will you look at this stupid thing

[solarbird]

It’s a pedal that’s an effects switch-in box, but it’s also just an A/B switch, so you can just switch between two devices. The two top plugs are from my zouk and mandolin, the output is to the recorder, I can pick which I’m recording. We’re doing this so we can record tomorrow’s show (6pm, The Dreaming, 5226 University Way, Seattle) with separate tracks for all instruments.

Note the extra cable sticking out the right side, which is connected to nothing. It’s there because the box won’t work without something being plugged in there. It doesn’t use anything that’s plugged in there; it just won’t work unless something is.

So I plugged in a signal-reduction cable. If we’re gonna have basically a noise antenna plugged in on stage to make this dumbass pedal work, I’m by gods gonna use a noise reducing noise antenna.

Honestly some days I don’t even know. This isn’t as bad as the USB-cable-to-nowhere I’ve got in the server room to make the KVM switch work, but it’s close. At least that cable plugs into something on both ends.

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Comments

[mdlbear]

What you need for the dummy input is a shorted phone plug.

[solarbird]

Sure - and I'll make one when I have time, probably, oh, next week maybe? I don't have time this week tho'.

I want to build a custom one mostly because I also want to build or find or have a completely grounded and enclosing end cap. These are instrument-level signals, which are pretty sensitive to noise.

[dreamatdrew]

REALLY silly thought: is it possible that, while something needs to be plugged in there, said something doesn't need to actually be conductive?

[solarbird]

That's not a silly thought at all, and I'm almost certain it doesn't have to be conductive, since no signal is necessary - plugging in a regular cable connected to nothing worked too, which means the detector is almost certainly a physical switch being levered into position by the physical presence of the cable.

The alternative is that there are a pair of contact points that the ground portion of the pin bridges as conducting material. But that would actually be a bad idea for a bunch of completely unrelated reasons... which wouldn't stop them from doing it, though. Still, I'm betting you're right.

But I don't want to try to make a phono-plug shaped dowel (mostly because what if something splinters? Then there's wood inside) and a plastic thing I'd have to buy, I guess? If that exists.

[dreamatdrew]

OK, have you seen those plastic stirrer sticks that are marketed for cocktail purposes? I THINK those are bout the same size as that TRS connector, you'd just have to trim it's length down, and that's just a job for wire cutters and sandpaper to smooth over the pokey bits (which I'm 98.763% sure you already own).

Course, just for testing-the-theory purposes, a chopstick would do, no?

[solarbird]

Swizzle wouldn't be anywhere near big enough. At least, none I've ever seen. Still, if I get time, I can give it a go.