While looking over how to improve the functionality of the Receiver Operator. It has occurred to me that there are a bunch of routing options that could make this pedal incredibly versatile. I took a look out at other companies who create multi-channel pedals and noticed a "gap in the market". There are a number of ABY switches out there, Lehle, Earthquaker Devices, Morley, EHX, to name a few. All of these are outstanding pedals in their own right in terms of straightforward use, or options galore depending on what you are looking for. However, I have yet to see a pedal which can do what I am looking for.
The RecOp and the pedals it was inspired by are known for their dual channel nature. Let's call this "OR", after the A OR B function of the operation. This is an easy to implement function using a 3PDT switch, which is what the new J Mascis Fuzz from the previous post most likely uses. The next step in the evolution would be driving A into B, and naturally following that would be driving B into A.
These aren't ABY type of options, but they aren't that different. The AB component remains the same. The Y option is not in question, although with the creation of one design, another is born. We'll tackle that at a later date.
So the three functional goals for this design are:
1. A "OR" B
2. A "INTO" B
3. B "INTO" A
Ideally, the end product would be simple enough to control with a 3-way toggle switch so that any body could drop this design into their DIY pedal and have a wide range of control over 2 different effects in the same box. Similar to the 3PDT/4PDT order switcher boards out there.
At present the RecOp can do Notch "OR" Boost, I have figured a way to re-route the signal as Boost "INTO" Notch, but the effects are not independent. In this first draft of the INTO mode switch, the bypass button turns the Notch on (which makes sense since it is on the left hand side below the Notch controls), and the Select button turns on the boost, which then runs into the Notch. If we only toggle Select, it does not engage the boost section. it just lets us know that when we do turn on the Circuit, we will be slamming the notch with the boost.
In my mind this is a cool feature, but it is not exactly where I want to go with this pedal.
The challenge at present is the number of SPDTs that have to be used and changing the LED indication status to reflect how the pedal is going to work. For the "OR" function I am partial to DBAs approach of having dimmed channel indication in bypass. For the "Into" functions (if they work as independent units) I don't think dimming is necessary, but a tri-colored LED would be nice as a sort of visual cue to which mode you are in. Albeit unecessary, LEDs always make things neat.
So I'll try and do a better job about documenting how I implement this and get more shots of the breadboard up in the meantime too.
