Pedals that slip away

[TaurusT]

What do you do against it?

 

I've already tried glueing a rubber pad beneath one, which fixed it for a week. Now the pad is full with dust again and it slides like a snowboard.

 

Ideas?

[Dave Horne]

I don't have that problem anymore but I can pass on a material that works well. I don't know the name of the stuff but you can buy in a roll and it is advertised to keep your wallet, mobile phone or keys from sliding around on the dash of your car while driving.

 

I can buy it here in the Netherlands so I'm sure you have it also. If you can't find it after asking at your local hardware store, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a piece large enough for your pedal. The stuff is not that expensive and even if it lasts a few jobs it won't break the bank.

 

What I also did in the past was to mount the pedal on a flat piece of wood (or floor panelling - the stuff that clicks together). The keyboard stand, the chair or my other foot kept the piece of wood from sliding.

 

You could also use a piece of carpet padding. I have a lot of rubber type carpet padding left over that I'm sure would work. They are a lot of solutions once you start thinking about this. I also remember using duct tape on jobs to keep the pedal in place.

 

My QuikLok Monolith keyboard stand physically prevents the sustain pedal from moving so the problem is now nonexistent.

[guestuserguestuser.com]

Originally posted by TaurusT:

What do you do against it?

Buy a Roland DP-10 pedal. It has the rubber 'foot anchor' built in. You just fold it out, it goes under your heel. When your finished, you fold it back under the pedal again. Brilliant, you'd think all pedals would be made this way.

 

Here's an ad for one:

 

DP-10

 

The DP-10 replaces the old version of this pedal, called DP-6, if you can find one of those, it's pretty much the same thing. The difference is that the DP-6 was a momentary (on/off) switch, which used to be the way all sustain pedals were implemented a few years ago. Now, some pianos offer 'half-pedalling', which requires a continuous controller. IOW, the DP-10 can do half-pedalling, the DP-6 can't.

[Dave Horne]

Floyd, you know I had one of those pedals for many years before I understood what that extra piece of rubber was for. Boy did I feel dumb when I finally stumbled onto its design.

[resigned]

My Ultimate V-Stand solved the problem for me. The pedal has nowhere to go. Quiklok seems to have gone out of business so you might not be able to find the Monolith stand that Dave Horne suggested.

 

http://images.music123.com/products/full/Ultimate/156332.jpg

[DirtyRubberDuck]

There's an ad in Keyboard mag for pad from Creepnomore that holds our pedal. Looks simple and durable, but I don'thave one myself. Check it out at:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Creepnomore-NonSlip-Pedal-Base?sku=159800&src=00633

 

DRD

[eric]

Might I suggest a bonafide pedal board? They are not just for guitarists, you know. This is what I use:

 

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/eslawson/pedals_1.JPG

 

All the pedals are velcroed in place so they are right where I want them to be, night after night. I have some velcro on the bottom to help it stay on my oriental rug and also have rubber feet if I use it on a wood stage. My pedal board has velcro straps to attach it to my keyboard stand, though I don't often need to use them.

 

Read this thread for even more inspiration. Hope this helps.

 

Pedal Management

 

Regards,

Eric

[JeffLearman]

I use a very simple solution that you don't have to be very handy to use. I just drill little holes in the pedals and string 'em together, with a loop at each end to slide over my X-stand's feet.

 

I'll post a pic later, maybe.

 

Instead of string, I use insulated wire -- actually, it's failed cables I've replaced from various pedals over the years.

 

The trickiest part is probably tying good knots, but as a sailor that's 2nd nature for me (bowline on one end, a loop with 2 half-hitches on the other end so I can adjust for different widths).

 

Other than that, it's just threaded through. For packup, I just roll 'em up and stuff 'em in my gear bag.

 

I like gear bags -- just giveaway bags from conventions & stuff -- because I can sort gear based on which stuff stays in the car and which stuff stays home and a 3rd bag for when I use optional gear. But I can still grab all the handles in one hand, so it's all just 1/2 trip. This isn't recommended for the band van though: I cart my own gear and can always stick the bags where they won't spill.

