[Artful Dweller]

Brand Spankin new here. Have been lurking around for awhile but decided to take the plunge and post.

I have searched but have not found any info on Jerry's effects switcher box and controller. Make Model, is it custom? If this has been discussed maybe point me to the thread! anyhow good to be here!

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[strumminsix]

Can't say what Jerry used for sure. I thought it was custom.

If you are looking for something I'd suggest GCX based on personal usage. Or maybe the MFX by http://www.woboge.com/ it's much cheaper and simpler.

I'd have tried that if I knew about it before the GCX.

[Artful Dweller]

The MFX looks interesting and about what I am lookng for. I like the idea of having pedals at waist height for tweaking... Although I do play guitar I am actually a keyboard player and use pedals. I have enough to root around for as it is.. Sustain, volume, rotosphere (not used for organ as I play a Hammond Organ) etc. a nice tidy controller for my other pedals seems to be needed. Thanks for the reply!

[tigerstrat]

I had thought Jerry's was a Bradshaw system (mucho dinero) but I don't see a reference to Bradshaw anywhere so yeah I guess it was a probably a custom switcher.

Voodoo Lab GCX + GroundControlPro is a great way to go for under $1000... but Voodoo Lab also has a simpler cheaper 4-pedal switcher that came out fairly recently...

[strumminsix]

I had thought Jerry's was a Bradshaw system (mucho dinero) but I don't see a reference to Bradshaw anywhere so yeah I guess it was a probably a custom switcher.

I've not seen anything that said Bradshaw or anything else for that matter. Funny, I just searched the gearbook and no reference to a switching system.

My buddy has an electrical engineering degree (and a musician) and said a low-fi setup with relays and an external foot controller (using an ethernet cable) wouldn't be tough or all that expensive to build. So I can't see how the geniuses behind the GD would have struggled with it.

[myoung6923]

I'm pretty sure that Jerry's switcher was made by John Cutler. I think that it is mentioned somewhere in the gear book but I don't really have the time to look it up right now. Any way around it - it was most definitely custom made.

[strumminsix]

I'm pretty sure that Jerry's switcher was made by John Cutler. I think that it is mentioned somewhere in the gear book but I don't really have the time to look it up right now. Any way around it - it was most definitely custom made.

Read the book twice and that sounds familiar.

[Tennesse]

I'm looking at a guitar that has an effects loop built in.It has 2 1/4 inch jacks.I cant figure out hows this works.Anyone got any advice?Anyone use one?Thanks...[/img]

[myoung6923]

usually it goes like this - there will be 2 - 2 1/4" jacks on the guitar. One of them will use a stereo 1/4" jack (tip, ring and sleeve - TRS) type of connector. The signal will go from the pickup and tone pot out to the tip connector of ouy loop jack and out to your effects input. You need to use a stereo Y cable - which will split the cable into 2, 1/4" mono (TS) connectors - one will be for send and one will be for return. You plug the send connector into you effects input and the return connector into your effects output. The signal comes back up from the return connector to the RING of the loop jack - comes back into the guitar to the volume pot and then out to the other jack on the guitar. This other jack you just use a regular guitar cable to your amp.

This configuration will send the full output of your pickups to your effects and that level won't change - even when you change the guitar volume. Most effects are dependent on the input signal and have to be adjusted after that signal is changed - set up this way - they don't. You set them once and teh sound of them won't change after adjusting your guitar volume.

[Tennesse]

Those cables you mentioned-they can be bought online?Common?Do you use one?I use many pedals-is the effects loop thing what I'm looking for?Constant tweaking,level changes,etc. really suck.Thanks man...

[Tennesse]

Yo love your site...One of my favorite things about rukind is the peps' own bands...Any chance you feel like telling me how your pedals are activated when they are in the case....So much to learn....

[myoung6923]

I used to have my effects rack mouned and used a GCX guitar switcher to switch all of teh effects. Essentailly, it has each effect on its own loop - and then I used a Ground Control midi foot controller to turn on/off certain effects. You can even set presets for different combination of effects - works really good and keeps all effects bypassed until actually used.

I've since gone away with the rack mount back to a pedal board - just because of the amount of space that the rig takes up.

The Stereo Y cable can be purchased at a lot of places - you can certainly find them online.

I made a little breakout box instead - so that I can just use a regular stereo cable. It's just a little box that has a stereo 1/4" input goint to 2 mono 1/4" send and return jacks.

[Tennesse]

Your band is cool...Thanks for the info...Peace

[Dozin]

Jerry's switching unit was custom made by Cutler.

[shakedown_04092]

Hey Tennessee, myoung6923 has it all right, but I've heard that Y cables are not only hard to come by, but flimsy as well. I'm having a guitar made right now that also has an FX bypass jack installed, and instead I opted for the Y Junction Box from Hard Truckers - exactly what myoung6923 made himself, though I'm sure the HT version costs more, but if you don't know how to build those things, like me, it's not a bad option. HT is also where I got my stereo cable from (made by Brian Brown, Trey's guitar tech w/ Phish). Here's the info:

http://www.hardtruckers.com/cables.html

Just give Glenn at HT a call, he'll help you through & answer any questions you have. I've found him to be VERY accomodating, especially for an equiptment novice like myself.