Lead Foot FS-1

One feature: A switch. A good one!

Used in practice rooms and live, plugged in a valve guitar head, this footswitch is a little champ. It is lighter than Marshall footswitches, heavier than those Fender plasticky li'l switches. Weight comes both as a Pro and Con (see below)

Pros? Light, durable switch, nice long cable, easy to operate, just the right height. The force and movement needed to switch is just right, while tactile feedback of switching is unmistakeable in the foot of the operator. Really nice footswitch that player can completely rely on.

Cons? Well, compared to an ancient Marshall footswitch, this weights is only about 1/3 of the weight Marshall has. Meaning - easy to carry, but also easy to inadvertedly kick about the stage if you are a wild one (you know if you are). Those timid, mild and moderately wild among us will find no problems using it.

I plugged it into my Fender Frontman and my Peavey Envoy, it works with both, and makes no popping sound when I switch it on an off. The sides are plastic but the body is 4mm thick aluminum, it feels robust enough to take the weight of the leg often. The underside has two pads made of a dense and pretty hard foam that adheres well to the ground, and seems like it won't chip away easily.

The switch itself is the standard (like in Dunlop pedals) chromed steel thing with strong body and bolt/nut assembly. I opened the box and saw the soldering is neat and full, the wires are not too thin, the rubber is less strong than in good guitar cables but seems durable enough for its job.

I couldn't scratch the paint with my fingernails, and the plug sits firmly in the amps' input jack. The whole thing is tough and well made, but what I like most is the silent operation: it doesn't pop at all when turned on or off, and that's what matters most with a footswitch. Some days ago I went to listen to a rehearsal with professional musicians, the guitarist was well equipped but one switch in his pedalboard popped, that's annoying and it disrupts the music a bit. The FS-1 doesn't pop.