Summary of Contents for Sound Sculpture SWITCHBLADE ET
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SWITCHBLADE ET OWNER’S MANUAL Document OMSBET_10X211116B...
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Sound Sculpture shall not be liable for any consequential damage or loss of profits as a result of the use of this product even if Sound Sculpture is advised of the possibility of such damages or loss. In no event will Sound Sculpture's liability exceed the price paid for the product.
Congratulations on your purchase of the Switchblade ET. You now own a member of the most advanced effect switching systems available. The Switchblade ET has a wealth of features that will take time to learn. To get you up and running as quickly as possible, we’ll start things off by giving you 3 examples to try out at the beginning of this document which will get...
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SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE OPERATION ___________________________________________________ 26 FEATURE CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS SWITCHBLADE MODELS ______________________ 27 FRONT PANEL LED ARRAY _______________________________________________________________ 27 IN PLAY MODE __________________________________________________________________________________ 27 VU METER MENU (FROM PLAY MODE)_____________________________________________________________ 27 WHILE IN THE PATCHING MENU __________________________________________________________________ 27 REVIEW MENU __________________________________________________________________________________ 27 INPUT AND OUTPUT LINE/INSTRUMENT TRIM SETTINGS __________________________________ 28 INPUT TRIM _____________________________________________________________________________________ 28 OUTPUT TRIM ___________________________________________________________________________________ 28...
Remote operation through USB or a standard MIDI computer interface USES The Switchblade ET was designed around a versatile open architecture that allows an imaginative array of different ways to create simple or complex systems expanding your rig in ways you never dreamed. As you familiarize yourself with the Switchblade you may find yourself asking "Can I do this?"...
LAYOUT MIDI IN/OUT/THRU: This is an alternate MIDI IN jack for convenience and works the same as the MIDI IN on the back panel. Using a special connector, you can also tap off of the MIDI OUT/THRU function for special purposes. Phantom power is supplied on this jack as well. USB PORT: Standard USB type A connector to connect to a computer or iPad.
QUICK START To get you up and running as quickly as possible follow the steps in this section which describe connecting your gear (GEAR SETUP), doing some initial Switchblade setup (SWITCHBLADE SETUP), and finally programming a preset to hear sound (PRESET PROGRAMMING) It's assumed you are using a MIDI foot controller to select presets on the Switchblade.
PRESET PROGRAMMING For this section, 2 example presets will be programmed. Preset 1 will wire two effects in series and preset 2 will wire 2 effects in parallel. One guitar and one amp will be used. PRESET 1 If not in the play mode (green LED lit), repeatedly press the MENU button until you are. Once in play mode select preset 1 using the UP/DOIT or DOWN switch while the cursor is under the preset number.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT USING THE SWITCHBLADE Now that you've programmed two presets you have a great start in knowing how the Switchblade operates on a basic level. Using just the Preset Naming Menu and the Preset Patching Menu, you can create presets to wire up your effects and set the gain levels at all the connections.
PRESET NORMALIZING: This feature allows the user to instantly change the overall volume of a preset so that it matches the levels of other presets. Using this feature instantly re-programs the preset memory on the fly without having to enter any programming menu. This feature is activated using the footswitch manager menu.
VU METER LED AND BARGRAPH DISPLAY The front panel on the Switchblade ET sports 32 LEDs that constantly monitor the levels of all the inputs and outputs. This is a great troubleshooting aid if you have a bad cable and wish to monitor where the signal is getting lost. In addition, you can bring up a VU bar graph display where you can scroll to any of the inputs and outputs and accurately monitor the VU level of that input or output with a calibrated bar graph.
THE PLAY, PROGRAM SELECT, AND VU MENUS THE PLAY MENU The play menu is displayed during normal playing and shows whenever the green PLAY LED is lit. If the red PROG LED is lit, you can always return to the play menu by successively pressing the MENU button until the green LED lights. This menu displays: •...
Controller messages instead. These 4 buttons can then be used as instant access switches similar to those found on a MIDI foot controller PRESET LEVEL - When this function is selected the display shows: LEVEL_-xxdB where xx is the dB value representing the highest gain of any of the connections that are considered final output connections (see IN/OUT NAMING MENU).
THE PRESET MENU GROUP PRESET NAME MENU: Use this menu to give the preset a name of up to 12 characters. The available characters are A-Z, 0-9 and some symbols. You can clear the entire name row by pressing the UP and DOWN switch together (clear function). No other preset parameter is affected, only the name of the current preset is cleared.
5. If a gain range has been set (continuous control), the connection can then be assigned to a controller. The controllers that are available are MIDI Control Change numbers 0-7 (shown as CC x where x is 0-7), Autosweep A, B or C (shown as ASWPx where x is A, B or C), and Expression pedal 1 or 2 (shown as EXP1, and EXP2) and these labels will appear in the middle of the lower row.
Use this menu to transmit a burst of program messages to various MIDI effects when the preset is selected. Up to 16 MIDI Program change messages can be transmitted over the 16 available MIDI channels. To use this menu: Move the cursor under the EFFECT name (lower left) and use the UP/DOWN switches to select the effect that you wish to send a message to.
