TC Electronic Booster + Line Driver & Distortion Broken Footswitch

[peterkarak]

I've got an 80's TC Electronic Booster + Line Driver & Distortion and the footswitch no longer works. The pedal is stuck on the "on" position.
My question is:
Would it be possible to take the working footswitch from my 80's TC Electronics - Sustain + Parametric Equalizer and put it into the TC Electronic Booster?
Thanks for any help!

 

[Nic]

It ma be twice as hard as just buying a new footswitch to replace the bad one. How does it looks inside ?

 

[spi]

Yeah, some pics of the inside would be helpful.

 

[peterkarak]

It ma be twice as hard as just buying a new footswitch to replace the bad one. How does it looks inside ?

Yeah, some pics of the inside would be helpful.

here are the insides, Sustain on left, Booster on right



Does anyone know what the EX. Bypass input does and how it works? It takes a 3.5mm jack.

 

[Nic]

Not sure what those switches are. Can it be unplugged just by a connector ? In that case maybe swapping would not be so hard after all.

 

[peterkarak]

Not sure what those switches are. Can it be unplugged just by a connector ? In that case maybe swapping would not be so hard after all.

Are you talking about the connector attached to the white wire that goes to the switch?

 

[Nic]

Yes

 

[spi]

Wow they didn't make the switch very accessible. I had a pedal with a switch stuck in one position. When I opened the pedal I could see that it was not an enclosed switch mechanism, and a spring was out of position, and moving it back fixed it. I don't know if you can get at the switch mechanism and see if its something like that, looks like it's enclosed though.

 

[peterkarak]

Yes

Wow they didn't make the switch very accessible. I had a pedal with a switch stuck in one position. When I opened the pedal I could see that it was not an enclosed switch mechanism, and a spring was out of position, and moving it back fixed it. I don't know if you can get at the switch mechanism and see if its something like that, looks like it's enclosed though.

The connector can be disconnected from the switch, but it doesn't seem that the switch can be removed and replaced without lifting the circuit board, and I don't trust myself to try that.
But I can still use the pedal as is, by using my Morley ABY pedal and a couple of cables. Just tried it, and it works great. Step on the B switch and I get the Booster, step on A and it's bypassed.

 

[spi]

The connector can be disconnected from the switch, but it doesn't seem that the switch can be removed and replaced without lifting the circuit board, and I don't trust myself to try that.
But I can still use the pedal as is, by using my Morley ABY pedal and a couple of cables. Just tried it, and it works great. Step on the B switch and I get the Booster, step on A and it's bypassed.

better to be stuck on than stuck off!

 

[Feral Feline]

@peterkarak, welcome to PPCB.

A looper would be a great starter project to dip your toes into the DIY water.

You could go bare-bones and get just the bare essential tools and components to build one,
or go a step up to help with build-confidence would be to get a looper board right here from PPCB.

That way you could retire the Morley ABY or return it to "ABY" type duties.

Then later make yourself a simple fuzz or boost pedal with a low parts count (easier to trouble-shoot if something goes wrong), then an OD, a Delay... and before you know it you'll have the knowledge and confidence to tackle replacing the switch on your TCE BLDD yourself.


The looper is an excellent place to start, low cost point of entry into the hobby and minimal investment in parts and tools.


Cheers,
FF

 

[peterkarak]

better to be stuck on than stuck off!

Exactly!

 

[chris.knudson]

Yeah, what @Feral Feline said. If this thing is stuck in the on position, it's probably just easier (and less risky) to plug it into a looper pedal to bring it in and out of the signal chain.

 

[peterkarak]

@peterkarak, welcome to PPCB.

A looper would be a great starter project to dip your toes into the DIY water.

You could go bare-bones and get just the bare essential tools and components to build one,
or go a step up to help with build-confidence would be to get a looper board right here from PPCB.

That way you could retire the Morley ABY or return it to "ABY" type duties.

Yeah, what @Feral Feline said. If this thing is stuck in the on position, it's probably just easier (and less risky) to plug it into a looper pedal to bring it in and out of the signal chain.

