HACK: CryBaby as Expression Pedal !!

S

sale

Member
I was searching for a good ExPed (Mission is not avail. in EU) and found this:
http://www.strymon.net/2010/09/07/strymon-tech-corner-2-build-your-own-expression-pedal/

It shows how to convert an old Cry-Baby to a simple expression pedal!!
I really like the feel and the robustness of this pedal, so I will try this.

Further enhancement/ToDo: Try to convert the built-in footswitch under the pedal to control AXE's wah on/off !

Thought someone might find this usefull too!

Regards,
Reinhard
 
sale said:
I was searching for a good ExPed (Mission is not avail. in EU) and found this:
http://www.strymon.net/2010/09/07/strymon-tech-corner-2-build-your-own-expression-pedal/

It shows how to convert an old Cry-Baby to a simple expression pedal!!
I really like the feel and the robustness of this pedal, so I will try this.

Further enhancement/ToDo: Try to convert the built-in footswitch under the pedal to control AXE's wah on/off !

Thought someone might find this usefull too!

Regards,
Reinhard
Click to expand...

try this also for a smoother travel.:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t23347/
 
sale said:
I was searching for a good ExPed (Mission is not avail. in EU) and found this:
http://www.strymon.net/2010/09/07/strymon-tech-corner-2-build-your-own-expression-pedal/

It shows how to convert an old Cry-Baby to a simple expression pedal!!
I really like the feel and the robustness of this pedal, so I will try this.

Further enhancement/ToDo: Try to convert the built-in footswitch under the pedal to control AXE's wah on/off !

Thought someone might find this usefull too!

Regards,
Reinhard
Click to expand...

Mate, I'm curious if that thing actually works?! I'm also out of reach of those fabulous Mission pedals and the easiest way at the moment to get expression pedal alike Dunlop Gcb95 is actually to mod the one I own. It could be great if it worked well, especially with the on/off switch in the same fashion as with original crybaby. I'll be watching this thread for sure! Good luck!

best,
Mike / Crank
 
Modded a Cry Baby years ago, to act as an expression pedal. Ended up exchanging the pot for another value one. (THink it was meant for a Bass wah.)
Wish I knew about the adding a resistor back then. Would've saved me a few bucks.
Anyway, it works like a charm. One TRS cable for the pot, and another one for the switch.
Come to think of it, think I'll exchange the switch for a DPDT one, so I can add an led in there. :)
 
i honestly don't think the wiper resistor (r2 in the strymon page) is necessary. mission's pedals don't use them, if i understand correctly. if you have the right pot and the proper circuit on the expression pedal "decode" end (i.e. mfc) then it shouldn't matter much as long as you don't exceed the range the mfc can take.

am i right?
 
It might have to do with the pot's resistance value.
Like I said before, I had to change the standard one for a Bass wah model.
 
Last edited:
I used a RadioShack TRS jack and 100L linear pot. I had to modify it somewhat with a Dremel to make it fit correctly, but once I did it was perfect. I posted the whole thing on the old forum but it didn't get much interest.

I've been using it not for well over a year gigging 2-3 times a week and it's never let me down yet.

D
 
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Found the parts at Radio shack and modded a cry baby I bought used for $25.00, about $3.00 in parts. Can't beat $28.00 for a all metal enclosure expression pedal. Found mod pretty easy to do and it works well. Almost ordered the $125.00 version but glad I tried this first and plan on doing another may even try it with a Vox wah pedal. Does any else get some static when using the expression pedal, especially on a clean setting, did this with my boss expression pedal also so it has nothing to do with this mod.
 
lizzieusedaaxe said:
Does any else get some static when using the expression pedal, especially on a clean setting, did this with my boss expression pedal also so it has nothing to do with this mod.
Click to expand...
If the "static" you're hearing is a zipper-like sound when you sweep the pedal, try increasing the Damping parameter in the modifier menu.
 
Working on a little mod for my expression pedals.:mrgreen
Anybody knows which brand or type of led bezels are used on the MFC?
Or where these can be sourced? I'd like to keep everything looking as
similar to the MFC as possible.
​
 
Just so you guys are aware, you can actually buy the standard metal crybaby/vox/mission empty enclosure for about $20 and all you need to do is throw in a pot and a jack. This is dead easy to do even with little to no soldering skills and will cost you about $30 - $40 in total!
 
MetalSlab said:
Just so you guys are aware, you can actually buy the standard metal crybaby/vox/mission empty enclosure for about $20 and all you need to do is throw in a pot and a jack. This is dead easy to do even with little to no soldering skills and will cost you about $30 - $40 in total!
Click to expand...

Hey MetalSlab,

Do you have a link or phone number for empty wah casings for $20?

Thanks,

Mick
 
MetalSlab said:
Just so you guys are aware, you can actually buy the standard metal crybaby/vox/mission empty enclosure for about $20 and all you need to do is throw in a pot and a jack. This is dead easy to do even with little to no soldering skills and will cost you about $30 - $40 in total!
Click to expand...

why didn't anyone tell me this about 3 weeks ago?! :-x
 
MicFarlow said:
Hey MetalSlab,

Do you have a link or phone number for empty wah casings for $20?

Thanks,

Mick
Click to expand...

Hi mate - I have gone through all of my old links from when I used to build pedals but they are all dead!! I had a couple of good Australian suppliers who stocked pretty good cheap wah chassis - not sure whether they the actual ones commissioned by dunlop but they looked the same to me. Give me some time to see if I can track them down again.

The cheapest US based retailer that I know of is Smallbear Electronics - but I see that they have bumped the price up to about $45!!! This may be due to the increase in popularity of DIY kit suppliers like BYOC (wah) who sell all the internals for pretty decent analog wahs separately.

Having reassessed the current situation, if the cheapest enclosure readily available to you guys in the US is $45 or more, it makes it a bit less worthwhile putting the time into building your own as opposed to simply ordering one from mission. If you can get cheap secondhand pedals though, and find the right pot taper and resistance, then you may be in luck.
 
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