Radial HotShot ABi Balanced Input Selector - Passive XLR A/B Footswitch

Radial HotShot ABi: Toggle Two Balanced Sources From One Footswitch

The Radial HotShot ABi is a passive balanced input selector, a footswitch-operated A/B box with two XLR inputs and one XLR output that lets a performer choose between two balanced sources with a single stomp. Press the latching footswitch and the ABi swaps instantly from source A to source B, feeding whichever one you pick to a single mixer channel while the other sits silent and ready. For the artist juggling two microphones or two wireless rigs on a crowded stage, it turns a frantic hand-off into one confident tap of the foot.

Why an Input Selector Frees Up Your Mixer

Every microphone or wireless receiver you add to a show wants its own console channel, and on a small desk those channels run out fast. The HotShot ABi solves that by letting two balanced sources share a single input: connect one to input-A, the other to input-B, and only the selected source reaches the board at any moment. A worship team can hand a wireless mic between a speaker and a singer, a solo performer can move between a mic at the piano and one at center stage, and the console never sees more than the one channel it can spare.

Passive by Design: No Power, No Noise

The ABi is fully passive and true-bypass, which means it routes your signal through switch contacts alone with no active circuitry, no battery, and no phantom power in the path. There is nothing to introduce noise, add coloration, or die in the middle of a set. The audio passes from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with unlimited dynamic range because the box simply gets out of the way. When a piece of stage gear has no power supply to fail, it becomes the kind of tool you stop thinking about and simply trust.

The Input Pad: Matching Two Very Different Sources

Two sources rarely arrive at the same level, and a loud dynamic mic followed by a hot wireless feed can jolt the mix when you switch. The ABi includes a selectable input pad so you can attenuate the hotter source and bring both inputs into balance before they ever reach the console. Set it once during soundcheck and every switch lands at a consistent level, so the engineer at front of house never has to chase a fader the moment you change sources.

Ground Lift and True-Bypass: A Clean, Silent Signal Path

Connecting two systems to one console can open a ground loop, and a ground loop is where hum and buzz creep into an otherwise quiet stage. The ABi carries a ground-lift switch that disconnects pin 1 to break that loop and return the channel to silence. Paired with the true-bypass passive path, the result is a signal that stays clean whether you are selecting between two condensers, two receivers, or a mic and a playback source. Silence, it turns out, is a feature you notice most when it is missing.

On Stage: Two Mics, Two Receivers, or an Instant Mute

The latching footswitch opens the ABi to more than simple source selection. Toggle between two wired or wireless microphones set up at different spots on stage, flip between two wireless receivers to dodge RF trouble, or switch between two mono playback devices for a seamless backing-track hand-off. Leave one input unconnected and the same footswitch becomes a hard mute, killing the mic entirely between songs or during a break. One box quietly covers a whole shelf of stage-management chores.

Who the HotShot ABi Is For

The HotShot ABi is for the touring vocalist who works two mic positions and wants to switch between them without a stagehand; for the house-of-worship tech who has to share scarce console channels between speakers and singers; and for the solo performer who moves between instruments and needs a dead-simple, dead-quiet way to change sources on the fly. If you have two balanced sources and only one channel to give them, the ABi is the passive footswitch that makes the choice with your foot.