- DISTORTION
Trimode
The Trimode™ tube distortion takes you from slight overdrive to full-on distortion. Think Mesa-Boogie in a pedal and switch instantly from rhythm to lead.
Classic-V9The Tonebone Classic-V9™ is an ultra-responsive distortion pedal that lets you precisely adjust and focus the intensity of the distortion to suit your playing style and develop your own musical voice.
PlexitubeThe Plexitube™ delivers five generations of Marshall in a box. Triple gain stage delivers fat, harmonically rich tones that let you switch from rhythm to lead.
- Overdrive
Texas-Pro
The Texas-Pro™ is a compact but extremely powerful dual-function pedal, providing a versatile overdrive circuit as well as a high output signal booster.
RegencyThe Regency™ is a new type of pedal designed specifically to pre-emphasize the gain stage of today's high gain amps.
North-StarThe North-Star™ is both an overdrive and a high-output power booster combined in one versatile and compact pedal.
- Buffers & Boosters
ELEVATOR
The Elevator™ is a unique class-A multi-level power booster and buffer that provides the guitarist with a degree of customization to better match their playing style.
DragsterThe Dragster™ is a super-compact load correction device that lets you adjust the load on your electric guitar pickup to make your instrument sound natural in the PA or when recording.
Stagebug SB-15The Radial Stage Bug SB-15™ High Performance Signal Buffer lets you drive guitar pedals without added noise and also powers 15V Tonebone pedals.
SHOTGUNThe Shotgun™ is a compact guitar-level signal buffer designed to drive up to four amplifiers simultaneously and fit nicely on any pedalboard.
SGIThe Radial SGI™ is a high performance line driver that takes an unbalanced guitar signal and allows you to drive it as far as 100 meters (300ft) without noise.
- EFFECTS
Twinline
The Radial Twinline™ is a unique device that enables a guitarist to share effects pedals between two amps when using the amplifiers' built-in (rear-panel) effects loops.
VocolocoThe Voco-Loco™ is a foot-controlled effects loop that enables the lead vocalist, sax or trumpet player to incorporate guitar effects pedals into the signal path, just like an electric guitarist adds effects for soloing.
MIX-BLENDERThe Mix-Blender™ is a multi-function pedal that lets you mix two instruments or effects together and then send the combined signal through a mixer-style effects loop for processing.
- SWITCHERS
Cabbone
The Cabbone™ lets you switch between two speaker cabinets using a single amplifier head. You will not believe how changing the cabinet can affect your tone!
LoopboneThe Loopbone™ is a high-performance effects-loop switcher that enables the guitarist to insert, remove and combine pedals via two independent signal chains
HeadboneThe Headbone™ is a specially designed switching device that lets you toggle between two different guitar amplifier heads using a single speaker cabinet.
Switchbone V2The 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.
Twin-CityThe Twin-City™ is a class-A ABY switcher with Drag Control that delivers your guitar tone without introducing harsh sounding artifacts. Ground isolated to eliminate hum and buzz from gournd loops.
HeadlightThe Headlight™ is a unity gain guitar amp selector designed to easily integrate on a pedalboard and allow the artist to seamlessly switch between as many as four amps using a single footswitch.
BigShot ABYThe Radial BigShot ABY™ is a compact ABY switcher that enables you to either switch between two amplifiers or combine the signal when you want both amps to play at the same time.
BigShot EFXThe BigShot EFX™ is a true-bypass effects loop switcher that lets you set up two separate effects loops and insert them into your pedal chain at will.
BigShot IOThe Radial BigShot i/o™ is an easy to use instrument selector that lets you quickly transition between any two instruments and send out the output signal to your amp.
BUMPERThe Bumper™ is a unity gain instrument selector that lets you connect up to four instruments and progressively advance through each input using a sequential footswitch.
JX-42The JX-42™ The JX-42 is a compact guitar selector that lets you instantly switch between four guitars and two amps on stage.
BigShot SW2The BigShot SW2™ is a two channel universal remote control that can be used to replace the two amplifier foot switches and combine their main functions with a single pedal.
JX62The Radial JX62™ is a guitar and amp switcher designed for both wired and wireless guitars in a live concert touring environment.
JD7The Radial JD7 Injector™ is a guitar signal splitter that is able to drive as many as seven amplifiers at the same time and do so without the noise that often plagues most systems.
JX44The Radial JX44 Air Control™ is a guitar signal manager designed for the most demanding professional concert stages where wireless guitar systems, acoustics, effects and multiple amplifiers are used simultaneously.
- PREAMPS
PZ-PreThe PZ-Pre™ is a power-packed preamp that lets you switch between two acoustic instruments and feed the PA with a built-in Radial direct box. Piezo optimized for orchestral instruments.
