Remembering pedal settings

[Killing Floor]

Really good idea and looks good too.

 

[Stumbo]

I use stickers with an arrow on the knobs themselves. Set the knobs how you want, and attach a sticker to each knob, with the arrow pointing up. If the knobs change, you adjust them. Yours is nicely organized.

I use oil-based paint pens/markers to do the same thing. Also to mark power supplies or just about anything else that needs something essentially permanent and easily renewable, if necessary.

 

[farace]

I’ve been meaning to go down to the hardware store and get some rubber washers to install under the knobs, figuring they’ll offer enough resistance to turning that settings can be kept, but allow changes if I want to. But you know, I always forget something when I go to the hardware store. Lately it’s been this.

 

[micguy]

Light grey gaff tape and sharpie:

 

[JimmyM]

I never have a problem remembering settings unless I haven't used a pedal in a good while. But if I didn't, I'd much rather have those little cards than tape up my pedals and scribble on them with a Sharpie. But me being too lazy to design little cards in Photoshop, I'd just take cell phone pics.

 

[Nev375]

I don't even try. What sounds good to me one day doesn't sound good to me the next. And the day after I might likely adjust things nearly back to where they were before. Thats why I keep my pedals on top of my amp where I can adjust them slightly to what I want to hear on a particular day.

I know. I'm weird and probably the only one.

 

[RabidMusic]

I know this is going to come across like an old man talking about walking 5 miles to school in the snow without shoes... ... ... but,

In the early 80's I was playing keys in a cover band. A digital piano, Hammond organ, and three synths. At the time nothing was programmable. One song I was using the MiniMoog to cover a sax solo and the next it was the Lucky Man square lead sound. Every song I was dialing in sounds on the synths, setting the drawbars on the organ, or adjusting effects for the electric piano. I managed this by knowing my instruments well enough to dial in sounds by site alone. I didn't know any keyboardists at the time that needed charts to dial in a sound, and we had A LOT more knobs than what you have on a pedal board. If you cannot zero out your pedal board and dial your sound back in just a few minutes, you don't know your equipment well enough.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

I know this is going to come across like an old man talking about walking 5 miles to school in the snow without shoes... ... ... but,

In the early 80's I was playing keys in a cover band. A digital piano, Hammond organ, and three synths. At the time nothing was programmable. One song I was using the MiniMoog to cover a sax solo and the next it was the Lucky Man square lead sound. Every song I was dialing in sounds on the synths, setting the drawbars on the organ, or adjusting effects for the electric piano. I managed this by knowing my instruments well enough to dial in sounds by site alone. I didn't know any keyboardists at the time that needed charts to dial in a sound, and we had A LOT more knobs than what you have on a pedal board. If you cannot zero out your pedal board and dial your sound back in just a few minutes, you don't know your equipment well enough.

LOL... I used to walk to school in the snow with no shoes "both ways".... to school and back home. It was rough up hill. Sorry I couldn't resist.

 

[JimmyM]

I know this is going to come across like an old man talking about walking 5 miles to school in the snow without shoes... ... ... but,

In the early 80's I was playing keys in a cover band. A digital piano, Hammond organ, and three synths. At the time nothing was programmable. One song I was using the MiniMoog to cover a sax solo and the next it was the Lucky Man square lead sound. Every song I was dialing in sounds on the synths, setting the drawbars on the organ, or adjusting effects for the electric piano. I managed this by knowing my instruments well enough to dial in sounds by site alone. I didn't know any keyboardists at the time that needed charts to dial in a sound, and we had A LOT more knobs than what you have on a pedal board. If you cannot zero out your pedal board and dial your sound back in just a few minutes, you don't know your equipment well enough.

LOL... I used to walk to school in the snow with no shoes "both ways".... to school and back home. It was rough up hill. Sorry I couldn't resist.

@RabidMusic , you have to admit that you had that coming

Do I agree with you? To a large degree, yes. Do some otherwise very smart people have trouble remembering stuff like that? Absolutely. Have I seen synths and keys with notes to the user written all over them? Maybe not so much with organ drawbars, but I've seen them all over synths and digital keyboards. I've seen close-up pics of Devo's keyboard setups, and Mark and Bob 2 wrote notes to themselves all over their keyboards. They're not the only ones, either.

