Electro-Harmonix Switchblade

The Electro-Harmonix Switchblade is a channel selector pedal: a small box that lets you switch your signal between two different amplifiers, two different pedalboards or two different speaker cabinets¹. Where a typical stompbox shapes your tone, the Switchblade reroutes it, which makes it a utility pedal for players who carry more than one rig or want to reconfigure their setup on the fly. Electro-Harmonix describes it as "super flexible channel switching" in a tough and compact die-cast chassis¹.

The original Switchblade is discontinued, marked by Electro-Harmonix as discontinued in 2019¹, but the family line continued in two successors: the Switchblade Plus, released in 2011, and the Switchblade Pro, released in 2019. This page covers the original and how the Plus and Pro build on it.

What the Switchblade does

The Switchblade sits in your signal chain and sends your guitar to one of two destinations, which Electro-Harmonix frames as two amplifiers, two pedalboards or two speaker cabinets¹. For a player with a two-amp setup, that means choosing amp A or amp B from the floor instead of walking over and replugging cables. For a player who keeps two pedalboards, it means moving between them without touching a cable.

The pedal needs no power supply at all¹, which is unusual for a switching box and is the feature that most sets the original apart from its successors. It is true bypass¹, so when it is not doing its job your signal passes through untouched. The whole thing lives in a die-cast chassis measuring 2.75 inches wide, 4.5 inches long and 2.1 inches high¹, small enough to tuck into a corner of a pedalboard.

The Switchblade Plus

Released in 2011, the Switchblade Plus (sold as the Switchblade+) is the direct successor, and Electro-Harmonix calls it "a convenient solution for a player's switching needs"². It keeps the core job of the original, including the ability to easily switch between different pedalboards², in the same tough and compact die-cast chassis³.

Where the original needed nothing, the Plus adds electronics that want power: it runs on an optional 9V battery or a 9.6VDC-200mA power adapter, neither of which is included². No Treble's Kevin Johnson, covering the pedal's December 2011 launch, noted that no power supply is required for the switching itself, but that there is no LED function without power³. He also explained where the Plus sits relative to its predecessor:

That dedicated tuner output and the LED indicators are the practical additions: the original Switchblade had neither³. The Plus is true bypass³ and was shipping as of December 2011³.

The Switchblade Pro

The Switchblade Pro, released in 2019, is what Electro-Harmonix calls its "deluxe switching box"⁴. It goes well beyond routing between two destinations. MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown described it as featuring two loops with send/return jacks, a choice of series or parallel switching, and footswitches for bypass, A+B and A/B⁵.

The amp switching is the headline for most players. Electro-Harmonix says the Pro can switch between two amps or turn them both on at once⁴, and Guitar.com's Daniel Ong confirmed the A+B footswitch engages two amps simultaneously⁶. The two effects loops⁴ mean you can park effects in the Pro's sends and returns and bring them in and out as loops rather than stomping each pedal individually, with series or parallel routing deciding whether loop effects stack one after another or run side by side⁵.

The Pro also carries high quality and low noise buffers⁴, which sets it apart from the passive original: buffering keeps the signal strong over long cable runs and complex routings. It is true bypass⁴, and it was shipping as of April 2019, when Premier Guitar reported that Electro-Harmonix was now shipping it⁷. Guitar.com listed its retail price at $123.50 at launch⁶.

How the three versions compare

The short version: the original is the simplest and the only one that runs with no power at all; the Plus adds a tuner output and LEDs; the Pro is a full switching and looping hub with buffered signal paths and dual-amp capability¹³⁴.

Where the Switchblade sits in the Electro-Harmonix line

The Switchblade family is part of a broader set of switching pedals from Electro-Harmonix. The Pro arrived in April 2019 alongside other utility releases from the maker, and it was followed that July by the Tri Parallel Mixer, a three-loop parallel effects hub, as the company continued to build out routing gear beyond traditional effects. For players who only need to mute or pass a signal momentarily rather than route between destinations, the Electro-Harmonix Chillswitch covers a different, simpler switching job.

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