# Mounting power supply “upside down”



## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

I’m thinking of doing this. I have the power inlet on the right side of my board. Can anyone see a problem mounting my Zuma by its top so that the power cord is a straight shot out?

If I mount it by the base plate, the power cord is facing the wrong way and needs to snake all around the underside of the board to get to the inlet. 

Other than Velcro residue on the top of the Zuma, anyone think this is a bad idea?


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I see no reason why it should matter.


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## Guest (Dec 5, 2018)

You could always add some small brackets on each side and use a zip tie to double secure it.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'm assuming the Zuma has no holes on the lid for ventilation. In which case, it shouldn't make any difference to the functioning or lifespan of the power supply. In contrast, being able to run the power cord straight might make a difference to the lifespan of the power cord.

BTW, that's some sexy pedalboard. Laminated for better sustain?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Thats how my 4x4 is mounted. Its not upside down unless your board is upside down haha.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Budda said:


> Its not upside down unless your board is upside down haha.


Confucius say: _"Man who mount power supply with top facing sky has good orientation in life" _


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

greco said:


> Confucius say: _"Man who mount power supply with top facing sky has good orientation in life" _


LOL

That board now has good feng shui. All the good energy flows in the right directions.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Not an issue at all technically, but does make mounting a bit more challenging. My advise on that front is to make a custom mounting bracket - take some Alu sheet (<10 bux at Home Despot; can cut it with heavy duty scissors but I expect you'd have tin snips) and cut a strap out of it (about 50-75% as wide as the power supply is deep, meaning the dimension from the 9V jacks on the 'front' to the 'back' where the mains power cable is). Bend it into a U shape to with mounting flanges (like this: _|̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ |_ ) and then you can screw the power supply into that using the provided threaded holes on it's bottom, and the bracket into the wood pedalboard. I've done this in my studio racks for various breakout boxes .


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> My advise on that front is to make a custom mounting bracket - take some Alu sheet


Or (scrap) pieces of thin hardwood glued to look like this...


Granny Gremlin said:


> _|̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ |_


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Hardwood might be too thick; metal sheet can be 1 pc and therefore less likely to fail. But yeah, probs good enough.

If using wood I would do it differently. Make a cuttout in the rear wall of the pedalboard for the IEC power jack (not just for easy access, although that's a pretty good reason - the PS sits with it's rear supported by the pedalboard back wall) and attach a pc of wood horizontally out of that like a partial bottom serving as a shelf. Then you can either have braces down the sides to support the fron tof the shelf or a crossmember along the bottom.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> But yeah, probs good enough.


@Ayr Guitars , the OP, has a complete woodworking shop and impressive skills with wood. Hence, my post.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

Thanks guys. I ended up mounting it as described. I attached 3M dual lock to the top of the power supply and stuck it to the bottom of the underside of the board. So I guess you could say it hangs right side up under the board. 

I’m sure the dual lock will hold it just fine, but I may add a zip tie or strap if I find it’s at risk of falling out.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Ayr Guitars said:


> I ended up mounting it as described.


I totally forgot that you had mentioned velcro.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Not an issue at all technically, but does make mounting a bit more challenging. My advise on that front is to make a custom mounting bracket - take some Alu sheet (<10 bux at Home Despot; can cut it with heavy duty scissors but I expect you'd have tin snips) and cut a strap out of it (about 50-75% as wide as the power supply is deep, meaning the dimension from the 9V jacks on the 'front' to the 'back' where the mains power cable is). Bend it into a U shape to with mounting flanges (like this: _|̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ |_ ) and then you can screw the power supply into that using the provided threaded holes on it's bottom, and the bracket into the wood pedalboard. I've done this in my studio racks for various breakout boxes .


Why not just get some 4" screws and just have at 'er? Nothing too vital at the corner areas I'm sure.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

greco said:


> I totally forgot that you had mentioned velcro.


I actually thought of taking the top cover off the Zuma, screwing the cover to the underside of the board then re-attach the ‘guts’ of the power supply. But, then I’d end up with holes in the top of the Zuma which may pose a problem if I were to ever take it out. 

The unit is brand new - and it wasn’t cheap. I figured residue from the dual lock would be easier to deal with than holes.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

greco said:


> @Ayr Guitars , the OP, has a complete woodworking shop and impressive skills with wood. Hence, my post.


I am aware. Hence my further design suggestion.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

How much does the Zuma weigh?


