Expression pedal distributor

[ribafish]

I don't know if I've decided on the right topic name, but here is my problem:

I have one expression pedal(don't need more than that), and three things i could connect it to...the EHX Enigma Q-Balls, Behringer BSY600 and Zoom B3. The question i have is, does anyone know how are these things sensing if there is the exp pedal connected or not? Because, when the exp pedal is connected (at least with enigma and Behringer), it takes over the control of some settings....and I want to be able to use them without the exp pedal in some cases.

So, what I'm thinking about building is some kind of box, with one input for the exp pedal and three(or more) outputs that go to the pedals. kind of a patchbay for exp pedal. So, the problem i have is, I don't know how are the pedals sensing if there is anything connected there... any ideas? I don't need to control multiple things at once, i just want to be able to assign where the exp pedal goes....and when it goes somewhere the others see it as there is nothing connected....with the cable from the switching box still connected..if that makes any sense.

Thanks=)

[joegagan]

interesting Q. without the schematics, it would be time consuming to sort out how each unit handles the task. the simple part is the cord plugged into the exp jack.
my guess is that there is a switched contact on the jack,and from there, the rest is how the chips are working. you sort of indicated this with the comment that ' takes over control of some settings", this seems to indicate some extensive programming of chips. as rg will tell you, it is much easier to handle switching eletronically.


i think you may come up with some solutions, but it seems quite daunting to me. we have a digital section of this forum, maybe some of those guys can advise on diving into the logic of those units.

[ribafish]

Well, I'm not so much interested in how the chips work, I actually need to know only how to trick the enigma and behringer into thinking there is nothing connected to the exp. pedal input...the for the zoom, i can assign it to something or to nothing, so thats not a problem....the enigma and behringer on the other hand are...

[slacker]

If you plug just the expression pedal lead into the enigma and the behringer do they work fine? Do all the controls work normally or does just plugging the jack in do something?

The problem you might have is what Joe said, that simply plugging in the jack makes or breaks a switch contact in the pedal, in which case there's no easy way to do what you want. There will be a way to do it, but we'd need to figure out exactly what happens when you plug the lead in.

[ribafish]

Yes, everything works fine... well, on enigma the pedal takes over the envelope, so changing the start, stop, attack and decay knobs does nothing, until i pull the cord out....and on Behringer, the pedal controls the lfo speed or the frequency, depending on which mode it is in....but that's all part of how they are designed to work...there is no real problem, except the one I make for myself....I know that when i plug it in it changes something that it takes over....and I want to emulate that with the cord still in, with a box that I can put between the effects and the exp pedal.... and to emulate when the cord is in/out, i need to know how do they work, how do they sense when the pedal is plugged in and when it is not.

[Seljer]

What slacker mentioned was switching jacks, that is when you insert a plug it physically breaks the connection to the internal circuitry and connects only the expression pedal. Here is a picture of one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jack-plug--socket-switch.jpg (if the plug is not inserted the tip connection touches that other piece of metal below it).
You can't really emulate it externally. You could rewire the pedal and add an external switch to enable/disable the expression pedal, it however brings the next headache of how to make everything behave when sharing the expression pedal.

[ribafish]

Well, yes, that would be easy to emulate....on the enigma the guts look like this: https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/46468018/1/pedalcki?h=8ba4b3  (the exp comes top left)so, is there any way one can tell from the looks if that's the case? I will try to connect the tip to sleeve when  the cable will be in....and see if it tricks the enigma and/or the behringer into thinking there's nothing there....in that case my problem is pretty much solved.... and in this case, i can't see any problem with doing this outside of the enigma, without the need to do anything with it....when the enigma is not selected to have the exp routed to it, it simply connects the tip and sleeve in the outside box....
about the sharing the pedal, I will see....if it doesn't work, as I said, I don't really need that atm, so not a big deal for me. The main thing is routing without physically changing cables all the time.

PS: on a totally unrelated note, where(in EU) could I get the softest possible switch for stomping, while its still rugged....for tap-tempo. Kind of like the switches used on tc.electronic rc4