A B C switcher/blender etc

spev11

I want to be able to take the 3 outputs from the OBNE Beam splitter and run them into an ABC switch so i can have any one of the three OD circuits on independently (or all together or variations on that). It would seem the Morley ABC and OBNE signal blender can do this but they are both north of £130.
Is it a simple build? I follow instructions fine but need help for wiring. so 3 in 1 out all three switched independently
I know the parts will set me back about 30 quid or so ( 3 switches, 4 jack sockets, a box, some wire, leds and probably some resistors) or should I just bite the bullet and buy a switch/signal blender?

sweepy

I have a Morley 3 in 1 switcher sat on my shelf if that’s any help 

spev11

ooo that could tempt me, i'm trying to double check that they will actually do what I want, cant see any reason why it wouldnt but I like to cover the bases, 3 pedals in (effectively) with 1 output to the amp, any combination of the ABC switches. How much would you want for it?

lucky

Very interested if you can make something like this! 

Idk if as you are only planning to use the Beam Splitter that phase isn't an issue (i'd assume it's already correctly done internally) in which case an ABC should work. But if you add anything else to any of the parallel chains that might be an issue when you combine them?

spev11

Sweepy has kindly sold me his Morley ABC so I shall report back once i've connected it all up, i'm not planning on putting anything in the parallel chains at this stage so I'm hoping phase won't be problem.
I'll most likely open it up and see how its wired as well if anyone is interested

Sporky

The original idea is fairly simple - simple resistor mixer, and each switch shorts that input to ground to mute it. 

spev11

Balls, the morley is a great thing but It doesnt quite work as I expected. If the Beam splitter is on I can select any of the three overdrive channels as I wanted, if I turn the Beam splitter off and don't have all three morley switches on it doesnt pass the clean signal. Back to the drawing board (the Morley is still useful for switching stuff so no problem really)

spev11

someone help my brain here. So the current setup is :- 
Guitar ----> Beam Splitter--- 3 outputs of Splitter-----> Morley A B C-------> Morley Out to Amp

If the Beam splitter is on then A B or C allows me to switch each overdrive/distortion section on or off (well not really but lets each switch allow the signal through) and all is well in the world. If the Beam Splitter is off then all three ABC switches have to be on to let signal pass through. 
 I'm beginning to think that I can do this the way I want to. OBNE say that their Signal Blender will allow me to switch each overdrive on or off independently but I have no guarantee that it wont end up working the same as the Morley. I could buy a Signal Blender and if it doesnt send it back (given OBNE have assured me it will work I wont feel bad).

TLDR : all i want is to switch each overdrive on/off independently and let the clean signal pass through if the splitter is off.
I get the feeling that it will have to be a tap dancing nightmare of switching splitter off and Morley on 3 times

prowla

You could look at the OBNE Blender - it's quite a comprehensive unit.

https://oldbloodnoise.com/pedals/p/signal-blender

Sporky

Can you post a picture of the insides of the Morley?

I think I know how it's wired, and if I'm right it might be quite easy to fix. 

spev11

prowla said:

You could look at the OBNE Blender - it's quite a comprehensive unit.

https://oldbloodnoise.com/pedals/p/signal-blender

That was my initial option, I emailed OBNE and they said it would work, I bought the morley for a good deal (and it serves another purpose so not a wasted purchase)

spev11

Sporky said:

Can you post a picture of the insides of the Morley?

I think I know how it's wired, and if I'm right it might be quite easy to fix. 

Ill open it up when I get home and take a pic

ICBM

Before you mod the Morley...

It sounds to me like the Morley is muting (short to ground) the unused inputs - with no pedals in the loops, these inputs are connected directly to the outputs of the Beam Splitter, so it kills the signal unless all three Morley switches are on, ie none of them are grounded. If you had actual pedals in the loops this wouldn't happen because the pedals (if on, even if true bypass) would isolate the Beam Splitter outputs from the Morley.

spev11

heres the guts of it anyway.
I take it then, as the beam splitter is 1 in that can either sum to 1 out or split to 3 the Morley won't do the job I'd like it to do?
Ah well, can't have everything. My pedal board is currently an Ibanez Fuzz the Beam Splitter and a Plethora X3 for my modulation etc. I'll try a Signal Blender, if it doesn't do the job (OBNE seemed to think it would) then I can send it back and have a rethink

ICBM

spev11 said:

I take it then, as the beam splitter is 1 in that can either sum to 1 out or split to 3 the Morley won't do the job I'd like it to do?

It may do - try it with actual pedals in the signal path. Having posted that above, I realised you may need a buffer in the clean path too.

It's difficult to tell exactly how the Morley is wired with everything being on the PCB, and it will definitely be more difficult to modify than if it was separate components. However, it clearly isn't buffered since there are no active components on the PCB, the power is just for the LEDs as far as I can see.

spev11

i'll dig out the mini pedals and throw em in and see how it goes, will report back probably tomorrow
ta

spev11

So, I gave in and ordered a Signal Blender (mostly as OBNE had told me it would work as I described and I could send it back if it didnt). Just connected it up quickly and we are up and running, all three drives are now switcheable and it passes signal in all button states. I'll open it up tomorrow and take some photos if anyone is interested in how its wired. I suspect its quite a maze as its got send and return jacks for each switch as well as in/out, volume for each switch and two phase switches.