who can fix my flanger?

[dubkitty]

i have a TC Electronics SCF flanger--the one in the flat black box--that needs to have its stomp switch replaced. it's a soft-touch switch, and i understand the SCF is a barrel o' fun to deal with its innards. but this box is the center of my board, and to replace it would be around $300. so, anybody out there willing and qualified to have a go? i'm in Virginia, but (obviously) will ship. thanks!

[morange]

If it were just the switch, I'd help you out, but I'm thinking this thing uses relay switching, and the actual momentary switch may not be the problem at all.

Have you tried using it with an external switch?

[dubkitty]

I don't have that expertise. it started out either running or not running, with the switch not effecting it but making a bit of a crunching noise when engaged. now it's stuck in the off position, but here's what makes me think it's just a switch. The SCF is an AC pedal, and it's still connected electrically though i can't turn the function on; if juice couldn't get into it it'd kill my signal (when it's not plugged in it won't pass signal) but i can still play with it in the signal path even though it's not working.

[morange]

So what relay switching is, is a little box on the circuit board that switches your signal electronically, instead of mechanically. With this kind of system, your signal doesn't actually go through the switch, but through the relay, and the stomp switch just tells the relay to bypass or not. That's why you can use an external switch with it if you want.

The reason I suspect the momentary stomp switch itself might not be the problem, is that these are generally pretty tough, since there's not much going on inside there. I've seen it suggested online that you might be able to take it to a guitar center and try out an external switch with it there. If it works with an external switch, then yeah, the momentary mechanical switch is broken. If the pedal doesn't work with an external switch, then the electronic relay component is broken. It's repairable in either case, I think, but replacing the relay would involve ordering the same component and replacing it on the circuit board. I don't have any experience with relay switching, but other people would, it's gaining popularity. Anytime you see someone say clickless bypass, that's what they're talking about.

It would be cool if someone who knows more about this than me would chime in.

[dubkitty]

well, in another of those odd occurrences, the flanger worked normally when i got home tonight and was going to test if the EXT. BYPASS would work or not. it'd be interesting to know the answer to the questions raised, though. waiting to see if it keeps working.