Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I read a post earlier where someone (sans) was talking about loopers. I've been working on an idea for a while and thought I'd take the op to get an outside perspective on a few things...

problem I'm trying to solve:
I wanted a master controller. something that would control several loops of fx with the click of one switch. I generally cascade two or three pedals and wanted to be able to turn them on/off with one stomp.

In addition, I often find that I want to switch the order of my pedals on the fly.

so here's what I've come up with:



It controls 7 loops. These loops are broken into two groups, and both groups can be turned on/off via a single stomp. the rotary knobs at the top allow you to 'zero in' on a single loop, or choose all three loops in forward or backward order. The first group has an additional single loop that can be individually controlled via a stomp - great for a wah or tuner.
the fourth stomp is an order switch that will switch the two groups 1 thru 2 or 2 thru 1. finally, one loop has a built in buffer and the other a fixed boost.

not planning to mass mfg this or anything but I wondered...
1) how confusing is the interface?
2) how useful do you think the features are?


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will it cause cancer? if not, lets see it in action.

hopefully no... I don't believe it causes cancer, then again working with lead solder probably does so.

I'm waiting on some unusual 4p5t switches and a good idea for final graphics before I wire it up... then I'll have to re-wire my massive board so it might be a while before it's rendered in hardware, but I'll def post up once I get there.
thanks for the response!

It looks as if it won't contain the anti-matter fuel rods sufficiently. lol

I've made some inquires about using loopers for woodsheding.
But you have gone way over my head here.

Sure the idea sounds applicable ... I guess ...

"It looks as if it won't contain the anti-matter fuel rods sufficiently. lol"
shiznit... I knew I forgot something!


sans... I guess I misunderstood your original post. This is a loop management tool, not a loop recorder.
I suppose not everyone needs or even wants 40+ pedals... but if you did... and wanted
a) to be able to change the order at will
b) turn several of them on/off by a singe stomp
c) be able to 'get back to' that 'straight in' sound with zero signal loss
(and of course buffer and/or boost)

this would do that.

thanks for the posts folks!

Mike Im not running an overload of pedals at this time but I like your idea. There are times when I wish I could just hit a button and be straight amp, with no interference, I totally understand what you are doing.

Keep us posted

Absolutely ... makes perfect sense to me too.

One step instead of a tap dance to change two several whole different effect sets.

Hell ... I might even consider buying an effects pedal now

thanks jw123. this is sort of an evolution. I started out with several 2 or 3 loop boxes. by the time I reach the end of my 'preamp' section and my amps fx loop section I'd have 6 or seven boxes in my chain.
and it was a real pain to re-order things.
now I should be able to get just about any order... and turn on/off say a delay reverb chorus with one switch, and a boost od butter with one switch, and get back to a pure tone with two stomps.


right one sans... sometimes I love a straight in sound... sometimes I love a classic fuzz or overdrive.
in short: sometimes I feel like a nut!

This is basically the idea behind multi-effects pedals - you can set up a chain of them (the better ones let you pick the order of FX), save this as a preset, then select it when needed, then go to the next chain-loop with the press of a 'up' or 'down' button. Same way my Spider amp works, although you can only select 'pre' and 'post' for the FX order, not which ones go where in the chain: for example, I set patch 1 in a bank with the straight sound, patch 2 with a little delay or chorus, patch 3 with fuzz, boost and flange, patch 4 with octaver and phaser; the touch of one button (1) on my 4-button controller pedal brings me back to the straight sound from any of the others.

With wireless tech out there...Would it not be possible nowm to build a portable panel that affixes to the instrument (or can be worn like an ammo belt so you can push buttons rather than stomp pedals...?

I must admit...Stomping looks cool

Dog - Guitar playing takes 2 hands (most of the time), that's why the feet are used!

Dog - Guitar playing takes 2 hands (most of the time), that's why the feet are used!

LOL What? All this time I have been playing with my feet... wondering why the free left hand? haha!

I guess a heads-Up display for the pedals is out of the question now?

GuitarMikeB "This is basically the idea..."

I'm pretty familiar with multi fx, I have a 2112 midi'd up to an ada mp1.
absolutely, I can chain together all the variations on order I want there.

I don't want to risk a debate so let me just say, analog vs digital: both have advantages/disadvantages.

My goal is conquering some of the disadvantages to analog with this device.

PaperDog: I'm not the tone elite or anything, but wireless would defeat most of the point of a hardwire true bypass setup anyway.

Fair enough. Digital f/x sure have come a long way, though.