DIY Stompbox

Quick directions on making a 'Stompbox'. A Stompbox is for converting a 'stomp' into an audio signal. Good for creating bass drum notes.

For this project I used:

EPM Transducer Pickup AGT 100 ~ $40 at my local music store
Wooden box - Goodwill ~ $4
Hot Glue
Velcro Tape
Duct Tape
Rubber Bands

Principles:

The box should be tight: No loose corners or wires which could deaden the sound or cause rattling.

Tension: There should be some tension, and freedom, built into the box so it 'bounces'. I did this by 1) adding a layer of velcro between the box (top) and the 'floor' (bottom), and 2) rubber banding one end of the box. Rubber banding the whole box or attaching the top and bottom tightly will deaden the sound produced by a stomp. Try experimenting with different configurations when you build your own.

Isolating the bass signal:

The box produces a range of sounds. I prefer to use this as a bass drum, so I plugged it into a guitar pedal that has high & low knobs. I experimented with the settings, and found that bass 5 o'clock, high 9 o'clock, and distortion 9 o'clock sounds good. The box isn't too loud, so I turn the volume up on the pedal so that it matches my guitar on the same system.

Background songs are my covers.