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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
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