Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hi, I'm new to the whole DIY electronics thing, but I thought maybe I could get a question answered here. I'm trying to build a switching box.

The idea behind the device is this: a kind of bypass looper box (like this guy - http://www.loooper.com/), but instead of having a footswitch for each loop/pedal, there would be a set of 3 or more switches, one for each "channel". This way you could set up channels for your pedals like on an amp or a digital bank or something, so you could have "EQ" and "Delay" on for a clean channel, hit a button and it switches to "Distortion" and "Booster" and bypasses "EQ" and "Delay" etc. So, each pedal has a set of three (one for each channel) DPDT ON-ON switches, and I would have some sort of switch below those three, which would select which of the three switches it follows. Repeat this for each of 4 or more pedals.

What I want to do is use an external footswitch to control channels via an instrument cable, like on an amp -- or rather, change the state of those multiple sub-switches using some sort of relay-like mechanism. I thought about using actual relays, but I would need at least three states for the sub-switches I want to control (one for each channel), so I figure I need some kind of transistor or integrated circuit? But I don't know enough about them to know what kind I need, or how to control them when I start building the external footswitch.

Any ideas?

How about this?

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/f ... witchr.htm

There is propably too much stuff there, but it's a start at least.

Thanks. That site looks like a great resource ... a little more complicated than what I was planning, but should give me some ideas.