I don't know if I'm just super clumsy, but when playing guitar in a band situation and singing I really struggle to stomp on my pedals without hitting the knobs. I'm not even talking about 1590A teeny tiny pedals, I haven't got anything on my board smaller than a BB, and by most people's standards I leave a fair bit of space between the footswitch and the controls. But I still can't feel comfortable hitting those switches.
I think I'm going to start putting the controls on the sides of pedals and having a big old space to crunch down on. I was wondering if anyone here has tried this and has pics to share? Am I the only one with such wildly out of control feet?
If I really am in such a tiny minority market, it's just another reason to thank Brian for empowering me to build my own music gear- thanks dude :)
I have put knobs on the side once or twice, It's a pain. A lot of times on the sides or second rox of pedals I turn them upside down or sideways. As an example, her is my practice board in a pedal gig bag where my pedals are turned sideways for easier stomping.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5560115/pedalboard.jpg)
Quote from: jimilee on May 29, 2013, 07:51:05 PM
I have put knobs on the side once or twice, It's a pain.
Was it a pain just because of the mounting/ wiring issue, or did you run into other build/ practical usage problems? I was thinking of controls down the side and top mounted jacks, but I'm open to other inspiration.
I don't think mounting pedals sideways is going to cut it for me, I'm really fond of having just a stomp switch on the top panel.
Knobs on the sides get in the way of the cables on the sides. If all your jacks are top mounted you won't have an issues I'd say.9mm pots would work well for side mounting.
Quote from: jimilee on May 29, 2013, 08:30:24 PM
Knobs on the sides get in the way of the cables on the sides. If all your jacks are top mounted you won't have an issues I'd say.9mm pots would work well for side mounting.
I'm working on a box that has two overdrives in a 125B, so there's going to be some side mounted controls. Jimi makes a point here that's got me worried a lot.... Plus, I like to be able to see at a single glance where my controls are set at. If something is off to my ears, I can get a quick visual check of what to adjust, and maybe how much, so when the opportunity arrises I can bend down quick and fix it. But I still think I'm going to do it!
Paul
Tayda has some cheap pots that would work well for board mounted pots with knobs on the side
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/potentiometer-variable-resistors/rotary-potentiometer/200k-ohm-logarithmic-taper-potentiometer.html (http://www.taydaelectronics.com/potentiometer-variable-resistors/rotary-potentiometer/200k-ohm-logarithmic-taper-potentiometer.html)
I've done it a couple of times, though I always try and mount my jacks on the sides, so I mounted the pots on the top vertical face. Worked fine, did it in a 1590BB and a NS1032, used 12 mm pots, no issues. Only thing I'd suggest is you relegate the side mounted pots to control you don't change a lot, because you don't see them easily.
I've been thinking about designing a couple pcb's with internal trim pots in place of all pots to avoid this and save myself the hassle of messing with my board prior to gigs. It's nice to change it up but for gigs I rarely mess with things once I get going...
From the May contest thread here's how to do it in style.
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=9589.msg86492#msg86492
Quote from: jimilee on May 29, 2013, 07:51:05 PM
her is my practice board
Hey, I recognize that green pedal! ;D
I'm with Stomptown, I like the idea of "set and forget"-like controls on the side. I put the "bias" or "compression" knob on the side of an orange squeezer
I built my egghead with trim pots only, works great! I'm not one to spends lots of time making many little adjustments, so it works well for me
Seems like as far as volume goes, once you reach unity, you're good, wIth time based and phase shifters I trend to change them on the fly with my foot.
Quote from: jimilee on May 30, 2013, 04:06:44 AM
Seems like as far as volume goes, once you reach unity, you're good, wIth time based and phase shifters I trend to change them on the fly with my foot.
Yeah, I wouldn't do an internal trim phaser for sure, but dirt pedals would be especially good for this application. I'm not sure about my boost though. It's nice to adjust on the fly in I'm not cutting through in the mix...
I'll side-mount pots if there's only one or two, and I have a graphic I really really like.