Securing your pedal settings?

[el murdoque]

What do you people do to secure your pedal settings?

I usually have around 7 to 10 pedals on my board, and I simply make use of my good memory. when I counted knobs, I ended up at 30. I know the setting of every knob, but with some, there will be an audible difference if it the setting is changed by a tiny fraction. My Cali76 comp for instance needs to be set exactly. This is also one of those pedals that will be all over the place when I put my pedalboard in its case and take it to rehearsals or gigs. I did find a small business in Austria named Peacepoti. They offer sets that will replace your existing knobs, all in all that looks promising.

The idea is that the silver metal part is fixed and will not turn. To turn the knob, you need to turn the black, inner part with can only be accessed from the top - easiest by inserting a screw driver or guitar pick or credit card ...


...speaking of credit cards - the metal version is €24 for a set of 2 and the plastic version is €14, so I'm looking at spending €225 if I want to go cheap and €350 if I want to go premium (or something around 300 if I want to mix it up, the plastic ones are black and the metal ones are silver.).



I'm no stranger to spending a premium on a feature in order to gain a certain amount of convenience, but this seems rather excessive.
Pedals changing their settings upon transport should be a common problem and I think that others have solutions other than marking the knob positions with sharpie or tape.

 

[furym]

I use a liquid chalk pen. $2 and comes off with a little alcohol wipe. I can change on the fly if I need to and it only takes a moment to scan the board for moved knobs and make adjustments if needed.

 

[Snaxster]

What do you people do to secure your pedal settings?

I usually have around 7 to 10 pedals on my board, and I simply make use of my good memory. when I counted knobs, I ended up at 30. I know the setting of every knob, but with some, there will be an audible difference if it the setting is changed by a tiny fraction. My Cali76 comp for instance needs to be set exactly. This is also one of those pedals that will be all over the place when I put my pedalboard in its case and take it to rehearsals or gigs. I did find a small business in Austria named Peacepoti. They offer sets that will replace your existing knobs, all in all that looks promising.

The idea is that the silver metal part is fixed and will not turn. To turn the knob, you need to turn the black, inner part with can only be accessed from the top - easiest by inserting a screw driver or guitar pick or credit card ...


...speaking of credit cards - the metal version is €24 for a set of 2 and the plastic version is €14, so I'm looking at spending €225 if I want to go cheap and €350 if I want to go premium (or something around 300 if I want to mix it up, the plastic ones are black and the metal ones are silver.).



I'm no stranger to spending a premium on a feature in order to gain a certain amount of convenience, but this seems rather excessive.
Pedals changing their settings upon transport should be a common problem and I think that others have solutions other than marking the knob positions with sharpie or tape.

Some prior discussions of this are here:

Remembering pedal settings

How do you keep your pedal settings (faders/knobs) locked in?

Preserving pedal settings in a soft case

Label Pedal Settings

Why put strips of tape over pedal settings?

 

[el murdoque]

funny thing - I consider myself a regular in the effects forum, yet all these threads went past me without notice.
I'll try the O Ring method first and just ordered a pack off ebay.
Spending 2.99 sounds much more reasonable than spending 299.

 

[Nephilymbass]

What do you people do to secure your pedal settings?

I usually have around 7 to 10 pedals on my board, and I simply make use of my good memory. when I counted knobs, I ended up at 30. I know the setting of every knob, but with some, there will be an audible difference if it the setting is changed by a tiny fraction. My Cali76 comp for instance needs to be set exactly. This is also one of those pedals that will be all over the place when I put my pedalboard in its case and take it to rehearsals or gigs. I did find a small business in Austria named Peacepoti. They offer sets that will replace your existing knobs, all in all that looks promising.

The idea is that the silver metal part is fixed and will not turn. To turn the knob, you need to turn the black, inner part with can only be accessed from the top - easiest by inserting a screw driver or guitar pick or credit card ...


...speaking of credit cards - the metal version is €24 for a set of 2 and the plastic version is €14, so I'm looking at spending €225 if I want to go cheap and €350 if I want to go premium (or something around 300 if I want to mix it up, the plastic ones are black and the metal ones are silver.).



I'm no stranger to spending a premium on a feature in order to gain a certain amount of convenience, but this seems rather excessive.
Pedals changing their settings upon transport should be a common problem and I think that others have solutions other than marking the knob positions with sharpie or tape.

I currently only have two analog pedals(Cali76 and Darkglass X) Everything else is digital and uses presets so it’s pretty simple to remember. I’ve seen all kinds of tricks used for this. Marking the pedals with something that’s removable. Using little dot stickers and just making sure the knobs are pointed towards the stickers. with some pedals I’ve seen people that will find a setting they like and take the knobs off and put them back on so all the knobs are at noon. Of course that only works with some pedals though. I’ve even seen people use a drop of glue that’s removable. Highly recommend taking a picture of your board regularly. Especially when you have new pedals. After a while though I just seem to memorize settings and recognize right away just by looking at my board of something got bumped.

