The multi effects rack thing!!

[Lead2]

Hi all,

I posted a while ago and got some great advice about building a multi effects box. Things just kinda went a bit nuts with this.
With the work I do I am lucky enough to gather bits and pieces that are no longer needed in studios. I decided that my goal was to use as much recycled equipment and components as I could to build a 'thing' that made a guitar sound different. I got a few of these frames and stripped one back to it's bare bones, butchered an old stereo I had for a power supply and got it powered.
I stripped the cards that went into these units and used them to mount the effects on. There is a relay (lovely relays I also salvaged) on each card that will be controlled by switches which will be mounted on the front of the PSU (module to the right). The bunch of twisted pair cable hanging loose are the control cables for the relays. I can also use these to rig up foot switches if I wanted them in the future.
So Far I have the Vox repeat percussion and the Grid slammer done and in with 5 more builds at various stages..
Just wanted to say thanks to Mark for creating this place and to all others who have contributed to make it what it is.




Still very much at a starting point but loving the journey  

[Silver Blues]

Dude...

That is amazing

[IvIark]

I'm going to do exactly the same thing, but I'll probably use a blank 2u case rather than doing it modular but keeping all the controls vertical like in your modules so the layout is logical and easy to use and have them all controlled via relays so I can remotely switch them.

Using pedals in a rack tray is a bit of a pain and makes no sense at all when something like this is an available alternative, and I don't swap and change much so if I select carefully I'm not likely to end up with unused effects that I've got bored of.

[Lead2]

Thanks Silver Blues..

Yep, I was going to do the rack case also but when this came up it I couldn't resist trying it out.
I will update when it's further along.. Might be a while though

[Lead2]

Just thought I'd give an update to the rack thing. So far I have:::
Vox repeat percussion
Mutron 3 filter
Klon Rev 2 with the soft clipping and fat mod
Messa boogie Grid slammer with the Timmy mod
NYC Big Muff
Proco Rat 2
MXR 45
Deep Blue Delay





Also, have a switchable Pete Cornish Buffer at the input..

Just wanted to say thanks to IvIark an all for the brilliant site..

[Silver Blues]

That thing looks professional as fuck. I like it a lot and good work again man

[Lead2]

Thanks Silver Blues.. One more gap to fill in the rack :-) What to choose... Any suggestions? Have you built any octave pedals?

[Silver Blues]

I haven't built any octave effects but there are a number of good ones around here. The U-Boat suboctave effect was recently posted here for example which is supposed to be nice. Looks to me like you're missing some sort of phaser or chorus, maybe one of those?

[Muadzin]

Lead2 wrote

Thanks Silver Blues.. One more gap to fill in the rack :-) What to choose... Any suggestions? Have you built any octave pedals?

Depends on what your poison is. If you don't mind glitchy as f***, then there are plenty of circuits around. You want octave that actually tracks well then there are no DIY circuits. Or you could do a Pete Cornish and just rip a board from a commercial pedal and stick it in your rack.

[Lead2]

Thanks for the advice.. Have the MXR45 for a phaser already and am very happy with that. It's a really subtle phaser which I like..
'Glitchy as f***' is not the most encouraging comment I've heard about build. I'll keep hunting, plenty to choose from.
Thanks again

[Travis]

Really neat looking build! Are those knobs from DOD "Performer" pedals?

You could do a compressor for the other thing. I just built the Janglebox which I like a lot as an OTA comp

[IvIark]

Looking great, still the best option for guitarists with a rack IMO

[Muadzin]

Lead2 wrote

'Glitchy as f***' is not the most encouraging comment I've heard about build. I'll keep hunting, plenty to choose from.

Maybe your tolerance is a bit higher then mine in regards to octavers. For me all analog octavers warble way too much, you can't play chords and tracking on the low notes is poor to my ears on all of them. The whammy, WH-4 and earlier marks still sound glitchy but at least they have good tracking  wherever you play on the guitar or bass so to me any decent octaver should do at least as good as the whammy. The Holy Grail of octavers still remains the POG as it doesn't glitch and tracks flawles, which may be offend some purists.

[Lead2]

The Pots are from an old Tweed broadcast desk.. This things has bits from many strange places.
I'll have a look at the POG.. Could be the one..

Thanks again for the advice and replies..

[Travis]

You can't build a POG but the Micro POG is pretty cheap

[Ed Nice]

That's such a cool piece of kit. Great work man.

That could also be modularised as a system where people could have a rack and pedal builders could build units for it that just plug in. There's probably something like that knocking around already, but it's probably also super expensive and impractical for your everyday amateur player.

I think footswitches would be a great practical addition.

I can't wait to see a demo :)

[Lead2]

The way I built the rack was to have relays replacing stomp switches. These relays can be switched using the switches on the PSU and this means that I can easily add a foot switch system to control the relays, this will be in the works soon :-) Doing it this way leave me the option to add some 'preset' foot switches where you can change the on/off state of all the FX with one switch.

Can I ask for a little advice? Up to a week ago I was using only single coil guitars. I got my hands on a really cheap Yamaha (don't laugh)that has 2 hummies. Problem is that this is overloading several of the FX. I can turn down the guitar but that seems to suck a bit of life out of it, as does lowering the pickups. Are there any booster type pedals that are suitable for a guitar with a very high output.

Thanks..

PS I already popped a 500k pot in but still way loud..

[tabbycat]

you say tom-ay-tos
and i say tom-ah-tos,
you say mulit effects rack thing
and i say synth,

tom-ay-tos,
tom-ah-tos,
mulit effects rack thing,
synth,

still cool as a bitch whatever it is...

[Lead2]

@tabbycat  I think you're right, synth it is.. But to be honest "still cool as a bitch whatever it is... " is about the best compliment I've gotten about anything in years.. Thank you..

Thanks to suggestions so far, I have added a couple of bits to it. The last slot was filled with a Dyna Comp (well the first physical spot, wasn't putting the comp at the end!!) Also added a Noisy Cricket at the back to I can use it with a small cab or headphones. My favorite new bit is:


Foot switches at last.. thanks again for the suggestion..
There are nine switches for the individual effects and four programmable (using dip switches at the back) presets that can have any combination of effects on. All the leds for the effects are true tallies from the effects so when you hit a preset the leds reflect what effects are on..


Now to brush up on my 'woodworking' skills