Pedal Switchers. Use Them? Which are the Best?

[arlum]

I've never owned a pedal switcher control floor board. I've seen their use grow quite a bit over the last ten years or so but know next to nothing about them. Because some of my pedal boards have become quite expansive and floor space is at a premium I've been considering purchasing one of these. The Voodoo Lab PX8. One of the Boss MS series. Electro Harmonix Super Switcher. Disaster Area DPZ-8EZ gen3. One Control OC10. Carl Martin Octa-Switch mk.3. Rocktron PatchMate Loop 8. G-Lab GSC-3. Etc., Etc.
I've got zero experience with these. I understand they can add and delete pedals on the board from the chain. My choice, should I choose to purchase one would be based on 3 factors. 1). The quality of the product. Built to last. Excellent reviews. No hidden hassles to contend with. 2). No one from the audience to the sound guy to other players and most importantly your own ears knows the switcher board is controlling the chain. No coloration of tone. No increase in back round noise. Like the switcher board doesn't exist to anyone except the player. 3). At least four selections. Six would be better but not really required. More than six would be a waste.
Do they make switcher boards that are truly invisible? If not ..... I want nothing to do with them. I like the short cuts they provide but would be unwilling to give up one ounce of tone to incorporate them into my rig. I've gone this long without them. I just thought I'd ask.

 

[Back at it]

You could check that pedal show, they might have a video

esp since one of the guys is involved with gigrig

 

[northernguitar]

There seems to be more available these days. I got mine from Loop-Master, but I can’t recommend him at present…there have been a few threads about him not meeting orders. If he’s back in business, I can say that his work is impeccable and my 7-channel switch works great.

Not all of them are built equally. For example, the Boss unit allows you to change the sequence of pedals and save settings in memory. Mine just switches. However, it’s quiet and does help avoid the tap-dancing while playing.

 

[bluesholyman]

I have an American Loopers 11-loop switcher, bought it aftermarket - works great, programmable presets, built like a tank. Only downside is that it cannot reorder the pedals - the loops are hardwired sequentially.

What would I choose now? The GigRig, if I have the funds, or one of the Boss switcher, which I think are less expensive.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

There seems to be more available these days. I got mine from Loop-Master, but I can’t recommend him at present…there have been a few threads about him not meeting orders. If he’s back in business, I can say that his work is impeccable and my 7-channel switch works great.

I have an order from late 2019 that has gone unfulfilled, and he hasn't posted an update in nearly 6 moths (and that was, if I recall, his first update in about a year).

But I do have one of his from before for switching between 3 different dirt boxes and bypass, and that thing is flawless, if a little chunky.

 

[bobio]

The GigRig also makes the Quartermaster if you don't need all the features of their more expensive switchers.

The GigRig | Quartermaster QMX

High-quality true-bypass strip loop control for your guitar effects pedals. Compact, easy switching solutions to keep your tone intact.

www.thegigrig.com

 

[Refugee]

Maybe try Pedalboards.com

 

[northernguitar]

I have an order from late 2019 that has gone unfulfilled, and he hasn't posted an update in nearly 6 moths (and that was, if I recall, his first update in about a year).

But I do have one of his from before for switching between 3 different dirt boxes and bypass, and that thing is flawless, if a little chunky.

I am sorry to hear about that. Sure, you can run into obstacles as a one-man show, but he should refund people.

For OP, if I saw a used one for sale, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab it.

 

[4pickupguy]

I have a Boss ES-8. If I had it to do over I would go with a GigRig G3. Far easier and faster to program and change.

 

[schmee]

I've been using Loop Master and they are great quality, simple and less expensive. BUT, he got sick during Covid and I don't know if he's still in business. He did answer my email a year or so ago.

In researching what to buy, I would prefer Switchcraft jacks and Carling footswitches. But you may not be able to find that. That Quartermaster brand shown in post #6 look good but seem to have some oddball switches.... maybe good, maybe bad, hard to say.

