Arduino Switch/Looper - or ANY DIY switch/looper - Need your thoughts...

[greysun]

Hey everyone! Since the majority of my pedal board is Madbean-based, I thought I'd cheat a bit and see if I could get some advice on a NON-madbead project...

I found this tutorial online: http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-based-8-loops-pedal-switcher/

I like this because it can go up to 21 loops (which means I could, theoretically, control 2 guitars/effects-strings with one controller - e.g. loops 1-10 are guitar 1, loops 11-20 are guitar 2, and program them accordingly).

Of course, I have reservations: 1) many of the comments talk about how it needs a buffer in order to not make noise - I find buffers don't always play nice with my fuzz pedals. 2) They also say the relays are cheap and not audio quality. 3) I'd like to avoid any kind of pop noise upon switching if possible.

I saw a few people on this thread have dabbled in creating an arduino looper/switch, but didn't see an apples-to-apples application. I simply want to hit button 1 and have effects 2, 5, and 7 active; then hit button 2 and have effects 1 and 8 active, etc. I don't need any expression or amp switching, nor do I need to mess with the order of the pedals - just straight-up these effects are on, i press a button, now these effects are on and those effects are off.

Does anyone have experience here? Is there a parts list and schematic of the X5 2 relay arduino unit such that I could just manually build it with better relays and avoid the buffer? How can I avoid the pop noise? OR...

Is there a better system that I can DIY?

For a little history: a few years ago, I bought the PedalSync9 switching system - I bought all the relay modules, had an enclosure custom build - It was a pricy undertaking for something with not much documentation, but I emailed with the creator and felt confident enough. He said I could modify it to control 2 guitar signals (aka, 18 loops, not just 9). Then I moved and it sat in a box unfinished UNTIL NOW! Well, it works as advertised-ish, BUT there's a few issues with it: 1) It currently has a master control board and the pedal sync board to control the relays - but in order for this to work like a looping pedal (button 1 for effects 3, 5, 9; button 2 for effects 2, 4, etc.), I have to get a new master controller and manually create a third daughter board to connect to it, as well as rewire all my switches. 2) Every time you hit a loop/switch, you then have to hit another switch for it to start/activate, which kind of defeats the purpose of just hitting the loop button for your effects to change. 3) To avoid a pop when hitting the switch, the system cuts out the signal for a split second - but that split second is a little too long and is quite noticeable when playing. 4) They aren't being super responsive at the moment when I email them, which could be timing or maybe they're moving on - who knows. Either way, in this case, there's more issues than fixes and I think it's time to cut my losses and move on...

I'm hoping I can find a new system to get this going again - Would love to have my pedalboard finally just DONE after all these years.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[sarde]

Its not arduino and it is relay switching, but these DIY options should be quiet. Each have benefits and drawbacks for your purposes.

Option 1 - Epic looper from JMK/THCustom (http://jmkpcbs.com/product/epic-bypass-looper-kit/). JMK also has an expansion board for a 7segment display for the bank number.

Option 2 - BYOC Super 8 (https://buildyourownclone.com/products/super8) This has a buffered and a non buffered input plus midi capability.

Hope this helps,
-Sarde

[greysun]

The epic looper looks awesome - and I remember seeing it a few times over the last couple years... but I have 7 loops plus a JamMan looper, so that was never a match. I also came across the BYOC super8 this weekend, and it looks interesting, but I'm not sure I could modify it to control 2 audio lines. I could always use DPDT momentary's with it, but then that's a bit pricy for 2 units and I'm not sure it would with that interface.

If I could find a verified octaswitch schematic, I'd just mod it to use each footswitch with a 16 position DIP, but none seem to be verified out there. I may just need to lower my expectations, hehe.

as for why I'd want to control 2 audio lines - I have a stereo setup with my guitar: bridge and neck to one amp (tube), middle to a different amp (solid state). Why did I build my guitar that way? lots of reasons, but mostly so I could get the best of both amp worlds, and have a bit more control with mids when I use fuzz pedals live (I know, it sounds like it doesn't make sense, but the sound is so much better this way).