When is my Matchbro pulling juice?

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 19 Mar 2023 6:09 pm

I just got a Matchbro II at the texas show and really having a good time with it. It runs on two 9V batteries. There is no indication when it is drawing juice. It has a switch to change it from the dobro effect to pass through so I've been just switching it to pass through, hoping that would kill any battery usage. But should I unplug the guitar and amp chords as well? Anyone know?

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 20 Mar 2023 5:24 am

Bill, if there's no off switch then you need to unplug the output cable. Every Goodrich matchbox I have owned without a switch had a on/off jack made into the out cable jack.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 20 Mar 2023 6:28 am

Ah...okay. Thanks.

Abram Denzlinger · Post by **Abram Denzlinger** » 20 Mar 2023 6:38 am

Most likely...whichever side (in/out) has a stereo jack, that's the one you'll want to unplug when not in use. The power for most pedals is tied to the input.

Abram

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 20 Mar 2023 7:37 am

Dumb question, but how do I tell which is the stereo jack? is there an indication? Maybe I should just unplug both sides to be sure.

Abram Denzlinger · Post by **Abram Denzlinger** » 20 Mar 2023 7:54 am

Unplugging both would def get you there! Here's a photo of stereo/mono jacks: https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/com ... ZIQAvD_BwE

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 20 Mar 2023 8:36 am

I have an original model MatchBro. The Input (top) jack controls the power. Plug a guitar cord in and its powered on.

For convenience, so I don't have to unplug the input, I installed a power on/off switch. The switch is in series with the power (ground) lead to the input jack.
The power on/off switch also serves another purpose - on stage and a break power off MatchBro and it "mutes" the guitar.

As there are no (official) Goodrich schematics for the various Matchbro models, you would have to open the unit and trace wires to find out for sure on this model.