A Question About Modding a Volume Pedal

[screamingdaisy]

I did a search and couldn't find anything on this.

I have a volume pedal (single in, single out) that I want to add an extra output to (for silent tuning - like an Ernie Ball).

I figure that the simplist way to do this would be to split off the input side so that it will still send a signal to the tuner in the heel down position.

What I'd like to know, is will a strait up Y spit off the input jack degrade my overall signal at all? Is there a better way to do this thing.

Better yet, where could I find a diagram of the guts of an Ernie Ball to work from?

I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but I'm working with a George Dennis GD020 Mono Volume Pedal.  This isn't my first bit of electrical work, but it is my first shot at modding a pedal.

Thanks.  

[Mark Hammer]

Oh it makes a BIG difference.  Many volume pedals are simply passive pots with an input and output jack.  The fact that the GD020 is an optical active pedal means that you'll need to figure out just exactly how "active" it is and where to tap the circuit.

An optical volumepedal can take many forms.  The simplest would be one where a pot is used to variably light an LED by adjusting the current it is fed.  The LED sits on a board somewhere, staring at a photocell, and the photocell is hooked up to a fixed resistor to form a voltage divider.  That's it, one pot, one photocell, one LED, one fixed resistor and one battery.

That you CAN make something that simple doesn't mean that's what's in there, though.  It is conceivable that there is some sort of input buffer.  Ideally there is, since the output of that buffer would be the ideal place to tap the signal for splitting off to a tuner-send.  You don't want the position of the foot-treadle, or what it does to any attenuation circuit, to influence the quality or level of signal seen by the tuner.

Could you, uh, pop the lid and tell us what's in there?  At least say if there are any chips or transistors inside.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Photo's would be absolutely excellent.

[screamingdaisy]

I'm not at home right now.  I got the idea a few days ago as a way to save some $$$$ by not having to buy another pedal when I already have a good one.  Indyguitarist suggested I try looking for answers here and I got all excited and jumped the gun.  I'll search out this thread and post some pics as soon as I get home.

Until then, cheers.

[Hal]

y-cable before the volume?  $5 ?

i mean...not ideal, and wouldn't turn on/off with the pedal...but its the cheap and easy way...

[wampcat1]

I'm not at home right now.  I got the idea a few days ago as a way to save some $$$$ by not having to buy another pedal when I already have a good one.  Indyguitarist suggested I try looking for answers here and I got all excited and jumped the gun.  I'll search out this thread and post some pics as soon as I get home.

Until then, cheers.

nice to see ya on here!

Brian