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Looper's Delight
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Hello, I recently bought the new Electro-Harmonix 2880 'super multi-track looper' and the foot controller which is sold separately - If you're interested in reading my overall impressions of the unit, go here: http://livelooping.tribe.net/thread/96dc3e34-2c4d-404c-a21c-1ac401d7167c - But I just joined this list to raise a specific issue that calls for a solution (or else I am gonna have to list this just over 30-day old gear on eBay because I can't use it in its present state)... THE FOOT CONTROLLER: The push-button switches (there are six of 'em) are TOO DAMNED LOUD - I play acoustic wind instruments, mainly, which is to say, although sometimes I might create loops from electronic components and sources, mostly I bought this thing to loop instrumental parts played on instruments which require a microphone to get the sound into my mixer and from there out the effects send into the looper - And if the gain on the mic preamp is set at the appropriate level to get a good signal from my horn, it picks up the loud DOUBLE-CLICK made by the footswitch each time you depress the record button to begin and end the loop, and then adds this jarring mechanical sound to the recorded loop after each cycle - If I were using this to loop my horn while playing with a loud backing band with a drummer, MAYBE I could get away with this obnoxious click in the loop, but for building layered ambient-type compositions, or even a three-part flute or bass clarinet piece, forget it... So I called Electro-Harmonix and talked to their guy who designed or built the foot controller, hoping he would be able to modify the unit: add dampers to the switches or replace them with quieter ones - He said he'd have to do some research because he didn't know of any quieter switches - In the meantime I thought I'd ask you guys, since I am sure I am not the only acoustic musician in the looping community who has run into this problem (you electric guitarists and keyboardists are fortunate in that however loud the mechanical noise produced by your footswitches, you don't have to worry about it being picked up and recorded on your loop through your pickups or the internal circuitry of your electronic instrument)... I have already done some research myself - One answer I got was to get some switches from Mouser Electronics, because these are the ones used on the EDP foot controller, and supposedly they are quieter (though also notoriously fragile, though I haven't used the EDP, so I can't say) - If I choose to do this I will need to know exactly what product number the suggested Mouser switch has, because I looked on their site and they have dozens of push-button type switches... The other suggestion I got was that Mesa Boogie Amp company makes a line of foot pedalboards with push-button switches that are claimed to be both quiet and sturdy - I called Mesa and of course they would not tell me where they get their component parts used to build their products, so I would have to spend over $100 (at the very least) to buy a Mesa pedalboard just to rip it apart for the switches (which are probably worth under $5, I'm gonna need six of 'em)... I really do not want to sell this practically new 2880 with the foot controller and all the compact flash cards I already bought to use for it, and start over with shopping for a live looper, so all I really need to do is to get some *relatively quiet* (I don't mean silent, of course) switches and pay the guy at E-H or someone to replace them for me (I don't know jack about electronic circuits and I don't have a soldering iron, myself) - I haven't used very many pedals or footswitches in the past, like a lot of you guitarists have, I'm sure... but none of them were anywhere near as loud as this 2880 foot controller... the switches on the 2880 proper are unobtrusively quiet, so what were they thinking when they built these stupid footswitches?... Thanks too any of you knowledgeable folks who can offer suggestions... Ferrara Brain Pan http://www.formsofthingsunknown.com "Let the great constellation of flickering ashes be heard..." Noel Scott Engel