FX loop/switcher/snake/thing for my horn

[Eddododo]

I play euphonium in a band (as well as tuba and trombone)

I have been using pedals with it for awhile now, using a cool little mic i got for my upright bass, which conveniently puts out 'guitar level' signal..

ANYWAY
I would like to accomplish this- to be able to switch on effects with my left hand on the horn, rather than fighting for alot of any pedal space with a 9 person band..

The switching andstuff like buffers, polarity reversal, etc are not my question- I have more... mechanical needs. With 4 pedals, each of which I would like individually triggered, I do not know a good way to deal with the wiring, or the cable runs, more specifically; each switch at my fingers is essentially an effects loop, needing a send and return, and presumably some shielding..

I could have a stereo cable for each pedal- T-send R-return S-ground.. the obvious problems: 4 cables to deal with, trip over, tangle, and troubleshoot, not to mention the relative rarity of stereo cables if one fails (though I am a bring-2-backups kind of guy). I could always tape them together to keep them tidy, but then changing one out SUCKS. and tape goo SUCKS. XLR is a bit more common, so that solves a problem, but the plugs and their jacks are pretty bulky...

I would love to find a 4-channel super small snake, but I cannot find any, and it would probably be more than I would want to spend for such a frivolous venture.

I like the idea of something like Ribbon cables, but I am not aware of one that would actually be suitable for a guitar-cable length run, regarding noise pickup and general physical toughness



I have brainstormed a few other ideas, but i would LOVE to hear how some of you would do this..
Thanks for any input!

[Eddododo]

I do suppose I could just run horn to pedalboard, with a 'switcher module' on the floor, and the finger switches would control a current going to relays in the 'switcher module'; this would solve the noise issue, and could take only 2 cables (i guess that could get a little tricky with more than one effect engaged per-cable .. y'know?)

The problem is, I REALLY do not know much about relays, and I have so many projects right now that I am learning about as I go, that I would probably run out of steam tackling relays... though they WOULD make most of my other projects better... what say you?

[Jdansti]

You could make your own snake, but use cable ties (sometimes called zip ties) to hold the bundle together instead of tape. They're much cleaner and easier to remove and replace.

Relays are pretty simple but come in different configurations. The simplest has two leads for the coil and two leads for a set of contacts that act as a SPST switch. When you energize the coil by pressing a switch with your finger, the contacts in the relay open or close, depending on whether it's normally open (NO) or normally closed (NC). Most relays have at least three contacts that act as a SPDT switch. There's a common terminal a NO terminal and a NC terminal.



I think the difficult part is trying to adapt the relay to your current pedals.

[Eddododo]

thank you for the help!

after a long night of research, sketching, and planning, i am thinking a few things...

:  cat-5 cable (ethernet) controlling relays  --- easy to find, cheap cable, nice and round.. seems like a decent candidate
:  rather than using cmos logic, i think it'd be simple and cheap enough to use mechanical switches and my hand, to induce the relay current to drive the relays in the floor box.. i like this because i can finish it in an afternoon, and it allows me to use momentary switches to 'stutter' octaves, etc...

[Jdansti]

Cool!  Let us know how it turns out!