james low

I recently bought a Fender Blues Jr. with Billm mods. I wanted a Hammond 1590H footswitch to fit on my pedalboard.

The Blues Jr. footswitch circuit has a 15V signal that is connected to switch the fat switch. Billm suggests that you could use a LED and resistor and then bypass it so that the LED is on when the fat switch is off. However other companies offer a footswitch with an LED that is on when the fatswitch is engaged. I did some testing and I found that, at least with the Blues Jr. III, even with the LED and resistor in the circuit it still switches, so you can just break the circuit to turn it off. I think I calculated that an 800ohm resistor was about right.

Here’s a picture with the LED indicating the fat switch is on:

I wrote a previous post about my custom Neunaber ExP controller that uses a counter to switch between the 4 effects with just a single button.

3 Switches
I’ve had a few requests about how to do it with just switches. I’ve drawn up a circuit, but don’t have time to build it, so I can’t be 100% sure it will work.

Notes:
– Neunaber don’t cover warranty for custom ExP controllers, I can’t be held responsible if you break your pedal.
– If you only want 2 effects, you can leave off the 3rd LED and switch
– The logic of the switching in this configuration is more like 2 banks of 2 effects with 2 presets each. Switch 3 selects between bank 1 (effects 1/2) and bank 2 (effects (3/4). Switch 2 selects between either effect 1 and 2 or effect 3 and 4 depending on the position of switch 3.

Common Anode
Another variation depends on the the type of multi-colored LED you use. Some have common cathodes, some have common anodes. You have to connect the common pin to the rail, and the individual coloured pins to E0/E1 because connecting the common pin would join E0 to E1 which you don’t want to do.

This also changes which colors indicate which effect:

I recently did a popular mod to my Superchamp XD. I put a line/poweramp in so that you can just use the tube poweramp, without any of the digital or solid state that comes before it. At the same time I also added a poweramp mute switch so I could use the line out and play when son is asleep in the house. The line in mod will also mute the speaker when a cable is plugged in, but I put the switch in as well because its easier than finding a cable and plugging it in.

Tube amps can be dangerous. Always observe tube amp safety:

I recently purchased a Neunaber Slate pedal for the amazing Wet Reverb effect. However all the v2 of their stereo pedal range support up to 4 effects, with 2 presets per effect. They make an external controller to control this, but its a little too big for my Pedal Train Mini. You can see a demo in the video below:

Update July 2015:
Anders Jepsen has provided some updated information if you have issues with switch:
avaliable to download here.

Update March 2016:
For those of you that have visited before, I now have a new improved circuit that just uses a SPST which means you can use soft touch switches :) It’s also much more stable when switch and shouldn’t have the random/glitchy issues that some have experienced.

Update July 2017:
I’ve since built a new ExP that ads an expression output, but still fits in the mini enclousre below. I also managed to change the hardwired Cat-5 cable for a panel mount socket. See pictures below.

Links:
Neunaber Slate: http://neunaber.net/collections/pedals/products/slate-stereo-effect-pedal-v2
ExP Controller: http://neunaber.net/collections/pedals/products/exp
ExP Specification: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dtP4e3Sp2izZ9LJ1SC9TPAYDjfYPpU8mbfK4Lh-GG54
4024 Datasheet:
https://media.digikey.com/pdf/Data%20Sheets/ST%20Microelectronics%20PDFS/HCF4024B.pdf

This is the most recent circuit I’ve used with has a switch bounce filter which allows the use of SPST soft touch footswitches:

The first incarnation used a SPDT switch for the clock:

Notes:
– Neunaber don’t cover warranty for custom ExP controllers, I can’t be held responsible if you break your pedal.
– While my pedal works, I’m not sure if I drew out the circuit exactly like I made it :P
– While I’ve used a counter so that I can cycle through the effects with a single momentary switch, the same could be achieved with 2 latching switches or a rotary encoder: http://www.fk-industrie.de/en/produktkatalog/P/D/E/A/27.html
– I’ve used an up counter which cycles the effects in reverse 4-3-2-1. Use a down counter if you want to go the right way.
– When the counter sets the effect inputs to high, it also turns on the LEDs.
– I used a two color LED for L1 and L2. Mine had a common cathode, some others you buy have a common anode and may need to be connected to the +3.3V rail, with the cathodes connected to Q0 and Q1.
– Power is provided through the ExP port, I’ve just labeled the rails for clarity.
– Since the supply is 3.3V, you need a HCF logic chip (Not HCT which is minimum 5V).
– I wired the RJ45 cable directly into the box to save space, but there are some nice panel mount sockets around.
– I’ve drawn a switches only circuit here: http://jameslow.com/2014/12/01/custom-neunaber-exp-3-switches/

Components:
Counter: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/4024-cmos-logic-hcfhef-qx13p
2 Color LED: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/5mm-multi-colour-led-yh75s
Panel Mount RJ45: http://www.gtcontact.com/Ethernet-RJ45-Plastic-Screw-Panel-DIP90.html

I recently built a bypass looper into a Hammond 1590H pedal enclosure so I was doing some research into this. If you wanted to use jacks, and not have the LED, I realised you could use insert cables and fit two stereo switchcraft jacks and one of the small 13mm x 13mm DPDT footswitches that are avaliable.

