# Pedal Mounting - 2 sided tape



## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

Hey guys..... sorry to even bring this up, I know other boards have lots of discussion about Velcro vs. dual-lock for mounting pedals. 

Has anyone tried “mounting tape”? It is basically 2 sided tape, marketed by 3m, Scotch, Gorilla.....

Velcro / dual lock use adhesives anyway, why not just skip the loopy stuff and just use 2 sided tape? The adhesive comes off relatively easily with some mineral spirits (I use 2-sided tape all the time with guitar making templates). 

Anyhoo..... at the risk of opening a huge can of worms, anyone tried mounting tape? And what was the experience?

Thank you.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I thought about it but just went with Velcro at this point. Its just easier to swap, rearrange, shift a pedal on the fly to fit a cable in for some random purpose. When I was set on a board and pedals I actually just laid out all the rear plates and marked everything out to drill and screwed from the bottom, that was a lot of work but stayed put and looked good for a long time.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Not being a "pedal" guy, no but I have seen the threads. I like the idea of Velcro the best as removal and replacement is easy. I also saw one with tie straps and when done neatly, it looks, well, neat. Again, replacement is simple if you keep a few extra tie straps handy; just cut the old one, remove the pedal, put on the new pedal and strap it with a new tie strap. (Additionally, tie straps can be undone. For directions, see YouTube)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Some folks are fine with purchasing 2nd-hand pedals that have velcro on them, simply because that's how they intend to attach them to their pedalboard as well. Double-sided tape has no particular arguments against using it for _one's own_ pedalboard, but should one wish to sell it or even give it away, it becomes incumbent on you to remove the tape and any traces of the adhesive.

Not THAT great an inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but something to consider.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

How well does the tape adhere? I can generally pick up my board by 1 pedal with velcro. Thats not how I do it, but that is the staying power. Nothing moves in transit.

If you arent moving it a lot, either option seems fine. Is there a price difference?


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Budda said:


> How well does the tape adhere? I can generally pick up my board by 1 pedal with velcro. Thats not how I do it, but that is the staying power. Nothing moves in transit.
> 
> If you arent moving it a lot, either option seems fine. Is there a price difference?


some of the double sided tape around these days is crazy strong.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

vadsy said:


> some of the double sided tape around these days is crazy strong.


I dont doubt it. For regular or twin size pedals, I would guess any current solution meets requirements.

Im still using the velcro that came with my pedaltrain, some years later.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

Tape will hold as well as Velcro - even better. Velcro has adhesive on it anyway, so really the same diff. 

Mounting tape is a lot less expensive - 10’ of dual lock is like $40; 5’ of Gorilla mounting tape is like $7.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

You said there were lots of discussions about this and you made me curious so I did a search and you were absolutely right.

Double sided tape on a pedal board - Google Search


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2018)

Pedalboards are fluid. Taping everything down with 3M tape is not a good idea. Why would someone consider it? Industrial Velcro is about $25 for a 10' x 1" roll that will do a complete board with lots left over. Dual lock isn't needed. Velcro works just fine. 
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.velcro-extreme.1000739730.html


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## Boogieman (Apr 6, 2009)

vadsy said:


> some of the double sided tape around these days is crazy strong.


I prefer Velcro. The adhesive is not too difficult to deal with. Velcro is strong enough to hold most pedals down. I don't want to spend time experimenting with different solvents to get rid of residues from the super strong adhesive of DS tapes.

Some of the used pedals I have bought came with Velcro. Some of them had some stuff clung to the Velcro: dog/cat hairballs, dust balls, grass clippings (!) and some I know not what. 90% of the time I would remove the Velcro from the pedal.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Boogieman said:


> I prefer Velcro


yes, so do I


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

If you get a pretty strong adhesive on the back of the pedal, you might need a putty knife or something to pry the pedal from the board. But if you have a crowded board, you might need to pry up some of the surrounding pedals as well.

I like the Temple Audio mounting system. You use a super-strong adhesive to stick the mounting plates to the pedal, and then bolt those to the board. Stays put better than Velcro, but easy to rearrange pedals. You can also pry the plates off and remove the adhesive in about 3 minutes, if needed.

And, Temple Audio is Canadian!!


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Grave digging again?

Is there a industry standard on which side of the Velcro goes on the board?


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Velcro bcs it’s easier to move pedals around as needed. Tape would be a mess for that.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

MarkM said:


> Is there a industry standard on which side of the Velcro goes on the board?


depends on the coriolis effect; in australia they do it differently but I can never remember which is which


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

vadsy said:


> some of the double sided tape around these days is crazy strong.


Agreed. I use double sided tape to hold templates on when I route guitar bodies, and I have to be very careful not to use too much or I'll be pulling the templates off in pieces. That's how strong it is. Almost permanent


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

3m Dual lock. Only one side and it sticks to itself. Very strong glue but can be removed from the pedal without too much hassle. Stronger than velcro


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Carpet side on the board.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

MarkM said:


> Grave digging again?
> 
> Is there a industry standard on which side of the Velcro goes on the board?


the fuzzy side is the standard defacto to attach to the board


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Damn that is the opposite to what I did in the past!

Building a new pedal board and wanted to do it the same way as the pedal board makers do it.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Tape would be wrong.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I use velcro for the same reasons as a few others. Always dicking around with pedal order and never leaving well enough alone. I've sandwiched my DS-1 in between 2 pedals as it remains velcro free since '87 and shall remain to do so. My pet pedal.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

MarkM said:


> Grave digging again?
> 
> Is there a industry standard on which side of the Velcro goes on the board?


Loop side on the board, hook side on the pedals.


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

I use links from bicycle chains. One hole gets fastened to the pedal using the existing back cover screw, and the other hole gets screwed down to the pedal board. I cut a piece of plywood that fits into one of those cheap aluminium briefcases you can buy at Walmart. That is all the real estate I get for the board.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Paul M said:


> I use links from bicycle chains. One hole gets fastened to the pedal using the existing back cover screw, and the other hole gets screwed down to the pedal board. I cut a piece of plywood that fits into one of those cheap aluminium briefcases you can buy at Walmart. That is all the real estate I get for the board.


I did this once, but used metal strapping from Home Depot basically cut into the same size/shape as a bicycle link. 

But I’m still going with the Temple Board. I like how the cords are neatly tucked under the board. I’ve made a number of changes, and for the most part there are no issues with rearranging pedals, unless things are really crammed together, then there have been rare occasions to reposition the pedal plate. (Temple Audio sells replacement adhesive so you don’t need to repurchase the entire pedal plate.)


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Hey, why not use the masking tape and superglue trick?


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