Let's review footswitches.
- Thread starter Stickman393
- Start date
Stickman393
Well-known member
I mean, the LMS was available long before GORVA. IIRC their switches are relative newcomers to the market.
I'd be surprised if there's any difference between them.
In terms of force required to make em click, I suppose one could rig up a vise and put 'em head to head, slowly cranking them together until one makes.
Do that a few hundred times with randomly selected samples across multiple production runs and you may have an answer re: which one require less force to actuate.
For my money, the real stand-outs in the budget realm are the stompboxparts red and blue epoxy switches. @$3 a pop, these things are killers.
Blues are an easier tap than the LMS/GORVA. Similar build too, only difference is a small plastic tab that extends beyond the metal plate on the LMS/GORVA switches.
Reds give alpha a run for their money, solid and smooth heavy click.
I'm gonna collect more.
As to: what do we prefer...perhaps a poll is in order...
Looks like one option has pulled ahead to a stunning and unexpected lead:
Stickman393
Well-known member
I most certainly did not! After all, you gotta use something as a signal to actuate that relay.You left out relay
Though I guess I didn't put in a choice for "clickless". We'll just throw that in with soft click.
Don't get me wrong, I would certainly be into Rube Goldberg-ing the HELL out of a bypass mechanism. I'm talking robot arms moving patch cables via infrared cues emitted from an LED on your guitar when you play a C#madd9.
Let's DO THIS.
Stickman393
Well-known member
Votes are a little more divided than I woulda thought at first!
Well, I wanna put this one thing to bed:
The great Gorva V LMS debate, footswitch style.
My position: they're the same switch with different stamps.
Specs are the same (LMS @ around 35 oz, Gorva at 1kg +/-.03kg). Translation? Six of one, half dozen of the other.
Both rated for 30k cycles.
Both rated at <30 milliohm contact resistance.
500vdc insulation resistance of >10 megaohm on the LMS, and at least 100 megaohm on the Gorva. That might seem like a difference. It's not.
Same characteristic plastic tab on the metal plate above the stamp. Same color, same details, same construction.
TL;DR: same switch. Same factory. No difference, except for the stamp. If there is any appreciable difference in the inner workings, it's not enough to have an effect on the specs of the switch.
Just a case of two different resellers buying the same product from the same factory and putting a different name on it. Tale as old as capitalism. And...part of why I wanted to start this thread...to better understand what the options are. To remove the veil of secrecy surrounding these little moving sets of electrically conductive surfaces.
To know what's unique, and what the same ol, same ol.
That said...I just got in my first batch of the "landtone" variety today. Black version.
Not. Too. Shabby. Will need to see how everything reacts under an iron, but I'm impressed for how cheap these things can get in bulk.
I'm thinking I'm gonna revise my original post a bit and put my own personal rankings and observations in there.
Well, I wanna put this one thing to bed:
The great Gorva V LMS debate, footswitch style.
My position: they're the same switch with different stamps.
Specs are the same (LMS @ around 35 oz, Gorva at 1kg +/-.03kg). Translation? Six of one, half dozen of the other.
Both rated for 30k cycles.
Both rated at <30 milliohm contact resistance.
500vdc insulation resistance of >10 megaohm on the LMS, and at least 100 megaohm on the Gorva. That might seem like a difference. It's not.
Same characteristic plastic tab on the metal plate above the stamp. Same color, same details, same construction.
TL;DR: same switch. Same factory. No difference, except for the stamp. If there is any appreciable difference in the inner workings, it's not enough to have an effect on the specs of the switch.
Just a case of two different resellers buying the same product from the same factory and putting a different name on it. Tale as old as capitalism. And...part of why I wanted to start this thread...to better understand what the options are. To remove the veil of secrecy surrounding these little moving sets of electrically conductive surfaces.
To know what's unique, and what the same ol, same ol.
That said...I just got in my first batch of the "landtone" variety today. Black version.
Not. Too. Shabby. Will need to see how everything reacts under an iron, but I'm impressed for how cheap these things can get in bulk.
I'm thinking I'm gonna revise my original post a bit and put my own personal rankings and observations in there.
finebyfine
Well-known member
This is always apparent in any niche diy hobby like ours but the extremely limited number of sellers in the pedal scene really makes it more obvious. I have yet to see anything that rubs me wrong way, which is pretty rare for my experience in other hobbies.
That said, most of the footswitches out here just seem to be Alpha, Dailywell, and Daier. The Alpha and Dailywell footswitch catalogues and ordering options are massive and we only see a small variety from retailers.
I am partial to these $2.30 footswitches from Tayda. I ordered some because I’m cheap but ended up loving them, and would gladly pay double for them. They’re light force but still have satisfying feedback to them. There’s an audible click without it being a “thunk” and without the click feeling cheap. The black body version is the same. They’re made by Alpha.
They remind me a lot of the LMS/Gorva’s, which if I remember correctly are Alpha’s as well. The LMS one is a little quieter.
Customers footswitch tastes have lined up with my own preferences. I think anything that isn’t the ol’ china blue feels “premium” to most people. But it’s all about context; sometimes you want that chunky thunk in a beat up Rat clone.
For momentary I am obsessed with the half dome ones even though it’s easy to not know if I pressed it. I wish a 3PDT came with that actuator.
Stickman393
Well-known member
See? That's what I'm talking about. Thank you for that little bit of insight. Lots of options are either the same or similar enough. Building a pedal at a time, it's not too hard to shell out for a DeMont or Lehle switch...
