Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

epi

epi

New member
I love using pedals but if I get something for the intention of a solo boost I need to switch it on while I am playing but I cannot use my feet...

Is there any way and I mean ANY way I can set something up either built in to the guitar or what not to turn things on... like how Jason Becker had his pickup switch, switch amps at the same time?

any way anyone can think of...
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

You could have a small booster (such as the sho or microamp) built in you guitar and activated with a micro switch...
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

Yea that would work for a boost but I am thinking more control over a whole board... or some odd thing idk. lol like I use, Fuzz, Phaser, OD, EQ, Noise Suppression etc. and would like to have a thing for the whole board... but that is a solid idea I will look into for a boost, thanks!
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

I've thought a lot about this sort of thing too, but more in that I would want greater control over stuff like delays as I'm playing, like being able to turn the knobs and stuff.
I think the best thing for a guy in a wheelchair would be to get them velcro'd and mounted to something like a movable arm you could either park next to or would be attached to your chair with a clamp. The pedals would need to be probably retrofitted with soft-touch buttons....I hate clicking true bypass buttons by hand. Conceivably you could put a big pad or something on the button and click them with your elbow if you angled everything right.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

One acronym, MIDI.

-Voodoo Lab GCX to put each pedal in a loop
-MIDI Controllable pedals for effects you want to change mid-set (See Strymon Timeline for delay, Möbius for modulation and Big Sky for reverb
-Midi controller programmed to patch changes (Let's say: Music Technologies MIDI Patch Changer or Arturia BeatStep)
-Same MIDI controller with knobs assigned to CC values that MIDI pedals are expecting to see (Arturia BeatStep)

You can setup patches in the GCX that turn certain pedals on and off (and switch channels on you amp), the MIDI controller can be places where you can reach it to cycle through patches (and probably turn individual loops on and off) and the rotary controllers can be used to change the settings directly on MIDI equipped pedals.

This actually sounds extremely fun from a total nerd perspective. :)
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

You definitely could wire up some pedals into your guitars. Matt Bellamy has them wired into his guitars. Noise gates and EQs are pretty much set and forget so that takes care of them. I would consider choosing between Fuzz and OD. Remember that a pedal like a Fuzz face has a very small circuit board that could be placed into a guitar and have two pots placed on the guitar to control it. A phase 90 is also a relatively small circuit board and you could get one of those placed into a guitar as well. Then have whoever does the mod replace the standard footswitches with a on off toggle switch. A guitar with a large body and simple control layout will work better than something like a Les Paul. Also a hardtail will provide more space in the guitar for you to do this.

It limits your choice of guitars and pedals a lot, but yes this is do able.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

epi said:
I love using pedals but if I get something for the intention of a solo boost I need to switch it on while I am playing but I cannot use my feet...

Is there any way and I mean ANY way I can set something up either built in to the guitar or what not to turn things on... like how Jason Becker had his pickup switch, switch amps at the same time?

any way anyone can think of...
Click to expand...
Artec makes a number of different styles of boosters. I recently bought a QTA for a project guitar but I haven't wired it up yet. I'm still waiting on other parts. Look under guitar electronics. GFS also has some which I believe are made by Artec.

http://www.artecsound.com/pickups/index.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Active-Preamps_c_51.html
 
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Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

Oh man, forgot about MIDI. That's the way the pros handle massive boards. You can also make MIDI trigger buttons out of about anything that will change voltage.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

I would try and wire up one of the Xotic pedals into my guitar, with a mini switch for on and off, and maybe a knob or two on the guitar if I could for certain parameters, (gain, volume, what have you).
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

PFDarkside said:
One acronym, MIDI.

-Voodoo Lab GCX to put each pedal in a loop
-MIDI Controllable pedals for effects you want to change mid-set (See Strymon Timeline for delay, Möbius for modulation and Big Sky for reverb
-Midi controller programmed to patch changes (Let's say: Music Technologies MIDI Patch Changer or Arturia BeatStep)
-Same MIDI controller with knobs assigned to CC values that MIDI pedals are expecting to see (Arturia BeatStep)

You can setup patches in the GCX that turn certain pedals on and off (and switch channels on you amp), the MIDI controller can be places where you can reach it to cycle through patches (and probably turn individual loops on and off) and the rotary controllers can be used to change the settings directly on MIDI equipped pedals.

This actually sounds extremely fun from a total nerd perspective. :)
Click to expand...

could I put the rotery controller in my guitar cavity? like a strat or something? O_O
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

I am not sure if they still make them, but there used to be a company that built a booster for a Fender S-switch and a Push-Pull, I built a booster circuit to put in a cheap old squier that worked pretty well.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

Get a music stand like this...

DV020_Jpg_Jumbo_467207.jpg


Get a high quality one that is made of thick metal. It won't move with a bunch of pedals on it. I did this once when I was experimenting with sounds and didn't want to keep leaning over ever 6 seconds. I just placed my pedalboard on mine and it held up well. Should work for what you need.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

but could I do the rotary switch on guitar?
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

If Matt Bellamy can put a Kaoss Pad in his guitar, I'm sure you can put a MIDI controller in your guitar. However, you're getting into some serious design and building to pull it off. I'd think it would be much easier to have a production controller right by your side.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

If it's just a boost you want, then I would suggest just building a clone of whatever pedal you prefer, and building it into your guitar with a mini-toggle switch. You could add a pot to control the level, re-purpose and existing pot, of simply leave the boost level fixed inside.

If you want control over more that just one pedal, then you're looking at more complex solutions. It would be possible to build one or more true-bypass loopers into the guitar, with toggle switch(es) to select pedals in and out. That's only good for a limited number, though, since you need a cable in and out to each pedal. Jerry Garcia had something like this in his guitars, so he could jump out to pedals, then come back to the guitar to have his volume control after the effects.

So, beyond 1 or 2 effects, you'd need a custom remote-switching setup or MIDI.

I once built a Boss CE-2 chorus pedal into a Les Paul. PM me if you want to kick some ideas around, after defining your needs better.
 
Re: Pedal collector in a wheelchair. help lol

Midi switching would be a great option. Some small controller that can stick to the face of a guitar would be really great.
 
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