manual octaswitch

Ok, so you have eight effects pedals which you use regularly. You use various combinations of these pedals in various songs, but you are not good at tap dancing…or you are just clumsy and have stepped on the ultra tricked out-metalized-distortion pedal for the lead in your one ABBA cover. You have seen the digital effects controllers they use on the big stages and have secretly yearned for one, even though you may never make the big stage? Enter Thomas Guldmann’s Octa-switch. Your eight effects plug into the eight effects-loops on the back of this unit (all true-bypass, impedance free gold relays so you can run any of your pedals, new and old without problem), and then by turning on or off the numbered switches in each of eight DIP Bank switches, you determine which effects you wish to use simultaneously in each Bank. There is a blue LED for every effects loop used and for each Bank (so once you are programmed, when you step on Bank 6 you will see the lights of all the effects you have assigned to Bank 6 and the Bank 6 LED). Once you have each Bank programmed, we recommend placing a piece of scotch or electrical tape over each DIP (….just to protect the switch from damage or floods….like beer). There is a buffered (or not….switchable) Mono input and a stereo Output, and the unit is powered by dual 9v batteries, or by a regulated power supply (we recommend the Carl Martin Big John Power Supply.

Then by turning on or off the numbered switches in each of eight DIP Bank switches, you determine which effects you wish to use simultaneously in each Bank. There is a blue LED for every effects loop used and for each Bank (so once you are programmed, when you step on Bank 6 you will see the lights of all the effects you have assigned to Bank 6 and the Bank 6 LED).

Please note, the DIP switches are slide type, NOT push down. They are easily easily operated with a small screwdriver, a pen, or a very very small finger..

There is a buffered (or not….switchable) Mono input

On large stages when running long connected cables, there is a definite drop in the high end of your guitar sound (more or less depending on the input impedance of your amplifier). The solution according to Thomas was once again ‘simple’. He built in a buffer circuit at the input, so the user can choose between 100% true bypass, or buffered bypass to ‘beef’ up the signal.

The Octaswitch has stereo outputs, and a stereo return on Loop 8 (this is a stereo jack with tip-left and ring-right). Since stereo effects like choruses are placed at the end of your effects-chain, we would typically insert them in Loop 8. You will only achieve stereo output (with signal on left & right channels) when you have the stereo return connected in loop 8. When there is no stereo pedal engaged, there is no signal in the right output.

Example on dual amp/stereo operation

Use a Y-cable from the stereo unit to loop 8 return, left on ring and right on tip of the stereo jack.

Please notice that there is only full stereo operation with signal on the right output when there is a stereo pedal in loop 8, and loop 8 is engaged i.e. a stereo chorus, to maintain output on both L/R also without the chorus effect, you have to bypass the effect on the chorus pedal.

When there is no stereo pedal engaged there is no signal at the right output.

Example on mono operation with mute and tuner out

Connect a tuner to i.e. loop 2 send, and nothing in the loop return, select i.e. program 8 with only loop 2 engaged, this way you mute the system while getting signal to your tuner, without the signal passing through the tuner.

Example on operation with some pedals going front in the amp, and some in the amp's own loop

As shown on the illustration in this example we do have 4 pedals going to the amp's input, and three pedals in the amp's own loop.
So in the example we use LOOP 5 as the split loop (any can be used) loop 5 send goes the the amp's input, so loop 1-2-3-4 are all front in. The amp's own loop send goes the loop 5 return, and the Octa-Switch main out (left) goes to the amp's loop return, so loop 6-7-8 all will be inserted in the amp's loop after the pre-amp.
IMPORTANT LOOP 5 SHALL ALWAYS BE ACTIVATED.