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gaussmarkov: diy fx Wiring Up a 1590B

gaussmarkov: diy fx
guitar stompboxes and electronics

Wiring Up a 1590B

by gaussmarkov

Wiring up the off-board components, particularly a 3PDT switch, can be confusing. There are many good explanations of how to do it (see for example geofex.com, tonepad.com, and generalguitargadgets.com) and this one adds to the pile by breaking down the logic of one of the more elegant layouts with a series of detailed figures. I walk through the case where the audio jacks are not insulated from a metal enclosure, there is an LED to show when the circuit is on, and when the circuit is off there is simple by-passing with the circuit input grounded. It seems simplest to start with the wiring for so-called true by-pass, a straight connection from the input jack to the output jack. The input jack is on the left and the output jack is on the right. They will be reversed to the usual placement when the stompbox is closed up and turned over.

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The input jack pictured here is a stereo Switchcraft jack called the 12B. The output jack is a mono Switchcraft called the 11. You can read a post about these jacks in 1/4 Phone Jacks and Plugs. The switch is a 3PDT Taiwan Blue. The picture shows 1. a white wire from the tip lug of the stereo jack (on the right, for input) to the switch; 2. in one switch position, this will connect to the white wire that goes across the bottom of the face of the switch; 3. which will then connect to the white wire that runs from the switch to the tip lug of the mono jack (on the left, for output). So we have a simple connection from one tip lug to the other: true by-pass. In the other switch position, we want to connect the input lug to the input of the circuit and the output lug to the output of the circuit. These are added in the following image:

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The blue wire should be connected to the input pad of the circuit board. The yellow wire should be connected to the output pad of the circuit board, or to the middle lug of a level pot if one completes the circuit. I am leaving the board out of these pictures for simplicity. Any unconnected wires in this tutorial are supposed to connect somewhere on a circuit board. As it stands, we do not need the 3PDT switch because we are only using 2 poles, one for input switching and one for output switching. The third (middle) pole can do the switching for an LED that lights up when the circuit is engaged (or not by-passed). For that we will also need a power supply, which we will get from a DC voltage supply.

This image shows the LED wiring from another vantage point, with the wires for the guitar signal removed for clarity. The LED switching opens and closes the ground connection for the LED circuit. The ground for the circuit is the sleeve lug of the output jack. The DC jack has a direct wire to that lug: the green wire that runs all the way across the middle of the picture. The LED also connects to that grounded lug through a resistor (2.2K for limiting current) and two green wires, one that goes from the LED to the switch and another that goes from the switch to the lug. Note that these two wires are connected when the switch is in the not by-passed position. Also note that in this particular setup, the sleeve lugs of both jacks are connected through the aluminum enclosure that holds them. The entire stompbox is grounded through the output cable. So the input sleeve lug is grounded by its connection to the output sleeve lug through the enclosure. In setups with insulated jacks, one must make these connections with wiring. You should still ground the enclosure in those cases because this improves the ability of the enclosure to shield the circuit from outside radio frequency (RF) signals. Here is a close-up view of the DC jack connections:

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The top lug is the positive power supply connection and the angled lower lug is the ground connection. We will use the third middle lug later when we hook up a 9V battery as an alternative power supply. The red wire is the positive power supply. This colour is consistent with the leads found on most 9V battery snaps: red is positive and black is negative (or ground). In these pictures, I am using green for ground because it shows up better. I prefer to use the DC jacks that are fastened with a nut on the outside of the enclosure and that is what is pictured in these figures. DC jacks also come configured with the nut on the inside of the enclosure. I find this inconvenient because it requires me to install the jack in the enclosure before I solder the wires to it. As a result, if I want to remove the circuit from the enclosure then I must unsolder these wires. The input and output jacks, the 3PDT switch, and any pots all have their nuts on the outside. If the DC jack does also, then one can remove the nuts and the whole circuit lifts out of the enclosure completely connected. Here is a close-up view of the output sleeve lug for ground connections:

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At this point, two wires are supposed to soldered to this lug. One wire is coming from the DC jack (not shown) above. The other wire is flying in from the switch. Here is an image of the switch wiring with all of the wires in place: input, output, and ground connections:

