DACS HeadLine Guitar Switcher
When preparing for a new album, guitarists really need a fast and reliable way to compare and reconfigure their many amplifiers and cabinets without the lengthy process of manually swapping cables. Accurate comparisons between the different combinations are near impossible and the time taken between setup changes interrupts workflow. Our design solution to this problem allows the guitarist and producer to sit in the control room sweet spot and remotely configure the amp collection in seconds; they can achieve in a morning what had often in the past taken up to two days or more.
Description
The DACS HeadLine allows you to connect 8 amplifiers and 4 speaker cabinets. From there, you can select any connected amplifier and route it to a speaker or, if desired, two speakers simultaneously.
The HeadLine automatically detects whether loudspeakers are connected and only allows you to select channels which have speakers connected.
The HeadLine is packaged as two 1U rack enclosures. The first unit houses the user interface for the guitarist or engineer and the second unit is a relay switching box that sits next to the amplifiers. The units connect with a standard RJ45 network cable for easy routing and cable management.
The digitally-controlled relay switching ensures amp loads are maintained and the guitar input is muted during switching. The illuminated switches on the user interface indicate clearly which amp and speaker(s) are selected.
User Interface/Selector Unit
The HeadLine selector unit has 12 illuminated buttons, 8 red and 4 blue. The red buttons are for selecting guitar amplifiers and the blue for selecting loudspeaker cabinets. The loudspeaker connections are continuously monitored. This ensures that there is a functioning loudspeaker present and there is no short or open circuit.
When routing, available speaker outputs will be shown by a dimly lit switch. Unavailable outputs will not be illuminated.
To label each amplifier and cabinet we use a Neodymium magnetic strip set into the case, onto which white magnetic labels are placed (we supply pre-cut strips with a whiteboard pen in a drawstring bag). The strips are cut to size. We have supplied extra labels, so you can keep a collection of prewritten labels or printed tape labels ready for use on a new session.
Relay Switcher Unit
The HeadLine switcher unit switches all screens/0V lines with the signal lines ensuring total isolation between amplifiers, and total fidelity of transmission.
On unselected amplifier inputs, the signal and screen are linked (like a ‘silent switch’ jack) to ensure there is no hum or other interference picked up by the amplifier. Unselected amplifier outputs are connected to a dummy load to ensure that sensitive valve output stages are not compromised.