"Do they make switcher boards that are truly invisible? If not ..... I want nothing to do with them."
-Your daisy chained pedals are what are truly not invisible. If you have 8 pedals, you have 32 or more metal to metal contacts in your signal line, even with pedals off. (tip + sleeve on each pedal jack , so 4 per pedal)
-The switcher cuts this down to only the pedals that are on.
-It's also easy to determine where you have a pedal or cable issue quickly.
-If you are smart in your layout, you can switch from one pedal to another with one push of two adjacent buttons.
I use 3 OD's and this is very handy if I want to go ... like... from clean boost to high gain for a solo.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I've been using Loop Master and they are great quality, simple and less expensive. BUT, he got sick during Covid and I don't know if he's still in business. He did answer my email a year or so ago. . . .

There seems to be more available these days. I got mine from Loop-Master, but I can’t recommend him at present…there have been a few threads about him not meeting orders. If he’s back in business, I can say that his work is impeccable and my 7-channel switch works great. . . .

I have a couple of Loop-Masters: an AB and an ABCD. The boxes and the prices are great — dead silent, zero interference with other pedals, no coloration, and built for battlefield conditions. No background noise — I'm a bore about that, too. They're made as well as any pedal I've used, and I can't imagine that his bigger pedals are any different.

But yes, the wait time is excruciating. My ABCD took over six months, and that was before the Coronocaust.

Is six months bad? My Analogman King of Tone took a year and a half. Lots of pedal guys just stay open for orders and build 'em as fast as they can.

So if you're not in a hurry, a Loop-Master might be worth looking into. You could call or email him and talk about how it's going these days.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I have a couple of Loop-Masters: an AB and an ABCD. The boxes and the prices are great — dead silent, zero interference with other pedals, no coloration, and built for battlefield conditions. No background noise — I'm a bore about that, too. They're made as well as any pedal I've used, and I can't imagine that his bigger pedals are any different.

But yes, the wait time is excruciating. My ABCD took over six months, and that was before the Coronocaust.

Is six months bad? My Analogman King of Tone took a year and a half. Lots of pedal guys just stay open for orders and build 'em as fast as they can.

So if you're not in a hurry, a Loop-Master might be worth looking into. You could call or email him and talk about how it's going these days.

I'd day that Loop-Master products are worth the wait, but also that the wait isn't the entire issue. I placed an order in late 2019 with no update so far aside from the order status changing from "Order Placed" to (basically) "We're building it now". We're going on three years now, for a product that's extremely high quality but also very simple. Add on to that the fact that the website hasn't been updated in 6 months (and maybe twice in two years) and that emails only get an automated response, and I think that should make for a skeptical buyer.

The products are great, he may well just be behind (and dealing with other issues) and I wish him well, but the situation doesn't make for confident purchasing.

I did happen to see a couple of switchers on Reverb last night for a great price so I snatched them. If quality were the only consideration then I'd go with Loop-Master with no hesitation.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I'd day that Loop-Master products are worth the wait, but also that the wait isn't the entire issue. I placed an order in late 2019 with no update so far aside from the order status changing from "Order Placed" to (basically) "We're building it now". We're going on three years now, for a product that's extremely high quality but also very simple. Add on to that the fact that the website hasn't been updated in 6 months (and maybe twice in two years) and that emails only get an automated response, and I think that should make for a skeptical buyer.

The products are great, he may well just be behind (and dealing with other issues) and I wish him well, but the situation doesn't make for confident purchasing.

I did happen to see a couple of switchers on Reverb last night for a great price so I snatched them. If quality were the only consideration then I'd go with Loop-Master with no hesitation.

Good to know! Arlum, looks like you now have everything you need to know about Loop-Master. Great price, great product, iffy delivery.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The GigRig also makes the Quartermaster if you don't need all the features of their more expensive switchers.

The GigRig | Quartermaster QMX

High-quality true-bypass strip loop control for your guitar effects pedals. Compact, easy switching solutions to keep your tone intact.

www.thegigrig.com

That might fill your bill, Arlum. It's not what I'd call a switcher. It's independent circuits for all your pedals. If you don't have true-bypass pedals, this turns them into true-bypass, which seems to be what you want.

 

[Eddiebaby1]

Boss ES-5 for me. Works with MIDI and you can easily reorder pedals with out unplugging and has things like tuner out and tap tempo in and out functions.
Bought it for a song on Reverb.