[Blue JC]

I also use a pedal board. All of the pedals are always where I expect them to be and it really cuts down on set-up and tear-down time.

 

I have three expession pedals on the left and two sustain pedals, leslie speed switch and program change switch on the right. The board is hinged in the middle so I just unplug everything, fold it in half and stick the whole thing in my cord box.

[MidLifeCrisis]

I adopted Eric's suggestion about a year ago and it has worked out great for me. It is not only effective in keeping pedals from slipping but it also helps in keeping things organized for packing. I highly recommend it.

[ABECK]

Originally posted by learjeff:

I use a very simple solution that you don't have to be very handy to use. I just drill little holes in the pedals and string 'em together, with a loop at each end to slide over my X-stand's feet.

Good solution - didn't the Yamaha Electric Grands use a similar technique, but with a chain attached to each of the front legs?

[MusicaL]

This what I did, and if you're not a handy person, like me, it's the easiest and simplest way to do it.

 

I bought a front door mat (about 2' by 3') that I'll describe as "industrial". It's rubberized on the bottom but has some sort of synthetic fabric on the top. I also bought some velcro strips. I attached one side of the velcro to my pedals and didn't need to attach the other side to the mat because the mat itself functioned as the other side of the velcro... and voila!!! I don't have to chase my pedals anymore!!!

 

aL

[Chris Link]

My pedals all have rubber feet, so it usually isn't a problem, but once in a while, they want to slide around on certain surfaces. Lacking anything else, I thought of using a floor mat from the 4Runner. It's carpet on top and nubby rubber on the bottom and didn't move at all. Depending on your stand and floor mat, you may be able to pin it under the feet of your stand.

 

Plus, you've always got one with you in the car.

[Bridog6996]

Duct tape works for me. I have that problem with my sustain pedal, but I just throw a strip of duct tape across the top and it's good for the whole night.

[DaveMcM]

Originally posted by DirtyRubberDuck:

There's an ad in Keyboard mag for pad from Creepnomore that holds our pedal. Looks simple and durable, but I don'thave one myself. Check it out at:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Creepnomore-NonSlip-Pedal-Base?sku=159800&src=00633

 

DRD

Absolutely. http://www.creepnomore.com/foot%20up%20with%20border%203x1.5.jpg

 

I thought it was a stupid idea when it was first presented to me, but then I tried it and it does just what it needs to do. The material is thick felt instead of rubber or some other sticky material which is cool because it is long enough that if you do get rambunctious and push the pedal away from you it is easy to slide it back into place with your heal. Plus you are not locked into having the pedal in one position all night like in the past when I did the roll of duct tape under the pedal trick (I go between standing and sitting on a tall stool and it's nice to be able to re-position the pedal at will).

 

Dave

[Dave Horne]

For $ 14.95 I'll make my own from rubber carpet padding. Great idea though.

[Krakit]

I've been doing the half velcro on carpet thing for years, but I'm contemplating the guitarist's pedal board thing. I like the idea that my pedals will remain in a road worthy case, in the positions that I like them in forever.

 

My only concern is the spread. I use both feet for my copious amount of pedals. I currenlty have them spread out in a crescent shape. I don't know if I could get used to a straight across or even broken creascent (from using two pedal boards).

 

Only one way to find out, I suppose.

 

Carl

[BluesKeys]

I just take off my right shoe. Since I sit it is no problem. If a pedal starts to walk I just slide it back in place with my toes over the end. No need for extra apparatus. And the bonus is I have even had people come up and say "you must be a REAL organist since you take your shoe off." I guess they couldn't tell by my playing so it's good to give them hints.

[Sandy Hemenway]

I use a different approach - literally.

 

I've got an X-stand, and unlike the V-stand mentioned above, I was having problems with my pedal running away. So, I just moved the pedal all the way to the right, so it's nuzzled up against the right foot of the X-stand.