 

[RabidMusic]

Well, there is always the option to use programmable devices. I like using a mix. Less settings to memorize.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I’ve always struggled with the settings of my pedals changing whenever I take my board somewhere. It’s always the same - when I remove my board from its bag, some settings have altered since I put it in.

I figured out a solution today. I recently needed a slightly bigger board, and upgraded from a Pedaltrain Nano to a Metro 16, which is wider, and has three rails instead of two. It turned out that I couldn’t make the pedal placements work the way I’d hoped to, so I ended up with an empty rail at the top.

Today it struck me that I could use that rail to make a note of the knob positions on each pedal, so I made some cards with my standard knob positions on the front, and velcro on the back. Whenever the knobs go out of alignment, or I want to make temporary adjustments, I can now return to the original positions in seconds, and if I should ever want to change the order of pedals, or swap one out, I can easily swap out the card as well.

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Great idea.

 

[JForest]

Use numeric pedal : boss, strymon, line6, ...
Every setting can be saved

 

[Cutter8]

I’ve been meaning to go down to the hardware store and get some rubber washers to install under the knobs, figuring they’ll offer enough resistance to turning that settings can be kept, but allow changes if I want to. But you know, I always forget something when I go to the hardware store. Lately it’s been this.

I think that’s a really good idea and will definitely be giving it a try.

 

[JakobT]

I know this is going to come across like an old man talking about walking 5 miles to school in the snow without shoes... ... ... but,

In the early 80's I was playing keys in a cover band. A digital piano, Hammond organ, and three synths. At the time nothing was programmable. One song I was using the MiniMoog to cover a sax solo and the next it was the Lucky Man square lead sound. Every song I was dialing in sounds on the synths, setting the drawbars on the organ, or adjusting effects for the electric piano. I managed this by knowing my instruments well enough to dial in sounds by site alone. I didn't know any keyboardists at the time that needed charts to dial in a sound, and we had A LOT more knobs than what you have on a pedal board. If you cannot zero out your pedal board and dial your sound back in just a few minutes, you don't know your equipment well enough.

Well - maybe just the tiniest bit.

And fair enough, I suppose. But everything is a learning process, and TBH, I’d rather write things down than trust to luck. Besides, if it’s good enough for Adrian Belew, it’s good enough for me.

 

[Richard Martin]

Me too.
But I also wrap rubber bands under knobs to aid in stopping them from moving easily.

I use rubber O rings to do the same thing.

 

[N4860]

I just use midi capable pedals which are all programmed for about 20 different patches so the knob positions don't actually matter.

 

[Winslow]

But me being too lazy to design little cards in Photoshop...

That's similar to something I do for some things. The Symetrix 528e mic processor's manual had a cool worksheet in it with a line drawing of the control panel, minus the knob position indicators. You could "save" settings for yourself and others just by making little hash marks and X's on the sheet. It was a good enough idea that I've adapted it to some other gear as well.

 

[Kro]

This one will destroy your pedals permanently. Avoid.

I think it's only the case for pedals with a certain type of etching. I've been using Setting Saver dots for years, and have wiped them off a reapplied in different places plenty of times with only minor wear to show for it:

I use it on my amp too.

 

[JakobT]

That's similar to something I do for some things. The Symetrix 528e mic processor's manual had a cool worksheet in it with a line drawing of the control panel, minus the knob position indicators. You could "save" settings for yourself and others just by making little hash marks and X's on the sheet. It was a good enough idea that I've adapted it to some other gear as well.

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I’ve seen some pedal manufacturers do this, and it’s probably what was at the back of my mind when I came up with my own solution. However, I wanted something that didn’t involve consulting a separate sheet, but could be seen directly on the board. Though the idea could be taken further by combining such a worksheet with a set list.

 

[Winslow]

Though the idea could be taken further by combining such a worksheet with a set list.

Hey, there's another good idea!

Your solution is very nice, btw. Looks both clean and effective!