1590a size kill/mute switch pedal with separate tuner out

[Testing123]

Anyone know of a small pedal (e.g. 1590a size) kill/mute switch with a separate tuner out?
I’d like to be able to:

• Mute the pedalboard signal between songs and sets without having to resort to using the tuner or amp to do so.
• Observe tuner at various times while playing live to check intonation (Sonic Research ST-300 mini mutes the output when switched on).

Thanks for any help with this.

 

[Pearl_jammin]

I've just purchased exactly the same thing, with a single True Bypass Loop added, from Bright Onion Pedals here in the UK.

I don't know what shipping will come in to CA, and there are probably people who can make something for you closer, but I can vouch for Bright Onion making great pedals.

I just requested that the pedal have a constant feed to the tuner, with the Tuner Mute just muting the output, rather than routing to the tuner pedal when the switch is hit. I've done this before on another switching unit and it is massively useful to have a constant tuner feed.

 

[Testing123]

Hi @Pearl_jammin ,
This looks like it might be promising. They do have a mono latching kill switch. I wonder if they would add a tuner out (always live) and an LED to indicate when the main signal is live.

Thanks for the reference.

 

[gregmon79]

Have you thought about contacting Brain @ Saturnworks?? Im sure he could build you something like that for a relatively low price....

Boutique Handmade Guitar Pedals | Saturnworks Pedals | USA

 

[Testing123]

@gregmon79 ,
Yes, I've already emailed him and am awaiting his reply.

Thanks for posting, I do appreciate it!

 

[blizward]

could this work? you can switch between A & B to mute and use the Y as an always on channel for the tuner.
"Micro ABY can be used in two ways, the signal path can flow from A/B to Y, or from Y to A/B. Can work without power supply (LED will not be lit up). Full metal shell. Very small and exquisite. True bypass DC. Requires 9V Adapter power supply."

 

[Testing123]

could this work? you can switch between A & B to mute and use the Y as an always on channel for the tuner.
"Micro ABY can be used in two ways, the signal path can flow from A/B to Y, or from Y to A/B. Can work without power supply (LED will not be lit up). Full metal shell. Very small and exquisite. True bypass DC. Requires 9V Adapter power supply."

Hmm... Ok, if Y was the always on output to the tuner, where would the input be? Where would the output (to the rest of the board) be? Would A be the input and B the output? The text you quoted doesn't seem to say that the signal would flow from A to B and Y, but I'm not 100% sure.

And, what does "True bypass DC" mean?

I’ve been told by several pedal makers that what I am trying to accomplish would require an active circuit. A buffer receives the input signal and does not load the bass regardless of what follows it in the signal path. The two outputs have also output drivers that isolate the tuner from the signal going to amp. It is makes far less switching noise than a passive circuit.
Could this be what they mean by "True bypass DC?"

Thanks...


Edit to add:

It looks like you can have two (2) inputs, A and B, going to one (1) output Y. The foot switch selects what input (A or B) gets sent to Y.

Or...

You can have one (1) input, Y, going to one (1) of two (2) outputs, either A or B.

So this:

A - Y
------->Switch
B - Y

Or this:

Y - A
------->Switch
Y - B


... I think

(If this is correct, it's not what I'm after.)

 

[jumblemind]

Hmm... Ok, if Y was the always on output to the tuner, where would the input be? Where would the output (to the rest of the board) be? Would A be the input and B the output? The text you quoted doesn't seem to say that the signal would flow from A to B and Y, but I'm not 100% sure.

The poster had it right with the pedal being a possible solution but had the path wrong. With that pedal you would use Y as your bass input, then A as your output to amp and B as your output to the tuner. Footswitch toggles between A and B, letting you kill the signal to your amp (mute) as you reroute the bass signal to your tuner.

On a side note, "ABY" is misleading. It's really just an A/B switch. Typically, A/B/Y can do A, B, or A and B. The Mooer can only do A or B, it can't merge the two into a true "Y".

And, what does "True bypass DC" mean?

I’ve been told by several pedal makers that what I am trying to accomplish would require an active circuit. A buffer receives the input signal and does not load the bass regardless of what follows it in the signal path. The two outputs have also output drivers that isolate the tuner from the signal going to amp. It is makes far less switching noise than a passive circuit.
Could this be what they mean by "True bypass DC?"

Thanks...

I would guess that's what they mean: an A/B switch with DC power for the buffer, but I've never heard that before. Whether or not it would require an active circuit I think would depend on your bass (active vs passive) and pedal setup, and really on your tolerance for a clicking noise. I built myself a passive A/B pedal that can do this, and I never notice much noise when switching. I use it mostly to test different amps and pedals, not in my normal rig, so I can't say 100% that it would always be silent.

 

[jumblemind]

Actually, scratch that on the Mooer True Bypass DC automatically meaning buffer. It may very well be a passive circuit that only needs the DC power for the LED.

 

[Testing123]

The poster had it right with the pedal being a possible solution but had the path wrong. With that pedal you would use Y as your bass input, then A as your output to amp and B as your output to the tuner. Footswitch toggles between A and B, letting you kill the signal to your amp (mute) as you reroute the bass signal to your tuner.