 

Since the pedal is off to the right, I have to turn my pedal foot outward reach it, which makes the pressure I'm applying forced the pedal into the stand. It'll still shift slightly from time to time, and it took a few tries to get comfortable with pedaling perpendicular, but so far it's worked fine on all surfaces for me.

[DanL]

I used a pedal board for a long time, but with the pedals attached, it wasn't very versatile for using different setups. I never had much luck with the sticky part of the velcro staying attached to the wood of the pedalboard, or if you attached it too good, then it'd just rip off the wood.

 

Now I have a piece of indoor outdoor carpet that I have velcro stuck in the areas where I have pedals,and I put small pieces of velcro on the pedal bottoms. This way, they stay put but the velcro isn't attached so much that you can't peel them up off the carpet. The carpet is about 2.5' x 1' and rolls up and goes into my little suitcase I use for my cables and stuff.

[JeffLearman]

I just take off my right shoe. Since I sit it is no problem.

Having shared the stage with Jim, I can attest that it's no problem for him. Jim, are those your lucky socks or something?

[Mike Davis]

Speaking of socks, how 'bout those argyles?

[DaveMcM]

Originally posted by Mike Davis:

Speaking of socks, how 'bout those argyles?

I assure you that is not my foot.

 

Dave

[wjwilcox]

I tried the Creepnomore pad. Utterly useless. Wouldn't roll out flat and slid all over a wooden stage. Don't waste your money on it.

 

I got a commercial carpet sample, cut a slot in it to fit around the bottom tube of my X-stand to keep it still, then put velcro on the bottom of my sustain pedal. Works just fine.

Originally posted by DirtyRubberDuck:

There's an ad in Keyboard mag for pad from Creepnomore that holds our pedal. Looks simple and durable, but I don'thave one myself. Check it out at:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Creepnomore-NonSlip-Pedal-Base?sku=159800&src=00633

 

DRD

[soundscape]

Originally posted by DaveMcM:

Originally posted by Mike Davis:

Speaking of socks, how 'bout those argyles?

I assure you that is not my foot

On initially seeing the picture I thought it *was* your foot from having watched the GEM 'DRAKE physical modelling technology' video (the shoes are the same colour) ... but it occurred to me that you couldn't possibly have gone to the effort of taking that photo just for this thread.

[DaveMcM]

Originally posted by soundscape:

Originally posted by DaveMcM:

Originally posted by Mike Davis:

Speaking of socks, how 'bout those argyles?

I assure you that is not my foot

On initially seeing the picture I thought it *was* your foot from having watched the GEM 'DRAKE physical modelling technology' video (the shoes are the same colour) ... but it occurred to me that you couldn't possibly have gone to the effort of taking that photo just for this thread.

Oh really...

http://www.generalmusic.us/WDMpersonalpics/Oh_Really.jpg

lol,

 

Dave

[BluesKeys]

b

Originally posted by learjeff:

I just take off my right shoe. Since I sit it is no problem.

Having shared the stage with Jim, I can attest that it's no problem for him. Jim, are those your lucky socks or something?

I'll say, maybe even Great Sox. Thanks for introducing me to Cathryn. I was in Hillsborough last Tuesday night but she and I decided not to go to the blues jam.

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by The Pro:

My Ultimate V-Stand solved the problem for me. The pedal has nowhere to go. Quiklok seems to have gone out of business so you might not be able to find the Monolith stand that Dave Horne suggested.

 

http://images.music123.com/products/full/Ultimate/156332.jpg

Don't all your pedals end up in a heap in the middle?

 

I really need to get organized. I use up to five pedals. (left to right - bottom board vol, Leslie, bottom sustain, top vol, (opt) Wah. I have a WS550 stand so there' room down there. But last week I got to a Sunday afternoon gig and found I have left my stand in Saturday night's venue (got it back later thank goodness) and had to use and X stand with no room at all - had to put the volume pedals outside the legs.

 

Eric - it must be nice to have dainty feet. I don't think I could work those pedals that close together.

 

Dave McM - how do you mean that's not your foot - you let other people wear your socks?