 

[cataract]

My mind immediately veered into thinking about those crazy wooden tables with poured epoxy resin details

but I’d recommend taking a photo with your phone & using it as a reference

 

[40Hz]

My mind immediately veered into thinking about those crazy wooden tables with poured epoxy resin details

but I’d recommend taking a photo with your phone & using it as a reference

^This. Your smartphone’s camera is your friend.

 

[MCS4]

These days my pedals and settings are consistent enough that I can check them well enough by memory, but some things I've either done or seen suggested include:

• Taking photos of the settings (as has already been recommended)
• Marking settings on the pedal itself, ideally with non-permanent means. One thing I've seen a fair amount is using stickers or strips of tape, often in bright or glow-in-the-dark colors, oriented so it lines up with the marking on the knob.
• Replacing knobs with knobs that do not turn as easily or are less likely to get snagged by your foot, helping to keep them at similar settings in the first place. I've done this once or twice.
• Or, if you're really serious about keeping the settings locked in, you can go the Peter Steele route and use glue, rubber cement, etc. to freeze the knobs in place.

 

[DanGroove]

My solution was to get a Helix. Everything is saved and can be tweaked and recallable from song to song or bass to bass.

 

[TheLowDown33]

I take the knobs off and then put some painters tape across the pot shaft

 

[eeyorebass]

Besides the ones already mentioned, these are two more I've seen around: Loknob and Stompshield

 

[JonathanPDX]

Where's your sense of adventure? Nothing is more fun than stomping on a pedal for the first time on a darkened stage and wondering what mysteries it's settings hold. Will your bass be louder, quieter, or sound like a space ship? There's only one way to find out!

 

[Katoosie]

Where's your sense of adventure? Nothing is more fun than stomping on a pedal for the first time on a darkened stage and wondering what mysteries it's settings hold. Will your bass be louder, quieter, or sound like a space ship? There's only one way to find out!

Sounds like a pain in the butt

 

[groooooove]

i alway just understand where i want 'em.

i did enjoy those ibanez pedals with a locking system, fantastic feature.

 

[cataract]

Where's your sense of adventure? Nothing is more fun than stomping on a pedal for the first time on a darkened stage and wondering what mysteries it's settings hold. Will your bass be louder, quieter, or sound like a space ship? There's only one way to find out!

Ah yes- Settings Roulette.. now you’re talkin’ my language!!

 

[joel the bass player]

Nothing is set in stone and often needs to be tweaked depending on the bass I'm using and where/what I'm playing. The only time I'm really thrown off is when one of my kids decides to play with the knobs/switches and things are really wrong (once everything was dimed ). Most of the time I can get a quick check done and I'm close.

 

[JonathanPDX]

Ah yes- Settings Roulette.. now you’re talkin’ my language!!

My million dollar idea: a digital box with one switch and dozens of internal settings from other effects. Every time you stop the switch you get a random combination of sounds and settings. Want distortion? Too bad, you got ghostly echo up half an octave. Were you hoping for a sweet syrupy synth? Nope, it's chainsaw distortion through a wave filter that turns every note into an 80's computer sound. Minor compression with a 5 db boost to make your slap solo cut through? JACKPOT! But it'll never happen again.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

My million dollar idea: a digital box with one switch and dozens of internal settings from other effects. Every time you stop the switch you get a random combination of sounds and settings. Want distortion? Too bad, you got ghostly echo up half an octave. Were you hoping for a sweet syrupy synth? Nope, it's chainsaw distortion through a wave filter that turns every note into an 80's computer sound. Minor compression with a 5 db boost to make your slap solo cut through? JACKPOT! But it'll never happen again.

"How the #@%$ did I land on reverb> ring mod 5 times straight?"

 

[micguy]

Every pedal on my board has light grey gaff tape on the side that face me, with knob and switch settings written there. When I set up, I check that nothing has moved.

 

[micguy]

My million dollar idea: a digital box with one switch and dozens of internal settings from other effects. Every time you stop the switch you get a random combination of sounds and settings. Want distortion? Too bad, you got ghostly echo up half an octave. Were you hoping for a sweet syrupy synth? Nope, it's chainsaw distortion through a wave filter that turns every note into an 80's computer sound. Minor compression with a 5 db boost to make your slap solo cut through? JACKPOT! But it'll never happen again.

I I ever decide that I want to stop playing Church gigs and don't want to fess up and say it, I'll buy one of your pedals. Seems like a solid technology driven passive aggressive way to quit.