Diago Showman - help with how to mount MFC101

chucma

chucma

Fractal Fanatic
Hello everyone!

I'm getting my Diago Showman pedalboard in a couple of days, however I have no idea how to mount my MFC101, Mission EP1, and Fractal EV1 pedals to it. The pedalboard comes with a flat base which I think is covered in velcro, however the MFC and other pedals all have rubber feet that raise them quite high away from the velcro's reach.

Is the answer to remove the rubber feet? This is something I'm not keen on because I'm not a fan of messing with the product design of the pedals too much.

I know a few of you out there use the same pedalboard, so it would be great to hear from you how you did this please?

Thanks in advance!! :)
 
I used to build pedal boards/rigs for all sorts of musicians and what I would do is remove the feet and find the right size/length screws and drill holes through whatever pedalboard you're using. Before screwing in, add a 1/16" of flat rubber stock...it will help with vibration, etc.
 
guitartripp said:
I used to build pedal boards/rigs for all sorts of musicians and what I would do is remove the feet and find the right size/length screws and drill holes through whatever pedalboard you're using. Before screwing in, add a 1/16" of flat rubber stock...it will help with vibration, etc.
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Cool, that sounds like a good idea! Thanks guitartrip!
 
If you are dead set on leaving the feet on you can cut holes in your board where the feet are so they set in the board and use your Velcro. As guitartripp posted, I myself also remove the feet and screw the stuff direct to the board.
 
I have a showman. I took off the feet from the MFC, and put 3 strips of Velcro on the bottom. Job done. Put it this way, I have no idea how to get the MFC back off the pedalboard. It's stuck. Really I only needed to put 2 strips on, it would easily have been enough. The MFC is going nowhere. Really!
 
craiguitar said:
I have a showman. I took off the feet from the MFC, and put 3 strips of Velcro on the bottom. Job done. Put it this way, I have no idea how to get the MFC back off the pedalboard. It's stuck. Really I only needed to put 2 strips on, it would easily have been enough. The MFC is going nowhere. Really!
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This, and if you want to get it back off the board use a thin metal or plastic kitchen spatula to separate the Velcro, works a treat and does not break anything.
 
One other trick (after removing the feet) - put painters tape on the bottom of your MFC, then adhere the velcro to that. It will both secure your MFC and when the time comes to take off the velcro it'll come off really easily and will leave no residue.
 
TFC said:
One other trick (after removing the feet) - put painters tape on the bottom of your MFC, then adhere the velcro to that. It will both secure your MFC and when the time comes to take off the velcro it'll come off really easily and will leave no residue.
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The only thing is that the painters tape (assuming this is the same stuff as masking tape here in the UK) doesn't have a very strong adhesive, so I wouldn't trust it holding the weight of my MFC very much. I guess once you put the heavy duty velcro on it then it's better to just leave it on and it should stay for a long time. Thanks for the idea though!
 
Yeah, masking tape is the same. And I agree it seems counter intuitive. All I can say is that I've had mine on for a while now and it works fine. I haven't turned it upside down and shaken it, but it's vertical every time I carry the pedal board in its bag and there is no movement whatsoever.
 
Personally I wouldn't turn mine upside down and shake it either, but I have those (non-guitarist) friends who are always eager to help me carry my gear around. One time my AFX was carried to my car and simply plonked down as if it was a luggage bag in the airport!! Luckily I have a pretty decent case which absorbed it but I nearly died when that happened....!

Interesting to hear that the tape is holding out on yours though! :cool:
 
Thanks for all the great ideas guys!! I'm probably going to the remove feet and use heavy duty velcro route because if I end up wanting to change the Diago then it will be harder to sell with holes in it (although an unlikely event).

Just out of interest, I did come across this thread as well (see post #15):
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/removing-the-mfc101-plastic-feet.29923/#post-698704

The guys pointed out that if the feet are removed and the screws put back in place, then one of the screws 'might' be able to touch an electrical component because it will have a longer reach without the rubber foot. The fix is to either swap the screws around with one of the other shorter ones, or to leave the screws out completely.
 
chucma said:
Thanks for all the great ideas guys!! I'm probably going to the remove feet and use heavy duty velcro route because if I end up wanting to change the Diago then it will be harder to sell with holes in it (although an unlikely event).

Just out of interest, I did come across this thread as well (see post #15):
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/removing-the-mfc101-plastic-feet.29923/#post-698704

The guys pointed out that if the feet are removed and the screws put back in place, then one of the screws 'might' be able to touch an electrical component because it will have a longer reach without the rubber foot. The fix is to either swap the screws around with one of the other shorter ones, or to leave the screws out completely.
Click to expand...
Didnt have any problm with my MKIII when removed the feet.

