ART CoolSwitch A/B-Y Switch Pedal

zZounds Gear Experts Say...

Route one signal between two amps or amp channels, or route two signals into the same amp. Indicator LEDs make this handy A/B-Y switch pedal even cooler.

Overview

ART Cool Switch ABY Switch
A/B-Y switching works two ways. It lets you switch a common source signal (guitar, bass or keyboard) between two amplifiers or amp channels. Or conversely, it lets you switch two source signals (ie, two different guitars) into the same amplifier. A good quality A/B-Y switcher will also provide LEDs or other indicators to show whether A, B or Y routing is in effect. The Y routing combines both the A and B outputs in parallel so that two amplifiers can be driven at once. The Coolswitch provides full A/B-Y switching functionality, plus parallel Common in/out jacks.

Specs

Specifications
Power Requirements: 9V Battery (included)

Dimensions:
3.75x2.5x1.5 inches (90mm x 63mm x 40mm)

Weight:
1lb (454g)

Dimensions and Weight in Packaging
Base Item: Shipping Weight: 0.95 lbs; Shipping Dimensions: 11 x 6 x 3 in; Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): COOLSWITCH
Open Box (Like New): Shipping Weight: 0.95 lbs; Shipping Dimensions: 11 x 6 x 3 in; Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): COOLSWITCH

Documents and Manuals

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 716-297-2920
Web: https://www.artproaudio.com/support/

Spec Sheet

Reviews

(15 ratings)

Submitted January 27, 2010 by a customer from peak.org

"Needs redesign!"

Overall:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Sound

Sound levels vary. Sometimes it passes full level, sometimes it attenuates, you just have to click the switch a couple of times to hear the difference.

Features

It sorely needs a separate led that stays dedicated to the a/b mode while you are in the y mode.

Ease of Use

The switches are too close together, and when you are in a hurry you can easily stomp both switches leaving you in a bad place. I rebuilt mine in a new box I got at radio shack, I chopped the board apart and split the switches farther apart. Much better.

Quality

This brings up the other reason I had to rebuild it. The in-out jacks do not create a positive lock on your cables. More than once during a performance a cable would just fall loose. I replaced them with cheap jacks from radio shack which make a tight click when you insert the cable and they hold securely.

Value

Well it was cheap, but there isn't much to it. Having rebuilt this one I now know that I will be building my own from scratch very soon, so I can eliminate the level inconsistency problem. It doesn't bother me too bad because I am using an ART TPS2 tube preamp following the switch and that gives me quite a bit of tube compression. Great pre-amp!

Manufacturer Support

Honestly, I give them the benefit of the doubt, but I have not tried to contact them about my problems, what are they going to do? Short of a complete redesign there is nothing they could do.