In the video below, Mark King (you know him from the band Level 42) explains that the main reason he has to literally strap tape across his pedals is because he has big cheesy feet.
Mark said this, not us. 🙂
However, this begs the question of whether pedals for bassists are really designed right in the first place. Before answering that, here’s the video:
To answer the question, pedals are designed as well as they can be, but some are better for stage use than others.
The Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig for example is very purposely designed long and wide with bigger switch buttons for easier on-stage use:
…so if you have “big cheesy feet” like Mark does, yeah you can tape down your pedal knobs. Or you can just get something where your foot won’t constantly be in danger of turning a knob you don’t want turned. 🙂
Mark puts tape on everything even his right hand thumb!