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Sound Sculpture was founded in 1986 on what
was to become an unrelenting mission to create the world's
finest effect and audio routing systems. Here is a synopsis of
our product history on the long road to achieving that end.
The Blue Wind Switching Box
This simple stomp box was our first product. It had one
input for guitar and two outputs that connected to two amplifiers. A momentary
pushbutton switch allowed the guitar signal to silently switch from one
amplifier to another using FET switching. Each channel had its own high gain
preamp (up to 32 dB of boost) with separate gain controls for each channel and
an LED to indicate which channel was on.
This box was only sold locally to artists in the Boulder
area and when word caught on we ended up selling quite a few of these things.
This product was discontinued in 1988 as they were costing us more to build then
were were selling them for. After doing some simple math we realized that if we
sold enough of these, we'd go broke! List price $39.00
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The Programmable Effect Patch model PEP-3 (floor model) and
model PEPR-3 (rack system)
After 2 years in development we introduced our first serious
product family at the 1988 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim. These units were
developed to allow a guitarist to integrate up to 3 effects devices. Both units
had a single input for the instrument, 2 outputs to connect to amplifiers and 3
effect loops to connect to stomp boxes or rack effects.
This system was the only switching system of its kind that
allowed the user to string the effects in series in any order, mix the effects
in parallel, or do combinational networks such as sending the signal through one
effect first, splitting the output of the effect and then sending the signal to
the other 2 effects in parallel before going to the amplifier all with
programmable gain and without touching a single cord.
This ability to patch the effects together in any
conceivable way became a staple of our product line that continues to this day.
The PEP-3 was discontinued in 1990 as MIDI devices were taking the market by
storm and well....our system didn't have MIDI. Later on we did add an optional
MIDI daughter board but we knew it was time to get back to the drawing board.
List price PEP-3 $329.00. PEPR-3 (including footswitch) $388.00.
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The MIDI Crosspatch model MC-8
In early 1991 we began shipping the most powerful effect
switching system of its time, the MIDI Crosspatch. As you may have guessed we
wanted everyone to know that this unit was MIDI literate (hence the name). But
the real power of the MC-8 lay much deeper. This system was the first (and only)
effect switching system to implement a True Matrix Design which meant anything
could be connected to anything, anyway you like. Unlike the PEP series which had
a dedicated instrument input and amplifier output, the MC-8 matrix allowed
multiple instruments and multiple amplifiers to be connected to any of its 8
inputs and 8 outputs right along side the effects. With this type of matrix not
only could all the effects be patched together any way you care to imagine but
signals could also be tapped at different parts of the effect network, mixed
with other effects and with new gain levels and sent to different amplifiers. If
you had 4 amps connected, each could get a sound from a different part of the
effects network creating amazing new sonic possibilities.
The MC-8 also had full control over the gain of each patch
which meant you could control the level of the signal both going to an effect as
well as the level returning from the effect. The importance of this becomes
evident when you realize that the characteristics of distortion devices and
preamps change when driven by different signal levels. The MC-8 was our first
truly successful product and is still used by musicians around the world. It was
discontinued in late 1993 to make way for the even more amazing Switchblade 16.
The list price for the MC-8 was $899.00
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The Switchblade 16 (The Ultimate System)
This product was originally going to be called the "Advanced
Continuous True-Matrix Programmable Audio-Routing-and-Mixing MIDI-Literate
Signal-Switching System". We thought the name was a tad confusing and when a
friend who knows nothing about music was asked, she said "What's it do?". When
told "Well...it switches things.", her single word response, "Switchblade",
became the name of the product.