Note that there is an additional green wire. This is the short wire that connects the first (input) pole of the switch to the middle (ground) pole of the switch. When the switch is in the by-pass position, this short green wire connects the input of the PCB to ground. When the switch is in the engaged position, this short green wire does not connect to anything. This additional wire feeds the stompbox circuit a quiet input signal when the circuit is by-passed. That is the trickiest part of the switch wiring, making a nice use of that otherwise unused lug on the switch. Now we are ready for the circuit board. Besides the input and output connections, the board needs the positive and ground connections which come from the same places as for the LED circuit: the positive lug of the DC jack and the sleeve lug of the mono output jack.

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Wires for those connections appear in the figure above. Generally, it is good to run your positive supply lines next to ground lines. This is true of PCB traces as well. So I am showing the positive board supply wire running next to the ground wire for the DC jack. I am not quite finished. I still need to add the wiring for the battery. It will take a while to make a figure for that, but in the mean time it is easy to describe. The red battery snap wire connnects to the remaining free lug on the DC jack. The black battery snap wire connects to the ring lug of the (stereo) input jack. Thats the obvious one facing up to the right of the tip connector. This battery snap hookup accomplishes two things: 1. The battery negative terminal will be connected to ground only when there is a mono plug inserted into the input jack. In that event, the ring connector is in contact with the sleeve of the mono plug and a ground connection is made through the ground lug of the input jack. 2. The battery positive terminal will be disconnected to the LED and the board when there is DC plug inserted into the DC jack. Because of these properties, the battery will supply power when there is no alternative DC power supply and there is an input for the stompbox. Otherwise, the battery is preserved. | Up to Connectors Topic | Trackback URL for this post: right-click and copy