But, if you're like me, and building a ton of individual pedals...a difference of 2 bucks on 20 foot switches makes a big difference on a order of 20 or more.
There are certain switches that appear to not quite fall into the same category of "everybody sells this one, don't buy into hype". SCI'S moulding is a dead giveaway, I suspect Taiway is independent (though the silk screening isn't necessarily a difficult process for a factory to implement), ST professional are made in Italy, Carling are made in Mexico, DeMont (supposedly made for these folks through connections with guyatone) in Japan and Lehle in Germany...
These are different *enough* from the main pack. There may be benefit in determining what factory produces what switch with the others though...let's say one uses a brittle plastic linkage in it's mechanism that won't break for a few years down the line, but the others don't.
I swear I'm gonna start cracking some of these things open...after I finish like, 5 other projects.
*Edit*
Posting links in the first post here.
Last edited:
pcb rookie
Active member
I've been using this SBP model before they got the B Grade run (not fully flooded with epoxy). I like the light click and they worked well for me so far. I risked going for the B grade on my last order. I'm not worried ... I still expect that will work out as the previous batch as it states it is "primarily an aesthetic error"
stompboxparts.com
Once they are out, I will probably go for the SBP Red/Blue
stompboxparts.com
... probably going for blue If I wish something similar to the previous model I've been using?
3PDT Footswitch - Latching - B Grade
Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors
stompboxparts.com
Once they are out, I will probably go for the SBP Red/Blue
3PDT Footswitch - Solder Lug
Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors
stompboxparts.com
... probably going for blue If I wish something similar to the previous model I've been using?
pcb rookie
Active member
traumprinz
Member
The Gorva and LMS switch are the same. I think LMS is getting them custom stamped via Gorva rather than purchasing the same switch from the same factory. You can see a mention of LMS carrying the Gorvas in the comments of this IG post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGGfiGInA48/
Their early batches may not have had the custom stamp.
Not that particular one.
EDIT: Actually, LMS answers that directly here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHc4fKMDv6/
If you don't have or want to use IG, someone asks of the LMS-stamped green switches, "Are these the same as the Gorva switches?" to which LMS replies "Yep!"
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGGfiGInA48/
Their early batches may not have had the custom stamp.
Not that particular one.
EDIT: Actually, LMS answers that directly here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHc4fKMDv6/
If you don't have or want to use IG, someone asks of the LMS-stamped green switches, "Are these the same as the Gorva switches?" to which LMS replies "Yep!"
Stickman393
Well-known member
^ you are correct, I was mistaken. GORVA beat LMS to the market by two months from what I can tell.
Stickman393
Well-known member
Ready for me to BLOW YOUR FRIGGIN MIND?!?!?;
Or, maybe not. I mean, these switches ARE different, I only mean to say that these are made in the same factory. The reds require much more actuation force.
But, that said: I believe I know who makes the Gorva/LMS switch.
And that...is dailywell.
Why? Observe:
All pretty similar...sure...that doesn't prove anything though. However...there are a few elements in the construction of these that are enough for me to put this in the "likely the same" category.
Observe these relatively unique elements:
See that rectangular tab on all three? That is not present in any of the other 3pdts that I've acquired. But for the coup de grace:
Check out dem little plastic tabs. VERY unusual.
Don't take this as me saying "hey, don't get the LMS or GORVA, cause the dailywell from Tayda is the exact same thing". I am not saying that. But...elements in their construction seem to indicate that they're made at the same factory. Or at least with the same machinery.
The Tayda red version has a stronger spring in it and requires more force to actuate. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the LMS/GORVA simply because the red feels a bit too springy and...unsatisfying? YMMV.
I got ADHD. Don't judge me for my fleeting hyperfocus and obsession with things that go "click".
Or, maybe not. I mean, these switches ARE different, I only mean to say that these are made in the same factory. The reds require much more actuation force.
But, that said: I believe I know who makes the Gorva/LMS switch.
And that...is dailywell.
Why? Observe:
All pretty similar...sure...that doesn't prove anything though. However...there are a few elements in the construction of these that are enough for me to put this in the "likely the same" category.
Observe these relatively unique elements:
See that rectangular tab on all three? That is not present in any of the other 3pdts that I've acquired. But for the coup de grace:
Check out dem little plastic tabs. VERY unusual.
Don't take this as me saying "hey, don't get the LMS or GORVA, cause the dailywell from Tayda is the exact same thing". I am not saying that. But...elements in their construction seem to indicate that they're made at the same factory. Or at least with the same machinery.
The Tayda red version has a stronger spring in it and requires more force to actuate. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the LMS/GORVA simply because the red feels a bit too springy and...unsatisfying? YMMV.
I got ADHD. Don't judge me for my fleeting hyperfocus and obsession with things that go "click".
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
princeofyams
Member
I like soft click in the basement and hard click on the stage. Completely depends if I'm wearing shoes or not and how dark it is. Those TC Electronic pedals have the nicest, softest switching ever when you're barefoot, but you'll click them twice if you're not looking right at them with shoes on. 
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
Don't listen to @Big Monk. there's no tone in white socksI like soft click in the basement and hard click on the stage. Completely depends if I'm wearing shoes or not and how dark it is. Those TC Electronic pedals have the nicest, softest switching ever when you're barefoot, but you'll click them twice if you're not looking right at them with shoes on.
