Studio Amp Switching Project

[guitarnut]

As my amp collection grows and the studio shrinks, I decided it would be nice to have a signal switching system in place. This way I can leave all of the amps cabled and just power up the single or pair I want to use on a particular part.

So, first step was to design the circuit. It's pretty basic but allows for all combinations of left and right signal to go to any amp as well as an off position for each amp. I used a separate load resistor for each LED just to make sure I didn't overload anything in case 3 or 4 switches got turned on at the same time...this design will handle all switches at the same time.

The main ground is a buss that tags the ground on each signal jack as well as the negative terminal on the DC jack. Then it was just a matter of connecting each LED cathode to the buss by way of it's load resistor. The entire box is earthed thru the amp grounds by way of the signal.

I decided to change the DC voltage to 12vdc since I had a wall-wart laying in the drawer...no need to buy a new one. I also opted to use looms for DC, and left/right signal.instead of series jumpers from switch to switch. This way if one switch has an issue, it doesn't affect the others.

Here are some shots of the various stages of the build.

[guitarnut]

It came out pretty nice except for one small design flaw. I located the LEDs so they reach the near side of their respective switch. What I forgot to account for is that the switch, in either on position, lights the opposite set of contacts. So, when the switch is up, the lower LED lights and vice versa. No big deal. The option would be to make 12 little jumpers to reach the other side of the switches. I may go back and do that to have it to have it indicate properly.

I'm going to hook it up tonight and see if I have any ground loop issues between any of the amp combinations...fingers crossed.

Peace,

Mark

[kpcrash]

pretty cool

[guitarnut]

pretty cool

Thanks!

[guitarnut]

Hooked up to the X3 Live.