I really miss my M-Audio Fasttrack 8R. M-Audio/Midiman had the most stable drivers and best customer support, until they were bought by Avid, and the sold again, decimating one of the best value midi/audio interface companies.

I sold the Fasttrack to downsize, but also because the drivers were becoming less and less stable on newer versions of Mac OS, and it became impossible to contact Avid without paying for support. I bought a Apogee ONE, but the Mic did’t compare to my old Rode NT1, and I missed being able to do 2 mics, or 2 lines at the same time.

I’m about to sell my ONE and get a PreSonus Audiobox iTwo (it wasn’t out when I got my ONE). I was trying to figure out if it would work with Garageband on the iPad for mobile recording, since in all the marketing they push their own app. I contacted their sales and go this reply:

“You can use Garageband; you’re not limited to just our recording app, no.

Conversely, there are people who bought our PreSonus Capture iOS app and use the built-in mic or other 3rd party audio interface on their iPad to track stuff when they’re out an about… so our software app isn’t limited to just work with our iOnes/iTwos.”

I also eventually aw that right at the bottom of the features they have a comment that it works with other apps on the iPad:
http://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-i-Series/features

Update:
I sold an Apogee ONE for iPad because it would cause crashes on waking from sleep. I was going to get the iTwo interface, but decided on the Audiobox USB because it was cheaper. Unfortunately that interface doesn’t work with the iPad (unlike the Audiobox VSL 22). It gives the “device uses too much power” even when plugged in through a powered USB hub or one of these dual USB power cables and removing the power pin going to the iPad:

Always loved Larry Carlton and Robben Ford’s tone, and even tried to build my own Dumble clone at one point. It didn’t sound good, and I didn’t have the expertise or time to make it sound good. Anyway, 13 years later and I’ve moved on in the music I play, but I still get GAS for that tone. Recently there have been more and more pedals trying to get that sound, and some of them are starting to come close. Here’s a list of the ones I know of:

• Zendrive (Robben Ford uses one of these)
• Zendudo (Larry Carlton uses one of these)
• Simble (One of the closest)
• Ethos Overdrive (Expensive and long waiting list)
• Fishbone Overdrive Special (Zendrive clone)
• Dumbloid
• Stampede SOV-1/SOV-2
• Fuchs Plush Drive (From the makers of Dumble clone amps)
• DMBL Overdrive
• Van Weelden Royal Overdrive
• Retroman Dum-box
• Amplified Nation Bloom
• Wampler Euphoria
• Jitter GS 124
• Velvet Pedals Umble
• T1M Punch Driv (Also used in The Pearl)
• Quinn Amps Hot Butter Scotch (Discontinued)
• Weehbo Effekte Dumbledore

I’ve owned both a Fishbone (Zendrive) and an SOV-1. When I compared the two the Fishbone sounded closer to me, less saturated and more touch sensitive. It was also smaller and didn’t run off mains voltage, so I kept it. Having heard demos of the Simble I was tempted to get one of those, however recently I’ve just bought a Fulltone Fulldrive 3 to replace my Fulldrive 2. I found that with the comp-cut mode, I could get close to the Dumble sound too. I hope to put up a comparison soon, but first impressions are, the FD3 comp-cut sounds more open and transparent (something I wanted out of the Simble) and is even more touch sensitive than the Fishbone, but a little bit more saturated when playing harder. The fishbone has a more pronounced midrange, making it to my ears sound more like Robben Ford, and the FD3 comp-cut more like Larry Carlton.

Update: Here’s a demo of the Fulldrive 3 (Comp-cut mode):

Oh I almost forgot, there was also the infamous Freekish Blues Joyo Alpha Drive

A list of some of the low cost pedals coming out of China these days. In some ways its a good thing, but Bill Finnegan of Klon Centaur fame, and some interesting things to say about when any company (not just Chinese), just clones a pedal, rather than offering their own unique interpretation. Anyway, on to the list:

• Mooer – One of the first, famous for their micro pedals
• Joyo – Super cheap, especially their TS clone
• Caline – Make a Fulldrive 2 clone
• Biyang Pedals – Again pretty cheap, unique enclosures
• Eno – Micro pedals similar to Mooer
• Moen
• Beta Alvin
• Bel Cat
• Nux FX
• Artect

In addition to the effects pedals, Joyo make tube amps, as do Bel Cat sometimes branded as SubZero. An “honourable mention” also goes to Behringer, while a German company, are made in China and compete in terms of value.