Rubberneck circuit switcher

A guitar pedal to move other pedals in or out of an effects loop.
weekendproject guitar pedal electronics

Parts

  • One 4PDT switch (latching footswitch or toggle switch).
  • Six 6.35mm (1/4 inch) jack sockets.
  • A case you can stomp on to keep everything in place.
  • Wire, preferably of a few different colours.

Internal wiring

This is fiddly due the switch having so many pins! I've tried to display it as cleanly as possible in the interactive diagram below. Controls below the diagram allow you to toggle the switch state and choose how much detail you want to see. Hover over a terminal to show a text description of its connections.

Detail:
Github
Hover over a terminal for more information.

Key:

  • Grey lines show the internal connections of the switch - you don't need to do anything about them but may help you understand how the switch works.
  • The terminals with white arrows should each be wired to the tip terminal of an audio jack socket.
  • Blue and green lines represent wires to show which terminals you need to connect together.
  • Blue and green arrows represent the paths of audio signals travelling through the switch.

...and in plain text:

  • Connect 3 to 10and the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Connect 4 to 6and the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Connect 1 to 11and the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Connect 5 to 12and the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Connect 7 to the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Connect 8 to the tip terminal of a socket.
  • Finally, for each pair of audio jack sockets (3, 4), (7, 8), (11, 12), connect the sleeve terminals together.

Case

I won't go into detail on how to make the case. Basically you need six holes for the audio jack sockets and one more for the switch. Make sure you keep track of which socket is connected to which terminal on the switch!

External wiring

  • Socket 3 to Rubberneck SEND.
  • Socket 4 to Rubberneck RETURN.
  • Socket 11 towards your instrument.
  • Socket 12 towards your amp.
  • Socket 7 to input of the first pedal in your FX loop.
  • Socket 8 to output of the last pedal if your FX loop.

Your Rubberneck should be in your main chain either before 11 or after 12.

More groups?

This guide has just used a single switch for a single pedal group but you can have as many as you want by chaining more switches together. You will need one additional switch and two additional jack sockets for each additional group.

For each switch in the chain:

  • Connect 4 of the first switch to 3 of the next switch.
  • Connect 12 of the first switch to 11 of the next switch.

Otherwise the wiring is the same.

Clear as mud?

I hope that all makes sense. If not, contact me with any queries.