Lehle VS. SwitchBone

[rastaman]

I've never played through either but have noticed:


Switchbone: Has lot's of cool features, uses opto couplers instead of relays, has pcb mounted components.

Lehle: Uses gold plated contacts on relays, lacking features, seems indestructible.

Any input???


Edit:

Gosh! I just did a search and read all the threads. This is a tuff decision. It seems it depends mostly on what I want. The Lehle is simple and effective w/ one less click. The SwitchBone has lot's of cool features w/ one more click and doesn't appear to be made as well.

 

[Sean Doty]

Not to throw a monkey wrench in your decision making process, but you may also want to check out Startouch stuff....

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

 

[Josh O]

I voted Switchbone only because I have one. I never got to try a Lehle but I understand they are great as well. The Switchbone does a great job eliminating hum/ground loop and the boost function is great for knocking an amp ready to break up into the next level or to add a little sizzle to your OD. I love it.

 

[rastaman]

Thanks ORF, I looked at those. I like the LED's w/ the magnifying lenses and it looks like it's built sturdy. I did read a couple of people say it was noisy though. Do you have experience w/ one? I want a quiet, reliable unit.

 

[rastaman]

Originally posted by Josh O
I voted Switchbone only because I have one. I never got to try a Lehle but I understand they are great as well. The Switchbone does a great job eliminating hum/ground loop and the boost function is great for knocking an amp ready to break up into the next level or to add a little sizzle to your OD. I love it.

The SB looks cool and has a lot of neat features. The only thing that bothers me about it is the fact that the switches that one stomps on are mounted on a PCB. I wouldn't want the PCB to flex every time I switch it.

 

[Josh O]

Haven't run into a problem yet and I am a lead foot too. The Switchbone is very quiet, I imagine the Lehle is too. The Startouch pedals look cool but I also read where some people had noise issues. My personal experience is passive A/B boxes will suffer from ground loop noise. Both the Switchbone and Lehle have isolation transformers built in to actively eliminate ground loop noise/hum. I experienced this problem first hand when I had Dave at Loooper build me a custom A/BY box. Very well made, did the switching as I wanted, serious ground loop hum. It was so bad that I tried Ebtech Hum-X hum eliminators one each of my amps and the surge suppressor that powered them and it was still there. It wasn't until I tried the Switchbone that all of my problems went away.

 

[rastaman]

Originally posted by Josh O
Haven't run into a problem yet and I am a lead foot too. The Switchbone is very quiet, I imagine the Lehle is too. The Startouch pedals look cool but I also read where some people had noise issues. My personal experience is passive A/B boxes will suffer from ground loop noise. Both the Switchbone and Lehle have isolation transformers built in to actively eliminate ground loop noise/hum. I experienced this problem first hand when I had Dave at Loooper build me a custom A/BY box. Very well made, did the switching as I wanted, serious ground loop hum. It was so bad that I tried Ebtech Hum-X hum eliminators one each of my amps and the surge suppressor that powered them and it was still there. It wasn't until I tried the Switchbone that all of my problems went away.

Cool. What are the dimensions of the SB? The L looks smaller but I'm not sure.

 

[mlynn02]

my vote is for switchbone. i've been using one problem free for about a year now. what sold me were the extra features that turned out to be quite useful. the drag feature is excellent, the gain/mid boost is very nice sounding and real handy, and the phase switch and ground lift are very practical features as well. the SB is a great switcher that does more than just switch!

 

[Rock Fella]

I have read / been told about the swtchbone and its nuthin short of 100% praise, its the one id most certainly go for.

 

[Terry Hayes]

LEHLE!!!! It is fantastic. I am sure the Switchbone is very good as well but I have never tried one.

The brightness of the lamps on the Lehle is an overlooked feature. They too use the magnifying lense so that you can see the lights in all conditions, even outdoors.

Another feature I like is that the buffer can be switched in and out on its own. This is great (as opposed to having to internally set the buffer either on or off) because there are times when I like the sound to be pristine and others when the high-end rolloff is welcome. Also, the buffer is extremely high quality - it sounds as good as the Axess buffer to me.

