Question for effects mod'ers / people who know about electronics.

[IamWILSON]

This is probably the dumbest question to be asked on here, but let's have at it....

Is the little foam on the inside of the metal back cover of a MIA Ross compressor necessary?  I ask because while on couch tour I am reconfiguring my main pedal board and adding an old effect I took off the board years ago (Deja Vibe 2) and updating the remaining old cables that haven't been switched to the planet waves solderless cables.  I have an old Ross Phaser pedal that is broken and want to use the back plate, but it doesn't have the foam like in the compressor pedal (the phaser was MIT).  Why do I want to use the back of the phaser?  Because I want to put velcro on it!  And more importantly, it also has a little slot cut in the edge that allows me to run the battery adaptor cable from my PP2+ plugged into the battery clip without leaving the back open.  

So will it hurt my pedal if that little foam isn't there?  Should I head out to Michael's and find some foam to stuff it before I use the pedal this way?

[sour d]

The foam is not necessary. It is just there so the components on the board don't short on the back plate. There is plenty of clearance. If you didn't have a spare back plate I would suggest flipping it over so you don't have velcro sticking to the info on the back plate. If you are still nervous about a potential short, stick some electrical tape on the side of the board that faces the inside. Or do what keeley does and throw a business card in there

[IamWILSON]

Thanks sour... Electrical tape it is! 

I got all my pedalboard together about 10 mins before the 2nd set started.  So I was testing it all out and phish came back on stage, so I jammed Wilson with the band.  It was awesome!  I thought my tone was very comparable to Trey's (I'm sure the internet feed doesn't do his tone justice).  And when they went into Axilla I was just as confused as everybody else why Trey was playing in the wrong key.  That's when I decided I don't wanna play with Trey anymore!

Anyway sour, I'm gonna send you a PM because I've got a little favor to ask you.