Have a look at the pic in my sig below.
The pedal board is full with foam and cut to the size of the MFC + EXT + Mission pedals.
I cut just a little narrower than the actual item size so they are sitting there tight and can't move.
The units are "sank" inside so it is covered all around with a "shock observer" and the MFC+EXT are velcroed to each other holdint it as one.
This case is traveling often and with zero problems.
 
Roadrunner said:
Didnt have any problm with my MKIII when removed the feet.

Have a look at the pic in my sig below.
The pedal board is full with foam and cut to the size of the MFC + EXT + Mission pedals.
I cut just a little narrower than the actual item size so they are sitting there tight and can't move.
The units are "sank" inside so it is covered all around with a "shock observer" and the MFC+EXT are velcroed to each other holdint it as one.
This case is traveling often and with zero problems.
Click to expand...

Very nice, I like the extra support for travel. Is it snug enough so that you didn't need any velcro at all?

How thick is your foam btw? From the pic it looks like it's about half the height of the MFC.
 
I've got mine mounted on a Diago Showman as well. I had space on mine for the MFC, an MFC Extension Switch unit, and two Mission pedals.

I took the rubber feet off, screwed the screws back in and then used three pieces of velcro to adhere it to the Diago's fabric.....its not moved a Millimetre in 3 years ........

...HOWEVER...one watchout......with all that gear there's quite a bit of weight being suspended form the fabric when the unit is up on its side.......and on mine the fabric itself did actually start to come away from the base of the board. This may have just been an issue with age or inadequate glueing at the factory.....I just removed it entirely - bought a can of spray adhesive and glued it back on again. Its solid as a rock now. For the money I think its a decent board - and I like the fact that it keeps everything pretty much flat on the floor. I did think about putting it on a Pedaltrain but I don't want it to be raised any further off the ground.
 
Dealmaker said:
I've got mine mounted on a Diago Showman as well. I had space on mine for the MFC, an MFC Extension Switch unit, and two Mission pedals.

I took the rubber feet off, screwed the screws back in and then used three pieces of velcro to adhere it to the Diago's fabric.....its not moved a Millimetre in 3 years ........

...HOWEVER...one watchout......with all that gear there's quite a bit of weight being suspended form the fabric when the unit is up on its side.......and on mine the fabric itself did actually start to come away from the base of the board. This may have just been an issue with age or inadequate glueing at the factory.....I just removed it entirely - bought a can of spray adhesive and glued it back on again. Its solid as a rock now. For the money I think its a decent board - and I like the fact that it keeps everything pretty much flat on the floor. I did think about putting it on a Pedaltrain but I don't want it to be raised any further off the ground.
Click to expand...

The fabric on mine has started to come off on one side where the expression pedals are mounted. I contacted Diago, and they advised me to do what you just described. They recommended re-attaching the fabric using 'Evo-Stik Impact' contact adhesive, which will keep it stuck down for a long time. Failing that, they also said it's common for users to remove the fabric altogether and replace it with carpet tiles.
 
craiguitar said:
The fabric on mine has started to come off on one side where the expression pedals are mounted. I contacted Diago, and they advised me to do what you just described. They recommended re-attaching the fabric using 'Evo-Stik Impact' contact adhesive, which will keep it stuck down for a long time. Failing that, they also said it's common for users to remove the fabric altogether and replace it with carpet tiles.
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Yeah - thats actually the exact stuff I got - picked it up at B&Q - was around a tenner for the Can......certainly seems to have worked so far - though clearly Diago have used inferior adhesive when they made the thing!
 
Dealmaker said:
Yeah - thats actually the exact stuff I got - picked it up at B&Q - was around a tenner for the Can......certainly seems to have worked so far - though clearly Diago have used inferior adhesive when they made the thing!
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They agreed! They blamed the Chinese factory that built them, saying the glue wasn't as good as it could be. Perhaps something in QC they can improve on in the future. They are great pedal boards apart from that one issue.
 
craiguitar said:
They agreed! They blamed the Chinese factory that built them, saying the glue wasn't as good as it could be. Perhaps something in QC they can improve on in the future. They are great pedal boards apart from that one issue.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I'm not so sure anymore to be honest.......I've had an issues with one latch recently - and just noticed today that one end of the carrying handle is cracking and might fall off soon.....so think I will be on the lookout for a replacement here in the UK. I wonder if anyone makes a similar style of board but with higher quality fittings?
 
Dealmaker said:
Hmmm...I'm not so sure anymore to be honest.......I've had an issues with one latch recently - and just noticed today that one end of the carrying handle is cracking and might fall off soon.....so think I will be on the lookout for a replacement here in the UK. I wonder if anyone makes a similar style of board but with higher quality fittings?
Click to expand...

Erm, this sucks to hear especially since my Showman has just been delivered! I'm going to keep an eye on all these things now, thanks for highlighting them guys! I also happen to have a whole tin of that contact adhesive in the garage so might reinforce the material sooner than later.
 
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