Etherwave mod, output high/low switch

I don't know if anyone has done this before.

Tonight I ripped apart my Etherwave and installed a switch to flip between two resistors, changing the output from line-level to a lower output, more friendly to guitar or bass amps.

This is based on the mod from the "hotroding your Etherwave" manual floating around out there on the internet.

First run, it seems to work fine (I do need to re-tune it, though)

Basically, get a very small DPDT toggle switch

CAREFULLY remove R33 (4.7K resistor) from circuit board

On DPDT switch, solder a lead from R33 to one pole on switch, solder another lead from R33 to the other pole. Solder 4.7K resistor between opposite travelers on one side of switch and a 47K resistor between opposite travelers on other side.

Cover with heat shrink or electrical tape and mount the switch in a hole drilled on the front panel. I put mine between the volume and pitch tuning knobs.

I hope this makes sense.

Eli

It surely makes sense for people who often change their amp or who don't know in advance which equipment will be present during a gig.

BTW: The changement of the resistors value does not only change the output level but does also modify the characteristic of the output low pass filter R33/C26 by lowering its cutoff frequency. So make sure that in case you use the higher value for R33 the amplifier allows to raise the level of higher frequencies. Guitar amps normally tend also to have rather a low pass characteristic in order to compensate the non linear frequency response of the magnetic pickups. You may make the sound somewhat brighter by soldering a 22nF (0.022uF) capacitor in parallel to the 47k resistor.

I might try putting the cap in there. I didn't notice a big difference in the tone during my first short test. I play with the filter wide open though.

I wanted to put the switch there because the amp I have now is a small Fender bass amp but I would like to switch to a better, non-guitar amp in the future without having to switch the resistor again. I was using the CD line input but noticed it had a better sound, plus an EQ and volume control going into the guitar input.

Your right, after getting the Etherwave back in tune and comparing there is a small cut in the high frequencies. If I turn the high on the EQ up a notch it seems to balance out just fine though.

I'll have to give the cap a whirl eventually. I don't feel like ripping it apart again after just putting it back together :)