How do you stomp your stompboxes?

[HelsiBorlis]

I almost fell down during my last performance when i lost balance trying to hit a footswitch. And i only have a few pedals... some of you guys have rows and rows of pedals on your boards. Do any of you guys do anything to maintain balance while playing and stomping? Make it a swifter motion, rest the heel on the floor,....

[Bunkey]

Separate switch board. Keeps you from stomping the life out of those lovely stomp boxes.

[Fancy Lime]

Welcome!

The Pro solution is to have a roadie switch remotely for you The cheap solution is to cut back on the stage beers. The practical solution that worked best for me was thinking long and hard about what goes where on the pedalboard and if I really need to be switching as often as I did. Loopers that switch multiple things at once can be helpful. Or programmable remote switchers. But those are expensive and moderately complicated.

Cheers,
Andy

[Mark Hammer]

I bought a used Marshall MG-type amp footswitch, painted it and adapted it to use as a switching unit for pedals than can be e-switched with external SPST momentary grounding switches, in the manner described here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszB3pAGrdw  The footswitch chassis is sloped, which is nice.  I staggered the height of the momentary switches so that I can hit the ones "in back" without accidentally hitting the front ones, but can also hit multiple switches at once if I wish.

That's not a perfect solution for everything, and is not true bypass, merely externally-actuated e-switching.  But it's a cheap serviceable solution for SOME things, and allows one to place a switch bank in a more usable location, without having to run long audio cables back and forth, adding cost, weight, and cable capacitance.  You'll note that the switching unit uses a single 3.5mm phone jack for each switch; cheap and simple.  And if I wish to be able to switch pedals in different combinations, all I have to do is move the plugs over to different jacks.

[amptramp]

If you want to see someone stomp many times during a song, watch this:

She always does it barefoot and she can turn knobs the same way.  Of course, I will accept any excuse for watching Theresa Andersson.  Her story is interesting: she immigrated to New Orleans from Sweden a week before a hurricane hit, so she had to learn to be a one-woman band.

[antonis]

i only have a few pedals...

You didn't mention the number of beers you had.. 

Good Stomper Stomping Practice rule of thumb:
> Number of beers (or equivalent alcoholic degree spirits) should be equal to or less than e^{number of pedals} <

[Kevin Mitchell]

Find one of those old Simon memory games and practice while standing on one foot and a beer in one hand.
The beer is necessary. Less explaining if someone walks in on you.

Then you can replace all stomp switches with the LED ring ones as training wheels.
Then proceed to next level stomp mastery 

[iainpunk]

make sure to be at the board ready atleast 1/2 beat before you need to press the pedal, one leg steady and a bit back and the other leaning on your heel ready to push, and then just wait until the point comes to move your toes (the army boots i always wear are surprisingly responsive to toe movement if you never tie the strings on them! i wear Dutch variant M400 boots)
look at the pedal to position the foot before pressing, but when you actually press it, don't look at the pedal any more.

cheers, Iain

[garcho]

I've seen many shows where I thought "zheesh, that guy could use a few less pedals". I've never seen a show where I left thinking "if only that guitar player had more pedals, it would have been cool". I'd say, keep the beer, ditch the superfluous pedals, although I have seen many shows beer ruined, from both sides of the stage.

If it's just a matter of balance (obviously, quite an important matter for a performance), something I've noticed is that I'm much more stable switching with my right foot, when I'm wearing a guitar on my left shoulder. Something else I've learned from standing on unstable vehicles is to never lock your knee. Always squat, even if it's just a little bit. You don't have to squat the entire time on stage, but when you go to switch, don't lock the knee of the leg you're standing on.

If nothing else, just remember, falling over on stage is 100% rock n roll.

[iainpunk]

You don't have to squat the entire time on stage

yes you have to! crab walk the whole show, youll look badass and totally not like you shat your pants.

we had a band in the venue i used to work at, they played regularly, about every other month, but their guitar player is a total douche, crab walking the whole show, only chugging power chords, single note solo's called it ''death metal'' the only reason he was in the band was his garage was available and his parents payed the band's expenses, otherwise no-one would put up with him being such an a$$ hole all the time.

cheers

[anotherjim]

Wear Sideshow Bobs' boots. The toe is so far out front it won't affect your balance. However, steer well clear of garden rakes.

[Fancy Lime]

I had a feeling this would go off the rails and look what happened! HelsiBorlis, we're not always this unhelpful, I swear! Only when we're "funny". That being said, I agree with Garcho, falling in over is Rock'n'Roll. What is your genre? Can you get away with leaving everything on all the time?

Andy

[Mark Hammer]

I guess it was the "falling over" that triggered some of the comments you received.

Is your pedalboard sloped in any way, or is it essentially flat?

[ElectricDruid]

I used to fall over on stage all the time, until I found a pair of vintage diving boots in an antique shop. They're weighted with lead, and it's practically impossible to fall over while wearing them, although you can sway back and forth from the ankles like a Weeble, or Michael Jackson. They also guarantee a firm action on any foot switch you stomp on, and the toning effect on the thighs can only be regarded as a bonus. However, do note that it's impossible to obtain public liability insurance that covers stage diving while wearing victorian diving boots, if indeed you can get off the ground at all.

[davent]

Saw Erika Wennerstrom & band opened for Drive By Truckers locally in 2018 and her guitarist, Lauren Gurgiolo was often standing atop a rocker pedal under each foot working them independently, no idea how she didn't fall.

dave

[amptramp]

For extra long stomp range, there's always Winklepickers, a style of shoe that can let you reach the stomp switch from a lot farther away than normal shoes:

[Mark Hammer]

I think those are for actuating short-handle toggle switches.  Or maybe for picking your teeth.

Whatever they are used for, and whether you knock the person down, step on their face, slander their name all over the place, don't you DARE step on them!

[davent]

Those shoes are standard issue  with 1590A pedal boards

[Fancy Lime]

For extra long stomp range, there's always Winklepickers, a style of shoe that can let you reach the stomp switch from a lot farther away than normal shoes:

This. Is. Glorious!