Let's make ... a multieffects unit

[midwayfair]

I wanted to keep this quiet until I actually had something thoroughly worked up and could share it, but there are some bits that I will certainly need help with.

Here's my idea: A build-your-own multieffects unit. It would use 1590As and/or 1590LBs as little plug and play boxes. Each box would have its own knobs, but it wouldn't have any jacks or switch, so there's lots of room in the boxes for circuits that you normally can't fit in those boxes. The boxes would have a TRS jack hardwired, with e.g. the out being the ring and the in being the tip.

These get plugged into a loop station, which has a switch w/ indicator LED for each effect. The effects could be powered however is most appropriate. You could even build a power supply into the looper box.

There are lots of benefits to this, one of the major ones being minimal cabling between effects, but also that it's a small self-contained unit that can essentially double as the board itself.

Here's the part that I *can't* figure out. Obviously for this to be of interest to anyone else, there needs to be a way to use effects you've already built with the same loop station. This means having at least a second jack while still taking advantage of the special-built pedals having only the one jack. You can't just use the same jack because it'll cause problems.

Is there a compromise? Maybe just have three jacks available at each hub? Maybe two jacks but put a small switch that "turns off" the in (or out) wire of the stereo one jack so that it works like a normal jack? Can anyone see another way it would work?

[JakeFuzz]

Very cool idea. I think the amount of work involved may lean more toward a one-off sort of build or maybe a business pitch to a pedal building company. I think the best route would be to use something like header pins or quick connects on the bottom of the pedal instead of TRS jacks. With the added connectors you could do all sorts of things like switching and the power could come in through these connectors as well. I am envisioning something like the old Nintendo cartridges that you plug into the console. It would be even cooler if you could incorporate the preset type switching using the octaswitch type of layout so instead of switching on and off individual effects you have four switches which have preset DIP settings to go to preselected on/off arrangements.

[midwayfair]

I think the best route would be to use something like header pins or quick connects on the bottom of the pedal instead of TRS jacks. With the added connectors you could do all sorts of things like switching and the power could come in through these connectors as well. I am envisioning something like the old Nintendo cartridges

That's a pretty cool idea. [I could find a way to incorporate the power glove, too! http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/LargeHadronColliderDelay/] I was really hoping to use common parts, but then again we don't all have TRS male jacks lying around, so I guess it's the same amount of off the beaten path stuff.

[gtr2]

I've thought of doing almost this same thing when Brian was talking about the babby boards.  I just never really went past the initial idea.  Good luck on your endeavor!

Couldn't you just use a custom made Y-cable that would take the TRS and wire one the normal TS and the other would take the Ring from the TRS and use it for the other Tip.  Sleeve would be ground for all connections.

Josh

[midwayfair]

I've thought of doing almost this same thing when Brian was talking about the babby boards.  I just never really went past the initial idea.  Good luck on your endeavor!

Couldn't you just use a custom made Y-cable that would take the TRS and wire one the normal TS and the other would take the Ring from the TRS and use it for the other Tip.  Sleeve would be ground for all connections.

Josh

oh. Durf. you're right, that's how to do it. in fact, just today someone posted a pic on TGP the thing they rigged for their Tremolescence (which uses TRS for its stereo connections ... and in fact that pedal was the reason I realized I could do this).

[jkokura]

I thought about doing this too, a long while back, but I started figuring all the effort of doing it this way, plus the lack of being able to move pedals on when I got bored or didn't like them...

Anyway, for me it didn't seem to be a viable project, but what I did think of was this:

Imagine a series of 1590a's with plugs coming out of the box, similar to the old school Anderton and EHX effects. These boxes would then plug straight into the mother bypass unit. Build a unit with 4 or 5 bypass switches, plus a mute and or master bypass, and you've got the control unit. Then you can build as many of these 1590a boxes as you want, and swap them in and out as you need. Skip the cables, just plug the box straight in.

The trick is, how do you get a plug fastened to a 1590a without giving you too much of a headache.

Jacob

[midwayfair]

Imagine a series of 1590a's with plugs coming out of the box, similar to the old school Anderton and EHX effects. These boxes would then plug straight into the mother bypass unit. Build a unit with 4 or 5 bypass switches, plus a mute and or master bypass, and you've got the control unit. Then you can build as many of these 1590a boxes as you want, and swap them in and out as you need. Skip the cables, just plug the box straight in.

The trick is, how do you get a plug fastened to a 1590a without giving you too much of a headache.

Jacob

This is in fact exactly what I was trying to describe, mothership, headache, and all.

[oldhousescott]

Korg kinda sorta did this about 30 years ago with their PME-40X system, of course the modules were all proprietary Korg units.


Hasn't Barber come out with some system where they power the pedals over the signal cable?

[glowsheep]

Devi Ever was working on a console like that as well a while back that used cartridges, much like an Atari or NES. Several companies were even on board for making their own cartridges that could be used in the console. I think she even got pre-orders and start up funds, but nothings come of it. 

[midwayfair]

Devi Ever was working on a console like that as well a while back that used cartridges, much like an Atari or NES. Several companies were even on board for making their own cartridges that could be used in the console. I think she even got pre-orders and start up funds, but nothings come of it. 

I think anything that didn't allow someone to use their favorite boxes was doomed to fail. No one wants to be locked into *only* using a proprietary system.

[jkokura]

I think that's the same problem with even your idea. Anything you build will only be useful with your system. So pretty much choose wisely.

Jacob

[GermanCdn]

I'm working on the same type of idea, with a little twist (I haven't started building it yet, as I haven't decided if I want it to be 5 units or 8 units).  The layout I'm working on is a 1411 style enclosure with two jacks per effect, and each individual effect being housed in 1590b enclosure with two jacks on the bottom to match the input and output from the 1411.  I am then going to use male to male connectors to join the inputs and outputs (avaible from guitarfetish, musikding, etc).  This would make for a fairly rigid pedalboard setup, and if I wanted to swap in some existing pedal, I just pull the male to males out and install a couple of short FX board cables.  Current plan would be to daisy chain everything together, but that might change as well.

The other benefit to going to a two jack system on the modules is if I want to take one of those modules and add them to a different pedal board (i.e. put in on my bass rig or acoustic rig), all I have to do is connect it up to a stand alone loop box and away I go.

If I like the final result, I'll probably put a rigid backboard on it and mount all the enclosures directly to the board.  Likely start building it in July once all my pedal building gear arrives from Germany.

Will let you know how it works.