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Can I really use paper clips? Yes, but it is easier to buy a roll of 1mm galvanised wire. You can see from the pictures the shape is a bit like a big paper clip but it looks very flimsy. That's the trick of it, however; the clip is designed to be light so that it springs rather than deforming in use. It turns back on itself so that it is very flexible yet easy to tweak. You could use piano wire instead but this will be much harder to shape and it isn't zinc plated. There are many shapes that would work but this one does the job and is easy to fit. A point to note is that the first part of the pedal bar's travel should make the switch contact, but then the bar will move a bit further to the bottom of its travel and the switch has to flex to allow for this.
The clip switch is in two parts, the flimsy waggly bit and the short stiff bit that sticks out of the board; the short bits are soldered to each other in groups with a connecting wire, as you can see in the left picture (see later about why). The flimsiness is deceptive. If a switch goes wrong, you fix it with a pair of pliers or your fingers. If it comes loose, you wedge it back with a toothpick! If it gets noisy you put some graphite paste on it. It is fitted by just pushing its stem into a 1.5mm hole in the base bar. Like this ...
This is just about the cheapest, simplest way you can connect a pedalboard to a computer. Obviously, you need a pedalboard but all it has to have is the pedal bars and the frame with a bar full of switches running cross wise underneath it. You make the bar independent of the pedalboard, so you can do all the wiring and testing on it, then put the assembly under the pedals so the pedal bars push down on the clip switches and make them work. You can also choose how far along the pedal bars to place the switch bar; towards the toe ends for maximum travel, towards the heels for less. Cut the bar into sections and angle them for a radial pedalboard. Easy!
Click here for Instructions Part 2
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