Boss electronic switching...

[greysun]

... okay, hear me out! hehe.

I've been working on an Arduino powered programmable effects switcher for years - I've been tinkering with relays and quick muting and could never get that signature relay "pop" to fully go away.

I recently did a VFE build, which used the quiet clipping board, and was thinking something like that could be cool, but I'm not familiar with that chip or its ins/outs and wanted to see if there was a less proprietary option first...

But then I also just did a DS-1 mod/re-house and am looking into ways of making it true bypass now. Lots of folks don't like Boss' switching system because it uses in and out buffers - but looking at the diagram here on page 3, it seems like you could easily replicate the switching system and just not include the buffers.

Since I know I can't be the first person to piece this together, lol, I MUST be missing something. Is there still some affecting notions in the signal? or are the transistors not as good of a connection and therefore NEED the buffers in order to properly work?

Attached is a closer look at the switch portion of the diagram (missing is Q6 and Q7, which would route the in and out signal).

There's surprisingly little I'm finding doing internet search (something I'm not great at in the first place) that isn't just talking about the buffer disdain. The boss switch was always immediately responsive and never had any pop or anything for me, and the parts seem to still be available, so... If anyone has insight, let me know!

As always, thank you in advance!

[greysun]

Apologies, all... Seems I'm just bad at internet search - I was searching for Boss electronic switching when I should have been looking for JFET switching.

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=131642.0
https://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?t=28714

*sigh* BUT - I think I might A/B test this switching method a bit just to learn more about it, but it appears to be more effort than not to make it work WITHOUT a buffer. In the DIY stomp boxes link, the very last statement explains (if I'm reading it right) that the buffer brings up the impedance such that the switching can happen reliably without any glitches - without the buffer, getting the right mix of parts is tough when accounting for signal discrepancies in different scenarios it seems.

I'll keep doing my research... sorry for the bother! "Hey Timmy, can you help me print this PDF?" ;-)

[NorthCoast]

If you haven't already seen it, you might find this interesting:

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/cd4053/cd4053.htm

[greysun]

If you haven't already seen it, you might find this interesting:

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/cd4053/cd4053.htm

Hadn't seen this, no... I'm intrigued! Thanks for sharing!

In quick looking, that chip is outdated/obsolete - TI has a newer version that works with less power (5v vs. 9, but might require extra parts to filter down) and supposedly has faster switching (which, may or may not be an issue with a pop/noise - I could probably also find that old chip without issue at mouser or something compatible).

Found a string where someone created a buffered version of this that worked, so maybe I'll figure out the varied part needs and breadboard a non-buffered version to test. Really I just wanna learn and see what's what...

Should be noted I have no issue with buffers in theory, but even with short cables direct vs. into any Boss pedals I've had/have I can hear a distinct tone color that I'm not super into...

At any rate - thank you for this!

[NorthCoast]

Let us know what you come up with, I'm really curious about solid-state switching options.