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

mhammer said:


> How much does the Zuma weigh?


1.25 lbs.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

So the double-sided tape should be able to hold that solidly.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

If you're concerned about it working loose with just the velcro you can take a page out of the RC plane maker's handbook and wrap some rubber bands around a couple screws/cuphooks. My dad held pretty much all his wings on his planes by crossing rubber bands onto dowels in the fuselage.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Ayr Guitars said:


> Thanks guys. I ended up mounting it as described.


When do we get to see what pedals are attached to that power supply? 

For the record, I have a Zuma as well and mounted it upside-down without any issues.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

troyhead said:


> When do we get to see what pedals are attached to that power supply?
> 
> For the record, I have a Zuma as well and mounted it upside-down without any issues.


Here’s a sneak peek! It’s done, I just haven’t taken a photo of the finished product. I have room for 2 additional pedals on the board.... that means I can get the Flint, and perhaps a chorus.....


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

@Ayr Guitars flint and a delay.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

Budda said:


> @Ayr Guitars flint and a delay.


There’s a delay on the board. I have a TC Flashback. 

Would a second delay be beneficial? Actually, delay on the acoustic side might be nice.....


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Budda said:


> @Ayr Guitars flint and a delay.





Ayr Guitars said:


> There’s a delay on the board. I have a TC Flashback.
> 
> Would a second delay be beneficial? Actually, delay on the acoustic side might be nice.....


Flint and another delay. 

I can't say enough good things about the Flint, definitely a good choice. 

As for a second delay, I would say yes. If you have one delay that has lots of presets, then one might be fine. But if not, it's nice to have one delay that can be set for more of that "delay effect" sound that really stands out, and then a second delay that is a little more subtle. For that, I like a darker analog delay with about 1.5 repeats, 240 ms, and fairly low mix that sits nicely under almost anything at any tempo just to thicken things up. Or another subtle delay that I've been getting into is slapback, which can really add just a little extra kick when needed. (Slapback isn't just for country or rockabilly!) A Boss DM-2w works really well for both of these. 

Another option is to put one delay after your dirt pedals (kind of the norm) and one in front. The one in front will react to your playing a lot more, sounding more subtle when picking quietly, but really standing out when you dig in. Here's an example of that:


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Is the Fishman a little out of place? It's for acoustic guitar, no?


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

allthumbs56 said:


> Is the Fishman a little out of place? It's for acoustic guitar, no?


You got it. I have pedals for 2 guitars on the same board. The Fishman and the HoF reverb are set up for acoustic and so far the rest of the pedals are for electric.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

The finished board. On stage.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Ayr Guitars said:


> The finished board. On stage.
> 
> View attachment 234892


Nice looking board. Nice looking interconnects as well. Custom built by you? 

If you moved one of the smaller pedals in the lower row to the top row (maybe the HOF), you'd have room for one more larger pedal .......... like another delay. I always have 2 delays available, for the reasons mentioned above. 

Either way, nice board. Enjoy!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Most used pedals to the bottom. Makes things easier.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

High/Deaf said:


> Nice looking board. Nice looking interconnects as well. Custom built by you?
> 
> If you moved one of the smaller pedals in the lower row to the top row (maybe the HOF), you'd have room for one more larger pedal .......... like another delay. I always have 2 delays available, for the reasons mentioned above.
> 
> Either way, nice board. Enjoy!


Thanks!

Yes, I did all the woodworking and all the soldering. 

Pedals are placed based on ease of getting at them. The HOF is on the 'acoustic' side of the board, connected to the Fishman; so they're kept separate. And the fishman sticks up higher than the HOF. Same with the Blue Sky - its a much taller pedal than the others, which is why its at the top of the board; if it was at the bottom, it would be very difficult to reach over it to hit a switch on a slimmer pedal.

There is room for a Flint beside the Blue Sky and there's room for sometime between the Flashback and the HOF. I measured it all out before placing the pedals. 

Going to leave it as-is for the time being; this will more than meet my needs for a while.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

This is how it started.....


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Ayr Guitars said:


> There’s a delay on the board. I have a TC Flashback.
> 
> Would a second delay be beneficial? Actually, delay on the acoustic side might be nice.....


I have 2 on my board - 1 short delay (more ambiance) and 1 long (actual echoes). Easier than switching settings between songs and more accurate (some songs require a specific delay time on my long delay).


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