necrofix

I also thought about building it into the guitar simone, but all my guitars are of different shapes, none being a standard shape like a les paul or strat, so fitting one seemed alot more hassle, plus i would have to build one for every guitar that i use live. i would like to try it one day though. I think line 6 variax's are controlled with the same foot pedal used to controll the POD... i think. I like the button/armrest idea, only problem being my chairs dont have any lol, but after reading your post i did sit, staring at the chair for a while, thinking bout drilling some hole in it and threading the cables through the frame and having the buttons someplace on the chair, only problem being is not being able to remove them leaving them open to the elements and being bashed about getting in and out my car or on drunken rampages. I think having a detachable controller at this point is the way to go as it would be easy to hook up to any guitar in no time. Before i got the POD about a year ago cable ties served me well for quite a few years, i used to tie the pedals to the spokes. Its good to have people throwing ideas at me, they are all very much appretiated :) I have included a pic so you can see where im thinking of attaching the controller

Ahh, i was wondering what that was!! Now all i need is a few midgets to dance around my mini stonehenge... anyone fancy it? ;D

My plan is to make a very simple controller first then move onto the 64. Just a box that houses the core that hooks up to the line 6 (pod), then another cable that will have 2 (maybe more) small buttons that will attatch to the guitar for switching through patches, the core will remain with the guitar rig (amp, POD etc) and the guitar will be hooked up to the core through a few meters of cable (i think thats what you mean by metroplexing, am i correct?), enough room to move freely live and rehersals without being stuck next to a marshall stack cranked at 11... as per usual :P

lol!! that is awesome! I wouldnt mind one but all my guitars are of a pointy shape so its hard enough trying to find a stand they'll rest in lol

Good advice, Thank you. You are right when you say that all the info is overwhelming, ive been dropping in on the site for a while now and trying to absorb bits here and there, but over the last month or so have had the itch to start building, its just a case of knowing where to start and sometimes i need pointing in the right direction. I have a basic knowledge of electronics because it was part of my national diploma in music tech, We built things like amps, stomp boxes, noise gates etc, but the closest we got to midi was learning how to wire a 5 pin plug, we never actually got to find out whats inside a synth or interface... which is strange because a good portion of that course was spent using midi. So i wasnt actually sure what the controllers did but roger has made things alot clearer, thanx. At times the brain does feel like exploding as its all ive been doing lately is purchasing books and refreshing my brain on things i had forgoten, like ohms law, paralel and series resistors etc. But like you said, at the end its like getting a hotrod, and that idea appeals to me very much, that and im getting sick of using the mouse to tweak things... i prefer more hands on, and its another piece of gear for my studio And i know by hollands finest we aint talking cloggs haha.

So do different PIC's all do the same thing, its just a case of programing them?, because ive noticed that there are alot for sale on ebay and was thinking of buying a few from there, just not sure which are best. I do have a few amp sim progs, Amplitube and Amp farm, though i dont use them for guitar anymore after getting the POD and with it having usb on it and being able to get different emulators and effects from line6.com thats all i use now. As for the *pedal* i want to make, i think the led idea is a good one, i'll have to put pen to paper and draw a couple of ideas out. The way i can see it is, the main box (which will house the core and ins and outs) which will then go to the POD via midi cables, then another cable (say at least 2m long) attached to a smaller box that will have the patch up/down buttons inside it that i can stick to, or inside a guitar. In theory it sounds easy....

Thanx for your replies, i shall check out them links now :) Do you have any extras in mind david? im very open to ideas at this stage, im not sure how it will comunicate with the pod (im guessing thats what the PIC does?) btw, salad fingers rules!!

Ok, heres the thing.. I want to design a kind of midi foot pedal to use with with my Line 6 pod xtpro, I say kind of because being a guitarist and a wheelchair user i cant use foot pedals... which has always been a pain in the... well you get what im talking about :P So i want to make a 2 button (up patch, down patch) device, small enough that i can attach to any of my axes. The only thing that is stopping me right now is the use of micro controllers, i just dont get the idea, I see all different kinds of them, are any kind of PIC usable or do i need a specific one for midi use? Is there anything to look out for when buying one? Are they even essential for use with my idea or any midi device? Just a few questions that im sure someone wouldnt mind answering for me lol.

Thank you Michael, for the welcome and pointing me in the right direction

Hi there, im a newbie to this and site and have basic knowledge of electronics so bare with me lol, also sorry if i posted in the wrong section of this cool site. Ok, here goes some questions. I would like to build a very basic controller for use with Cubase SX3 and reason 3, by basic i mean just a couple of pots all hooked up inside a box to maniplulate various parts of the programs i mentioned, im not looking to use LCD's, LED's or switches yet, i want to start small and then work my way up to things like the MIDIbox64. Is there anyone here that has attempted such a thing and that could possibly point me in the right direction of parts and schematics, i have been following the site on and off for a few months now and am finally brave enough to attempt a midi project, i just still find alot of info on the site quite overwhelming. But yeah, small midi controller (around 8 pots), can anyone help? Thank you in advance.