Layout help! A / B box with mute, will it fit in a 1590A?

[fiestared]

I play banjo and acoustic guitar, and need a small setup through a DI box, and wondering what the smartest most compact layout and solution would be to have a single pedal with a / b plus a mute!

[r080]

The smallest option would probably involve building the AB box into your DI. If you are using a passive DI, that might be possible. Regarding the mute, does that need to be foot switchable? I assume it is to mute between sets. A toggle switch on the side might let you use some of the space better.

Most passive DIs have an input jack and a through jack. You could use one jack for banjo and one jack for guitar, then you just need a spot to fit the switch, and maybe a power supply jack for an LED.

[fiestared]

The smallest option would probably involve building the AB box into your DI. If you are using a passive DI, that might be possible. Regarding the mute, does that need to be foot switchable? I assume it is to mute between sets. A toggle switch on the side might let you use some of the space better.

Most passive DIs have an input jack and a through jack. You could use one jack for banjo and one jack for guitar, then you just need a spot to fit the switch, and maybe a power supply jack for an LED.

Thanks for answering! The DI is a radial stage bug. Pretty compact, but it might work, i dont know. I have built a couple of pedals from looking at layouts.

The thing is i also have an electric setup for the same gig, so when im not on the banjo/acoustic i need to be able to mute, and via footswitch would be Nice.

[r080]

It probably would not be worth destroying that DI for this, but you might be able to find a used passive DI for around twice the cost of a 1590A. That said, yes, a 3PDT at each end, two jacks one side, and one on the other, should fit in a 1590A.

[fiestared]

Probably not.. i would like to use this DI, so I guess what im asking for i a simple layout for A / B box with a mute footswitch aswell, that hopefully would fit in a 1590a.

[stallik]

If I were building this, I'd prefer to have the jacks across the top to keep my feet clear of the cables. I'd also add led's and it looks like it's possible with one 3pdt and one 2pdt. You might be able to find room for a 9v socket above the 2pdt. All this depends on you sourcing small jacks and have narrow diameter plugs so they fit with such close spacing. Should work either way round but if you need to earth the unused A or B, you'll need to make both switches 3pdt to add that

Mute switch earths A and B while disconnecting led power

[fiestared]

Wow, thank you so much!

[fiestared]

.

[fiestared]

Ok! Thanks again, I will probably build this in a bygger mxrstyle box, thinking i could add a small switch and a low cut curcuit maybe around 100 Hz, anyone have an opinion on a simple layout?

[stallik]

Your low cut is normally termed high pass. A passive circuit consists of a resistor and a capacitor. A search will turn up online calculators and full explanations of how these work to create the high pass. Worth studying so that you can wire the components to a switch and audition the effect.

There are low pass, high pass and band pass filters. Knowing a bit about them will pay dividends later on.

Good call on the bigger enclosure. Tiny boxes are fun but when you have 4 cables connected to them, the tail starts to wag the dog

[fiestared]

Thanks. I understand that this is very simple stuff. But youve got to start somewhere.. i am a musician, and like to put kits together, trying to get to the point of learning some more about electronics. Ive seen the calculators, and noticed i have to put in two values, so I guess its just a point of experimenting with resistors / caps. I am not sure how to wire it to a switch but I guess thats easy to find online. Thanks again!

[fiestared]

If I were building this, I'd prefer to have the jacks across the top to keep my feet clear of the cables. I'd also add led's and it looks like it's possible with one 3pdt and one 2pdt. You might be able to find room for a 9v socket above the 2pdt. All this depends on you sourcing small jacks and have narrow diameter plugs so they fit with such close spacing. Should work either way round but if you need to earth the unused A or B, you'll need to make both switches 3pdt to add that

Mute switch earths A and B while disconnecting led power

I will be doing this, in a larger box, and I only ha 3pdt footswitches. Do i just ignore the middle row on the left 3pdt?

[stallik]

Yes, you can ignore it.
Or, you could use it to earth the unused A or B. Why? it's possible that leaving a connection open might add some noise. Depends on what you connect, which way etc.etc.

Something like this?

[fiestared]

Yes, you can ignore it.
Or, you could use it to earth the unused A or B. Why? it’s possible that leaving a connection open might add some noise. Depends on what you connect, which way etc.etc.

Something like this?

Thank you! I connected everything now according stalliks layout, but with a 3pdt ignoring the middle row , without the DC and LEDS, since i might be using it passive sometimes i thought to try it first this way. It works BUT i get loud POP when using the mute. Could this wiring you added here help with this? Any other thougts?

[stallik]

Popping is usually caused by a sudden change in voltage. There is no power in this circuit so it must be coming from another unit in your chain. Chasing down and eliminating these pops with pull down resistors can take a while and ultimately might be unsuccessful but there might be a quick fix....

The mute switch connects A and B signals to ground while disconnecting the signal path. Try disconnecting the earth wires at the top of the mute switch. It will still cut the signals but you might get a bit of extra hum


Alternatively, if the sockets you're using are plastic, you might try disconnecting the earth wire between the in/out socket and the A and B socket. This would prevent the mute switch earthing to your DI which is likely where the voltage is

The extra ground wires on the second diagram will do the same as the mute switch so won't help.

[fiestared]

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