PZ-Deluxe™The PZ-Deluxe™ is a studio quality instrument preamp that jam-packs a full array of features into a compact pedal for live stage use. Ideal for all acoustic instruments.
Bassbone ODThe Bassbone OD™ is a bass preamp with two instrument input channels, each of which is fully equipped with a level control, super powerful passive-interactive EQ and a low frequency filter to help eliminate resonance.
PZ-SelectThe Tonebone PZ-Select™ is a unique pedal designed to work with today's new breed of electric guitars and basses that employ both magnetic and piezo pickups.
Bassbone V2The Bassbone V2™ is a power-packed bass preamp that combines on-stage efficiency, amazing tonal control and superb audio performance in a compact box. This makes it the ideal front end for both live and studio recording.
AC-DriverThe AC-Driver is a compact acoustic instrument preamp designed for use on stage, with helpful features to streamline your performance and ensure the best possible tone from your instrument.
- Load Box & Amp Sim
JDX Direct-DriveThe Radial™ JDX Direct-Drive is a unique and powerful device that emulates the sound of a guitar amplifier while doubling as a direct box.
JDX-48The Radial JDX 48 Reactor™ is a direct box designed to capture the explosive dynamics and warmth of an electric guitar amplifier by connecting between the guitar amp head and speaker cabinet.
Headload ProdigyThe Headload Prodigy™ is a combination load box and DI that lets you drive your guitar amp at a higher output in order to maximize the tone, yet produce a lower stage volume when needed.
- SWITCHBONE V2
- SWITCHBONE HOME
- FEATURES
- DEVELOPMENT
- USING
- SPECIFICATIONS
- FAQ
- RESOURCES
- PHOTOS
- REVIEWS
- USER GUIDE
- SMART SHEET
- IMPORTANT LINKS
- ABOUT ABY
- COMPARE
"The Switchbone sounds better than any other ABY box I've ever heard."
Lyle Workman
(Beck, Sting, Todd Rundgren)The inner workings of the Switchbone – No ICs!SWITCHBONE V2 DEVELOPMENT
It is hard to believe that the first generation Switchbone actually appeared in 2001. Over the years, it has gained international acclaim with artists as diverse as The Derek Trucks Band, Mark Ribot, G.E. Smith, Allan Holdsworth, Audley Freed and Luther Dickinson. We have even seen pictures of Eric Clapton's pedalboard with a Switchbone controlling his amps. Now how cool is that? (No Eric Clapton does not endorse Radial, although you can usually find several pieces of Radial gear on the Clapton stage with bassist Nathan East among others.)
The question here is simple: What makes a great guitar amp switcher and what sets the Switchbone V2 apart from the crowd? In the end, the answer is a culmination of many different attributes that together make up what is likely the best sounding and most powerful ABY pedal ever.
100% discrete electronics
Most guitarists prefer the sound of passive 'true-bypass' switchers, even though they are fraught with challenges. Truth is, they do not so much prefer the sound of a passive switcher, but more that they likely have never tried a properly designed active one. The same 'tone-robbing' refrains also ring true for those that have tried wireless systems. The problem with most active switchers is that they employ integrated circuits (ICs) to buffer or amplify the signal. ICs stack hundreds or even thousands of transistors into a single device. ICs are amazing in that they can produce all kinds of gain in a very small package. Cell phones are full of them. But with all of this gain, absurdly high levels of negative feedback must be applied in order to keep the circuit under control. When you combine a positive signal with a negative one, you get phase and second harmonics cancellation. Inside the Switchbone, individual transistors are used so that minimal negative feedback can be applied. No ICs! The result is a much more natural and open sound.
Class-A signal buffer
Just as guitarists prefer tube amps, audiophiles prefer the sound of Class-A circuits. These single ended circuit designs amplify the signal (full wave) using a single device. ICs (as discussed previously) usually employ Class-AB circuits to do the work. These circuits divide the wave into two components whereby each half wave is amplified separately and then brought back together. Although this is very efficient, it produces an effect called zero-cross distortion that manifests itself when attempting to bring the two half-waves back together. With guitars, tone is king. Efficiency is nowhere near as important as tone. The Switchbone V2 employs the same award winning Class-A circuit that is in the Radial JD7 Injector™. The buffer is used to stabilize the signal, lower the impedance and drive long cables without noise. And with users such as Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, Steve Lukather and Neal Schon, you can rest assured the buffering is as good as it gets.
