Amp Selector FX Router

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Revision as of 20:07, 16 March 2020 by Zander (talk | contribs) (→‎Selectable Phase Inversion)
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BYOC Amp Selector FX Router. With this pedal, it's possible to route your instrument to more than one amp, or effects loop. It's even possible to output your instrument to more than one amp simultaneously. Ground lift transformers are available in the pedal as well to minimize ground loop hum than can occur when an instrument is plugged into more than one amp simultaneously.

Thermionic Studios has purchased this kit to build this pedal. We are in the process of building the pedal and will have more to report upon completion. The version of the kit we have is no longer offered by BYOC - they have changed this pedal, allowing only a single instrument input, and with it, they no longer offer a switchable phase-inversion option.

  • Thermionic Studios has one(1) BYOC Amp Selector FX Router pedal available for rental.

Controls

Image from expired Reverb.com auction
  • Switch 1 - "Transformer 1 Isolation Switch": toggles the ground lift function for Output A
  • Switch 2 - "Transformer 2 Isolation Switch": toggles the ground life function for Output B
  • Switch 3 - "Signal Inversion for Output A": toggles the phase inversion of the output for Output A
  • Footswitch 1 - "Both/One": Selects for either a single output, or both simultaneously
  • Footswitch 2 - "A/B": Selects between Output A or Output B

Jacks

  • Jack 1 - "Input A": Primary instrument input jack
  • Jack 2 - "Output A": Toggle-able Primary output jack. "Phase inversion" feature allows for the signal put into Input A to be inverted out through Output A.
  • Jack 3 - "Input B": Secondary instrument input and/or Stereo signal input jack
  • Jack 4 - "Output B": Toggle-able Secondary output jack. Able to be selected instead of "A" or in addition to "A".

Bypass:True

The BYOC Amp Selector FX Router is True Bypass.

General Information

So the first generation of this pedal (the one we have) was a bit more "sloppy" than the current version. This can create some confusing behavior, but once you understand, it's still a very usable and interesting tool. The newer version is cleaned up a bit, but only allows for a single input - If you're looking to do anything stereo, in terms of your instrument or the

Switches

Footswitches:

  • The A/B footswitch selects/toggles between Output A and Output B
  • The BOTH footswitch turns on both Output A and Output B simultaneously.

Transformer isolation switches:

  • Switch A: This switch toggles the transformer for Output A on and off.
    • Switch flipped to the left is ON; flipped to the right is OFF.
  • Switch B: operates exactly the same as Switch A, but for Output B.

Operation

Input "A" is where it's at. Input A is switchable to one or both outputs. On this particular version from BYOC, there is also a phase inversion switch that only Input "A" has access to. So from Input A, you can get access to Output A only, Output B only, Outputs A&B together, and Output A (in-phase) & Output B (inverted) together.

Input "B" only goes to Output B. In addition, if an instrument is plugged into Input B, the ability of Input A to send signal out through Output B is nullified.

Pedal Manual

As of this time, BYOC has not issued a separate manual on how to use the pedal. We believe the best references are either this wiki page, or the instruction manual (linked above in General Information) at Buildyourownclone.com which describes the architecture of, and how to build the pedal.

Phase Inversion: No/Selectable

Our review of the schematic draws us to conclude that the BYOC Amp Selector and Stereo FX Router does not invert the signal.

Schematic ID Electronic Part Action Phase State
IC1b TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC1a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC2a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC3a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC3b TL072 Does not Invert Original

From a "default" standpoint, this pedal, clearly, was designed not to invert phase while using it. In fact, a discussion from the BYOC forums essentially reveals as much...

Selectable Phase Inversion

Many participants on the BYOC board forums have looked at the Amp Selector/FX Router schematic and suggested an interesting option: Wouldn't be helpful to set up a switch that will toggle the signal inversion of the audio through one of the outputs?

Here are a few threads on the BYOC forums discussing the signal (phase) inversion switch:

As this not only appears to be possible, but was designed into the pedal by BYOC, we will be implementing the signal phase inversion switch for our pedal as described in the forum.

If you opt to use this feature, here's how it goes:

Schematic ID Electronic Part Action Phase State
IC2a (selectable) TL072 Switches Depends on Phase Selection

Here's how to use it:

If the Phase Inverter switch is set to:
Switch Toggle Instrument(s) Plugged Into Output Jack Used Phase State
"IN" Input A Output A IN PHASE
Output B IN PHASE
Input B Output A NOT AVAILABLE
Output B IN PHASE
Input A & Input B Output A IN PHASE
Output B IN PHASE
"OUT" Input A Output A IN PHASE
Output B OUT OF PHASE
Input B Output A NOT AVAILABLE
Output B OUT OF PHASE
Input A & Input B Output A IN PHASE
Output B OUT OF PHASE

The switch for selecting phase has nothing to do with whether you're selecting "Output A" or "Output B" for the amplifier switching function of the pedal.

Schematic

© Copyright 2011, BYOC LLC.


Artists

We are currently unaware of any artists actively using the pedal now, or who have in the past.

Additional Sources
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