RELAY STATES Use this menu to set the state of each of the 6 relays that control your amp channel or reverb when this preset is selected. NOTE: THE OUTPUT TYPE (PULSE OR STEADY STATE) MUST BE SELECTED IN THE RELAY TYPE MENU (SETUP GROUP) TO DETERMINE IF THE RELAY WILL PULSE ONCE OR SIMPLY GO TO AN ON OR OFF STATE WHEN THE PRESET IS SELECTED.
NOTE: If you have a preset programmed with a One-Shot Switch and you wish to program that preset, you may find that when you select the preset with the intention of programming it, the preset will change on you (since that is what One Shot Switch does).
These trims should be set as part of your setup routine before first use if you want to match your gear levels to give you the best experience with creating sounds. The addition of this feature in the Switchblade ET gives the user the ability to connect both line level (studio gear) and instrument level (guitar stomp boxes) effects together without dealing with wildly differing levels between effects.
As this function is comprehensive, please refer to the separate section "Switchblade ET Smart Insert Feature User's Guide" for a detailed look at this powerful feature. MIDI CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT MENU: This menu is used to set the Switchblade MIDI channel number, to assign MIDI channels to any MIDI devices that are connected...
MIDI OUT ASSIGNMENT MENU: This menu is used to assign a MIDI channel and Control Change number to each of 7 labels that are used in the Preset Menu Group to allow transmission of various MIDI Control Change messages and, in the case of S1-S4 are used by the footswitch to transmit up to 4 instant access messages.
FOOTSWITCH ASSIGN MENU: The footswitch jack (labeled FTSW) on the ET accepts a 3-switch momentary footswitch (not supplied - see the appendix for acceptable footswitches). The switches are arranged from left to right and (may be) labeled MODE, DOWN, and UP. While in PLAY mode, you can use the mode switch to rotate around 8 different functions and then use the DOWN/UP switch to perform that function.
IMPORTANT NOTE: SINCE THIS FEATURE PERMANENTLY RE-PROGRAMS THE CURRENT PRESET, IT SHOULD BE USED ONLY TO FINE TUNE OVERALL LEVELS BETWEEN PRESETS AS PART OF THE PRESET PROGRAMMING PROCESS AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO ARBITRARILY CHANGE LEVELS DURING A PERFORMANCE.
This guarantees that presets are loaded into consecutive items and that there is never an empty item between two loaded items. You will always be able to tell if you are at the last item loaded if an asterisk (*) appears before the item number. 6.
NOTE: This menu only sets the way the relay will operate and not the actual activation of the relay which is done using the Relay State Menu (Preset Group) or by MIDI commands. See the MIDI message table at the end of this document to see the CC numbers required to control the relays using MIDI.
NOTE: A true expression pedal (with a linear pot, not a log pot) should be used for the expression pedal. Most volume pedals use log pots and should not be used. Using a volume pedal will not damage the unit but will cause data to be "bunched up" on one side of the pedal movement leading to an uneven volume curve when sweeping.
FOOTSWITCH SCHEMATIC The footswitch input (FTSW) is a TRS (stereo) 1/4" jack that can connect to a triple momentary footswitch. The recommended footswitch is a Digitech FS3X which as of this writing is available from Sweetwater Sound in the US (www.sweetwater.com). You can construct your own footswitch if you are handy with a soldering iron and some basic electrical knowledge.
FEATURE CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS SWITCHBLADE MODELS If you have used a previous model of the Switchblade series (Switchblade GL, 8B, 8, or 8F) then this section will orient you to the differences. You may only have to read this section to be up to date on the ET. FRONT PANEL LED ARRAY The front panel LED array consists of 32 bi-colored (red-green) LEDs.
INPUT AND OUTPUT LINE/INSTRUMENT TRIM SETTINGS New to the Switchblade ET is the ability to set the individual inputs and outputs to accommodate either line or instrument level signals. This much asked for feature makes it a simple matter to connect both line level effects/amps/instruments with instrument level effects/amps/instruments for the best gain staging.
FOOTSWITCH INPUT The footswitch input now accepts a 3 momentary switch mechanical footswitch which can be used to control the Switchblade ET without need for a MIDI foot controller or to add additional switches to your midi setup...
EXPANDED SYSEX COMMAND SET New SysEx commands have been added to greatly aid in communicating with the Switchblade ET for users who wish to control the Switchblade remotely using third party apps or for users that wish to develop their own editors to control the Switchblade.
MIDI CONTROL CHANGE AND PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES RESERVED CONTROLLER MESSAGES CONTROL MESSAGE TYPE DESCRIPTION CHANGE NUMBER ON/OFF TOGGLE RELAY 1 (OR PULSE IF SET TO PULSE TYPE) ON/OFF TOGGLE RELAY 2 (OR PULSE IF SET TO PULSE TYPE) ON/OFF TOGGLE RELAY 3 (OR PULSE IF SET TO PULSE TYPE) ON/OFF TOGGLE RELAY 4 (OR PULSE IF SET TO PULSE TYPE) ON/OFF...
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