Re: [Harp-L] stomp box

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A guitar player/singer buddy, Dave Anderson, makes very simple stomp 
boxes out of  2 1/2' square 1/4" pine plywood slats screwed to a frame 
made of 2x2" sides. He makes one of the 2x2 frame members 3" short, 
leaving an access hole into which he places a beat-up SM57 vocal mic'.

The mic' goes right into the PA where he adjusts the volume and EQ to 
his taste. He can vary the tone by tapping his foot in different 
locations on the stomp box. In the center he gets a lower tone; at the 
edge he gets a higher tone. He can tap with his toe(s) and/or his 
heel(s), and he makes a rhythmic "scuffing" sound, further mixing up the 
available sounds. He can stand on it or use it while sitting. He puts a 
cabinet or luggage handle on it to make it easy to carry. They look 
kinda cool, too in a rustic sort of way. He doesn't bother finishing 
them so they pick up a nice "patina" after a little use.

Probably cost him about $5 apiece, but at his gigs other musicians are 
so captivated by the way he uses his stomp box that they want one for 
themselves ASAP. So he sells them for $50-$75 a shot, adding to his 
income on the road (just happens to keep a couple in his truck). I see 
them popping up all over. That price is a fraction of the cost of the 
commercial stomp boxes and ~they~ usually make only one kind of a dull 
"thump" sound.

While on the subject, Madcat uses a high-hat pedal with a wood slab 
instead of the cymbals. It makes a distinct "clack" sound that I'm not 
crazy about. I've tried this, attaching one of those clip-on 
piezo-electric contact mic's plugged into a DI box and then into an amp. 
I have thought about running it through a guitar effects box of some 
kind to get different tones out of it. But, I like Dave's boxes better 
for their versatility and cost-effectiveness. No special electronics 
required, just a beat-up vocal mic'.

Michelle