51 Responses to Wiring Up a 1590B 1. dfx said: cool guide and visual instructions, bar none.. what program did you use for the 3d pics? Posted 29.05.2008 at 9:29 pm 2. gaussmarkov said: dfx, oops! i forgot to say. those are all made with POV-Ray, a ray tracer that has been around since forever. theres a nice windows wrapper for it now.
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thanks for the note! paul Posted 29.05.2008 at 9:39 pm 3. gaussmarkov: diy fx 1/4 Phone Jacks and Plugs said: [...] off this post about 1/4 phone jacks commonly used in stompboxes. This tutorial supplements a recent post on wiring up a stompbox with off-board [...] Posted 04.06.2008 at 9:14 am 4. Keith VanDen Heuvel said: I really like your site and the information contained within it. I am also impressed that you used POV-RAY to create all of your images. It must have taken some time to come up with the scripts to create the various components that you have used. Is there a POV-RAY library of componenets like jacks and switches that you were able to utilize? If so, I would be interested in seeing it. In the meantime I will be doing a bit of searching in an attempt to locate any. Keep the great work coming! Posted 10.06.2008 at 9:33 am 5. gaussmarkov said: hi Keith, thank you for your compliment. the resistor and the LED came out of the eagle3d library. see http://www.matwei.de. the rest i made myself. eventually, i will make these available. i have to clean up the code a bit and i want to co-ordinate them with eagle3d. all the best, paul Posted 10.06.2008 at 9:48 am 6. Manny M said: I have been cutting off the ring, tip and sleeve tabs off the 1/4 plugs. I then solder the corrsesponding wires to the tip snap, the sleeve snap and just use the ground tabs for ground. Is this good practice or not. I seem to get mixed up with the ring tab and solder the neg battery wire to the inout sleeve snap. The 3-D work you shoed here is nothing short of outstanding work. I tried to do tis with Autodesk Inventor but takes a long time to do. Great work Guasmarkov. Manny Posted 17.06.2008 at 8:10 pm 7. gaussmarkov said: hey Manny, thank you kindly. i see nothing wrong with cutting off the tabs and soldering to the snaps. in really tight situations, the tabs get in the way and one can cut them off or bend them to suit. solder on, gm Posted 18.06.2008 at 6:45 am
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8. Mick said: Hey GM, I LOVE this site! I was looking over the diagram above and noticed that the LED resistor was on the grounded side of the LED, not the power side. Im not sure that it will accomplish its current limiting purpose there, but I am also not 100% sure either. I just noticed it and thought Id point it out just in case. Many Thanks for an awesome site! Mick Posted 11.07.2008 at 7:45 pm 9. gaussmarkov said: hi Mick, thanks for the props, man! glad you like it. as far as the current limiting resistor goes, it does not matter which side of the LED you are on. you can think of a diode as a resistor, just not a fixed one. resistors and capacitors in series give the same current and voltage across the series no matter what the order of the components is. so either way, LED first or resistor first, you get the same current and the current limiting resistor does its job. thanks for asking! gm Posted 12.07.2008 at 4:18 am 10. stef said: NICE NICE NICE! Very clear and sweet renders! thanks a lot man, love your blog. Posted 12.07.2008 at 3:15 pm 11. Mick said: Hey GM, I never thought of a diode in those terms but it makes sense Thanks for the reply and again, Many Thanks for a wonderful site! Keep up the good work! Mick Posted 19.07.2008 at 7:17 pm 12. gaussmarkov said: i should probably add that my explanation only works for DC analysis. the variability in the resistance of the diode means that order does matter with AC. Posted 20.07.2008 at 4:11 am 13. Criss said: By far the best ive ever seen . I realy think this site is easy one of the best .
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Thanx for all your efforts Posted 22.08.2008 at 10:42 am 14. Dan said: Im glad someone else asked about the current limiting resistor on the LED I had always wondered about that myself. Since were asking questions I notice in this tutorial that you dont use the ring or sleeve connection on the input jack. Have they been left the diagram for clarity or do you not use them ? Thanks Again ! Dan Posted 23.09.2008 at 7:19 pm 15. thren said: Dan .. The black battery snap wire connects to the ring lug of the (stereo) input jack. Posted 27.11.2008 at 10:12 pm 16. millibobs said: What a fantastic resource this is for us amateurs and probably many others. I think the graphics are quite stunning and are better than any published works I have read since commencing dabbling in pedal building. I discovered the purpose of the LED resistor by connecting a couple of bright blue babies to a 9v battery to test them (!) it took two smoking ruins before I got itdoh. Posted 07.12.2008 at 9:48 am 17. cdr said: Please, can adapt the libraries (stereo jack, ) to EAGLE3D =) Links EAGLE3D - Libraries http://perso.numericable.fr/pboucheny/eagle3d/librairie009.htm - http://www.adrirobot.it/eagle/miei_simboli/lcd/eagle_lcd-tipo1.htm - http://www.circuitsonline.net/forum/view/65244/last - VISU3D v1.83 for EAGLE3D http://www.typonrelais.com ( 8 nov 2008) - Others aquilotto3D http://www.aquilotto3d.com Posted 12.12.2008 at 7:01 am 18. Truett Bridges said: Hello Gaussmarkov, I hate redundancy, man, but all kudos and thanks to you for your site/blog. It is as others have noted, really, really good; I only wish I had had access to it when I started with pedals (and tube amps, for that matter). It would have made things so much less frustrating at times!
