remote switching for 3pdt true bypass pedals

[mr.coffee]

Hi, I'm Mike.  I was hoping somebody might be able to offer suggestions on how to accomplish something.

Some time ago, I eliminated my pedalboard entirely.  I'm using a Shure PGX wireless, Korg PitchBlack Pro rack tuner, a dbx 166XL for gating and subtle compression, a DSP128+ for delays and reverbs, a Boss RCE10 for chorus, and have a Dirt Clod coming sometime this week for MIDI controllable overdrive. An ART X-12 and Voodoo Lab Control Switcher handle channel switching on my head, muting the tuner, and bypassing the chorus.

Sounds pretty cool, right? I'm very pleased with it at the moment, but the one pedal that got left behind is my trusty EH LPB-1. I put it in the loop for a fairly transparent boost on solos.  I'm wanting to re-home it in a 1U metal project box,  move the pot and LED to the front panel, and use the remaining relay on the Control Switcher to bypass it.  Problem is, it's a true bypass with a 3pdt stomp switch.  Anybody here know of an easy way to rewire this so that I can remotely switch it from a 1/4" jack?

-m

[mth5044]

What kind of output does the control switcher use? If it can trigger a relay, or a transistor controlling a relay, it should be easy enough. Here is a remote bypass switching article you might find useful.

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/rmtswtch/rmtsw.htm

[blackieNYC]

and Smallbear electronics sells this:
https://monomonster.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/pre-programmed-rbm-micro-controllers/

[mr.coffee]

That may be useful.  I'll have to look at it more closely when SWMBO gets off of my computer.

The Control Switcher just uses a 1/4" connected to a relay that can be set to normally open, normally closed, latching or momentary.

-m

[mr.coffee]

Continuing to dig around, I found a product called ESW5.0 on the 'bay, it LOOKS like it's a pre-built SMD version of the geofex circuit.  Also Mammoth and Greenhouse have similar boards.  My main concern is latency - some reviews indicate that the Mammoth board has a 400ms signal drop, thoroughly unacceptable.

I'm leaning toward something that unless there's a good reason not to, as the less I have to buy and build, the better - I have less than two weeks to have my rig ready to go for playing out with a cover band that I've just joined.  I've got pretty much everything else in the bag already, this is the last loose end.  It would be easy enough to pull the switch and wire directly to a 1/4" jack, add my panel mount LED, abandoning the two pins on on the LPB1 dedicated to powering the LED.  $20 and good to go.

Without your input, I don't think I would have found that...whatever solution I go with, I appreciate the help!

-m

[mth5044]

So there are relays in the controller? Or it sends a voltage to a relay? Sounds like the latter. In that case, you need to know what that voltage is. Relays come in many flavors, but since you have the ability to control latching or momentary, your options open up quite a bit. You just need to know what voltage to get. 5V and 12V are typical, you can occasionally find 9V. For you want true bypass, you'll need a DPDT relay.

Once you figure out the voltage you need, putting in the relay is pretty easy. Some local electronics shops might have them for your use. There are also a few on Amazon prime if you have that.

[mr.coffee]

No voltage involved, the relays are built in.  It can be set up to function in different ways for controlling channel switching on amps, etc., behaving like a Boss FS-5U for example, or a standard passive latching SPST footswitch, etc.

-m

[mr.coffee]

Well, thanks again for the input.  The Monomonster is unavailable, so after looking over some similar boards, I pulled the trigger on the Griffin Silent Step.  I've got the enclosure, insulated panel mount power connectors and a panel mount LED already, and should be able to reuse the jacks and pot from the LPB-1.  I'll update with the outcome, probably sometime next week.

Here's my Boss CE-2 that got similar treatment before I got the RCE-10:







-m

[PRR]

> with a 3pdt stomp switch

I know your trigger has already been pulled, but....

A 3P2T switch can be replaced with a 3P2T relay.

Which will be a 4P2T relay (relay makers do things by pairs), no problem.

However if the third of "3" is just the LED, you don't need a contact for that. Connect the LED (and resistor!) across the relay coil. So now a DPDT relay (maybe a bit cheaper than 4P2T).

If your "Control Switcher" is JUST a relay contact, then you need a power source for it to turn-on to trip the LPB's new relay. As the LPB eats 9V, look for a 9V relay. I wonder if Small Bear stocks those? (6V relay will work, but throw 10-200 Ohms in series to get the coil voltage down in the 5V-7V zone.)

The relay will eat about a hundred times more power than the naked LPB guts, which would be distressing on battery, but negligible on a small wall-power supply.

If the LPB had to run on battery, a "latching relay" would take short bursts of power and eat nothing between changes. However there's not a simple interface between on-contact control and latching relay which will reliably "know" what state the latch is in. As you are clearly addicted to wall-power, "dumb" (non-latching) relay is best.

[mr.coffee]

That was more or less what I was thinking, although I was uncertain about the LED.  But the rabbit hole runs deep, and the more I read about using relays for bypassing, the more I was seeing about clicks and pops.  It probably would really have been a non-issue but...

-m

[PRR]

> I read about using relays for bypassing, the more I was seeing about clicks and pops

Switches pop also. Top Ten Question around here.

A relay is just a finger (or foot) switch, with the finger (or foot) replaced by an electromagnet.

Unless you use a rudely large electromagnet (car starter relay), the audio effects are about the same.