Modded my Vox V847, 3PDT is obstructing EVERYTHING...

[Timfever]

So I bought this great modding kit off of eBay (the store was Justisinc) that came with a 3PDT, a red fasel inductor, and a Fulltone Clyde pot for something like $30-35 (it was a steal AND it arrived so fast it kinda freaked me out...I mean they're in Florida, I'm near Seattle, and it got here like 2 days after I paid for it).

 

Anyhow, this was my first modding project and i screwed a few things up (I posted about one of them on here when it happened...a pin on the fasel inductor broke off and the advice I got about improvising a new one actually worked...but I had crappy ass superglue that melted from being like 3" away from a soldering iron...ARRRRHGHGHGHGHHG! I worked HARD making that new pin out of a big staple, dammit!), but nothing too serious/aggregious. Most of the mod is really pretty easy (I'm 34 and hadn't touched a soldering iron since I was 12 or 13 and I finished all of the wiring and rewiring in about 20-40 minutes--and that was while being super paranoid and cautious).

 

BUT...since I didn't have an inductor (yeah, due to the way that I ended up removing the old one, it's...ahem...not exactly functional? ) I had left the thing alone for awhile caues that pin incident just bummed me out so much, but a local music store (A# Music in Renton...they sell PRS, Taylor, and about every insanely expensive guitar and amp you can think of...plus they're awesome to deal with, unlike some businesses *COUGH COUGH* Guitar Center *COUGH*) actually special ordered me another fasel inductor (I was too childish and stubborn to just get one from eBay...I needed it in my hand NOW!).

So now it's all together, and sounds *AMAZING*. I'm a lifelong Hendrix fanboy but that's the extent of my love for anything remotely like hippie jam music (I pretty much loathe most classic rock too, with the obvious exceptions)...I'm mainly a metal guy and I hadn't touched either of my wah pedals for years (have that Vox that I got in 8th grade and a Crybaby to replace it when its pot started crapping out after 5 years or so), unless I was playing Hendrix songs or something, cause I just didn't have any use for that sound. Whoa Nelly...that ain't the case now.

 

Now here's my question (don't ask me why i didn't just ask the question up front instead of my long preamble...): My 3PDT sticks up just enough that when the treadle is in the down position, it touches just enough to make a feint clicking sound and it comes out my amp, too. I've tried using various spacers inside the pedal to shorten the shaft/switch, but then I can't turn it off and on, even with the teeny, tiniest grommets. I've also tried using the full-sized grommets with no spacers and it's the same thing. Oddly enough, I compared the old SPDT to the 3PDT and the old one is actually notably taller and wider than the 3PDT.

 

Anyone else have this issue?

[WRGKMC]

Most switches come with a pair of nuts that can be used to adjust the switch height above the exterior of the housing. The actual physical height in comparison to the old switch isnt a big deal so long as you are able to adjust the switch to the right height and it is that finicky to get right.

Its actually the first thing you do when installing it so you can tweak the lock nuts without having it soldered in and having to deal with the wires. Now that the switch is in place, then you'll just have to deal with tweaking the inside and outside lock nuts till you get the height just right so it will click on properly. If its too high you can add washers on the inside so it adds space.

You do not want to be screwing the switch in place without an inside nut. Its the nut and locking washer that should be tightened on the inside of the housing, and thst nut adjusts the height. If you dont have an inside nut theres no way of adjusting the switch height and tightening the switch up against the housing can bend and damage the switch.

If you are having issues where the switch isnt high enough or you have some issue like you mentioned with mechanical noise, then you do have the option of gluing something on the pedal above the switch. A mylar or rubber bumper can be glued to the pedal plate to add some pressure to depress the switch.

Normally with the pedal completely down it should just clear the switch. The pedal should have rubber bumpers that get collapsed/compressed when you press down hard with your foot to toggel the switch.

If these bumpers are missing or worn out, then there might not be enough rubber there to keep the pedal above the switch during normal use and they can bump into the switch causing the switch to trigger when you dont want it to. If the bumpers are in good shape then using a feeler gauge between the switch top and pedal can be used to adjust the switch height using the inside and outside nuts on the switch like I mentioned before.

Since this is a replacement switch, you may be having another issue you may have overlooked. It deals with the distance it takes to depress the switch to get it to toggel. The old switch may have been a short throw switch, and the new one may be a longer throw. If for example, the old switch took 1mm downward pressure to get it to click, thay likely made pedal bumpers for that specific switch.

If the new switch takes 2~3mm to get it to toggle, the bumpers may not collapse enough to get the switch to toggle and still have it clear the switch top during normal use. This is what I suspect is happening by your description. You're likely trying to adjust the switch height so it toggles and dont realize your new switch needs more throw to get it to toggle so you are adjusting the switch too high to get it to work.

The only fix I can think of is to find or make larger bumpers so when you press down hard it has more distance to toggle the switch.

These are the kinds of things you run into making non standard parts to work. Its not always an electronic issue. It can be a simple mechanical issue requiring a simple mechanical fix.

