Mark III R1/R2 and Rhyth/Lead footswitch ...easy style

[edward]

Hi all,

Forgive me if this is stating the obvious, but MKIII "discoveries" are coming to me the more I play this wonderful (still relatively new to me) amp. So instead of using two diff footswitches for Ryhthm/Lead and R1/R2, I wanted the two in one box. But I also didn't want to pay for the "voodooman" switch that's on ebay as the solution seemed too simple.

So I picked up a Mesa 2-button footswitch, of which they are easy to get on the bay, for a measely $21. Left the wiring stock but simply drilled a hole for a 1/4" jack, and wired that to the footswitch which is connected to the "ring" of the stereo jack. Bingo!

So if you really wanted to use the footswitch for its intended purpose, nothing is affected, and the stereo jack works as originally designed. But when I plug it into the footswitch jack on the front of the amp, one side of the box (the switch originally designated the "tip" connection) does the Rhythm/Lead switching. And the other switch now toggles between R1 and R2 if you plug a cord into the new jack to the rear of the amp. One box, two cords wire-tied together, simple and clean!! Along with the R2 vol mod I did the other week, I now have a truly usable 3 channels on the fly. Man these Mark IIIs really rock!!!
...thanks for indulging me

Edward

 

[GMello]

I am not sure if I understand what you did. Did you add a mono jack for the second cable? Wouldn't be easier to get an "Y" adapter and plug it in the stereo jack?

 

[edward]

Yeah, I simply added a 1/4" mono jack to the box, and just wired it to the footswitch that is connected to the "ring" of the existing stereo plug. There is no stereo "jack" ...only Mesa's stereo cable that comes out of the box, which I wanted to keep in tact and utilize as well.

The reason I did it this way is that if I ever wanted to use the footswitch for its original purpose the stereo cable is still there and doing its orig job; or if wanted to sell it in the future, it is still largely unaltered, save for a simple hole in the housing that can be plugged.

Is there such thing a 1/4" stereo female Y adaptor?? I suppose you are correct that this would be easier as all you'd have to do is Y-out of the Mesa stereo plug and have two patch cords to their respective footwitch jacks in the amp. But I've never seen this adaptor ...perhaps you have?

Edward

 

[GMello]

yeah you would need to modify an y cable adaptor with a stereo female plug. But I think that would be a lot easier than drill a hole and rewire the footswitch?