3 Amp footswitching

[Jimi W]

Hi,
A friend of mine is about to add a third amp to his guitar rig and has asked if I would be able to build him a footswitch to switch between different amps. I'm not sure if what he wants is possible so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys for help!

He'd like to be able to have 5 switches with the following combinations

Switch 1= Amp A
2 = B
3 = C
4 = A+B
5 = B+C

He'd like it so he wouldn't need to switch anything off manually and by selecting a different channel/switch the original amp/amps would be switched out of the loop e.g. if he was on switch/channel 3 (amp C) and he pressed switch 4, amps A and B would in use and amp C would be muted.

Is this possible?

Cheers,
Jimi

[boogietube]

Here's a commercial product...

http://www.frampton.com/3banger.html

[Ripthorn]

Sure it can be done.  How comfortable are you with logic chips?  What you would need is a bunch of momentary actuators, a logic switching chip, a power supply, and any other components needed to make the switching chip work.

[boogietube]

Here's an ABY from GGG and Geofex:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=26

[boogietube]

And here's the geofex article:

http://www.geofex.com/FX_images/humfree2.gif

[jkokura]

Why does he want you to make it rather than buy it for himself? I'm sure Radial, Lahlie and a bunch of other places can do it for him cheaper than you'll end up doing by designing and building the thing...

Unless of course the experience is what you're after, cause then I want to see the schems and project files cause I might want one eventually.

My basic thought is that you should try using a 1411 hammond case, they often get used for loop switching. My next thought would be 'what else does he want it to do,' or 'what else could he want it to do?' For instance, does he want a loop for his pedals built in? How about a tuner out with a mute switch? Does he want a dual input with a switch for using two guitars? Cause if I was really going to be building an a/b/c/x/y box, I'd also want switchable dual inputs, an effects loop with kill switch, and a tuner out with mute switch in mine. I'd also think about buffering at the input, and perhaps a second buffer at each out put depending on the length of the effects loop chain.

Truth be told, I have thought about building a 8 channel loop box with a/b/y out, a tuner out with mute, dual switchable input with buffer built in. Maybe next summer when I have cash and time.... I have parts and PCB's for 14 projects on the way to me now, with the 2 extra pcb's in the works before Christmas time too...

Dang this stuff is expensive and addicting. My wife doesn't like me much right now...

[chi_boy]

Dang this stuff is expensive and addicting. My wife doesn't like me much right now...

You need to learn creative accounting.  Remeber: What she doesn't know, can't hurt you.