Drag™ control load correction
Another aspect to achieving great tone is understanding how changing the electrical load on the pickup will affect the tone. During the JD7™ development, we discovered that a 1 meg-Ohm input impedance can make a guitar sound glassy and overly bright. Leo Fender used this impedance on his very first tube amplifiers and everyone in the industry has followed suit. ABY switchers like the Switchbone are not tube based, they are solid-state! During our tests, we noticed that adjusting the load to suit the pickup made a tremendous difference. It smoothed the tone and seemed to accentuate the feel. In fact, the effect was so convincing that we have been adding Drag™ control load correction to as many products as we can!
Baseline level adjustment
In 2013, we developed a power booster called the Elevator™. The concept came from guitarists asking us to replicate the power booster that was in the original Switchbone with a few more features. One of the unique features in the Elevator was the ability to set the Class-A buffer slightly hotter in order to give the guitar amp more sizzle or have your single coil pickup as loud as your humbucker. We called it the Baseline™ setting. This is particularly effective with small tube amps or vintage amps that do not have a hot enough front end. You can of course still push the signal harder for solos using the power booster.
Silent optical switching
The most common type of guitar amp switcher is the 'true-bypass' type as is found in the Tonebone BigShot ABY™. These employ a simple mechanical footswitch making them very affordable. Tone purists love true-bypass switchers as they do not alter the tone of the guitar. (Keep in mind that adding non-true-bypass pedals in front of a true-bypass switcher actually negates the benefits as the effect pedal's buffer is now effectively rendering the circuit active.) Lengthening the cable will also introduce a capacitive effect which will dull the high-end response. The problem with true-bypass switchers is that they can produce loud pops when switching, particularly when using high-gain amps. The Switchbone V2 employs opto-couplers that can be set to ramp up and ramp down the audio signal to eliminate the pop. High quality opto-couplers are expensive, but they do a marvelous job at transferring the signal without introducing artefact.
Transformer isolation, ground lift and phase
If you have ever tried connecting two amps together, you have likely experienced a loud uncontrollable hum and buzz. This is caused by what is commonly known as a ground loop. The electrical ground or third prong on your amp is tied together at the electrical box. When you connect the two amps together with guitar cables, you are adding a ground lift. A ground lift breaks this connection, while transformer isolation further separates the two outputs, mitigating buzz and hum caused by ground loops.
ABY or ABC stage setups
The original Switchbone ABY was designed to work with two amps. Over the years, we received numerous requests to make a switcher that would allow the user to select between three different amps. We put the challenge to our engineering department and they came up with a solution: Allow the tuner out to be assigned either for quiet onstage tuning, or as a third output using the Both footswitch. So depending on your setup needs, you can have two amps playing separately or in tandem, or have three amps lined up at the ready. When in ABY mode, the tuner output is always on. When in ABC mode, the tuner becomes a third amp output. Bright full size LED indicators provide instant visual feedback for greater on-stage efficiency.
Power booster options
One of the unique attributes with the Switchbone V2 is the built-in +18dB power booster. It is 100% discrete Class-A and can be set as a clean boost that, when activated, increases the output to all the amps for soloing. You can take things a step further by also increasing the mid-range content by 12dB to add sustain. This is particularly useful when using single coil pickups. It is important to note that the guitar lives in the mid-range. So if you intend to have your solos cut through the rest of the noise on stage, make sure you have plenty of mid-range content coming out of your Marshall®! For gigs where you may be playing rhythm guitar, you can also set the Boost footswitch to mute for silent on-stage tuning.
Slingshot remote control
Guitarists hate MIDI. It is not that they do not appreciate it, but for most of us players, we just want to plug in and rule the stage. But as our needs and demands change, ideas emerge and next thing you know you want to switch from one amp to the other and activate a digital effects device at the same time. Radial invented the Slingshot™ remote control for this reason. Slingshot is, in its simplest form, a basic contact closure just like a footswitch. And just as a footswitch can switch channels on an amp or turn on a reverb, the Slingshot output can perform the same function. The advantage here is that you can have the Slingshot jump into action at the same time as you hit the power booster or switch from amp-A to amp-B. The Slingshot interface is found on many Tonebone products including the Headbone™ head switcher, the Cabbone™ cabinet selector and the Twinline™ effects loop router. It is as easy to use as connecting a guitar cable and can elevate your performance forever!
Radial-Tough construction
As with all Radial products, these are proudly made in Canada from 14-gauge steel to withstand the abuse of professional touring. This means that when you stomp on the Switchbone, the metal will not bend under stress which means that the sensitive printed circuit board inside will not torque. Those in the know are aware that 95% of all product failures are due to connector failure and cold solder joints. These manifest themselves when the PC board twists. We also employ the very best quality switches we can find along with steel shaft potentiometers that are encased in steel for maximum durability. As our customers are among the most demanding on the planet, we pride ourselves in building the very best product possible.
- PREAMPS