Although the MC-8 was an amazing device and still ahead of
it's time in many ways, it was not yet the ultimate system. For one thing, eight
ins and outs were simply not enough. With the coming of age of stereo signal
processors that have 2 in's and 2 out's and with many musicians using 2, 3 or
more amplifiers on stage and switching between guitars and other instruments,
the I/O's on the MC-8 were quickly filled. So we knew the optimum system would
have to go to 16 inputs and outputs. The MC-8 also exhibited a short (15ms) but
nevertheless present drop-out when switching between presets to rewire the
patches. If you were in the middle of a power chord and switched presets, the
short dropout could easily be heard. The ultimate system would not only switch
patches and adjust gains instantly but it would also not interrupt patches that
happen to be the same when switching between presets (many thanks to Trey Gunn
for coming up with this suggestion during the design stage).
This was not an
easy task considering the number of ways the matrix could patch things together.
With a considerable amount of engineering finesse we were able to incorporate
these features into the Switchblade16. But it still wasn't enough. The one thing
that was still missing in our past switching systems that was a must for the
ultimate system was continuous control. Use presets to completely rewire and
balance the levels of the effects but then use MIDI continuous controllers to crossfade
between effects or swell levels within a preset. We weren't sure if this could
even be done but became obsessed with the challenge of making it happen. Sure
enough, it took dozens of designs scratched on scrap paper that later ended in
the trash, until one design was born that could be integrated within the heart
of the matrix with no compromises in sound quality or performance. Inspired by
this leap in switching system design, we decided to top off this system by
leaving nothing out. So a bright new LCD display was added, programmable relays
to turn on and off amp reverb and overdrive, high level firmware to allow full
remote control by computer for the project studio, very user friendly menus,
greater bandwidth and audio levels, lower distortion and on and on.
We shipped the first Switchblade-16 in August 1993 and it quickly proved to be
our hottest selling switching system. In mid summer 1998, after a long and
illustrious career production of the Switchblade-16 ceased to make way for the
even more amazing Switchblade GL.
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The Studio Switchblade (The Ultimate System...Take Two)
In the fall of 1995, we introduced a sister version of the
Switchblade 16 that was designed primarily for the recording studio and live
sound venues where higher audio levels and hefty line drive capability is
required. This model is identical in every respect to the Switchblade 16 except
it has balanced inputs and outputs and operates at levels up to 19dBu. The 8
relay outputs (footswitch simulators) were also removed as these are not needed
for the intended applications. And lastly, a VU metering system was added. The
Studio Switchblade design has proven to be a best seller for audio applications
in theme parks, audio art shows, performing theaters, shopping malls, and flight
simulators among others. The Studio Switchblade was discontinued in 2003
and will be replaced with a high level version of the GL before the end of the
year.
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The New Switchblade GL (successor to the Switchblade-16)
It's awfully tough to improve upon an award winning design,
but with balanced gear becoming more prevalent with guitarists we just had to
offer a Switchblade designed for both balanced and unbalanced gear at the signal
levels typically used by guitarists. In addition, we also wanted the new system
to have the high impedance inputs that were available on the Switchblade-16.
Thus was born the Switchblade GL. (No, GL does not stand
for Great Looking although the yellow and red silkscreen is a nice touch). As it turns out,
the GL has some design improvements that take it beyond our original goal. First
of all, we were able to increase the input impedance to a very high 1 megohm.
This is way beyond the Switchblade 16's 150K impedance. With this new input, it
is possible to plug high-Z devices such as piezo pickups and high-Z microphones
directly into the GL. More importantly, the higher impedance virtually
eliminates any loading on guitar pickups to enhance crispness and transparency.
Secondly, the new channel design completely eliminates all DC offsets within the
matrix. This reduces switching noise when changing presets to an unprecedented
level (much lower than even the super quiet switching of the Switchblade-16)
Thirdly, the VU metering system on the Studio Switchblade is now standard on the
GL as well, giving you visual indication of the audio level of each input
channel to optimize signals throughout your system. Finally, the signal level
structure of the matrix was tweaked to improve signal noise and switching noise
even further.
All in all we are very proud of the new GL and very
excited about having succeeded in bringing guitar switching systems to a new
level of performance. The GL is truly the most remarkable system in the world.
And it's still the same price as the original Switchblade-16!!
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