Hey,everybody. I have a problem, and this seems to be the best place to find the anwer. My old sears amp is supposed to have a footswitch, But I don't have one for it. It's not really an issue until I need the tremolo, then it becomes a real problem.I know that it requires a stereo plug and two effect switches, but I'm really not sure about the rest. Any advice on building a two button footswitch?
Quote from: LJN on April 26, 2011, 01:56:50 AM
Hey,everybody. I have a problem, and this seems to be the best place to find the anwer. My old sears amp is supposed to have a footswitch, But I don't have one for it. It's not really an issue until I need the tremolo, then it becomes a real problem.I know that it requires a stereo plug and two effect switches, but I'm really not sure about the rest. Any advice on building a two button footswitch?
I've not built one myself. But from what I remember reading a while ago they normally just ground the connection between tip 1 and sleeve and tip 2 and sleeve. You'll need to check with your amp if you need a momentary switch or a latching switch. This is easy to check, plug in a stereo plug then play with the wires crossing them till they switch the channels. Then just wire the switches to do what you had the wire doing.
Thanks for the advice. I believe the footswitch for my amp was for switching the reverb and tremolo on and off.
If it is not a million channel/million feature amp then most probably you will need latching switches. In most amp designs if you put a LED in series with resistor paralel to the switch - you will get a footswitch with LED.
Thanks, I'll have to see if I can find some switches. I wasn't going to use LED's because I want to keep it simple. The original one didn't have them, but it does seem like a good idea.
Quote from: joecool85 on April 26, 2011, 09:51:21 AM
I've not built one myself. But from what I remember reading a while ago they normally just ground the connection between tip 1 and sleeve and tip 2 and sleeve. You'll need to check with your amp if you need a momentary switch or a latching switch. This is easy to check, plug in a stereo plug then play with the wires crossing them till they switch the channels. Then just wire the switches to do what you had the wire doing.
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I would just try to find one, but they're hard to come by and usually cost more than they're worth. I'm tired of finding old amps and every one of them is missing the footswitch. I'm certain that what it does is each switch grounds out the effect that it's assigned to. at least that's what it looks like.
Quote from: LJN on April 28, 2011, 03:02:25 AM
I would just try to find one, but they're hard to come by and usually cost more than they're worth. I'm tired of finding old amps and every one of them is missing the footswitch. I'm certain that what it does is each switch grounds out the effect that it's assigned to. at least that's what it looks like.
All you need is a generic 2 channel switching switch. Musician's Friend sells them cheap. I think under $20.
That's alot cheaper than the route I was gonna take :o
I was gonna use the stompbox switches, a stereo jack, and a cut-off 3 prong cord. I'll definitely look into that! :tu:
Thanks alot, Joe.
Quote from: LJN on April 29, 2011, 02:34:07 AM
That's alot cheaper than the route I was gonna take :o
I was gonna use the stompbox switches, a stereo jack, and a cut-off 3 prong cord. I'll definitely look into that! :tu:
Thanks alot, Joe.
Looks like it's $25 for the cheapest one and it says Vox on it. You could always paint it if that bothered you. But yeah, once you bought the two switches, jack, enclosure and cord, you might as well just buy the thing. Course if you build it, it will probably be more rugged than a store bought unit.
I built the footswitch today, and it works great. I got the parts at my local radioshack. It costed somewhere around 10 dollars, and I couldn't be more satisfied. :tu:
Quote from: LJN on May 07, 2011, 03:48:49 AM
I built the footswitch today, and it works great. I got the parts at my local radioshack. It costed somewhere around 10 dollars, and I couldn't be more satisfied. :tu:
What'd you use for a switch? I didn't think they had any stomp switches there.
I used two cheap push on/ push off switches. They costed $1.99 each. They're plastic, but they serve their purpose quite well.
Quote from: LJN on May 09, 2011, 04:08:34 PM
I used two cheap push on/ push off switches. They costed $1.99 each. They're plastic, but they serve their purpose quite well.
Ah, be careful how hard you stomp them that's all.
No need to worry about that. I don't stomp on any of my pedals. I use just enough pressure to turn them on and off. these switches that I used for the foot switch are very easy to push. they're pretty sturdy for plastic too. I also labeled it. I found out a way to givethe letters an aged appearance. I used microsoft works to print the words, and put clear tape over them while the ink was fresh, then I carefully pulled the tape off and it transferred the letters to the tape. When I put my labels on, the letters looked old and faded. It looks as good as it works. :tu:
Hey, LJN !
Sorry to revive this old thread but you got me intrigued!
Any chance you could post a nice picture or two of your DIY foot-switch. I have the same problem as you.
It will be much appreciated.
Thank you !
Cheap plastic push on-push off switched work very well and are sturdier than many think, but stop working after a few months, even if well treated.
Being a *very* curious type of guy, I investigated until I found ou the real culprit: dirt from your shoes gets trapped between the button itself and its sleeve, blocking it in the "down" position.
Your weight is enough to push them, but the skimpy spring which they have inside, is not strong enough to rise it again.
I found 2 solutions, to avoid replacing them *that* often
1) I superglued a slightly larger plastic "coin" to the top, it worked like a hat´s brim .
2) I talked the switch maker about it, telling him that Desert Storm soldiers used to put condoms on their M16´s muzzles, to avoid sand getting in, and jokingly telling him to do something similar.
He said "you gave me an idea"
Next month he called me, and showed me little "condoms" he had specially made (he made the dies, got the injectable silicone rubber, everything)
I´ll post some pictures .
Result? they work for *years* without problems.
A crazy idea which worked.