digitech whammy iv preset hacking made easy

[pinkjimiphoton]

hi guys,
i got a cheap used whammy iv at a pawn shop recently for 60 bux, so i figured i'd take a chance and mess with it some.

so i googled around, found how to true bypass it...and decided against it, as i don't mind the buffer, and didn't want to have to hassle with the pedal if something
went wrong...and alot of people say it seems to pick up noise, etc...

i decided it just wasn't worth it.

but i DID also find a page with someone who claimed they'd made an external switch box for the presets, and that seemed interesting.
here's his page:

Whammy IV ‘Settings’ Switcher. « Tetsuo Electronics.

he has a video there of it in action...but i'd almost call bullsh*t on it, cuz as wired it didn't seem to work (tho it may be that he had momentary dpdt switches)...i don't know what he used for them, so i'll hold off...standard click on/ click off switches did NOT work as shown!! that is a definite.

i built it up as he showed in the picture, and it just didn't seem to work...but i discovered if i stomped BOTH switches, i could choose between up or down...but had to double stomp everything.

so i believe it's in need of a binary command...i'm probably wrong, and maybe someone here smarter than me can explain it, but it worked out like this:

when ya plug it in, you need to stomp BOTH switches...this is 01, seems to be start/ stop command.

step on the right switch after the both switch, and presets would cycle one way (1)

step on both, then step on the left, the presets would cycle the other way (0)

the drag was, you had to click each switch twice to get it to increment from one preset to the next. this is where i would cry bullsh*t,
but i don't know if the gent used momentary dpdt switches, which i have a feeling would only need to be pushed once.
in his video, he appears to only use one click...but i couldn't get it to work like that. again...different kind of switch is all i can figure.
the toggle switch in his design is really just to show you which switch is the one that goes clockwise...

well, never being one to not try and fsu, i looked at his design and said "phooey".

i wired up two stupid momentary n.o. pushbuttons to stereo jack, and bingo. works perfect...full control of up and down.

left button (tip) goes up (clockwise) but right button doesn't go counterclockwise...you gotta step on both of them.

then you can cycle up or down to whichever presets you desire.

here's a page where he shows how he wired the jack in the whammy..ya DO have to drill a hole in the side of it to mount the jack in.....

Whammy IV. True-bypass + external ‘settings’ footswitch. « Tetsuo Electronics.

or you could use two small switches and put them just above the pre-existing bypass switch below the display, if you're tricky..but it may be harder to access. i opted
for a small metal box.

so anyways, if ya wanna be able to cycle thru the presets on a whammy 4 pedal, this is it...here's a diagram for how to do it..the back of the preset switch in the whammy looks like it has 5 connections. the outer 2 are just to mount it...looking at the pedal from the back, it goes left tip, middle ring, sleeve right. that's it.



let me know if it works for ya...enjoy!!

[Jazz P Bass]

Cool!

[pinkjimiphoton]

video to come

[nosaj]

Does it change the other sode of the LEDS one side is harmony and the otherside is whammy.

Thanks,
nosaj

[pinkjimiphoton]

Does it change the other sode of the LEDS one side is harmony and the otherside is whammy.

Thanks,
nosaj

hey nosaj,
yes, it lets you scroll up or down thru all the presets in the unit. either up or down. it's not like the molten metal pedal, where you can choose whatever preset, but if all ya need to do is scroll up or down it works great.
peace!
jimi

[nosaj]

hey nosaj,
yes, it lets you scroll up or down thru all the presets in the unit. either up or down. it's not like the molten metal pedal, where you can choose whatever preset, but if all ya need to do is scroll up or down it works great.
peace!
jimi

Can you do a video of it scrolling both side please. Fixing to get my hands on one if it will change the whammy presets also. The video in the link you have only shows it doing the harmony side.

Thanks,
nosaj

[pinkjimiphoton]

yeah i never did a video of it back in the day,
the one in the first post is from someone else, not me.
the hack i have in the following link is the only one i know, but it does if ya read the thread down tell ya how to go up or down, it cycles thru the presets up or down depending on which button ya push... one goes up, one goes down with each press.
digitech whammy iv preset hacking made easy

"update...if you use a dpst for switch two, and wire as shown on one half, and wire the other half in parallel with switch a, you'll get a down switch without needing to stomp both switches."

if i get a chance i will try and shoot ya a video. i haven't touched it in years now.

