It will be after you remove the tape!
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Show your tidy pedalboard!
- Thread starter JakobT
- Start date
On the bottom? That is Velcro to hold all the wiring in place. Is there a better way?
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After 1 year of pedalboard changes I've finally settled on this:
Cutting zip ties around cables makes me nervous, especially when they're in a confined area. I like this type, which uses readjustable Velcro, making it simpler to adjust or remove cables. The main downside is that this type doesn't ever seem to come with 3M sticky backs, so you may need to occasionally replace ones that lose their stickiness.
All my regular 6" ties are Velcro too, and they're insanely cheap, like $5 for 150.
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Perfect, thanks for this!
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I can understand that--I've had this thought myself!--but my practical experience says this is a non-factor: assuming you are using a scissors and not a knife, it's very easy to have position just the cable tie between the blades. I've never once thought to myself "wow, that was close. I nearly severed my patch cable. I need to be more careful." Plus, of course, there's no functional reason the ties must be cut. Unless you purchased really long ones, I guess? Then you might need to cut them. Regardless, I had the same concern, but years of building pedalboards this way has demonstrated its negligible. And the frequency of this method also supports that. Most players with metal boards are doing this and I've never seen a thread saying "Don't use cable ties: you'll cut your patch or power cables like I just did." But hey, at the end of the day all that matters is that whatever method you are using work: cable ties, Velcro, etc. I'm sure they all keep the cables in place
Some folks reconfigure their boards quite a bit, so ties get cut... at least for me.
I like theses little dykes for snipping ties that are snugged up against wires I don't want to cut. Way more precise than scissors, and just better for the task.
I use Velcro under my board to manage cables sometimes and it works well.
Here is a board from way back (using Velcro top and bottom to keep things tidy).
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Are you talking about cutting ties to rewire a board? I was talking about trimming the excess length, and saying that's more about aesthetics than tidiness because the ties will hold the cables in pace regardless. I still cut my ties down, but I also don't have a fear of cutting my audio and power cables.
Those pliers are indeed more precise than scissors. Good suggestion.
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I was talking about cutting ties to rewire... like I've got three power cables wired together, but I want to add a 4th pedal, so let me cut that zip tie without nicking my power cables. But I guess then I would also cut the excess after rewiring - so both.
Way better than scissors for small things, tight spaces, etc...
Or just twist the head off the zip tie with a pair of pliers if it is a smaller one. no cutting required.
Small electronics wire cutters are the thing for zip ties. Really no danger of errant cuts, unless one is particularly unfocused.
Velcro wraps are adjustable, don't require tools, are faster and more convenient when rewiring, and eliminate the possibility of tool-related mishaps with wires when using pliers or wire cutters.
I posted a link in this post. (The Amazon link includes over a dozen uploaded user pics in their reviews too. 669 ratings 4.4 average.)
As I noted there the main downside is that this type (which you can find from different sellers on Amazon) doesn't have the good 3M self-adhesive backs, just generic ones, so they're more likely to need replacement from time to time. (In the Amazon reviews most people loved it, but a few did say the adhesive backs sucked.) But since they are sold in packs of 40-50 you'll have backups.
This is the small board I keep at the office, for when I need a break:
The board itself is a “small” D’Addario xpnd.
I usually keep some flavor of precision bass at work: this week it’s a MIM road worn wearing Fender 9050L flats:
The board itself is a “small” D’Addario xpnd.
I usually keep some flavor of precision bass at work: this week it’s a MIM road worn wearing Fender 9050L flats:
