Help a noob out: Making a ABY melding switch and need some help.

[fishbonze]

My idea for a DIY pedal is as such: a AB-Y pedal, similar to half of an OBNE split|meld, where two xlr/instrument jacks (or 1 female xlr + 1 instrument in, if the other idea is too optimistic) go to 1 instrument out. This is so I can have my mic-ed up saxophone and my guitar having the ability to go through my pedalboard, into either an amp or Di-ed into a mixing desk/interface.
This would be controlled by a footswitch (would I need to 2dpt or 3?) but apart from that the entire circuit is passive, as I don't want to need a 9v supply – meaning 0 leds or resistors (correct me if I'm wrong) and less places to mess up.

Would I be right to say that I will need:
- One enclosure
- Two 1/4 inch instrument jacks
- One XLR female jack
- 2PDT footswitch
( - of course wire, solder etc)

Am I missing anything with my list or my idea?
Is there an online store in the UK I could get all of these parts from? Is GapCo good?

Cheers for the help ,
Fishbonze

[bluebunny]

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to consider some kind of mic preamp dohickey to bring the sax level into the same ballpark as a guitar signal (kinda depends on how hot the sax signal is).  Then put this and the guitar into a regular guitar ABY box with 1/4" jacks.

I wouldn't spend too much time at GapCo.  Other than one or two enclosures, everything else is very expensive.  Check out instead Rapid/Bitsbox/Farnell/CPC/Tayda, in no particular order.

[fishbonze]

thanks sm for being so welcoming and for those shop recommendations.

what would I require to make amplify the xlr signal? would this wreck my hopes of a passive circuit?

[bluebunny]

Having checked out what the OBNE split|meld actually is, you could make one for around half the retail price (perhaps close to a tenner, even?).  What you need to do to your sax is down to your mic and what it puts out.  What are you using?

[FiveseveN]

Hello and welcome!
To be clear, the split|meld is just a TRS to two TS adapter, functionally identical to this kind of cable (ok, two of them). It does neither selection (the AB part) nor mixing (the Y part), so it's not really relevant.
But your plan is sound, and indeed the details come down to the properties of that sax signal. Amplification does require power but it may be already happening in the mic/preamp. That's why we need to know what the model is and how you usually plug it into your pedalboard (through an unbalanced cable, DI etc.).

[fishbonze]

Having checked out what the OBNE split|meld actually is, you could make one for around half the retail price (perhaps close to a tenner, even?).  What you need to do to your sax is down to your mic and what it puts out.  What are you using?

My mic is a Røde Condensor (M3 specifically), which I power and amplify through my interface, my plan was either to get a buy phantom power pack (only like £10) or put a battery in. Obvs this wouldnt be a hot signal so my plan is revised to add an LPB-1 circuit to the xlr input signal chain. Now my box cannot be passive but it means I can add indicating LEDS and a potentiometer, making it versatile for multiple different mics.

Maybe my comparison to the split meld wasn't a good one, I just only see switchers going between two outputs, instead of two inputs, which is what I wanted.

[fishbonze]

Hello and welcome!
To be clear, the split|meld is just a TRS to two TS adapter, functionally identical to this kind of cable (ok, two of them). It does neither selection (the AB part) nor mixing (the Y part), so it's not really relevant.
But your plan is sound, and indeed the details come down to the properties of that sax signal. Amplification does require power but it may be already happening in the mic/preamp. That's why we need to know what the model is and how you usually plug it into your pedalboard (through an unbalanced cable, DI etc.).

Cheers for this! I've now revised my plan, which ive talked about on another reply. 

[PRR]

I hate non-DIY solutions and mega-corps, but ....

> my mic-ed up saxophone and my guitar having the ability to go through my pedalboard

Beringer sells a $99 mini-mixer with guitar input, mike input with phantom, effects loop, and output suitable to go to distant soundboard. It is not a pedal but switching from guitar to saxophone is more than a toe-tap also. I don't know if your music is worth $99 but mini-mixers are marvelously useful in many way. The one I am thinking of (a decade back) was touted as "6 Input"; that was clever counting but IIRC it would do your job.

Ah, this is a current product: Behringer Xenyx 802 Premium 8-Input 2-Bus Mixer, $89 @ Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C

[fishbonze]

I hate non-DIY solutions and mega-corps, but ....

> my mic-ed up saxophone and my guitar having the ability to go through my pedalboard

Beringer sells a $99 mini-mixer with guitar input, mike input with phantom, effects loop, and output suitable to go to distant soundboard. It is not a pedal but switching from guitar to saxophone is more than a toe-tap also. I don't know if your music is worth $99 but mini-mixers are marvelously useful in many way. The one I am thinking of (a decade back) was touted as "6 Input"; that was clever counting but IIRC it would do your job.

Ah, this is a current product: Behringer Xenyx 802 Premium 8-Input 2-Bus Mixer, $89 @ Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C

Sorry, what do you mean by the switching idea being "more than a toe-tap"? Do you mind clarifying, as I would like to revise my idea before I buy the parts. 

[BJM]

I think PRR means that switching from guitar to saxophone has more to it than just stomping on a switch. As in your post "This would be controlled by a footswitch", the mixer doesn't have any footswitches and a footswitch may not have any practical advantage over turning some knobs on the mixer.