The Relays - Fractal Audio FX8 Owner's Manual

4 : THE RELAYS

IMPORTANT!
The relays of the FX8 are designed for use ONLY with amplifiers that use "short-to-sleeve"
type switching. Do NOT connect the FX8 relays to the switch jacks of an amp that uses voltage differential
switching or any other type of switching aside from short-to-sleeve, or serious damage can occur to both
units. If you are not 100% sure, contact your amp manufacturer to determine whether your amp is
compatible with short-to-sleeve switching. The FX8 relay jacks are compatible with TRS cables, TS cables,
or TRS-to-dual-TS split cables. The relays are also fully isolated from the electrical ground of the FX8.
The FX8 features two TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) relays that can be used to switch the channel or other
functions of a connected amplifier or device. If the warning above seems stern, that's because the last thing
we want is for anyone to damage their amp or FX8. In fact, short-to-sleeve relay switched amps are quite
common, and your amp may well be perfectly compatible. We need to trust and require you however, to
understand how your amp works and make the right choices about connecting it to the FX8 relay jacks.
Your amp manufacturer should be able to help if you read them the warning above.
An answer to the Frequently Asked Question "What is TRS?" appears on
CONTROLLING THE RELAYS...
You can control each relay with your choice of a footswitch or per-scene programming.
 To control a relay with a Footswitch, you must insert a RELAY BLOCK into your preset. The next section
covers building presets with blocks. See
 You can also program any Scene to control the relays.
"To Set Relay States For a Scene . . . " on page
See
Regardless of how an FX8 relay is controlled, it can be switched to any of the following states:
Setting What's Connected?
OFF
Nothing.
TIP Tip to Sleeve.
RING
Ring to Sleeve.
BOTH Tip AND Ring to Sleeve.
WHAT IS A RELAY?
or deactivated by a circuit (the FX8 in this case) to make or break a connection in a
different circuit (your amp). The FX8 uses fast, quiet, high-quality relays. Each one contains two discrete
switches and is able to make all of the connections shown in the table above.
"The Relay Block" on page
37.
A relay is an electrically operated switch. It is activated
19
4 : tHe reLayS
page 17.
43.