no offense intended here
but the extent of the circuitry involved in the switchblade consists of a switch.
pretty much anyone can make one. assuming you can wrap wires tightly enough around the little prongs on jacks, you don’t even need solder to make one [although solder certainly would be advisable].

so I’m kind of really doubting it’s the switchblade just because there’s really nothing to them.

Can you do me a favor to test if it is the switchblade? plug a tuner in [or something with a ‘signal’ indicator] where your DM4 is in the signal chain, but don’t plug it into the amp

it’ll go
[guitar]->[switchblade]{outputA} -> amp
[switchblade]{outputB} -> tuner

with this setup, when the guitar is going into the amp, the tuner should be picking up just ground noise [you know where it fluctuates between A# and B, like when just a cable is plugged in] or nothing at all.
If it’s not, then yeah, it’s the switchblade.

otherwise your amps inputs may be connected. test this by plugging the tuner’s input into the second channel’s input [with the guitar->switchblade out A-> amp thing still going]. If, when playing, the tuner picks up notes, your amps inputs are connected.

I don’t know how handy with a drill and soldering iron you are, but if your amp’s inputs are connected, you can get around this hassle by replacing the switch in the switchblade with a 3PDT and drilling two more spots for jacks in it. Let me know if you’d want more info on this.

edit: actually you’d only need one more jack.

probably just cheaper to get something like a DOD FX30B to use than to actually mod it.
although you’d lose the true bypass-ness.

what’re the LFO/Fuzz/Auxilary controls attached to? is it something new?

nope. the sliders work in a reductionist sense only. unity gain is maxed. allows for William Basinski style fadeouts if you’re recording a track [as it will apply resistance to the data in the track and it will get softer and softer each time], but also prevents the tracks from getting louder and louder every repeat [which, I suppose, is rather William Basinski-esque too].

you don’t have to send it back into the mixer [although you can make feedback loops, if you’re into that]. and the 2880 is unbalanced inputs anyways. and the 1202 is unbalanced outs. but yeah. the Aux send method would work. then just turn down the mic channel’s aux send .

do you run stereo-in to PA systems or do you sum to mono? [this is just my idle mind a-questionin’]

service departments = marketing & sales dept. call them. here’s the number: (718) 937-8300. ask for Chip.

I play originals mostly, or pick my battles with covers. was in a ‘jam-rock’ cover band for a bit, but I think the closest we got to U2 was the Talking Heads [which I was fine with playing]. and I don’t work for EHX, I just hang out at the forum.

and Ron, spot on with the Led Zepplin assessment. Can’t wait until 5-20 years from now when people still won’t shut up about the Red Hot Chili Peppers.