GregP

Awesome work! Yeller telecaster (I'm sure they call it 'blonde' or something, no?) with black pickguard. Classic! What brands of parts did you end up using and what was your final bill (estimated) if you don't mind my asking? Greg

I couldn't dig up any specifics on it, but it doesn't seem to be anything more than a glorified gate. A gate simply cannot eliminate feedback once it has started. As stated in this thread, it just makes it more difficult/impossible for feedback to swell when you have the strings muted. It's essentially an automated volume knob. When your signal is low enough it turns the volume down even more ( ideally, completely, but it's actually an 'expander' so it may not turn the signal completely off). Without any volume being generated, a physical feedback loop cannot start. However, if your guitar starts feeding back mid-playing, that "low volume" threshold is obviously not reached. So it's not going to do a single little thing. Greg

I like it! I could use one of those.

Yup, I'd be interested. I don't want to say an absolute "yes" just yet until I get a chance to calculate shipping and conversion, but my ears are certainly perked way up! If I decide not to take it, I can get a buyer for you in SECONDS at either Channel 6 or KvR Audio, should you decide that you could use $65. Heck, I shouldn't even mention it or my opportunity will be gone.

Well, the TonePort UX2 only accepts footswitches via 1/4" jacks anyhow (the third would go to the PCR-M50 keyboard), so the money wouldn't be completely wasted. Plus it'd be kind of fun. I DID see a used footswitching system (sans expression pedals) for only $40 that was tempting, but it was so beat-up that I just couldn't do it. Greg

Well, that was my point, too... MIDI footswitch system =$150. So if I went with all the top-of-the-line switches from the one source I know of, it's pointless. If I can put 3 momentary switches that will stand up to... er... being stood on!... for ~$30, then I'm golden! I'll check that site out. Just checked, what a cool site! Unfortunately, European so it might not be worthwhile to get anything shipped to Canada. Very cool, though! Oh wait... I know the guys from JRR Shop, who happen to be dealers. Sent from the States is probably cheaper than sent from Europe, so it might still pan out... Greg

Update: I swung by an electronics store and grabbed a cheap-o momentary switch just to do some 'testing'. As it turns out, my software can detect the momentary switch but still treat it as a latch, so the 2-switch system is unecessary. Now the only thing I need to decide is: - To buy 3 low-quality footswitches (and I mean full-on MIDI "sustain/hold" pedals) they're MADE for the job, but aren't great) - $15 ea. - To buy 3 medium-quality switches from the electronics store and build the thing in either a metal project box or a handmade wood box (switches = $15 ea, plus 3 1/4" plugs, plus cable) This will already be more expensive than the pre-made footswitches - To go all-out and get 3 heavy-duty footswitches ($20 ea) plus plugs and cable. This will end up running up a total cost of almost $100 for the box, switches, and everything else needed. - To try to acquire and cannibalize old stomp-boxes to house the switches. I'd probably need to replace the switches since they're keyed to circuit boards and are usually latch rather than momentary. - To design a "chassis" of some sort with 3 rocker pedals. With the right design, the chassis would prevent heavy abuse of the switches, and the switches themselves could therefore be cheaper. Of course, if anyone has a Canadian source for heavy-duty footswitches that don't cost $20, that's something else to consider. Any ideas? Greg

Hey all, I now have 2 MIDI devices with a total of 3 1/4" Stereo jacks which accept footswitches. Any old footswitch will do, because the devices do all the processing and the switches just create or break a circuit. What I want to do is create a MIDI floorboard. I don't have the skill to retrofit an actual wah/volume pedal yet, but I have a cheap expression pedal that works, so that's not a problem. The only thing I need to do are the very basic footswitches. Of course, being the kind of guy that I am, I just HAVE to make it more complicated than it needs to be.... An amp footswitch "latches" like any other pedal. You press it once, the circuit is "on" and you can release your foot. Press it again, and the circuit is "off" and you can release your foot. But a MIDI sustain pedal is momentary. It's only "ON" as long as you hold your foot in place. Ideally, I'd like to have 3 footswitches that can alternate modes. Is it possible without processor-based circuitry (ie. I just want simple switches and soldering) to set it up so that I have 3 footswitches, each also connected to a "latch / momentary" selector to determine the operation mode of the footswitch? Any advice on how to do this, or a generic shopping list (ie. "you need 3 dptp footswitches and 3 ____ switches" would be handy! Thanks, Greg

Of course! Boxes are cool. I just meant to give you a concrete example of what the end result of your efforts would be. Haven't got around to it yet. I tend to make these 'recording-related' offers and then spend time on forums instead of following up. <chuckle> Greg

Oatmeal-- If I make the time, I'll post up a sound sample to show you what it'll sound like. Should be easily accomplished with virtual effects and a MIDI expression pedal. What kind of distortion did you have in mind? I'll see if I can pull it off. Greg

Hot Job! Love it!

