Pedals with footswitch close to one of the knobs. Any way to lock knob in place/ increase friction?

Cirrus

Ok, *some* scope for naughtiness in that thread title. 

But it's an issue for me with some pedals on my board. Boss pedals are basically immune to it, many pedals with flat tops have a sensible distance between the switch you stomp on blindly in the middle of a live set and the small knobs that totally change your tone.

Others, however, do not. And gradually, over a gig or practice, the knob nearest the switch wanders from where it should be. Examples:

Bogner Burnley. Great pedal, not much distance between footswitch and tone knob, so I need to keep tabs on whether I've accidentally nudged it brighter or darker.

Xotic BB/AC style pedals. Great sound, and the pots they use are a bit more stiff than some, but with so much volume on tap it doesn't take much of a nudge to turn unity volume into a boost or a cut.

EH Memory Toy. I have never stomped on this and not also changed the mix control.

So, are there solutions, besides tap dancing lessons or pointier shoes? I guess the ol' faithful Grolsch red rubber caps might work...

failed_astronaut

In line with your Grolsch suggestion, Paul Gilbert mentions in his most recent Rig Rundown that he uses rubber washers of varying sizes to keep his pedal settings in place.

- 15.33 he starts talking about them.

english_bob

This is a perennial Strat-related question. I've heard of people cutting out little circles of foam just smaller than the diameter of the knob in question, then squashing them between the knob and the surface it's on (the pedal enclosure in this case).

It might be less effective with a tiny knob, but then what isn't? Fnar.

Sassafras

Small rubber O rings you can get from Halfords or Maplins. They work a treat on my guitars. I hate floppy knobs

UnclePsychosis

The mooer "switch toppers" add a bit of height to the switch: probably 5mm or so. Doesn't seem a lot but it does make it harder to hit the controls with your foot.

ICBM

Cirrus said:

Boss pedals are basically immune to it

Among many other reasons this is why I have now sold every pedal I own which has a mechanical click switch and/or a flat box, and I won't ever buy another. Boss/Ibanez 9-series and other similar pedals only, from now on.

Sorry, I know this doesn't help much but it does make me feel better knowing it's something that will never bother me again .

EricTheWeary

I've definitely seen someone use the Grolsch type washers on pedal knobs. 

mike_l

A bit of rigid foam with holes for the knobs like the Hardwire ones should do the trick.

Also avoid buying the o-rings from Hellfrauds as they'll cost you a lot more than other places.

I got some from Amazon about £1 for a pack.

steamabacus

A slightly more (over-?) engineered solution -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W375EmiWTz8&index=4&list=PLJbDWzfvZamVNz87RlDwXmwSxX5PK0nYW

Fez

I had this issue with my TC mini spark booster and Mad Proff LGW Tried a couple of things but the foam ring mentioned by @english_bob is working well at the moment.

Cabicular

nothing wrong with a bit of tape to keep the knob in place

revsorg

Loknob  ?

Flanging_Fred

I used rubber shower washers on my Tim and it worked perfectly. I think a pack of them from B&Q was about a quid.

guitarfishbay

I put rubber washer O Rings on my Darkglass pedals so they can't accidentally get kicked.  It's still possible to move the knobs but very unlikely they'd move without deliberate intent.

Boss design cures it... sadly not all pedals have a Boss equivalent!

prowla

A couple of options:

1. Take the knobs off.
2. Get a footswitch controller board.

Cirrus

guitarfishbay said:

Boss design cures it... sadly not all pedals have a Boss equivalent!

I've got it! I'll commission Pete Cornish to rehouse all my pedals in old Boss stombox cases! 

Thanks for the replies, all, I'll start with a trip to a hardware store.