Fender Switchboard Effects Operator – Control your Stompboxes
Fender announces stereo control for your favourite effect pedals
4,2 / 5,0 | 
The Fender Switchboard Effects Operator has been revealed as part of its pre-NAMM 2024 lineup of new gear for the coming year. Designed in collaboration with Ron Menelli, the world-renowned loop-switching expert.
Switchboard Effects Operator
Fender’s Switchboard Effects Operator is a potentially great product for pedal addicts. Or anyone who has a more complex stompbox setup on their pedalboard. The new control center was created in collaboration with Ron Menelli, who is known for the excellent RJM Music Mastermind Switcher. It features five stereo, true-bypass effects loops, which users can easily arrange in any order.
The compact unit has a user-friendly LCD screen which is used to navigate banks of customised patch setups that users can create themselves. This is navigated via an encoder knob, for simple navigation.
Source: Fender
Signal Path
Ultimately, the signal path remains purely analog. The order and bypass status of one or all of the effects can be freely selected due to the digital control.
MIDI Control and more
The implementation of MIDI allows control messages in more complex digital setups and will allow the Switchboard to integrate into more complex modeling units as well. I like that they have included a footswitch jack for various functions, including amp channel switching or setting tempos on analog delays, etc
Plus, Fender has included an internal volume pedal in the unit’s signal chain, and this can be preset or externally controlled via an expression pedal.
Source: Fender
No More Tap Dancing
A Loop Mode consolidates turning on/off five effects and an external footswitch to one location. Allowing users to press one button to control the lot and avoid any potential mistakes whilst they play.
Source: Fender
Extra Features
Fender has included a built-in tuner, 500 presets, USB-C and MIDI connectivity, an expression pedal input, and footswitch output. Plus, switchable high-fidelity input and output buffers.
Verdict
This all makes this new switcher system a very versatile unit. This could potentially dent the sales of products like the popular GigRig Atom G3. Certainly, one to check out this year if you have a lot of pedals in your rig.
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