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AND, I can see it will help in the future. Although your graphics are fantastic (especially for a CADophobe such as myself), the elegant simplicity of the explanations is superb for non-electrical types like me (who cant stay away from electronics!) I am now inspired to attempt to conquer the CAD-beast! Truett Posted 25.01.2009 at 7:26 pm 19. cesar said: gaussmarkov can please include the code in the povray of yours 3d-images to fit eagle3d thank you very much Posted 17.03.2009 at 8:06 am 20. Adam said: great tutorial. I did the wiring last night and got it to work. Only thing Im wondering about is the DC jack. I got this one from radio shack: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102491 It says theres an on/off switch. So, when I stick the plug in, it seems to turn off the connection (led goes off, no sound). Any idea how to use this jack? Thanks for your help! Posted 18.04.2009 at 4:53 pm 21. gaussmarkov said: Adam, I looked at the Radio Shack link and could not find a schem for that jack. Without knowing the purpose of each lug, I cannot help. Also, thats a metal body jack and it may need to be insulated from the metal enclosure to work. The DC jack pictures above has a plastic body. All the best, Paul/gaussmarkov Posted 19.04.2009 at 9:35 am 22. Adam said: Thanks for the response. I posted the schem here: http://www.adamwiens.com/jpeg/dc_jack.jpg I read somewhere that the purpose of the normally-closed switch is to keep the power supply from trying to charge the battery. But maybe your wiring design already prevents that. Posted 19.04.2009 at 1:05 pm 23. trojan_horse said: does anyone know how to install 3pdt footswitch on mxr zakk wylde od? Posted 22.05.2009 at 8:57 am 24. Cristian Kohler said: Hi pal. First: Thanks for all this word its just awesome!! I have some serious problems with my rebote delay 2.5 from tonepad.
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Are the offwiring pdf from tonepad bad??? I dont know why my connection with the 3pdt dosnt work!! )= Did you think the rebote delay 2.5 project work fine with this way of 3pdt wiring????????? Bye my friend and, thanks again! Posted 16.08.2009 at 3:16 am 25. fx said: Wonderful job ! Ill link this into all my tutorials, its so helpful !!! Thanks -fx Posted 24.08.2009 at 2:36 pm 26. Mod Tone Effekte USA Musiker-Board said: [...] True Bypass hat, kann man einfach sehen, wenn man die Funktion des Fu Posted 02.09.2009 at 3:49 am 27. JB said: Awesome diagrams, was not what I was looking for, but you did get a bookmark!!! Posted 13.12.2009 at 10:45 pm 28. Smoky said: Ive been to many websites that explained how to wire a 3PDT switch and they were all slightly different which was confusing. It was only until you explained how the actual switch functioned and your clear diagrams that the light bulb went off in my head and I finally understand. Thanks gaussmarkov for your wonderful site and your patient way of explaining things. Posted 03.01.2010 at 7:56 pm 29. Andrew said: Hey, just wanted to say i LOVE your diagrams here! Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Im new to building pedals and this is the best explanation Ive found!! But I did want to ask: Which DC jack do you use? 2.1mm or 2.5mm? Also, Im assuming a 12v rating is the way to go Correct me if Im wrong though. Know of a good place to buy the actual AC adapters though? Posted 05.01.2010 at 11:57 pm 30. gaussmarkov said: hi andrew, i use the plastic, external nut, 2.1mm from smallbearelec.com. all the best! Posted 06.01.2010 at 3:51 pm 31. Steve Mavronis said: Can you give suggested limiting resistor values when using either a red, green, or blue (5mm) LED? For green or blue they dont need to be full brightness; maybe half to 3/4 out of 20 milliamps? And thanks too.