Thanks for the information! I'm not sure what a looper is. I have 2 loop stations but I think you're talking about something else. It's something that would replace the Morley ABY? I'm ok with using the ABY for now. Maybe one day I'll have the time (and the confidence) to try building something like that myself. This is a great website but I'm not even a beginner when it comes to DIY electronics.

 

[chris.knudson]

Thanks for the information! I'm not sure what a looper is. I have 2 loop stations but I think you're talking about something else. It's something that would replace the Morley ABY? I'm ok with using the ABY for now. Maybe one day I'll have the time (and the confidence) to try building something like that myself. This is a great website but I'm not even a beginner when it comes to DYI electronics.

Yeah, it's not a looper pedal like you're thinking. Think about it like a remote switch that brings you pedal in and out of the signal path. When you use one, you basically leave the pedal in the always on position, but the looper routes your pedal either in or out of the signal path. It's just another way to turn pedals on and off (although you're not really turning them on and off -- you're just moving them in and out of the signal chain.)

EDIT: It's actually a good place to start building pedals because it's just about signals -- you don't need to know all the complex stuff like charge pumps and op amps.

 

[chris.knudson]

Thanks for the information! I'm not sure what a looper is. I have 2 loop stations but I think you're talking about something else. It's something that would replace the Morley ABY? I'm ok with using the ABY for now. Maybe one day I'll have the time (and the confidence) to try building something like that myself. This is a great website but I'm not even a beginner when it comes to DIY electronics.

If you don't want to build one, you can just buy one. I'm sure the members of this forum would happily point you to a commercial one or sell you one that they've built.

 

[peterkarak]

Yeah, it's not a looper pedal like you're thinking. Think about it like a remote switch that brings you pedal in and out of the signal path. When you use one, you basically leave the pedal in the always on position, but the looper routes your pedal either in or out of the signal path. It's just another way to turn pedals on and off (although you're not really turning them on and off -- you're just moving them in and out of the signal chain.)

EDIT: It's actually a good place to start building pedals because it's just about signals -- you don't need to know all the complex stuff like charge pumps and op amps.

Ok, thanks for explaining that for me.

 

[peterkarak]

If you do't want to build one, you can just buy one. I'm sure the members of this forum would happily point you to a commercial one or sell you one that they've built.

I might think about doing that instead. Thanks again!

 

[Feral Feline]

Thanks for the information! I'm not sure what a looper is. I have 2 loop stations but I think you're talking about something else. It's something that would replace the Morley ABY? I'm ok with using the ABY for now. Maybe one day I'll have the time (and the confidence) to try building something like that myself. This is a great website but I'm not even a beginner when it comes to DIY electronics.

I wasn't talking about the "loopers" that record and play back snippets of your playing (like your Loop Stations).

A switcher for two effects chains/channels (often referred to as "loops") is what I'm talking about. You could make a simpler one-channel effects loop just for your B+LD&D, to bring it in and out of your effects loop, but the PedalPCB 2-channel looper would give you more flexibility.





I actually prefer the term "switcher" because of the confusion caused by two very different things being given the same label — "looper".


Believe me, the 2-channel switcher is very easy and besides, at some point we were ALL less than beginners in DIY electronics;

Honestly, if I can build a loop switcher (and I have and still consider myself a novice), then pretty much anybody with a will to do so CAN DO SO!

You can start practicing by soldering your own patch-cables, then try the switcher. Every 1,000 mile journey begins with one step.


As Chris said, if you prefer, you can just buy a commercial switcher or get someone on the forum to build you one.
There's also nothing wrong with using the ABY if that's working for you — no need to spend money if you don't have to.


Who knows, maybe there's someone on the forum that lives near you that can help you with fixing your TC E pedal?

 

[peterkarak]

I actually prefer the term "switcher" because of the confusion caused by two very different things being given the same label — "looper".

"Switcher" is the perfect word for it.

I am happy using the ABY for now, but you've got me thinking about one day building a switcher myself. Thanks for the confidence.

If I one day wanted to see if there is anyone on the forum that lives nearby and might be able to help with fixing my TC E pedal, how would I go about doing that? Though I'm afraid to let anyone mess with it since I can use it as is.

Thanks again for your help.