Radial BigShot ABY True-bypass Switch Pedal Reviews

ABY's are definitely not essential for everyone, but if you have several amps, it sure is fun to switch between them and blend them together from time to time. On stage, or just messing around in the studio, lots of fun. This thing is built like a tank. I've had some cheaper ones that I didn't use very much, and that ended up in the pedal pile. So far so good with this well built pedal. Thanks Radial

I used this to do guitar recordings on multiple amps and it worked perfectly. I had not hum or buzz, just clean signal. I wish it had 3 outputs! Other than that, it works as it's supposed to.

Works great. Thanks Stephan Gray and Sweetwater

This pedal does what I hoped it would do. It is very well built. I have had no added noise even using the foot switches. This was a good purchase. Thanks Steve Gray for your advice and Sweetwater your quality service.

I did a ton of research on what unit I would use. I found that I had more options and a better chance using the BigShot of eliminating unwanted noise. With others that seems to be a common issue at times. I run stereo bass two Fender Rumble 800's. I run the same volume on each stage. All controls are set and never touched. But like most there is a slight signal drop when you activate both. I just increased my gain very little and it accounted for the drop. As for tone (most important) it sounds great.

I'm running Quilter SuperBlock UK and US in stereo to a 4x12 cab. Using an On Stage A/B/Y switch, I had a high frequency oscillation whenever I turned up the gain on either amp. I heard about the Radial BigShot and contacted my Sales Engineer, Ian Angle, who reassured me the Radial BigShot would solve my problem. He was right!

For my rig I have to have the GND set to Lift, the POL set to POL and the ISO set to ON. Life is good!

I have multiple amps and I wanted to be able to switch between 2 amps or use them both at the same time. This does that perfectly. The sounds I'm able to get by combining amps, along with the stereo effects are great! Thanks as always to Sales Engineer Drake Sobehrad for the great recommendation!

This pedal does exactly what I wanted it to do. It is a very solid pedal well built. There is no added noise whatsoever even using the pedal foot switches. This was a good purchase. Thanks Sweetwater your service is appreciated.

After utilizing simple A/B boxes for my amp and effects chain switching. I had far too much noise and I needed a better solution. The Radial Bigshot is perfect. It fixed my amp polarity issues and I can't hear a change in the signal. Plus, with the LED's it's super easy to see my signal path on a dark stage. Completely happy, no brainer buy again solution.

Quiet switching. Works great.

This pedal cured my problem right away,,no more noise or buzz like I was getting from the Morley switcher pedals. I am very pleased with this product.

Was having some ground / polarity issues running 2 amps at the sane time. This box was the solution to my problem.
No more issues and both amps play at the same volume settings. I can always count on Sweetwater for all my gear needs.

Got this pedal to run guitar stereo from my delay into two amps for my personal surround sound bliss at gigs. Working perfectly with no ground issues or noise. Seems to be built like a tank with a nice small pedalboard friendly footprint. Money well spent.

Using on my board to switch between two different flavors of preamp for amp-less setup. Works perfect and is super solid and well made.

This works great no tone suck because it's true bypass. It just works as designed, I use it to send a DI signal to my mixing board and send one to my hybrid analog / Helix floor pedal. And it also has an output for my tuner. Works awesome if I ever lost this one I would definitely buy another one.

I have a 3 signal chain system. A dirt channel into a single amp, and then 2 different modulation and delay chains, each into their own stereo amp set up. Complicated and noisy without the right organization pedals. I have 2 of these in my board so I can run any combination of the signal chains easily at any given time, and they have made my rig SILENT, in terms of ground loop buzz. All i hear are the fans running to keep the amps cool.

Safe. Phase switch. Isolated output. Necessity for wet/dry rig.

I have two of these. I also have the passive one without the indicator. Problem was I always had to refer to my totalfx display to see what channels were up.

My first ABY splits to an Eleven Rack and to second ABY. The second device splits out to my ES-8 and my Grandmeister 40.

