How can I use an external tap tempo dial instead of a switch?

Question

I have a Boss DD20 delay pedal and want to set exact tempos during gigs, but don't want to be bending down to dial them in each time.

There is the tap option, but it doesn't achieve exact tempos generally.

I would love to generate the correct tap tempo and run that into the external tap input on the back of the delay unit, but am unsure of how to achieve this.

I guess I could generate that tap tempo using a laptop sending MIDI signals, but was just wondering whether there's anything that works just like an external tap tempo switch, but has a dial and a screen instead?

Answer 1

Sorry for bumping in late here…

1. Visual Sound Time Bandit, just released at the 2012 NAMM show. Can't find it on Visual Sound's website yet, but there's mention of it on Harmony Central and it looks like there's a couple of videos up on YouTube from Visual Sound's NAMM booth.
2. If your DD20 has MIDI in, and you're able to find one of these, there's the Ploytec 34One pedal, which is a tap tempo pedal that sends MIDI clock (so you could use it to control more than just the DD20).

Hope some of this was helpful!

Answer 2

I can't find such a thing online, but it seems like it would be a minor modification to this Arduino project on Instructables.

Whether that's useful depends on how much of an electronics geek you are, I guess. Or maybe you could find someone who's looking for a project.

It looks messy, but it could be crammed in a box. The sky's the limit in a way. I can imagine it built into a pedal, so you could commit a few BPMs to memory and use a footswitch to move between them.

Answer 3

I see that it has no midi in or out.

You could try to find a replacement Potentiometer (aka POT) for the DD20 tempo knob. You could then, in theory, install that POT in an old Wah pedal or midi expression pedal and then run wires to the DD20.

The tempo knob pot may be soldered to the board, which would make this hard or impossible to disconnect non-destructively. In this case you'd need to figure out a way to connect the no-longer-a-Wah pedal to the tempo knob.

Answer 4

There was something released years ago called 'red planet' I believe. A friend bought one for playing live with and said it worked. However, I would just use 'Bidule' and be done with it. I believe there are preset tempo following patches on their forums. cheers!