Amp Selector FX Router

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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

http://byocelectronics.com/ampselectorinstructions.pdf

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

If you plug an instrument cable into:

  • Input A without anything plugged into Input B then the pedal will send signal to both Output A and Output B.
  • Input A while also having a cable plugged into Input B, then the pedal will only send signal to Output A.
  • Input B then the pedal will only send signal out to Output B

If you wish to use the Signal Inversion switch please consult table below in the Phase Inversion section.

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
IC1a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC1b TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC2a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC3a TL072 Does not Invert Original
IC3b TL072 Does not Invert Original

However, many on the BYOC board forums have looked at the Amp Selector/FX Router and suggested an interesting option: If it wouldn't be helpful to set up a switch that will toggle the signal inversion of the audio through one of the outputs to allow a musician to select for it to be either in-phase, or out-of-phase.

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 inversion switch for Output A 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
IC2b (selectable) TL072 Inverts Inverted

Here's how to use it:

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

This means that if you have your signal chain plugged into "Input A" and an instrument cable is plugged from "Output A" to your amp, then you can invert phase or not, just by toggling the phase inverter switch on or off. This has nothing to do whether you've selected "A" or "B" as the output for amplifier switching, it's just if you want to be able to understand how to use the phase inversion feature. You can only invert phase between Input "A" and Output "A".

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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