Carl Martin Octa-Switch The Strip

The Carl Martin Octa-Switch The Strip is a programmable, stage-friendly loop switcher built to simplify complex pedalboards. It gives you eight true-bypass relay loops and eight programmable presets, each recalled instantly with a single footswitch press, so a whole pedalboard can change configuration in one step instead of a row of taps¹.

It is made by Carl Martin, designed and refined once again by Thomas Guldmann, and Carl Martin describes it as the most streamlined and advanced all-analog Octa-Switch they have built to date¹. The enclosure is a low-profile strip designed to fit naturally along the front edge of a pedalboard, maximizing foot access while keeping the switching controls where your feet already are¹.

Eight relay loops with eight presets

The core concept is unchanged from earlier Octa-Switches: eight true-bypass relay loops with impedance-free gold relays, which Carl Martin says ensures complete tone transparency and compatibility with any pedals you connect¹. When a loop is off, its pedals are fully out of the signal path; when you recall a preset, the relays snap the right loops in and out at once.

Each of the eight preset footswitches recalls a stored loop combination, and Carl Martin calls these presets "banks"¹³. Preset LEDs show which preset is selected, and Loop LEDs indicate which effects loops are active, so you can see the state of the whole board at a glance¹.

A useful live feature is Instant Access mode, which lets you temporarily add or remove loops inside a bank without overwriting the stored preset¹. That covers the mid-song case where you want one extra effect for a phrase but want the preset to stay as programmed.

The input can be set to buffered or true bypass with the Input Buffer Switch, which adapts to pedalboard size and cable length and helps maintain signal stability over long cable runs¹.

Controls and connections

Amp channel switching and stereo

Four external switching outputs enable direct control of amp channels, multiple amplifiers, and other external devices¹. In practice this means a preset change on The Strip can also flip your amp from clean to dirty, or switch a second amp, without a separate footswitch.

Premier Guitar's review adds that The Strip provides a MIDI input, four external relay switches, and two outputs in case you want to run a dual amp rig³. The reviewer also noted a four-cable switching method: you can run loops 6, 7, and 8 via dedicated sends and returns, situating pedals before or after the preamp in the amp's effects loop³.

For stereo players, the two outputs can be used in stereo via the stereo return on loop 8³. The loop count is sometimes listed as 7 mono loops plus 1 stereo loop, alongside the simpler description of 8 true-bypass relay loops⁴.

MIDI

The Strip supports MIDI, commonly listed as MIDI out sending program changes, which allows it to control or sync with MIDI-capable devices when you change banks¹⁴. So a single preset press can also send a program change to a MIDI-capable delay or multi-effects unit, keeping the whole rig moving together.

Power

That current figure is worth attention: this is not a pedal that will run happily on a small daisy chain output. A dedicated 9V supply with headroom in the hundreds of milliamps is the practical requirement¹⁴.

History and versions

The Strip is the fourth version of the Octaswitch line, and RockBoard's PedalPedia entry describes it as the smallest and most advanced⁵. Carl Martin frames it the same way: the goal was to take everything learned from three generations of Octa-Switch and distill it into the most compact form, and The Strip is commonly described as a more modern, refined take on the Octa-Switch idea, adding practical live features¹.

The previous version, the Carl Martin Octa-Switch MK3, offers eight loops (the last loop is stereo) and eight banks, with each of the eight footswitches representing a preset programmed via DIP switches: for every preset you choose which of the eight loops are active²⁶. The MK3 runs on the same 9V DC center-negative power input². Carl Martin's line also includes the Carl Martin Combinator 2, another take on the multi-loop switching idea⁷.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar reviewed The Strip in September 2021 and was positive across the board³:

The reviewer also found that the unit and its ease of operation reflect a thoughtful, user-oriented, real-world, stage-centric engineering sensibility³. On value, the verdict was that it warrants serious consideration as a pro-level solution for players without loads to spend³. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry calls it the most versatile and simplest all-analog switching pedal on the market⁵.

Who uses it

Carl Martin's artist pages list several players using The Strip⁸:

• Brett Garsed⁸
• Rich Graham⁸
• Brian Ray⁸
• Adrian Vandenberg¹

Players on the earlier MK3 include Rex Brown, Richard Z. Kruspe, Carmine Rojas, and Joe Hottinger²⁸.

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