Terry

 

[Yek]

Great experience with the Lehle D.Loop. Very sturdy, good switches, good LEDs, good buffer, no noise. And MIDI-capable.

 

[Cody McLain]

I have and use the Lehle- same experiences as mentioned above. It works flawlessly and is built better than most other pedals I've owned. Either would do the job- just depends on if you want the extra features of the Switchbone. Less is more approach for me... Lehle.

 

[Seegs]

Originally posted by Terry Hayes
LEHLE!!!! It is fantastic. I am sure the Switchbone is very good as well but I have never tried one.

The brightness of the lamps on the Lehle is an overlooked feature. They too use the magnifying lense so that you can see the lights in all conditions, even outdoors.

Another feature I like is that the buffer can be switched in and out on its own. This is great (as opposed to having to internally set the buffer either on or off) because there are times when I like the sound to be pristine and others when the high-end rolloff is welcome. Also, the buffer is extremely high quality - it sounds as good as the Axess buffer to me.

Terry

Are you refering to the Lehle Dual...that is their A/B/Y switcher that is comparable to the Switchbone...it has no buffer at least mine doesn't have one and the description on the site advertises a pure signal path with no semiconductors...

in fact when you run two amps or channels in "Y" mode there is quite a bit of unwelcome high end rolloff due to the extra amount of cable...I run a Klon at the end of my chain which feeds the input of the Lehle... the Klons buffer is not perfectly neutral but does restore the high end...

My problem with the Switchbone is that you can either have the boost function or the tuner function avaliable on a footswitch but not both...since I paid for both features I want em both avaliable all the time which is why it's impractical for me for live use...not too mention its own rather big power supply...

I like the Lehle and use mine for channel switching my Fargen Dual Classic but I do need a buffer to make it sound right...

Chow,
Seegs

 

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by Seegs
Are you refering to the Lehle Dual...that is their A/B/Y switcher that is comparable to the Switchbone...it has no buffer at least mine doesn't have one and the description on the site advertises a pure signal path with no semiconductors...

in fact when you run two amps or channels in "Y" mode there is quite a bit of unwelcome high end rolloff due to the extra amount of cable...I run a Klon at the end of my chain which feeds the input of the Lehle... the Klons buffer is not perfectly neutral but does restore the high end...

My problem with the Switchbone is that you can either have the boost function or the tuner function avaliable on a footswitch but not both...since I paid for both features I want em both avaliable all the time which is why it's impractical for me for live use...not too mention its own rather big power supply...

I like the Lehle and use mine for channel switching my Fargen Dual Classic but I do need a buffer to make it sound right...

Chow,
Seegs

My mistake - I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize the SwitchBone was an A/B/Y switcher. Yes, the Lehle Dual is the comparable unit and, as you said, does not have a buffer.

Terry

 

[Seegs]

Darn I wish is would have been true I thought you might know something I didn't

I was just hoping for a Lehle with a switchable buffer...a really good buffer that has no side effects when "off or on" as then it would just about be perfect...

Chow,
Seegs

 

[Yek]

Originally posted by Terry Hayes
My mistake - I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize the SwitchBone was an A/B/Y switcher. Yes, the Lehle Dual is the comparable unit and, as you said, does not have a buffer.
Terry

The Lehle D.loop can switch two loops and has a buffer.

 

[Seegs]

Originally posted by Yek
The Lehle D.loop can switch two loops and has a buffer.

I'd love to see a really good switchable buffer incorporated into the Dual...

Chow,
Seegs

 

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by Seegs
Darn I wish is would have been true I thought you might know something I didn't

I was just hoping for a Lehle with a switchable buffer...a really good buffer that has no side effects when "off or on" as then it would just about be perfect...

Chow,
Seegs

Nope. Sorry, you were right. The only Lehle with a switchable buffer is the D. Loop which I suppose you could use to A/B 2 amps.

Terry

 

[rastaman]

But you couldn't use the Loop as a Y, could you?

 

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by rastaman
But you couldn't use the Loop as a Y, could you?

Yes, because the loops are independent, you can select both of them at the same time.

Terry