dual effect same pots?

[snz728]

Just thinking...

I was thinking about putting two effects in the same box with two switches like usual BUT, get this, they have the same pot values.

can two boards share the same pots??

I was thinking of two ODs like the Black 65 and Tweed 57 that have the same pot values.  Could I hook them each up to separate switches and they share same 5 pots? and then have a dual fender in a box effect.

or will it affect resistance or something I haven't thought of...

[jubal81]

Well, you could just use all dual pots if they're all the same value and it's just two effects ...

[snz728]

oh... hadn't thought of that

[GermanCdn]

If you could find the right values, you could got with 5 dual concentric stacked pots (ala Boss Metal Zone EQ), which would give you two completely independent set of controls.  Would do exactly what you want, but you're probably paying $10 per pot as opposed to $1, and the knobs are going to cost 4 times as much, so the pedal'd end up running you close to $100, which is a bit much for the DIY OD range.

Dual gangs would work, but you'd be stuck with the exact same settings for both pedals, and it's not likely that the exact same setting would be the best sound for both circuits, so you'd have to compromise on one or both sounds.  And 5 dual gangs will cost you roughly the same as 10 normal pots.

If you were trying to get away with using standard 3 lug pots and having two leads running to each lug, I guess it's possible, but you'd still be stuck with the same limitations as the dual gang.  You'd also have to consider not only the pot value, but also that each lug is serving the same purpose in both circuits.  Pretty sure if in one circuit a pot grounded from lug 1 and the other lug 3 it wouldn't work for either circuit as the grounds aren't circuit switch dependant.  You could get around this by wiring up individual 3PDT or 4PDT toggles, but then you're back to the dual concentric pot cost range and it would look like a piece of vintage NASA equipment.

So, short answer, yes it can be done, depending on how much you want to spend and how much flexibility you want to have.

[midwayfair]

you're probably paying $10 per pot as opposed to $1, and the knobs are going to cost 4 times as much

Nah.

$2.80 each for pots:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=1213

Nice knobs:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=1214

Kind of limited pot choices, but still.

[pickdropper]

you're probably paying $10 per pot as opposed to $1, and the knobs are going to cost 4 times as much

Nah.

$2.80 each for pots:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=1213

Nice knobs:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=1214

Kind of limited pot choices, but still.

I'm going to use those on some of the 1590A builds instead of masochistically trying to fit 6 pots in.

[snz728]

Thanks for the options.  I was originally thinking of just saving boxes and knobs by putting them on the same pots and then manually changing settings (my layouts have the same pot wiring for both effects) when I felt like Black or tweed
but the dual pots are a good option for set it and forget it stomp on the fly to change your sound.

[rollo greb]

I've done this a few times with dual gang pots to save on enclosures, it works great if you don't mind messing around with the settings each time you change from one to the other. Also keep in mind that if they both use the typical master volume at the end of the circuit, you don't need a dual gang there because you can put it after the selector switch.