I have the B channels for the Boss equipment and the A channels for either the 11R or the GM. The isolation transformers do a great job for noise cancelation.

Radial makes some well engineered equipment. I have quite few of their devices and they are all effective in their design.
-hth

The ABY pedal is exactly what I was looking for. I can now hook up my guitar to both of my amps and play mono or stereo. Great product. Also, Scott Augustyniak is a top notch professional. He always has great advice and makes certain I am always taken care of. Great job, Scott!!

Thanks again Scott and Sweetwater!
David Alcantara

I have played guitar in bands for over 25 years. I have spent serious time in recording studios and performed in front of as many as 5,000 people as a semi-professional musician.

This ABY replaced a Morley ABY as the last pedal on my pedal board, with the signal ending at two tube amps, one with EL84 tubes (22 amp) and the other with EL34 tubes (120 amp). I use attenuators on the amps to help control the stage and room levels of the amps without sacrificing tone. Before, I was unsure if there was a polarity issue. Now I know and I have the opportunity to change it, if needed. To my ears, I have improved overall sound. I didn't have a grounding issue before; however, if that comes up, I now have the ability to switch that as well. I am very pleased with the Radial ABY.

My current chain is simple: Guitar to Dunlop Wah, Boss TU-3 Tuner, Boss CS-3 Compressor, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and Radial ABY to the amps. I run an MXR M107 Phaser, Ibanez TS-9, Boss DS-1, and Ibanez TS-808 mini into the loop of the NS-2. I use the TS-9 for my main overdrive and to boost the signal into the Distortion, when needed. I typically use the TS-808 for solo boost. I mostly control the level of overdrive/distortion and tone with the knobs on my guitar. I run a Boss CF-2 Flanger with orange knobs, Boss CE-5 Chorus, TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb, and Boss DD-5 Delay with Boss FS-5U foot pedal for tap tempo, into the effects loop of one amp in a wet/dry signal, for modulation effects. For me, this set-up is clean, simple, and "effective" (pun intended). I have a 1984 Ibanez RS440, Gibson SG, Epiphone Les Paul Plus TopPRO FX, 1981 Ibanez AW 40, Seagull Maritime SWS, and Cordoba CWE.

I highly recommend the Radial ABY for running two amps in a rig. Thank you.

I bought this to run my bass signal to my bass amp and to my HX Stomp. By running it this way, I can get a clean sound directly out of my bass Amp (DI) and the the other I run dirty, overdrive and effects out of the HX Stomp. This provides FOH the ability to dial in to taste the right amount of dirt/grit. This is especially handy for church gigs. I know there are other ways to do this but for me, this has been excellent running it this way.

The Bigshot ABY has a ground lift, polarity switching and an isolating transformer. Built tough and rugged, no issued there. It's nice and compact for a pedal board. Love this thing. Great value and Sweetwater is really tough to beat. I also recommend Mogami cables, although pricy, well worth the extra scratch.

I have two Hartke LH500 heads, with one driving a 4x10 cab and the other a 1x15 cab. I've used this setup with my '86 Rickenbacker 4003, sending the neck and bridge PUPs to the different amps. It dawned on me that I could use an AB/Y switch to approximate this for any of my basses. The Radial Bigshot splits the signal in two with no noise and no signal loss. Love the sound! It's easy to setup, fits in my pedal board, and is as solid as a tank. If you're in the market for an AB/Y switch pedal, this is it!

Excellent pedal! Does exactly as described! My bi-amped rig sounds amazing!

Great pedal - well built, clean sound. Simple and effective. In the studio this really helps me explore different sound options quickly and easily.

It may not have completely resolved my particular situation, but that's no fault of the unit in my case. The unit itself works awesome, no batteries required and very quiet. It's also smaller in person than I thought it would be. Mostly I just want to put a shout out to Codie, my agent who has always taken the best care of me and gone out of his way to help me! Thanks Sweetwater!

