Gear Watch: Basswitch IQ DI

Ruppert Musical Instruments has introduced the Basswitch IQ DI, a pedal that the company calls “the bass player’s Swiss knife”. Built in Germany, it serves as an A/B input switcher, a preamp, a clean booster, a parametric EQ, an FX loop switcher, and a D.I. box.

The Basswitch has two inputs, which lead to channels A and B respectively. If you only plug in to input A, there is a channel toggle switch. There is an impedance toggle switch to allow for optimal input levels, be it from an active or passive bass or piezo pickups. Channel A is connected to a preamp and a double parametric EQ, featuring bass, parametric low- and high-mids, and treble controls. Two FX loops are included: a passive serial loop and an active infinitely variable mixing loop. A phase-inverter prevents out-of-phase signals from canceling each other out in parallel mode. A footswitch and a volume control are used in conjunction to create a clean booster upstream of the Mix Loop.

Basswitch IQ DI Demos

Basswitch IQ DI Specs:

• Weight: 1375g
• Length: 16.2 cm
• Width: 22.0 cm
• Overall height: 4.2 cm
• Voltage range: 9-20 V AC/DC
• Power consumption: max. 130 mA
• Frequency range: 20 Hz – 100 KHz (+/- 0,2dB)
• Distortion: 0.005 %
• Input A impedance: 1 M?/10 M? (switchable)
• Input B impedance: 1 M?
• Output impedance: 150 ?
• Signal-to-noise ratio: -94 dB @ 1 kHz, 0 dBu (A weighted)
• Max. level: 5V RMS (approx. 16 dBu)
• Max. gain: +/- 15 dB
• EQ
• Bass: +/- 18 db @ 33Hz (peaking)
• Low Mid: +/- 18 db @ 90 Hz – 500 Hz (peaking)
• High Mid: +/- 16 dB @ 840Hz – 5.4kHz (peaking)
• Treble: +/- 18 dB @ 12.5kHz (shelving)

For more information and the owner’s manual, visit the Basswitch website.