Spare Parts Fender 3 Channel Footswitch

[lethargytartare]

So the story goes like this:  got a Blues Deville, but no footswitch.  Tonight I saw one of my Boss footswitches, so figured I'd plug it in and see if it worked -- it only partly worked since it was a non-latching kind -- but enough to suggest that the functionality was very simple, so I did a quick hunt around for any DIY diagrams.  I found a lot of general "it should be this" kind of discussions, but one key comment -- that there should be enough current to power an LED.  So then I plugged a cable into the footswitch jack, and shorted the tip to sleeve with an LED and PRESTO -- switch engaged, LED lit.  So then I decided to try to make a fully functional footswitch.  It took some trial and error, and experimentation -- all told, probably just an hour or so: fully shorted, I could get the clean channel; with an LED I get the gain, and fully open I get the boost.  But I wanted LEDs for both the gain and boost channels.  That took a little toying around, and I found that I could put a resistor after the LED allowing current to power the LED, but enough resistance to present an open path and thus "activating" the boost channel.  1ohm was too little, and I think I settled on 470 -- but it just had to be enough to block the current (the value itself is irrelevant).  So I then tried to plug it all together with switches, and had some failures, until I stepped back and mapped things out simply, and that brought it all together (I'm not really fast with this kind of stuff).  So here's what I found:

TIP --> (-)LED1(+) - (-)LED2(+) - 470ohm - SLEEVE == BOOST (two lit LEDs)
TIP --> (-)LED1(+) - SLEEVE == GAIN (one lit LED)
TIP --> SLEEVE == Clean (no lit LEDs)

And then it was pretty easy to figure out the switching.  So I grabbed scrap parts, and discovered the perfect solution is all those SPST stomps from wahs that I'd converted to true-bypass.  Two of those, two LEDs, a mono jack and a random resistor -- that's it.  Here are the pics of verifying it.  Note -- switch A is the clean/gain switch B is the boost.  If B is ON, and A is OFF, both LEDs are properly deactivated -- there wasn't a way to explain that in a picture:

So:


Coffee, spare parts, and an inaccurate diagram -- a great start.

The spare parts -- some stuff stuck to other unused stuff...basically junk.

No LEDs lit, note amp channel light is off -- indicating the clean channel.

Yellow LED, yellow amp light indicating gain channel.

Both LEDs lit, red amp light indicating boost channel (or more boost -- it's not really a separate channel)

Success -- it's going into a little plastic box and we're done.

Now, it's hard to see, but my prototype is solderless -- it's all twists and wraps -- that's because it's cold outside and my soldering stuff is all out in the garage...so this was as much work as I was willing to put into it    Also, the red wire is unused -- I was too lazy to untwist and remove it...

Cheers all!

ltt

[lethargytartare]

Here's the wiring diagram:

         SW1          SW2
          *(-)LED1     *(-)LED2(+)|
                                  |
TIP-------*     LED1(+)*          RES
                                  |
SLEEVE----*------------*----------|

[lethargytartare]

Wrapped it up, so some final pics.  Title should really be "cheap sloppy POS footswitch" since I really cheesed out on neatness haha:


First, resketched the diagram to reflect the particular stomps, and the in-box view when I'd be connecting everything

Inside once wired up.  I nearly broke off a lead on one of the LEDs, so glopped in some hot glue to keep it working

Top -- note the un-aligned everything, and old holes from a previous use.

Another, jack side.

Clean channel

Gain channel

Boost

Cheers!

ltt

[rogeryu_ph]

Lethargytartare,
Thanks a lot for sharing this. I got Fender FM65 DSP and has my footswitch, it has 2 stomp switches, A channel led (clean/drive) and B effects led (modulation) and using only TIP and Sleeve not stereo TRS.
My problem is I can't use it on my GT10 multiFx which has an INPUT JACK CONTROL switch (ON/OFF) on it to be use as a virtual footswitch to an AMP CHANNEL SELECT as a feature of the multiFx. But the multiFX manual stated "NOTE that, depending on the circuitry of the channel switching jack in the guitar amp used, the AMP Control function may not operate"
I did open up my guitar footswitch and it's almost the same with your diagram i'm sure only the different is your boost or led 2 is for modulation but i think it's the same principle.
Here's the multiFX manual description as it's functionality
                                                                               
                                                                         MultiFX AMP control jack
                                                                                    SHORT
Channel A or OFF                                                        |---------||     
to GUITAR AMP jackTS====================JackTS        |
                                                                                 |---------||


                                                                          MultiFX AMP control jack
                                                                                   OPEN
Channel B or ON                                                         |---------|     
to GUITAR AMP jackTS====================JackTS       
                                                                                 |---------|

It clearly explain that the jackTS inside the multiFX is either shorted to be OFF and openned to be ON 

Hope you can help, I can make the feature of the MultiFX AMP Controller to function.

Thank you so much in advanced,
Roger