Channel switching
The ability of an amplifier to move between two or more independent preamp voices, usually by a footswitch.
Channel switching lets a player go from a clean rhythm sound to a distorted lead sound without changing pedals or settings, which made multichannel designs standard once bands wanted both in one song. The channels may be genuinely separate circuits, or different voicings of the same preamp with separate gain and volume controls. Switching can be relay-based and silent or, in simpler designs, audible as a click, and it is one reason modern amplifiers carry more valves than vintage ones.
Example: A guitarist who steps on a footswitch to change from a clean verse to a distorted chorus is using channel switching.
See also
Related
- PageFootswitch
- PagePreamp
- PageMaster volume
- PageAmp in a box
- PageAmp stand
- PageAttenuator
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley