Startouch A/b/y

[Bludave]

Well I finally ordered my startouch A/B/Y pedal. I had heard about it from Terry (Puckboy99). About a year ago and just never took the time to order it. Well my Morley is on its last legs so I ordered it yesterday.

I had a few questions about the different models so I contacted Tony via Email and outlined all my questions. He suggested I call him so we could talk about it. I didn't feel I needed to speak with him. The major question I had was about powering it with a One spot and he told me it should not be a problem. So I ordered it on his website.

About 9:00 last night I get a phone call from him stating that he already finished making the pedal and he just shipped it. We than proceeded to chat about guitars and amps for nearly an hour. What a cool guy. He went through all the specs (which are way over my head) and wanted to know how I planned on using it and what amps I was using as well as what guitars I will be playing. The point of all of this is I had already decided a while ago that he made a great pedal and it was the one I would eventually buy, ( based on information I gathered here),but this kind of service is just unheard of in business today. I told him that I was shocked that he was taking the time to go through this with me. He said I believe in contacting all my customers when I can.

Bottom line is I have not recieved the pedal yet, but I have no doubt it will be a great product with this kind of service. If anyone is looking to buy a A/B/Y this is the guy to get it from.... period!

http://www.startouchpedals.com/order.html

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=119113

I hope you ordered the model with isolated grounds.

Edit:
Yuh know... I looked at his site. He might be a great guy and all, but he's heavy on the hoo-ha. 9 volt for LEDs only = passive switching, meaning he's wiring up a 3PDT toggle switch in a box. Granted, it's a nice looking box.

The 20Hz - 20kHz frequency response looks really impressive. Well, it's a switch! What is there to muck up the frequency response? And his special 18 and 16 gauge wire? I defy anybody to hear the difference the 6 inches of wire in that box makes, when the guitar is patched into the amp through a pair of 15-foot guitar cords.

Nowhere does he mention ground loops, which are going to be a problem in any two-amp setup unless isolation is provided buy some sort of transformer. I can see how he could get an isolated-ground A/B box to work with just a switch, but the "Y" function will be ground-loop-city.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

Rich, you're obviously more electronically savvy than I am....I have no idea what all that meant... but I do know I haven't had any issues at all with my Startouch A/B or A/B/Y box.

That said, I HAVE heard of some people getting the "ghost notes" off of the amp that wasn't selected ie. you can hear your playing coming out of the amp that ISN'T selected, when using the A/B/Y as an A/B box.

 

[these_go211]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

tony from startouch is an interesting guy. after i already bought my a/b/y box he and i did an email exchange for awhile simply talking about guitars, music, etc. when i told him i lived in san fran for 10 years he sent me a picture of himself on stage in san fran back in the 70s.

the thread rich mentioned was started by me. luckily due to rich's advice (as well as a few others) my ground loop problem was solved. but yea, it could be an issue with a multiple amp setup.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

I am using a multi amp set up, and Tony explained to me that the Ghost notes as Terry mentioned could be an issue. He clearly indicated that if I had any trouble to contact him. I am currently using a Morley A/B/y. I wanted to solve 3 basic issues. 1 was to be able to power it with my current power supply. 2 was to solve the problem of bad switching (sometimes the Morley seems to only switch part of the way), and 3 was to prevent "bleed" from one side to the other. I believe his pedal will do it. I will keep everybody posted. Bottom line is I am not looking to use this in a studio I am looking to use this in a live situation. I am happy with my decision.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

I unfortunately I cant afford Pete's Cornish unit, looks like this will be the guy once I decide to get a pre-amp for AOR loop or just little floor pre-amp for the cleans as well in the efx loop.

 

[drjones]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

Rich, you seem like you know what your talking about. I;ve been using the a/b/y pedal for a bit now, and one thing i notice with it is when switch from one amp to the other, sometimes i get a 'pop' sound, similar to if i had touched the end of the guitar lead plugged into an amp. The longer the time on one amp, the louder the pop when i switch back. Any ideas?

Cheers

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

I bought two of them earlier in the year and they worked when I recieved them, I would say they are not much better than the Morleys that I had and sold. When one amp was off, it still bled through like you've got the guitar volume on 2 or 3. Louder than the Morley where you could hear it if the other amp was turned down, but once turned up, wouldn't be an issue. Both units do this. I had another issue, but I don't remember what it was. I contacted Tony and he said I should send them back, but I've so many other bigger things going on, I keep forgetting to. Seems odd that both of them did it though. I used no less than seven different amps in all different combinations, and all different cords with each. Same thing every time.

Tony is a really stand up guy and urged me to send them back so he could check them out. My bad for not doing it yet. The work on the inside is really clean and well done, so either he got some faulty parts or this is just the way the unit works.

EDIT: The other issue was a loud pop when switching two distorted amps, which the Morleys didn't give me.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

I have a similar loud pop problem with my Rocktron Short Timers. Those switching pops are usually caused by differing DC voltage levels across coupling caps. It's easy to fix, usually with a single 1-meg resistor, but you need to look at the schematic(s) to figure out exactly where it needs to go.

In my case, I know exactly where to put the resistor, but getting the pedals off my board is such a PITA that I haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

Well I received the pedal and it does work fine, but I do get a little bleed. About the same as I did with the Morley. The condition has to be right. If I am playing thru one amp, I have to have a lot of gain on the "2nd" amp before I can hear it. Tony did tell me that this was a possibility, so I guess I was warned. I have already contacted him. He told me to reach out to him by phone and he will give me some things to test. The bleed does seem to be a tad louder in this than in the Morley, but my signal appears to be cleaner with the Startouch. He did tell me that he does have an upgraded model that my solve it. I will keep you informed. Its a nice pedal, but if the bleed problem can't be solved I will send it back.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Startouch A/b/y

Well THAT sucks....I wonder why I haven't had these problems?

I guess I should just consider myself lucky