# Footswitch for my guitar amp. How to make it any ideas?



## marios_mar

Hi,
 I have a guitar amp with two channels. One clean and one with distortion. It has an inpput that says "footwswitch and it's for a 1/4" jack. Without a footswitch you change between the two channels by pressing a small button. I need to make a footswitch to be able to change channels standing up. Any ideas on how to do it?


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## Voodoochile

No specific ideas for you, other than to say that the Hammond die-cast aluminum boxes are very suitable for this application. The Small Bear Electronics link on the DIY link reference page has some appropriate parts and tips as well, including the actual switch.

 I am betting that erix will be along soon with some practical ideas for you. He is very into this sort of thing!


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## marios_mar

I'll be waitin for erix then. Thanks for the info but I live in EUROPE. I think I can get pretty much everything I need around here. I am not worried about the enclosure. But about the connection and what kind of switch I need. see?


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## erix

Well, it's a fairly easy thing to make.

 You need a lamp cord (two conductor anything), a 1/4" mono plug, a SPST stompswitch, and a box to put it in.

 All you will be doing is open and close a switch that switches in something as complicated as an additional pre-amp section or as simple as a pair of clipping diodes. Don't know your amp but they all work that way.

 Wire the plug, one wire goes to each terminal on the plug. Wire the other end of the lamp cord to the switch, one wire to each terminal. All done!

 Step on the switch - circuit open
 Step on it again - circuit closes

 Steve at Small Bear does ship to Europe and is VERY easy to deal with.

 ok,
 erix


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## aeberbach

How about buying one of the cheapest Boss pedals used, like an old distortion, and gutting it? You get the switch and a built-in jack. It might even be cheaper than buying a metal enclosure and a stomp switch.


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## rickcr42

if you can't find what you need here it can not be done 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





http://www.geofex.com/


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## juswalsh23

so how about a 3 button footswitch: distortion, solo, efx????


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## Uncle Erik

Try Antique Electronic Supply here:

Antique Electronic Supply

 They should have everything you need to build a foot pedal.


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## MisterX

General Guitar Gadgets and Small Bear Electronics are also good resources for guitar effects and such. 

General Guitar Gadgets - Home

Small Bear Electronics


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## baggy_punx

hi there i was wondering if anyone could help me. I have a mesa/boogie mkIII simul class which usually has 4 foot switches on in 3 enclosures. Unfortunately my ex stole all of them which means it will cost me a fortune to replace them especially with original mesa ones. I want to make one pedal which has all 4 switches in it. One of the original mesa pedals had 2 footswitches but only one 1/4 inch mono jack coming off it, this turned on/off the EQ and the reverb. I don't know how to wire this up or if it needs more components than just the 2 footswitch's, 1/4 inch socket and 1/4 inch jack. If anyone can shine some light on this it would be greatly appreciated.


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## Juaquin

I would suggest taking the ex to court 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Here's some clone kits, if that's what you're interested in: BYOC - The World's Finest DIY Guitar Effects Kits

 You could probably get a big box and shove 3-4 effects into one box.


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## baggy_punx

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Juaquin* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I would suggest taking the ex to court 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Here's some clone kits, if that's what you're interested in: BYOC - The World's Finest DIY Guitar Effects Kits

 You could probably get a big box and shove 3-4 effects into one box._

 

 lol, its best i just keep a safe distance. 
 I'm more after making everything from scratch myself tbh, the clone kits are for efx pedals, I'm just after cloning the foot switches. Cheers for your time and advice though


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## Juaquin

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *baggy_punx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm just after cloning the foot switches_

 

Ah, I misread. I don't know of any sources for just the switch part but I'm sure others do


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## Fred_fred2004

The switch is easy search ebay for "stomp switch"
3, 3PDT 9-Pin Effects Stomp Foot Switch True Bypass,BL - eBay Guitar Parts, Parts Accessories, Guitar, Musical Instruments. (end time 02-Mar-10 00:30:17 AEDST)

 cheers
 FRED


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## baggy_punx

sorry, what i mean is, i have all the parts and as far as just selecting between RHYTHM 1/RHYTHM 2 is concerned that's cool because that is only one stomp box and only involves 1 foot switch. In total the amp has 3 inputs for foot switches, the problem I'm having is, at the back of the amp there is 1 input labelled EQ/REVERB, this is controlled by 1 stomp box which has 2 foot switches in the box. The other two stomp boxes only have one 1 switch per box and are easy to put together (1 x stomp box enclosure, 1 x mono foot switch, 1 x 1/4 inch jack socket - sorted) I can't get my head around how to make a stomp box that that can turn on/off both the EQ and REVERB when there is only 1 lead going off it and it only goes into 1 input.

 I'm sorry if i didn't explain myself properly, I've been told that it may have something to do with using a stereo 1/4 inch jack instead of a mono.


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## Fred_fred2004

I'm not sure but there is a trick, by using a stereo jack and a mono plug you can create an on off switch, it uses the ring and the earth of the stereo jack they get connected together when the mono plug is inserted

 cheers
 FRED


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## azvolpe

I had the same issue until I found an old deck of cards, and an audio cassette case. I used the wires of a dead desktop mic, the card deck, cassette case, electrical tape, a rubber band, a golf pencil, and of course, a sharpie for labeling
   
  1) tape the case and card box closed
  2)tape the pencil in the middle-ish and string either strand of the wire through the tape so the stripped portion lays across the deck
  3)run the other strand through the cassette case and out the other end (this helps separate the 2 strands to avoid an unwanted connection
  4)tape the ends of each wire to its own part to make a tall, thin "X" when you look at the top of the pedal (this provides a reliable connection when you really need it) and be sure the wire's tip is also fastened down(don't want stray wires screwing up a jam session)
  5)wrap the pedal in whatever tape you wish, duct tape lasts best, but only wrap parallel to the pencil
  6)attach a well-needed rubber band wherever needed (this keeps your connection off if its on 11)
  7)use double sided tape, poster mount pads (these do better... provide a slight give when you stomp)
  8) plug in
   
  happy strumming!
   
  I will post pics asap


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## Aneurysm

Hey, can I use a normal switch from lamp or something like that instead of SPST stompswitch ?


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## alexander dark

hey eric! since youre the guru,.lol... I have 4 different guitars, and I want to have them all plugged in on stage so I can swap out on the fly without having to turn off the amp,unplugged,switch,plug in,yadda yadda yadda... how do i build a box with four imputs (1/4 in) ,4 separate on/off switches to one 1/4 out?


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## goatpeople

Alexander dark, 
What you're looking for is an A/B switch. They basically work as a signal splitter. You can use them to send one guitar to two amps or the other way around. Without chaining a few of them together, you'd have to either a)find a switch with 4 settings, or b) wire them in a tree.


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## wakibaki

alexander dark said:


> hey eric! since youre the guru,.lol... I have 4 different guitars, and I want to have them all plugged in on stage so I can swap out on the fly without having to turn off the amp,unplugged,switch,plug in,yadda yadda yadda... how do i build a box with four imputs (1/4 in) ,4 separate on/off switches to one 1/4 out?


 
 I answered this in your other thread, you build it exactly as you would expect, 4 inputs to 4 switches to 1 out.
  
 w


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## ajbcc2

make it easy on yourself....type in "amp foot switch" for your search engine...I did and found one  under $20 others
 at $24....unless you just have to build it yourself


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