If the problem is a matter of the switch throw being longer, then obviously the best solution is to replace the long throw switch with a short throw. This will fix the switch height problem and avoid having to modifty the pedal bumpers so they are taller and can compress more to toggle the switch.

Modifying the bumpers may work if its only a matter of a small distance, but what you do sacrifice is overall pedal throw between heel and toe. The bumpers take up a small amount of that throw which can affect the pedals range. Hopefully that range wont be missed.

This is another reason why I dumped using mechanical pot wah pedals that have the hidden switch. Morley puts the switch along side the pedal instead of placing it under the pedal. It does make the pedal larger and the switch isnt real easy to get to with the foot but it does work well to give more pedal range not having that switch under the pedal.

It would be cool if thay had a couple of switchable pasive wah circuits inside the housing so you could also get a Dunlop and Vox tone happening. I know Boss tried this. My buddy had one that contained several wah tones plus overdrives and chorus. My buddy had one and it sucked balls. Its got some kind of gating circuit in it that is used to quiet silence it when no notes are being played. He left me with it so I could try to program the thing so the gating wouldnt be heard. I messed with it and kind of got it work better than the stock presets but you cant shut that stupid gate off.

He eventually got rid of the thing, and thank heavens for that. You could get a good vox wah tone out of it, but when used with the other effects, it was just too noisy to record with. The rotovibe was kind of cool too, but you'd be better off using separate pedals for those other effects. All in one pedals suck for switching between tones if you dont have swparate switches for them.

[Timfever]

 

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WRGKMC wrote:

 

 

Most switches come with a pair of nuts that can be used to adjust the switch height above the exterior of the housing. The actual physical height in comparison to the old switch isnt a big deal so long as you are able to adjust the switch to the right height and it is that finicky to get right.

 

[snip]

 

You do not want to be screwing the switch in place without an inside nut. Its the nut and locking washer that should be tightened on the inside of the housing, and thst nut adjusts the height. If you dont have an inside nut theres no way of adjusting the switch height and tightening the switch up against the housing can bend and damage the switch.

 

If you are having issues where the switch isnt high enough or you have some issue like you mentioned with mechanical noise, then you do have the option of gluing something on the pedal above the switch. A mylar or rubber bumper can be glued to the pedal plate to add some pressure to depress the switch.

 

Normally with the pedal completely down it should just clear the switch. The pedal should have rubber bumpers that get collapsed/compressed when you press down hard with your foot to toggel the switch.

 

[snip]

Since this is a replacement switch, you may be having another issue you may have overlooked. It deals with the distance it takes to depress the switch to get it to toggel. The old switch may have been a short throw switch, and the new one may be a longer throw. If for example, the old switch took 1mm downward pressure to get it to click, thay likely made pedal bumpers for that specific switch.

 [Emphasis added]

 

[snip]

 

The only fix I can think of is to find or make larger bumpers so when you press down hard it has more distance to toggle the switch.

 

These are the kinds of things you run into making non standard parts to work. Its not always an electronic issue. It can be a simple mechanical issue requiring a simple mechanical fix.

 

If the problem is a matter of the switch throw being longer, then obviously the best solution is to replace the long throw switch with a short throw. This will fix the switch height problem and avoid having to modifty the pedal bumpers so they are taller and can compress more to toggle the switch.

 

Modifying the bumpers may work if its only a matter of a small distance, but what you do sacrifice is overall pedal throw between heel and toe. The bumpers take up a small amount of that throw which can affect the pedals range. Hopefully that range wont be missed.

 

[snip]

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I literally tried everything you suggested. The first thing I did was disconnect the leads from the old SPDT and install the 3PDT, using all of the nuts and the washer that it came with....no matter how I set up those up, adjusted them, OR used different sized grommets (I bought a set of various sized and matched grommets when I bought my mod kit--I highly recommend those, they're only $5 or something and just invaluable), and no matter what, I either end up with a wah that functions excelllently but can't be activated or turned off with your foot (unless you're Shaq or something...), OR one that sounds great but keeps smacking into the switch. 

Even with one nut and washer between the 3PDT and the outside, another nut on the external part, and the smallest grommets, the switch ends up too short to even be activated by the toe end. With longer grommets and less on the inside and outside of the 3PDT, it's the same difference. If I use the short grommets, 1 or 2 nuts and the washer, it works, sounds awesome, but keeps hitting the switch.

I was futzing around with it a bit more last night and noticed that the old SPD7 was notoably differnt than the 3PDT, so I read around about the other true bypass switches. It seems like the Carling DPDT footswitch is the way to go? I'd like to just take the take the leads/wires I've soldered and just reinstall them into a relatively identical switch.

Is there a consensus on here what the best switch is for a early 90s Vox V847? Cause I feel pretty certain that the 3PDT isn't it. Would probably work great on a crybaby, just not on a Vox (or at least a reissue made when mine was...)

Thanks for the your help BTW!