Build Your Own Clone Message Board

i was just wondering (i'm new to building only one under my belt) about the mighty mouse i just ordered. is there a way to loose the toggle switch and use 3 stomp switches in it's place. i understand that a larger encloser would be needed but what about wiring. could anyone help me out. i want to be able to get all 3 tones while i'm standing up.

It can be done but you'll probably need to get a larger enclosure to house it in.

yeah i was thinking about making wooden boxes

You can do it with 2 switches (1 dpdt and 1 spdt) for all of the combinations, 1 switch (spst, on/off) would be clean/dirty, the other one (dpdt) would switch between distortion and overdrive modes.

If you could live with just 2 selections you could do it with 1 footswitch, spst or dpdt depending on what 2 settings you want.

Sorry, can't diagram it for you right now.

EDIT, you need 2 DPDT switches to do it with footswitches, if you want indicator LEDs, which I assume would be very helpful, you would need 3PDTs, 2 LEDs, and 2 resistors (it looks like Keith uses a 4.7K for the LED). I can draw a schematic, but I can't do a wiring diagram until I get my board. I could guess at the traces from the pictures in the instructions, but I couldn't guarantee them until I had the real thing.

A wooden enclosure probably isn't a very good idea. A metal enclosure is part of the grounding and it also helps to shield against RFI.

yes, if you go wooden, you will have to shield the inside, like in the electronics cavity of your guitar.

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safe? who said anything about safe? of course He isn't safe! but He's good. He's the king i tell you!

true,but i might take the metal cases and veneer them

is there a good push button rotary switch?

There are push button switches and there are rotary switches, I'm not sure what you are looking for in a "push button rotary".

I've never seen such an animal.

i guess i just want it all. i want to able to utilize everything, by using my feet. and i'm not sure want it is i'm looking for. would i need 3 3PDT push button footswitch to replace the 3 selections of the toggle switch. or is the a footswith that will toggle through each phase? a tripple throw or something.

I think you'd need a 3P3T stomp switch if there is such a thing... but then to get from setting 1 to 3 you have to stomp twice to skip over 2 and get to 3... not going to sound good through and amp at high volume...

Maybe you could use a gear box from a motorcycle, 1 up and 3 down... use the clutch as a momentary mute as you switch between settings

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I... have become... uncomfortably numb...

Not that I know of, if there is, it's probably too big to put in a pedal, not to mention too expensive.

Go up to my first post, I explained how to wire it up to switch between the settings with 2 footswitches, I didn't factor in an LED, so you'll have to add another pole to each of the switches to use an LED. That's the only logical way I see to do it. Remember, the Clean boost will be louder than the distortion settings, there isn't a clipping circuit to limit the signal. Not sure if that is what you want. It would also be easy to use one switch to go between Turbo and Vintage modes, or 1 switch to go between OD/Distortion and another 1 to go between Turbo/Vintage, not sure how the OD/Turbo combination would sound, never tried that personally.

You could also fit this into a Hammond 1590BB size or similar box, available in the Parts Store.

1. Use a rotary switch with a big chicken head knob.

2. Cut out a hole in your shoe so you can turn the knob with your toes.

In all seriousness, there is no 4 position "mechanical" pushbutton switch that I know of either. You could use a pushbutton momentary switch to actuate a 4066 analog switch and a 4017 decade counter to bank through 4 positions, but that mod would be more complex than the entire rat build.

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*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

yeah i kinda figured i was in a little over my head but the only way of knowing is asking. i really enjoy effect pedals and even more, i like building them. i've got 4 on the way and can't wait till the get here. thanks everyone. (i still think the motor cycle clutch could have worked):o)

Honestly, I don't know if switching between all the settings with footswitches would be that useful, the loudest setting would be the clean boost, followed by the distortion, then the overdrive (most likely, I don't have mine yet). You'd also be looking at spending quite a bit on parts, enough to maybe consider getting a second Mouse. Since you are just getting started, my recommendation would be to build them as they are for now and get them working before you try to go nuts with mods, you might learn enough while you are building them to start figuring some of this stuff out on your own (not that anyone here minds helping, but the schematics might start making more sense).

Just my <$0.02.

All very good points. Especially about the 3 different settings being so different in output that having a switch between them in a live situation would be unusable.

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*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

i agree