CARL MARTIN
OCTASWITCH
PRODUCT REVIEW
BY JORDAN WAGNER
If there is one thing that guitar players with a
lot of pedals hate, it’s the need to precisely
tap dance all over their pedalboard just to
produce the sound that they’re after. Having
multiple pedals of different shapes and sizes
can also create the hazard of mistakenly turning on the wrong effect at the wrong time,
due to cramming all of them into the smallest
amount of real estate possible. And finally,
after years of searching and experimenting,
when you’ve filled your pedalboard with
every effect you’ve searched for and you’re
ready to create that sound you’ve been after
for so long, you find that multiple internal
buffers in so many circuits is killing the
strength of your signal.
The Carl Martin Company aims to help
resolve these issues with one of their newest
creations: the Octaswitch. At around twenty
inches long, the slender board attempts to
take the place of your pedal-dancing system
completely, by presenting eight conveniently
laid-out switches that can be programmed
to activate multiple effects at the same time.
At the top of the device lies a primary input
for your instrument, eight effect send and
returns, dual mono outputs (which is a very
nice touch), and a switch to activate an internal buffer. Carl Martin decided that since
your signal could conceivably be processed,
morphed, and mangled by as many as eight
effects, it would probably be a good idea to
put in an internal buffer circuit to eliminate
signal degradation. The sheer size of the
device commands some floor space, but if
you’re already using a pedalboard that houses as many pedals as the Octaswitch was
designed to handle, that doesn’t seem like it
would be a huge issue.
The Octaswitch can be powered by an external regulated power supply or by two 9V bat-
teries, which are easily installed in the underside of the unit. Programming the device is
extremely simple. Above each switch lies an
array of eight mini DIP switches, each wired
to their respective loops at the top of the
unit. You simply choose the effects that you
want to use when the switch is pressed, slide
their corresponding switches up, and stomp
away. A bright, nicely lit blue LED notifies
you of which relay is active.
Being an effects junkie myself, I’ve always
dreamed of a device like this, something
that’s easy to use, sounds good and is affordable. Gigging musicians can always dream of
having giant rack switching systems at their
disposal to create the sounds that they’ve
always desired, but being able to afford
one is a dream entirely of its own. Now with
the capability in my hands (or near my feet,
rather), I eagerly connected some of my
favorite effects to each of the loops: a Z.Vex
Ringtone, Electro-Harmonix HOG, Sustain
Punch Creamy Dreamer (a Big Muff clone),
an old Ibanez FL9 flanger and AD9 analog
delay, and a Fulltone OCD. Before setting
any of the switches, I set the internal buffer
to the off position. The first switch was set to
activate only the OCD and the delay, which
were set to a standard blues-rock tone with
a slight slapback delay. All of the response
that I have come to expect from the OCD
was there with no noticeable degradation,
and the delay was still the same clean, warm
echo that I’ve adored since I got the AD9
years ago.
Switching between different programs was
very silent with no popping or crackling,
which has been an evident problem in a lot
of switching relay units in the past. After a
certain amount of conservative experimenting, I realized that I had a very versatile tool
in front of me, capable of mixing and matching effects in ways that I’ve always been hesitant to try because it would be such a huge
pain to duplicate live. I then programmed
one of the switches to mix the Ringtone
and the HOG with a long delay, which was a
really wild sound—almost as if Gary Numan
was coming out of my amp. It was really a
great feeling to be able to command such a
unique, surprising tone with the stomp of a
single switch. I can say with certainty that the
Octaswitch could completely change the way
that you think about your effects.
Buy If...
you want a clean, organized solution to switching multiple effects
on and off at once.
Skip If...
you only use a few effects in moderation—the Octaswitch would
probably not be an improvement
to your rig.
Rating...
4. 5
Carl Martin
MSRP $340
carlmartin.com
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