I haven't researched SUUUuuper thoroughly, but I haven't found one yet. I want one for a lap steel project. Sorry I'm not more help, I mostly just wanted to add my name to this thread so that it'd be easy to find/notice the answer if one comes along. In the meantime, I've been seriously considering that I might have to slot my own. Have you seen any NON-slotted non-radiused blanks? In Ottawa, I've seen non-slotted, but not non-radiused. I've been considering using a mini-router and a jig to make a curved slot and then seating the radiused Graph-tech blank in upside-down.

Seems like an OK enough place to discuss it. FWIW, and mainly in my opinion, for high-gain usage, the amp itself will determine note separation and clarity more than the pickup. Er... semi-useless post, since I don't have an actual recommendation. I still prefer a lower-output pickup even for metel (sic) because there's often a more balanced tonal range. Seymour Duncan JB is never a bad choice for a bridge pickup from what I understand. Haven't tried every flavour of pickup out there, though, so it's not a completely objective or informed opinion. Greg

Indeed!

Guitar ONE CDs have a tuning track I believe.

Nice revival! It always gives me a warm fuzzy when 2-year-old threads are revived. <grin> I got the TonePort UX2 for Xmas, and imagine my delight when I discovered that I could download the user-created Tone Library for the PODXT and that any incompatible models would atomatically be substituted? Cool. But not half as cool as discovering the "Crafted by Line6" patches that are part of GuitarPort online, and are not only more compatible (no need for model subs) but have more informative names and usable tones. Joy! 10 pages X 50 patches per page, though, and unlike the user library, you can't download them all in one zipfile. 500 individual clicks to get'em all. But you gotta get'em all! Greg

I also say do whatever LOOKS best, because that'll have more of an impact than whatever 'sounds' best. I can't imagine anyone playing their guitar for the first time and thinking, "Man, this guitar doesn't have a tone I like. I really should have floated those pickups instead of direct mounting them!" (or vice versa) Greg

The irony being, of course, that the Les Paul is a 'signature' guitar.

You're also decoupling it from the floor in some cases, which depending on the floor, will result in significant acoustic benefits.

Hey, if my time were THAT valuable, I wouldn't be posting in the first place, I'd be off saving the world or making fat stacks or something. I don't mind the 2 minutes it takes to write a response. Grounding the bridge to a pot isn't a horrible idea as long as a ground loop isn't created. Ultimately, that's really the only concern: "ground loop or not". It's black and white, and if you don't have a ground loop you're in the clear. Shielding actually makes it trickier to avoid ground loops, because at that point in time, your pot is touching the shield and therefore adding itself to THAT circuit. Then if you have a wire connected to your pot, you have a strong potential for a ground loop. Star grounding is a good idea in any event, but I think it's particularly useful for avoiding pitfalls in a shielding project. If you HADN'T already solved it, I would have mentioned that you definitely had a problem anyhow-- when you're sitting right in front of a CRT monitor, your level of hum WILL increase significantly even with humbuckers. I use this trick on PURPOSE at times to help trouble-shoot my setup. So if the level of hum didn't change either way, you definitely had an unnatural level of hum, as you discovered. Just thought I'd add that for posterity in case anyone's looking at this topic in the future via the "search" function. Greg

MIDI is only as good for drums as the samples it's triggering and the way the velocity response curve triggers those samples. You get something like fxPansion's BFD, and you're getting sounds that are as good as a loop. I generally prefer loops because you don't have to program them, you just audition and select them. On the other hand, it's trickier (but not impossible!) to modify them to match what you hear in your head. Greg

I'd like to build a Tube Screamer, if it's hella easy.

Hey Nick, Keep in mind that I believe the inlay work on a SoulMate fretboard is sourced out, and I don't know how much that would cost. If that's the case, you can also contact any other inlay artist (like DePaule supply) if the price is better, and have them send the fretboard to SoulMate instead of to you. It's worth contacting Soulmate first to see what he says. Greg

A neckthrough will be easier to build than a bolt-on if you buy the neckthrough part! In any event, if you want THAT much custom stuff, I advise going to an independent instead. The one I've had my eye on for decades is a member here, even: http://www.soulmateguitars.com/ Looks like enough recommendations have created a bit of a waiting list for him. Greg

You'd be surprised at the role your environment plays in the amount of hum, Mick. I literally cannot use single coils in my apartment, and that's with a carefully-shielded and star-grounded axe. I'm right next to a telephone junction box, which provides the lines to my building. And I'm in a concrete basement apartment-- concrete and metal being the enemies of an EMI-free zone. I still agree that it doesn't sound like it's wired up correctly just yet, but a single coil can and will produce godawful hum in the wrong environment. That's why the GuitarNuts tutorial is called "Quieting the Beast" rather than, "Taking the last wee bit of edge off an otherwise nearly-silent instrument." I turn off my CRT monitor (I have one LCD and one CRT) when I play guitar, and have no other fluorescents or sources of EMI inside my apartment itself. Heck, I've tried turning everything off completely, and still no good. It's that junction box and all the concrete. Greg