First of all, this thing just feels solid and is heavy for its size. Absolutely silent when used in any combination including 2 amps at once. No switching noise and though the documentation says using the transformer may alter the sound somewhat, I'm just not hearing it. I expected the need to tweak a couple of amp knobs to offset the switch but I didn't need to adjust anything.

So far I'm very pleased. I have not used it live yet, but works great testing it in the studio. It's fairly compact with bright led's, so you always know what amp (or both) is on. Seems to be well built, and there's no pop switching between amp setups. I'm running a Marshall JTM-45 and a Friedman Dirty Shirley through it. I wanted the passive version so there was nothing to affect the amp tone. It is a true bypass to my ears. My only complaint is engaging the isolation transformer does muffle the sound a little, which was stated in Radial's documentation. However the ground lift takes care of any noise issues, so I really don't need it so far. Radial makes quality pedals. I would recommend this box.

Blends two amps. Split the signal to a bass amp and a microdark! Plug and play. easy

This is an great switch at the price point. It is intuitive to operate, There was no clicking or popping when I switched channels - silent and seamless. When using the "Both" option, there is no loss of gain, just a blending of both channels. The unit also functions without power albeit there are no lights. The switch is made in Canada.

I decided to set up a wet/dry rig and needed an ABY pedal. This thing is quiet, reliable and built like a tank......did I mention it's dead quiet?

Radial Engineering makes some serious pedals. They're constructed like tanks, and are extremely well designed. This ABY pedal is absolutely silent, and does exactly as you expect it to. I'm very pleased with it, and it's now an integral part of my pedalboard. Rock on, Sweetwater!

I bought this so I could switch easily between my 2 acoustics. It's working very well so far. There doesn't seem to be any static sound in my in-ears, which is great. It's well built and was easy to set up! I really like Radial products. And Sweetwater has the best customer service in the nation!

The Bigshot does a great job. Wow when I run both my amps with it, the sound is awesome!! Thanks Ed Needler for all your help in making sure this would work for me! Thanks Sweetwater!!

Well thought out switch. Covers all the bases.

I run Fender Blues Juniors in stereo with the Aby
Switch. Amazing unit! Amazing sound!

Exactly what I asked for!!! Quality and super solidly built and very easy to use. My rep Casey recommended this after I talked with him and told him what I wanted to do with it. So now when I am just practicing with my drummer I can stomp the switch and have my guitar amp with my octave pedal combined with my bass rig and it sure makes a lot of noise. I've made a few unwise Pedal choices in the past, so now I call Casey tell him what I'm trying to accomplish and since I started doing that I have been very happy. 4 pedals on my board out of 6 are his recommendation. I can but this stuff anywhere but it's the customer service that keeps me coming back.

I purchased this pedal to utilize switching between my Carol Ann & Marshall Amplifiers. Before I had to unhook and change inputs,Sound comparison is instant with the switch. It's great to use to compare the different sounds of individual amps to one another.
It is made very well and it is important to read the manual so as to utilize the phase feature.It's on my board now and will stay there. Great Product! The both feature is nice, sounds great with two amps together.

Great product, works exactly as advertised. And what can I say Sweetwater except nothing but great customer service and follow up. In today's fast paced world the personal touch is great. Thank you Brian my order arrived a day earlier than was originally scheduled.

Awesome product. I'm starting to play more and am using a Fender Hot Rod deluxe combo and a Bugera Trirec 100w head This is great because I can wait h between amps whenever I want. It's great.

Its and outstanding bit of kit .

Phase shift, ground lift, ABY... just what I needed as I'm running multiple amps in a studio setup with a patchbay to select which two amps to feed. Works great.

Works perfect for what I need as expected, a dual amp switcher/parallel runner, but the ability to switch ground and polarity is what allow it to work across the board with all my devices and without any noise. Tuner out is a nice touch. Because I have to find some kind of gripe, it's a bit clunky and the looks are subjective.