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Im using your guide to wire my pedals! Posted 05.05.2010 at 1:41 pm 32. Steve Mavronis said: NM, I figured it out. 2.2K is fine for a red LED. I found ultra-bright blue was too intense like a laser beam looking straight on even with high value limiting resistors to dim it. BTW, I used your symmetrical 3PDT wiring scheme for my DIY pedal and it turned out fantastic many thanks! Posted 23.05.2010 at 2:06 am 33. charles bennett said: first off, i want to say thanks for this very detailed and awesome tutorial. theres so much confusion online and this just answers all those questions. the one question i have is, is the led supposed to go on when there is nothing plugged in to the audio jacks? Posted 29.07.2010 at 9:16 pm 34. tom said: hi friends excellent illustration!!!! I have only a question. the sleeve of the (stereo) input jack could be connect in anywhere of the ground ? Posted 16.12.2010 at 12:34 pm 35. NUFAN said: @gaussmarkov, where do you get the pics of parts for pov-ray (3PDT switch, phone jacks and plugs) Posted 30.12.2010 at 4:50 am 36. Jake said: How would I solder in a guitar volume pot (like this with three lugs http://www.guitarbitz.com/1381.htm ) instead of a circuit board? Im trying to create a pedal like the EHX Signal Pad, basically a volume knob as a pedal. This would allow me to use my single channel valve amp overdriven, then turn on the pedal with the volume knob turned down to make a clean tone. Thanks Jake Posted 01.01.2011 at 1:43 pm 37. confused said: hey guys..i have a litle problem i donT realy understand all of that what you saing caouse im a Bosnian and i know just some simple words like you can see here..but nwmthe inside of my guitar isnt the same like it is on the pictures..so i would realy happy if any one of you can mail me and give me some support. Thx my e.mail is: guitar_method@hotmail.com Posted 10.01.2011 at 5:32 pm 38. sgRED said: Hey gauss this is an awesome pictures set! I know how all that works, but your drawing is marvelous and
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also very consistent!!! For the `confused` i have to say that i am from Bosnia too, and i understand it all perfectly well!!! hahahaha thx guys!!! Posted 08.05.2011 at 3:21 pm 39. Charles said: This is truly great and very useful thank you! I wish I had found it before I started my first box. Posted 17.05.2011 at 8:37 pm 40. Chris said: Damn man, youre beyond awesome. Not only have I built two of your layouts (IC Big Muff [twice actually] and the Rat), Ive learned a ton from your op-amp and LTSpice guides, now a wiring guide that makes perfect sense. Not sure if youre still active in the DIY space, but your work is helping a lot of us learn the ins and out. My thanks 1000x. Posted 28.05.2011 at 11:39 am 41. Mike said: Hi, thanks very much for your article. However I cant get it to work the difference is that Im not using an LED, but Im still using a 3PDT because thats the switch I bought . So instead of the loop with the LED and the PSU I just have a single wire is this bad? Currently it just buzzes when plugged in, and buzzes louder when I press the switch. Also interestingly when I try to bypass my Whammy pedal with it, if I touch the metal 3PDT switch on the whammy it reduces the buzzing! . Sorry Im so dumb, but would appreciate any help. Thanks a million! Posted 07.07.2011 at 3:27 pm 42. Jbones said: GREAT DIAGRAMS DUDE!!! Posted 21.10.2011 at 1:49 pm 43. Simon said: Thanks a lot for your cool drawing. Was easy to wire up although i use different black cables for the GND conections. Posted 08.11.2011 at 1:30 pm 44. Brett said: Hey, great run down on these switches. I have recently bought a delay kit with a 3pdt, its the first time ive used one of these switches.. your explanation of the switch makes a lot of sense but clashes significantly with the instructional pdf i downloaded for the specific kit ive built, which i am having some trouble with. Any chance you have the time to see a couple pics of my wiring and possibly offer a tip? -Brett Posted 26.12.2011 at 9:51 pm 45. Nikking said: How do lines from the effects circuit connect to 9V or earth (e.g when powering a transistor?
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Posted 18.01.2012 at 3:55 pm 46. Seiche said: hey, this is great! i wire the resistor from the output jack gnd to the middle of the switch, seems easier than tacking it to the floating wire going to the led. Posted 25.01.2012 at 9:42 am 47. Grounded Blog Blog said: Taiwan Grounded Adapter Plug Gua [...] cks also come configured with the nut on the inside of the enclosure. I find thi [...] Posted 02.05.2012 at 7:14 am 48. Tyler Crimmin said: Hi! just owondering if it is possible to just wire a input straight to an output?or do you need a switch board? Posted 05.06.2012 at 9:43 pm 49. jeremy said: Thanks so much for this. Ive been studying offboard wiring all day and this puts things into perspective! One questionwhen you sayThis additional wire feeds the stompbox circuit a quiet input signal when the circuit is by-passed. That is the trickiest part of the switch wiring, making a nice use of that otherwise unused lug on the switch...I would think this is a bad thing? Does this mean some signal is lost in bypass? Thanks! Posted 05.07.2012 at 9:19 pm 50. gm said: Fortunately no signal is lost in bypass mode. The signal goes directly from input to output as though the stompbox wasnt even there. Posted 08.08.2012 at 7:39 am 51. Andrew said: All the LED resistor diagrams I have seen on the web place the resistor between pos (+) source and LED anode leg (+). Yours has the resistor on the neg/ground (-) side and LED cathode leg (-). Why? Posted 08.09.2012 at 7:16 am

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