • the back part of the foot in vertebrate animals. • the part of a shoe or boot supporting the heel: shoes with low heels. • the part of a sock covering the heel. • (heels) high-heeled shoes.

 

Now, where's that "pedant" emoji?