[pinkjimiphoton]

this was what i did if memory serves. it does exactly the same thing as turning the preset knob, but you can do it with your foot instead, either up or down incrementally.
hope that helps for now man
peace

[pinkjimiphoton]

i just dug it out now and tried it. i gotta debug the footswitch as i wired it weird somehow that doesn't make sense all these years later, but it does indeed cycle thru ALL the presets on the unit, both the whammy and harmonizer. i gotta look at what i did to screw it up, but it was working both up and down. right now it seems to only work in one direction. stay tuned...

[pinkjimiphoton]

ok, just spent a couple hours with this thing, and i think i was right and wrong.
wrong, cuz i think i didn't notice it was only going one way with the presets.
right, cuz it SHOULD work... but boy, it's gonna take somebody smarter than me to figure out. it all comes down to the switching.

here's the deal. if you hook it up inside the pedal as shown with a jack and plug a t/r/s cord in, it works like this.

short tip and sleeve together: each time you short it together, it will move one preset at a time thru ALL the presets, both whammy and harmonizer sides. one after another sequentially in one direction.

if you short tip and RING together, and short THAT to ground, it will do the exact same thing, but in the opposite direction. thru all the presets, both whammy and harmonizer.

the switches have to be momentary normally open switches. regular "click"-able on/off switches won't work. you have to stomp 'em twice to get it to change.


what i can't figure out, and what's making my widdle bwain hurt is how the heck to do the dang switching. i can make it do the switching without the switches. as soon as i add the switches, it no longer works, or only works in one direction... of course you can still scroll thru ALL THE PRESETS sequentially, but what fun is that? i want it to go up and down, don't you?
that way you can switch between, say the M3-4th and 4th-5th patches or whatever back and forth.

but #$&*!! me if i can figure it out right now.

one switch is simple. short tip to ground.

other switch needs to short tip and ring to ground simultaneously. sounds simple, doesn't it? but to do it, i think you need to be able to disconnect the hot and ground of the other switch. you can have one or the other. and i know that it has to work. i'm missing something.

sorry man, i've gotten lost. hopefully someone much savvier will come along and figure this head scratcher out. it doesn't seem complicated, but i'm missing something. the original, with two dumb little switches worked... hit one for up, both for down. i rewired it at some poing, and now.... forget it. let me ask some friends. peace

[pinkjimiphoton]

hey nosaj,
i tried it with another footswitch with two cheap spst momentarys as shown in the diagram at the beginning of the thread, and yes it actually DOES work. one switch steps thru the presets. stepping on both makes it go the opposite way.
trying to figure out the wiring for different switches, i have a diagram PRR suggested i will try in the morning.
but yes, it does work, it does go up and down, and it does indeed go thru ALL the presets, including harmonizer whammy and detune.
i will try and get ya some video tomorrow. rock on and stay tuned.

[pinkjimiphoton]

only had like, 15 seconds to work with with my crummy phone...
but you can see it scroll both up and down, thru the whammy, detune, and harmonizer effect presets.

[nosaj]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38419[/ATTACH]

this was what i did if memory serves. it does exactly the same thing as turning the preset knob, but you can do it with your foot instead, either up or down incrementally.
hope that helps for now man
peace

Ok took 2 spst momentary switches wired up directly to S3 rotary encoder. It will scroll selections in one direction. According to the pic above The 4 post switch is dpst ? Is that correct?

Thanks,
nosaj

[Enzo]

The encoders are dual. The way almost all of them work is that one sensor pulses the stepping, while the other one sets the direction. But the two are in quadrature, so timing matters. If the direction sensor is off before the stepper pulses, it moves one direction. If the direction goes off after the stepper, then the thing goes the other way.

Try that. Pulse the stepper to see that it moves, now hold the other button down and step. Does it go the other way now?

[nosaj]

The encoders are dual. The way almost all of them work is that one sensor pulses the stepping, while the other one sets the direction. But the two are in quadrature, so timing matters. If the direction sensor is off before the stepper pulses, it moves one direction. If the direction goes off after the stepper, then the thing goes the other way.

Try that. Pulse the stepper to see that it moves, now hold the other button down and step. Does it go the other way now?

I can only get it to move by pressing both buttons. using 2 spst momentary switches. Holding one down then tapping the other doesn't do anything.
Thanks,

nosaj