Does everything as advertised and built like a tank! Only gripe is not having a battery option, since all the 9v does is light the LEDs.

This unit rid me of some major grounding hum! I gave it a 4.5 because it's not totally silent, but it is very quiet and a real lifesaver. I like the fact that it's passive too...less tech inside to fail. The thing is a tank, and feels indestructible...switching is silent, hum is minimal. If you've tried other brand A/B boxes, you've probably given up like I had. This gives me many options but I use it to loop my rhythm and percussion w/vocals in one amp, and solo in another. It works perfect! This unit is a "must have" if you play two amps with one guitar and have unbearable hum...didn't think I'd use the "both" switch but it really comes in handy to push through the mix and gives me a great stereo sound!

Bought this to switch between two amps and for tone stacking...works perfectly.

This pedal does what it is supposed to do. Two amps at the same time. No ground loop or other erroneous noises. I tried another pedal first and nothing but noise and problems. This pedal works. Period.

This is really awesome!! It quieted my pedal board set-up a lot and helps to make every bit of the board sound so much better than it previously did. I wish I had made this investment years ago. The only thing I wished it also supplied were volume controls for each channel in the way that I'm using it. It would have provided an easy, quick way to balance the guitar/pedal signals to the two amps I'm using, however, that can be also easily be controlled at each amp. Once I establish unity gain through the system, it is simply a matter using the A, then B channels for level, adjust until comparable and done. Radial does make some other gear that has some volume control on one channel, but not yet both channels. This unit is still a very well constructed and engineered device and I would highly recommend it. Sweetwater got it to me in short order and checked up on how it was going after the sale. They stand behind everything they sell.

I was looking at a few options for making the job of comparing two amps or guitars on the fly easier. My Sweetwater rep, Jed, recommended the Bigshot and I took his advice. I'm very pleased with the result. Simple to understand, easy to operate, and no noise related to the switcher. In short, I like it and would recommend it.

I bought this is to run my AC15 amp with both channels simultaneously or switch between them. It does the job. No complaints.

I'm using the BigShot to run both channels of a VOX AC15. It does what it's supposed to, has a variety of means of fixing hum/noise (none of which I've had to use), and is fun to AB the channels as well as running them together. I will eventually get around to running two amps with it, and I suspect it will do equally as well with that task. It's built like a tank, works as advertised, and covers all the ground that a passive ABY should do.

The Radial Big Shot is exactly what I was looking for to make my pedalboard rig a Wet/Dry setup, even using it with my pedal effect switcher it works flawlessly, Sweetwater had it for basically the same price as most ebayers and Reverb....but Sweetwater backs up there products with a 2 year warranty, I'll stick with them for the majority of my purchases.

exactly what I was looking for. Great for recording multiple tracks in 1 take

Does exactly what I need it to do: feeds an amp from the output of a pedal board (no noise) and a TCH VLX3 guitar port into a PA system (again, no noise). Ground Lift, Polarity Reverse, Isolation Transformer, and True Bypass are great features, if you need them. Solid build, works without power feed, but indicator lights are helpful if you're feeding a guitar amp and a PA system, where you don't have side by side sound outputs. Bought a second Big Shot for a two amp setup. Very pleased with the devices.

I should have thought more about the outputs, the A & B are to close

I can play my awesome ac15 hw and 1969 Princeton at the same time or one at a tIme no problem,everything's great,but for whatever reason it's out of phase, how do I know you ask? Because it sounds the same way without the aby big shot hooked up. When I use an adapter with two prongs {no ground} it sounds glorious,thick and round and full no thin out of phase sound at all but with aby in line reguardless of switch position on aby nothing helps. Maybe my unit is defective I don't know but I know for sure does NOT work in my particular Scenario.

horrible radial engineering customer service. experiencing high pitch noise,
the 3 switches do something but as far as eliminating or in the very least making things quieter
forget about!!!! it is an overpriced, poor-quality control, piece of ==== waste of money