Yes, I guess I did understand then. Unfortunately, this is not what I am looking for.

I need a pedal that will allow me to do the following:

• Control the signal flow (on or off) from bass to the rest of the board and amp (e.g. A to B).
• Have the bass signal also go to a tuner on a separate line that is always on (e.g. A to Y).

 

[Testing123]

Actually, scratch that on the Mooer True Bypass DC automatically meaning buffer. It may very well be a passive circuit that only needs the DC power for the LED.

Well, thanks for that, but it appears the Mooer pedal unfortunately doesn't fit the control model I'm looking for anyway, so...

 

[Testing123]

Actually I have a dialog with Bryan from Saturnworks going and it looks like it's going to work out.
I'll let y'all know.

 

[jumblemind]

Well, thanks for that, but it appears the Mooer pedal unfortunately doesn't fit the control model I'm looking for anyway, so...

Ah my bad, I did miss that part in your initial post. Yeah, you'll need a buffered circuit / "real" ABY switch for that. A Radial Bigshot or Boss LS-2 can do it, not sure if someone can make that in a 1590a.

 

[Testing123]

...not sure if someone can make that in a 1590a.

Apparently that's the case (no pun intended).
I'll have to readjust my pedalboard a bit and move my ST-300 mini (tuner) to the top rail of the Metro 20. Shouldn't be a problem since the Mute Switch pedal will have an on/off switch for the tuner that will be within easy reach.

 

[Stellvia]

Something like this: Invalid Link Removed?

Thinking about doing the same thing myself.

 

[Testing123]

Something like this: Invalid Link Removed?

Thinking about doing the same thing myself.

Yes... Wow! Yes, that's exactly what I've been looking for, and at a very reasonable price, too!

@Stellvia , do you know anything about this pedal? Are you connected with the company at all?
I'll quote myself from an earlier message:

I’ve been told by several pedal makers that what I am trying to accomplish would require an active circuit. A buffer receives the input signal and does not load the bass regardless of what follows it in the signal path. The two outputs have also output drivers that isolate the tuner from the signal going to amp. It is makes far less switching noise than a passive circuit.

I wonder if the Invalid Link Removedworks like that?
If so, I REALLY wish I had known about this pedal yesterday...

 

[Stellvia]

@Testing123: when I saw your post I thought something similar would work for my setup. Not affiliated with the company, I've bought a Loopi footswitch in the past for my El Capistan pedal and know the build quality of Loopi pedals is good.

Probably best to email them to see how they've designed the pedal.

 

[Testing123]

Ok, thanks for the info, @Stellvia .

 

[Testing123]

From the better late than never department:

I ended up choosing to have Bryan at Saturnworks Pedals build me the mute with separate tuner out switch.
Here’s a photo (rather poor quality, sorry) of the pedal:

The box is a 1590b enclosure (didn't make the 1590a size, but everyone I spoke with about my needs for this pedal said a 1590a case would be too small) with black powder coating. It has 1 instrument input on the right side of the enclosure (that silvery sliver thingy you see in the photo) and 2 outputs and a power input at the top of the case. There are 2 latching switches that enable or disable the input signal from going to each of the 2 outputs. There is an LED just above each switch that will glow green if the signal flow to the associated output is enabled and red if the signal flow is disabled. I use the left output as a send to my tuner and the right output as a send to the rest of the system.

With this arrangement, I can see the tuner and check pitch(es) whenever I want. If I need to tune silently, I just hit the mute switch. On breaks or between tunes, I just hit the mute switch. It works out very well.

Now, some of you may be thinking, ‘Hey, the above is exactly how I use my tuner. I hit its switch and mute the signal when needed. What’s the biggie?!’ Well, I really wanted to have the tuner always on, so as I said above, I could visually check pitch whenever I wanted. The Turbo Tuner ST-300 mini didn’t allow that. Plus, I thought it might be cool to have a custom pedal built to my specs that solved my problem and didn’t inject problems of its own like some of the off the shelf non-buffered pedals I looked at would have.

A bit more about the enclosure:

I chose to not have Bryan do any graphics on the box. I was tinkering with the idea of doing something on my own, you know, be creative and all. However, so far all I’ve done is to add the cheesy white Avery label at the top with the “MUTE SWITCH, TUNER, SIGNAL” text. I haven’t given up hope yet, but there are more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, so…

Oh, I should make mention of the 2 foot switches. They are common latching switches, with top clear covers added. The clear covers are from a company called Barefoot Buttons. They have a variety of colors, but I chose clear because the LED’s are just above each button and I thought I might not be able to see them with an opaque button. Turns out that the LED’s light up the buttons pretty well, so it’s easy to see and easy on the eyes.

My experience with Bryan at Saturnworks Pedals was good. He worked very hard to satisfy all of my wishes, even to the point of having me ship the pedal back to him for an alteration of the switching to help diminish an audible 'pop' when a switch was pressed. He did not charge me for this alteration. He was quick to respond to all of my emails and pleasant to deal with.

The pedal does everything I had hoped it would and works very well.


I hope this info has been helpful…