Help..."Do I need a switcher for my board?"

JonHosker

I havd 9 pedals on my board and here tgat switchers improve tone and improve pedal changing. And more... but is the tone better with one. Carr Sportsman amp is crisp but ?
Advice wanted..please. 
I could fit a Quartermaster slim type but no G2 etc.
Also the cost inc. Patchjng cables would be expensive.
Ta Jon

GavRichList

Have to say, it does make a noticeable difference. I’ve recently added a Morningstar ML5, and even having 5 loops has made a big difference to the clarity. 

TeleMaster

Boss ES series are amazing. I use the 5 and it’s incredible. 

JonHosker

Thanks forvthese comments...must explore...

GavRichList

Worth adding that unless you’ve a midi controller, the ML5 will be useless to you. However, fully endorse a switcher of some kind. 

Lebarque

Plug your guitar through your board, switch all pedals off and play. Then bypass your board by plugging straight into your amp and play. Does it sound better? If so, you could benefit from a switcher.

whitedogbanana

with 9 pedals I say a switcher would "preserve" tone - quartermaster is an excellent product. 

Evo

Quartermaster is great, if you have any midi pedals then I wholeheartedly recommend the hotone cybery.

Bluetooth and mobile app make the switcher, relay and midi programming a piece of cake. Much easier than fiddling in menus and scrolling through preset numbers

lukedlb

Consider grouping pedals so as to limit the amount of loop switches. I separate fuzz type pedals from my compressor/Klone/drive in a 2 switch unit; and in another 2 switch unit I have tuner&looper in one with modulation pedals in the other. This works for me as my sounds are much more spartan than the G2 or the like offers, one pedal fx more often than not. 

hassleham

Have you tried a buffer?

Sporky

Lebarque said:

Plug your guitar through your board, switch all pedals off and play. Then bypass your board by plugging straight into your amp and play. Does it sound better? If so, you could benefit from a switcher.

Though to be fair that could be explained if they're all Boss pedals (or anything with a similar bypass design). Each has a teeny drop in volume as the signal passes through; with 9 in a row, that cumulative drop in level  makes it sound worse compared to straight in. All there is is a level drop, but your brain hears slightly louder as slightly better without noticing that it's just louder.

A switcher will "solve" that, but it's just your brain playing tricks on you. If you could just compensate for the level drop then direct and through the pedals would sound exactly the same.

It's also a handy trick if you ever want to rig a shootout - make the option you want to win about 0.2-0.5dB louder, and most people will hear that one as having more dynamics and a generally "better" sound (though they will often disagree about what's better about it). Very few people will be able to hear that it's just louder (I have a colleague who can reliably identify that level of change, but I've not met many others who could).

JonHosker

My chain is...
Amp, Broadcast, RYRA Klone, Vibe Machine 2, Veteran Germ, Boss CH2w, Prov. chrono delay, Echorec deluxe (oh and ditto looper)
Great sounds..just wondering re. Buffers/Switchers
Jon

photek

Yup a simple programmable switcher like my one from Buzz Electronics will help clean up your tone. So simple to use and having the option to switch on and off multiple pedals with one stomp takes an extra pressure off when playing live. Not particularly expensive either. I have a 4 button one with 8 pedals going through it.

pulse.

I believe this thread is in the wrong forum section, isn't it?