Boneyard and afterlife wiring question

[sam_c]

Hi guys,

Ive just populated a pair of boneyard boards and Im planning out the enclosure layout for one of them.  Id like to have all the features footswitchable -  bypass, hi/low gain, boost - so I am going with a larger enclosure.  Id like to get a baby board compressor in there too which would work with just the hi gain channel for lead stuff.  

Is there a way to make up a 3pdt or maybe a 4pdt footswitch that would switch between the hi/lo gain pots and also switch the afterlife comp in and out of the circuit?  I am at work at the moment and Ive been doodling around some ideas but wondered if anyone has done something similar before?

Another thought I had was to not use the boost function on the boneyard and replace it with the afterlife as the 'boost' in the circuit, giving me a variable comp and an output increase I could use with both the low and hi gain channels.  Im assuming this would also let me just use the comp/boost when the boneyard is bypassed?  so effectivley I would have a clean, crunch and lead channel available with the option of boosting each one?  all in one pedal?   This is what I am trying to acheive anyway

I will more than likely test all this out before i commit to boxing anything up but if anyone has any cool suggestions Im really eager to learn about it and try stuff out.  

[sam_c]

sorry to revive this thread. 

I have built out both circuits and they are working great. First time i have used my test rig and Im impressed with how easy it made testing. 

I was wondering if there is any way to mod the afterlife circuit so that the output level is above unity gain?  I would like to use it as a sort of boost function for the pedal Im making.  Would it be possible to increase the value of the volume pot?   I dont need tons of boost level, just enough to take it up slightly for solo's. 

thanks!

[sam_c]

also just remembered, I have a thunderpuss somewhere that I havent boxed up yet.  Would running the afterlife and thunderpuss together as a boost/comp section be a better idea?   I could just replace the volume pot on the afterlife with a fixed resistor value. 

[DutchMF]

To answer the question in your original post (sorry I missed that in the first place): It can be done using a 4PDT. Just use one pole for the hi/crunch switching and wire the remaining 3 poles as a normal 3PDT bypass for the afterlife as per the standard wiring diagram. Even gives you an indicator LED!

Im not familiar enough with the Afterlife (haven't built it  ) to advise on modding it, but the idea of combining it with a Thunderpuss sounds great! The only thing is if you want to boost volume, the Thunderpuss should be placed after the Boneyard, otherwise you would only increase distortion, not the output level. I'm not sure if that's the best place in the signal chain for a compressor (never use one....) so do some research into that first!

Let me know how this works out!

One last thought: combining these three circuits might generate a lot of noise..... Shielded cables are advised and definitely rock it before you box it! If the noise is intolerable you can still decide to box them separately. Just increases the tap dance factor a little 

Paul

[sam_c]

thanks for your reply.  I have been tinkering around with these 3 circuits a little bit today and you are right, If I use the thunderpuss it needs to go at the end of the chain but be switched simultaneously with the afterlife.  Thankfully Ive got a big enclosure to put them all in so space aint an issue. 

I think Im going hook up a f.switch to the afterlife later to quickly test how much volume is on tap.  I couldnt really A/B it that well with the bypass signal earlier and I think there may be enough volume there to use for a solo boost.

I'll post some build pics and a demo once its done.