

And because we are using class-A circuitry, you get a much purer signal path.Įarly on, we discovered that even with the very best circuit, buffering a guitar signal can make it sound ‘too clean’. This means only the absolute minimal amount of negative feedback is applied. Instead of trying to control the gain of a chip by applying tremendous amounts of phase-canceling negative feedback, individual transistors are used at each gain stage. Both the Twin-City and the Switchbone employ 100% discrete, class-A circuitry. This is the primary reason guitarists complain about the sound of wireless systems. Most guitarists hate the sound of these buffers as they make a nice warm-sounding guitar sound harsh.

To control the gain, various degrees of negative feedback is applied. For maximum efficiency, ICs pack thousands of transistors inside a very small package to produce tremendous gain. The most common is the use of an integrated circuit (IC) while the second is more of an old-school discrete class-A approach. There are two general camps when it comes to buffers. The Switchbone V2 is a feature-packed ABY pedal that also features a third output to allow switching between up to three amplifiers without noise. This type of switching requires the signal to be buffered.
#Morley abc box manual series
The Twin-City employs electronic switching while the Switchbone employs a series of photo-electric chips (optocouplers) that ramp up and then ramp down the signal in a controlled fashion in order to eliminate the hard contact. The benefit to using active switching with a buffered circuit is that it allows the electronic engineer to manage the signal to eliminate noise. The BigShot ABY is a true-bypass ABY switcher. The noise is most noticeable when using high-gain amps. This is due to the hard contact that is created when the footswitch is depressed and the internal relay is called into action.

The downside with true-bypass pedals is that they tend to produce switching noise. The concept here is that a true-bypass pedal will relay the original sound of the guitar without any buffer or loading on the pickup which could alter the clean tone. Pedals that completely remove the effect circuit from the signal path are known as true-bypass pedals.

The Twin-City and Switchbone are active ABY switchers. A buffer not only drives the signal further without noise, but the capacitors in the signal path also block noise that may be coming from the amp from bleeding back into the guitar. The BigShot ABY is a passive ABY switcher.Īctive switchers employ a buffer or unity-gain amplifier to lower the impedance to reduce susceptibility to noise and manage the electrical signal. When running two amps at once, the signal going to each amp is reduced by half, like a simple Y-jack cable. Some tone purists prefer passive switchers as they do not color the guitar signal in any way. There is no ‘buffer’ or electronic amp inside the ABY to manage the signal. Passive ABYs are simple switches that divert the guitar signal to one amp or the other. Passive ABYs do not require any power to make them work while active ABYs must be powered like most other guitar pedals. The BigShot ABY is a compact passive switcher.ĪBY pedals generally come in two categories: passive and active. power supply via 9V battery or optional 9V DC (Morley AD N) adapter, 2.1 x 5.The Radial BigShot ABY is a true-bypass ABY switcher that toggles or combines two guitar amplifiers in phase and without hum & buzz caused by ground loops.2x GRND / LIFT control button for lifting the ground.2x 180° / NORM control button for inverting the phase.silent switching to prevent pops and bleed.custom Ebtech 1:1 isolation transformer for absolute transparency and level output.New features include a higher enclosure for easy access, a state of the art custom Ebtech transformer, silent switching, a reverse polarity switch and a ground lift switch.
#Morley abc box manual pro
Are switching boxes giving you a headache? The Morley ABC Pro Selector is just what the doctor ordered! Based off the original Morley ABC Switcher our Pro version is equipped with new features that will help solve issues commonly faced when using switching devices for multiple amps.
