Effects DIY forum on TB?

Jerry J · #1 06-17-2010, 01:01 PM

Does anyone else think that having a Effects DIY forum would be cool to have on TB?

We have some really super effects builders here on TB so I'm certain that a forum like this would be fun. Most of the Effects DIY sites on the net are really geared toward the 6-string bretheren so I think that it would be a benefit to us bass players.

I want to build a switch pedal for my Mesa M6 and it would be great to have a resource to coach me through it.

5StringDelirium · #2 06-17-2010, 01:04 PM

Personally I would love to build a volume pedal and a something along the lines of a Morley ABY. I think this thread should be a sticky.

Taylor Livingston · #3 06-17-2010, 01:12 PM

There's plenty of bass-related discussion at diystompboxes.com. The projects you guys mention are not bass-specific anyway - the guys at DIYSB would be fully capable of helping you build things like ABY or volume pedals, and way beyond.

Now, building a footswitch for a Mesa amp might be trickier than you think. I'm not sure if I ever opened mine up when I had them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a microcontroller in there, so to make one that works you'd have to write the code yourself if nobody on the net has done that yet. A difficult task for a first-time DIY, but not entirely impossible.

I'm always happy to help DIYers here when I have something to contribute, however the vast majority of the answers you'll seek as a beginner are going to be right here, here, and especially here. I recommend you read everything at GEOFEX (the last link) a couple of times before asking questions, because the odds are good that RG has already answered them in deep detail at his site. But the people at DIYSB are super-friendly, helpful, and non-snarky, so don't be afraid to ask when you get stumped.

wetzelman1 · #4 06-17-2010, 01:52 PM

It would be awesome to have a dedicated forum to the DIY effects guys here at TB. Maybe something simpler would be to just have a sticky for all DIY information, so people can grab the relevant information around the net and have a local directory for all of us TB'ers. The other communities are great but having something here on TB would be a great resource for all bass specific questions.

Jerry J · #5 06-17-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor Livingston

There's plenty of bass-related discussion at diystompboxes.com. The projects you guys mention are not bass-specific anyway - the guys at DIYSB would be fully capable of helping you build things like ABY or volume pedals, and way beyond.

Now, building a footswitch for a Mesa amp might be trickier than you think. I'm not sure if I ever opened mine up when I had them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a microcontroller in there, so to make one that works you'd have to write the code yourself if nobody on the net has done that yet. A difficult task for a first-time DIY, but not entirely impossible.

I'm always happy to help DIYers here when I have something to contribute, however the vast majority of the answers you'll seek as a beginner are going to be right here, here, and especially here. I recommend you read everything at GEOFEX (the last link) a couple of times before asking questions, because the odds are good that RG has already answered them in deep detail at his site. But the people at DIYSB are super-friendly, helpful, and non-snarky, so don't be afraid to ask when you get stumped.

These are all great resources that I have visited at one time or another. Thank you for linking them.

But what I've found is that with a DIY resource here on Talkbass we hopefully will all be talking about the same thing...the low end specifically. We are more prepared to discuss how the lows are handled with an effect and we would be able to relate specific experience with bass rigs.

I know of two examples that I will chase down that would be perfect in a DIY forum. One was a mod that was done to the Boss DS-1 and another was a DIY thread for the 2-band Musicman StingRay preamp.

As far as the Mesa M6 pedal, I've got a call into Mesa about the pedal. It says in the owner's manual that the mute function and the voices can be switched off and on with a grounding switch(tip to ground) type setup. I'm thinking that it's simply a loop with a switch to open and close the circuit. If that's the case then I'm certain that I can build it. But I want it to have LEDs to signal the switch condition and run on a 9v battery or something like a One Spot or Voodoo Labs pedal power.

Taylor Livingston · #6 06-17-2010, 02:35 PM

If it's like my Mpulse footswitch, it'll be running power on one of the lines from the DIN jack, so you can tap it from there, no need for a power supply or battery.

Jerry J · #7 06-17-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor Livingston

If it's like my Mpulse footswitch, it'll be running power on one of the lines from the DIN jack, so you can tap it from there, no need for a power supply or battery.

It seems that the M6 is a departure from the norm for Mesa. They actually use a 1/4" phone jack/plug for the mute and the voice functions. There are six 1/4" jacks at the back of the amp with one for each of the voicings and one for the mute. The M9 uses a switch specific to that amp most likely similar to the M-pulse.

Several M6 owners bought switch pedals from a guy called Voodooman.com. Here is a link to the pedal with 5 switches.
http://voodoomanswitches.com/compone...mart/Itemid,1/
Nice pedal and all but just more than I want to spend. And since I could only see using two of the voicings plus the mute then a 3-switch pedal would be what I would want anyway.

UncleFluffy · #8 06-18-2010, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry J

Does anyone else think that having a Effects DIY forum would be cool to have on TB?

I'd definitely be interested in that. How much overlap would there be with other forums/threads, though? (I'm thinking of the "Hobby Builder Discussion" thread, etc)

Jerry J · #9 06-18-2010, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

I'd definitely be interested in that. How much overlap would there be with other forums/threads, though? (I'm thinking of the "Hobby Builder Discussion" thread, etc)

I would expect a certain amount of overlap. Plus the addition of a new forum always seems to cause some confusion and extra work for the moderators.

I just think that it would be nice to have one spot to ask pedal/ effect DIY building, modification and repair questions in one spot.

I thought that there would be more support for this but it's starting to seem like most think it's a bad idea.

cheapbasslovin · #10 06-18-2010, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry J

I would expect a certain amount of overlap. Plus the addition of a new forum always seems to cause some confusion and extra work for the moderators.

I just think that it would be nice to have one spot to ask pedal/ effect DIY building, modification and repair questions in one spot.

I thought that there would be more support for this but it's starting to seem like most think it's a bad idea.

I don't think it's a bad idea, I just think it wouldn't get much traffic. Without much traffic, there isn't much information. Only occasionally does a diy question come up on this forum and there are a handful of other places on the web that handle most of the diy stuff very thoroughly.