Attaching 4 Way Foot Pedal to V-amp 2

8.5K54

Intro: Attaching 4 Way Foot Pedal to V-amp 2

I know, a lot of people think v-amps are shit but I like mine, so ya'll can fuck off.
ANYWAY, that said, it's always bugged the shit out of me that the pedal is retarded. A two way pedal to toggle between 5 pre-sets?
So, seeing a 4 way pedal (Behringer FS114) in a store for a really cheap price, I hatched a maniacal scheme to attach it to my V-amp 2.

And this is the tutorial on how to do it.

Also, it would work with a 5 way pedal/home made pedal, too...

Anyway, you'll need these things:

Wire clippers
Wire strippers
Screw driver
Soldering iron
Solder

Pliers would help too, with holding the wire while soldering.

STEP 1: Strip Wires.

Take your clippers and cut the end of the 4 way pedal's plug off.
Then strip the individual wires.

Should look something like that when you're done.

STEP 2: Disassemble V-amp 2

Taking the V-amp apart is just a matter of unscrewing the 5 screws on the underside of the casing.
There are also 5 screws keeping the circuit board attached to the upper plastic casing, which don't actually need to be removed, even though they have been in the pictures.
If you really want to completely remove the circuit board from the casing, you'll have to pop the knobs off the front. It's pretty easy, just use a knife and push it between the knob and the plastic case.

When you're done, should look something like the pictures.

STEP 3: Soldering the Wires

The coloured wires are going to be soldered to the circuit board.
The letters in the picture correspond to the letters on the buttons on the other side of the v-amp.

The coloured squares in the picture are indicators of which wire to solder to which piece of solder on the circuit board.
They're in groups of two, it doesn't matter which one in the group of two you solder the wire to as long as you make sure to keep the solder from joining up with some other soldered part of the circuit board.

The brown square is for the ground wire. The bare wire without a coating. You can solder that wire onto any of the eight little blobs of solder in the brown square. It only needs to be attached to one.
Before soldering you should cover the ground wire with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing.

It's also a good idea to glue the lead to somewhere on the casing, just in case it gets caught on something, to make sure the soldered wire doesn't get pulled off the circuit board, after it's all put back together.

When it's done it should look something like the second picture.
Yeah, I've never been too good with solder..

STEP 4: Cut Out a Hole...

Put it back together, and BAM, you're done.

Making the hole just a little bit smaller than the thickness of the wire is a good idea, so any pulling on the switch pedal cord doesn't pull on the soldered wires.

Also, if the wire clippers aren't working very well, the soldering iron is always a quick way to put a hole in plastic...
Just try not to breath in the fumes...

Anyway, good luck, enjoy.

3 Comments

Hi there Mr V Amp2 Modifier Dude,
I have recently acquired a V Amp2, but it came untested & without a PSU. I know that the voltages on the AC in socket are 17V AC & 9.5V AC, and that the plug is a 4 pin mini Din plug. I have a very suitable mains transformer with Dual Voltage seconderies. However, when I contacted Behringer and asked for their help, they refused to give me all of the info that I need in order to make a PSU for myself instead of wasting money buying Their PSU for a V Amp 2 that might not work. I would hate to ruin my unit by simply putting the 17V AC or the 9.5V across the wrong pins of the 4 pin mini Din Plug. Would you please send me the correct info as which 2 pins 17V AC & which 2 pins are 9.5V AC.
Many Thanks In Dvance for your help.
M0RAY, (a UK Radio Amateur))
SITTINGBOURNE, Kent, ENGLAND UK.
Hi dude !
Look, i need to know the characteristics (capacitance, operation voltage) of the big one capacitor sited on the back of the pcb, near of the transistor with the black heat dissipator.
Would you mind to send me this information ?

Add my email, please - sam_s.s@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Sorry, man, I would but to be honest, I don't know. I don't really want to pull my amp apart again to find out. It should have it on the capacitor somewhere if you have it there.