Radial Engineering Switchbone ABY/C Guitar Amp Selector and Booster

Radial Engineering's Tonebone Switchbone V2 may well be the ultimate ABY/C guitar amp switcher. This device lets you switch and combine up to three guitar amplifiers without introducing distortion, switching noise or hum into the signal path. Most importantly, the Switchbone V2 will retain the natural tone and feel of your instrument so that your natural playing style shines through.

Unlike other switchers that employ integrated circuits to buffer the signal, the Switchbone features Radial's award winning Class-A audio circuit with 100% discrete components throughout. Class-A circuits are preferred by audiophiles and guitarists due to the purity of the signal path and warm sounding even-order harmonics that they produce. This is augmented with Drag™ control load correction that lets you 'dial-in' the tone and feel as if connected directly to your amp. This clever combination lowers the impedance to allow runs of up to 15 meters (50 ft) without susceptibility to noise using standard coaxial cables. To eliminate troublesome switching pops caused by mechanical footswitches and relays, the Switchbone employs high performance opto-couplers that essentially use light to emit and receive the command. These devices ramp-up and ramp-down the signal for smooth, controlled switching even with high gain amps. To eliminate the hum and buzz that is common with other switchers, the Switchbone V2 is equipped with transformer isolated outputs to eliminate nasty ground loops and is augmented with ground lift switches to further aid in noise elimination. Polarity reverse switches on outputs B and C ensure all amps are aligned to absolute phase.

The Switchbone V2 may be used as a standard ABY switcher with both A and B outputs used separately or together. When two amps are on, ToggleMode™ LED indicators flash to let you know which amp was selected last so that you can either turn that one off or change the selection on the fly. When three amps are needed, the tuner output can be repurposed along with the third footswitch for clean rhythm and lead setups.

In play, the Switchbone V2 elevates your setup with a variable Baseline™ buffer control that lets you juice up the front end of your amp for extra punch. A built-in power booster at the output delivers up to +18db of ultra-clean boost with the option to add mid-boost for extra sustain when playing lead. The Boost footswitch may also be reassigned to a tuner output for quiet on stage adjustments. To add even more control to your performance, the Slingshot™ remote control output can be used to turn on effects, change speakers when combined with the Tonebone™ Cabbone™ or even reroute effects using the Twinline™.

Features

• 100% discrete Class-A signal path for exceptional audio
• Drag™ control load correction for natural tone
• Opto-coupler for noiseless switching
• Transformer isolated to eliminate buzz and hum
• Ground lift and polarity reverse on outputs 2 and 3

Specifications

• Circuit type: Discrete Class-A
• Input impedance: Variable with drag control
• Output impedance: 10 kΩ
• Noise floor: -111 dB
• Baseline gain: Unity to +12 dB
• Boost level: Variable to +19 dB
• Mid-boost: 0 to +13 dB @ 650 Hz
• Power: 15VDC 400mA, center pole positive
• General:
  • Construction: 14-gauge steel chassis and outer shell
  • Conditions: For use in dry locations only, 5-40°C
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 2" x 6.62" x 4.5"
  • Weight: 2.35 lb (1.07 kg)