Attaching An MXR EVH Phase 90 To A Pedalboard Without Sticky Velcro

If you read one of my earlier posts on attaching pedals to Pedaltrain pedalboards without sticky Velcro, I wrote about using a rather cumbersome method involving non-adhesive Velcro straps and nylon cable tie.

Two cable ties were looped around a pedal, torqued sufficiently, and Velcro straps were threaded through the cable ties from underneath and then tied to individual slats of a Pedaltrain pedalboard.

Did it work?

Sure.

Pedals were held in place securely and the idea proved gig worthy. But I'll be the first to admit it wasn't the most elegant solution. The cable tie was very visible, and there was the possibility of some pedal paint wear with prolonged use. It was also a bit of a hassle to remove a pedal or swap pedals around, not to mention that this method would only work with slatted pedalboards such as the Pedaltrains.

MXR EVH Phase 90

However, astute reader 'REM Tribute Band' certainly came up a much better idea and offered this in the comments section of that earlier blog post:

"I remove the screws from the bottom of the pedal, pierce some holes in some Velcro strips (non-adhesive) and screw them back in so the Velcro is screwed to the bottom of the pedal! Nice and tidy and no glue gunk."

A great idea and one which I've copied and used with great success over the last couple of years. And also something I've been meaning to blog about for some time now.

Baseplate of the MXR EVH Phase 90

So when I got my hands on an MXR EVH Phase 90 today, I figured better late than never.

The MXR EVH Phase 90 features a really cool paint job with the Edward Van Halen-approved black and white stripes against a red background. Even the baseplate of the pedal is painted in the same graphic -- not something you would want to stick patches of adhesive-backed Velcro, leaving gunky residue, or worse peeling off patches of the pedals paint job should you need to remove the Velcro later.  

MXR EVH Phase 90 baseplate removed

The Velcro I used was taken off a regular MXR Phase 90 which, when placed before my Dunlop Band of Gypsys FuzzFace has started to sound a little too radical. The EVH Phase 90 is a little less swooshy and more vintage sounding, especially with the Script button engaged, creating a pleasant and not overpowering modulation for single-note lines and riffs. 

This is how we do it!

So off went the Velcro from my orange Phase 90. 

In the picture above, you can see how grotty the Velcro has become, living under that pedal all this while. And just for illustration purposes, I show how I made the holes with a sharp pointed tool from an old screwdriver set that has been with me since the '70s! Notice also, how I left the plastic backing on the Velcro so as not to expose the adhesive.

After making suitably sized holes in the Velcro, I simply threaded the four screws through and screwed the base plate back on.

Base plate screws threaded through the Velcro

My estimation on the screw distance for one of the Velcro pads was a little off as you can see in the picture, creating a slight crimp in the Velcro. The perfectionist in me wanted to redo that particular strip, but then I realized that I had run out of white Velcro!

Base plate reattached with Velcro in place

In a similar vein to all things Van Halen, check out my earlier review of the EVH Striped Series guitar. We just can't get enough of that black, white and red paint job!

How To Attach Pedals To Pedaltrain Pedalboards Without Sticky Velcro

I've always used sticky Industrial Strength Velcro to affix my pedals to my pedalboard. 

And it's always bugged me that I might be seriously depreciating the future value of my pedals with Velcro gummed to the bottom, covering serial numbers, country of manufacture and useful 'avoid exposing unit to excessive moisture'-type information.

Scouring the net for anything I could find on 'attaching pedals without Velcro' yielded one dude who used individual bicycle chain links, attaching one eyelet to the pedal baseplate and screwing the other eyelet down to the woodbase of the pedalboard.  An elegant solution by itself, and certainly rock-solid.

But I was looking for something a little more simple that would allow me to swap out pedals in a couple of minutes instead of a couple of hours.  Not to mention that the aforementioned method would be well nigh near impossible on the aluminum base of my Pedaltrain pedalboard.

Well, maybe not impossible.  But well beyond my limited metalwork machining skills.

But necessity, as the say, is the Mother of Invention. 

And since idle hands are also the devil's workshop, here's what I came up with, using plastic cable ties and Velcro One-Wrap -- Velcro straps of the non-adhesive variety.

I first wrapped two cable ties around the pedal, in this case a BB Preamp by Xotic, one before the footswitch and one in between the control knobs.  Doing this ensures that the cable ties will never slip out from the pedal.

I then got out the Velcro One-Wrap straps, cut them to an appropriate length, and simply threaded them through the cable ties at the back of the pedal. 

After deciding on where the pedal would be placed on the 'board, I wrapped the Velcro straps tightly around the appropriate aluminum strip.

The pedal mounted reasonably securely but with some side-to-side movement.  After torquing the cable ties a bit more with pliers and tightening the Velcro wrap further, I found the pedal was as solidly mounted as I needed it to be.   

I love it when a plan comes together! 

The last pic shows the final pedalboard assembly with both the BB Preamp and RC Booster given the same cable tie and Velcro wraparound treatment.

My Voodoolab RotoVibe, RMC wah and Boss volume pedal already have sticky Velcro I attached years ago to their baseplates so they are mounted to the Pedaltrain in the usual way. 

Go ahead and try this at home, folks!

And here's my earlier review of the Pedaltrain Jr. pedalboard.