Force sensitive resistive pad - good for a wah-wah maybe?

[mth5044]

Does the Dr. Freakenstein use a similar function?

http://www.raingerfx.com/dr%20freak.html

[R.G.]

For DIY and home use I could see them as fine, but yea, for other people to abuse... that's a different story.

Well, y'see, well over 99% of the people in this forum are running a business selling effects, so in general it's an important issue.

[jacobyjd]

One problem you have to address with FSRs is pressure overload. They're good between 100g and 10kG; no problem there.

But we've had problems with people breaking off the activators of stomp switches and the shafts of pots by stomping on them; and I've seen more than one guitarist standing, single-footed on a wah pedal. For a reliable device, you need to ensure that the FSR is not damaged by pressures of 10kg up to maybe 100kg.

heh...that makes me think of the wah boots video

[SonicVI]

I think the Stick Entrprise's Patch of Shades from the 70's or 80's may have used one of these.

[Skruffyhound]

Of course you can make a mechanical dead stop adjusted to maximum pressure requirement, but then we'd be kind of full circle wouldn't we.

[Top Top]

For DIY and home use I could see them as fine, but yea, for other people to abuse... that's a different story.

Well, y'see, well over 99% of the people in this forum are running a business selling effects, so in general it's an important issue.

Wow, really? Is there a place with a list of links to the different respective companies? I know of a couple, but didn't realize it was so much. I am in that 1%. I just use them to make music

[R.G.]

Wow, really? Is there a place with a list of links to the different respective companies? I know of a couple, but didn't realize it was so much. I am in that 1%. I just use them to make music

It's lonely in there, isn't it? 

There's not a catalog, because most of them don't necessarily make a public thing of it here. Some days it seems that the average number of pedals built before adopting the imperial "we" and opening web advertising is about two. 

[doc_drop]

Ha Ha. My friends always ask me why I don't sell my pedals and get rich. I guess I am just too stupid to see a cash cow when it lives on my kitchen table...

Now I know I am in the elite 1%!!!

[wavley]

Ha Ha. My friends always ask me why I don't sell my pedals and get rich. I guess I am just too stupid to see a cash cow when it lives on my kitchen table...

Now I know I am in the elite 1%!!!

Add me to that 1%... I love my job already and I don't have enough time as it is to get all of my other stuff done to spend time making crap for other people

Plus, I don't like the chance of making and selling something good and someone just reverse engineering it and making it in china   That's why we should protect contributing members that are kind enough to share their original designs and ideas.  For the most part it seems that the regular members respect each other, I watched a few boards for a while and this is the only one about pedals that I participate in because of that.  Prodigy Pro and Tape Op members also seem to be pretty good about this in their respective fields.

But I digress,

What can we do with this fun looking pad?  Looks like it would be easy in put in a feedback loop type box... maybe a Burst Box dare I say 

[earthtonesaudio]

Ha Ha. My friends always ask me why I don't sell my pedals and get rich. I guess I am just too stupid to see a cash cow when it lives on my kitchen table...

Now I know I am in the elite 1%!!!

Add me to that 1%... I love my job already and I don't have enough time as it is to get all of my other stuff done to spend time making crap for other people

Plus, I don't like the chance of making and selling something good and someone just reverse engineering it and making it in china   That's why we should protect contributing members that are kind enough to share their original designs and ideas.  For the most part it seems that the regular members respect each other, I watched a few boards for a while and this is the only one about pedals that I participate in because of that.  Prodigy Pro and Tape Op members also seem to be pretty good about this in their respective fields.

But I digress,

What can we do with this fun looking pad?  Looks like it would be easy in put in a feedback loop type box... maybe a Burst Box dare I say 

I am a "recovering wannabe 99%-er" just like the kind R.G. describes.  I tried to sell the first two pedals I ever made.  I was so enthusiastic about it, and overly proud of the fruits of my labor... but in truth they were horrible.  Thankfully no one bought them.     Since then I've realized that running a successful business is not my idea of fun.

As for the force-sensitive resistor, it seems like a cool thing to install on a guitar.  Maybe a long strip running down the back of the neck, so pressing harder with your thumb decreases series resistance with the output?  That could be quite useful when used in conjunction with a Fuzz Face type effect.  Pressing harder would make more fuzz, a lighter touch would clean up the tone.

[The French connection]

Count me in the 1% too...it looks we're gonna reach 2%, but we still can't call that a pandemy tough. 

[puretube]

Puretube, have you had any FSR's fail/get out of calibration in your pressure wah prototypes?

A series-resistor serving as "R_min" ,
and
a parallel-resistor for "R_max"... 

[puretube]

One problem you have to address with FSRs is pressure overload. They're good between 100g and 10kG; no problem there.

But we've had problems with people breaking off the activators of stomp switches and the shafts of pots by stomping on them; and I've seen more than one guitarist standing, single-footed on a wah pedal. For a reliable device, you need to ensure that the FSR is not damaged by pressures of 10kg up to maybe 100kg.

The trick is to use/make a proper "actuator" (as detailfully explained in the datasheets...) ,
which spreads the applied force...

[R.G.]

The trick is to use/make a proper "actuator" (as detailfully explained in the datasheets...) ,
which spreads the applied force...

I know that, and you know that, but I've helped enough other people put "new innovations!!!!!" into their product lineup of pedals already.   

[Top Top]

I am a "recovering wannabe 99%-er" just like the kind R.G. describes.  I tried to sell the first two pedals I ever made.  I was so enthusiastic about it, and overly proud of the fruits of my labor... but in truth they were horrible.  Thankfully no one bought them.    Since then I've realized that running a successful business is not my idea of fun.

My lady asks me why I don't make effects and sell them...

I have no problem fixing my shoddy workmanship if something breaks, but I wouldn't want to curse anyone else with it

I wire perf layouts on thin cardboard with holes punched in it for the components    

[dano12]

I did a modded Malekko analog delay hooked up to one of Spark Fun's flexible pots. It was quite fun, although the glove idea needs a bit more work to be practical.







more stuff about it here: http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/LargeHadronColliderDelay/index.htm

[puretube]

The optical way of gloving...

[puretube]

Here`s a link to how Oskar Sala made an FSR...

For applications, read Eventoff, Kropp (?), and Chapman (yes, the Stick-man)...
(for those who missed it...)






Glass-cleaner is a nice vary-conducting lubricant, too 
(for those who don`t like glycerine...)

[Mark Hammer]

Question:  How quickly do force-sensing devices recover from applied pressure?  Are they like LDRs in that they might take a bit too long to return to resting state, or are they fast enough that the disco-rific among us can go "whacka-chicka-whaka-chicka"?

[puretube]

Question:  How quickly do force-sensing devices recover from applied pressure?  Are they like LDRs in that they might take a bit too long to return to resting state, or are they fast enough that the disco-rific among us can go "whacka-chicka-whaka-chicka"?

If my memory serves me well, they (the ones I used...) have a faster "decay" than the LDRs I use.
At least I don`t remember them behaving "spongey".
(Didn`t I even apply a capacitor-lag to slow them down? (head-scratch)

The drawback in real-life wah-ing however, was the fact (for me however...),
not easily to be able to return/move to a certain (steady) frequency, and stay there without fluctuation.
The resistors mentioned earlier helped,
and more practice would have helped even more, I guess,

but similar to the "Theremin"-approach per pedes (  )
there`s more tactile randomness involved than in a classic sturdy hardware "gas-pedal"...