Members slojo88 Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 Hey everyone, so I've had the idea of running two amps and a/b-ing them for my clean, breakup, and crunch tones instead of trying to find the holy grail of amps for $5k (exaggeration). I'm a huge fan of classic rock! Huge. I figure I'll be getting a 68 Fender Deluxe Reverb RI for the clean channel and the custom channel for bluesy grit/edge of breakup stuff. For my second amp though, I was thinking of getting a Splawn Competition 50w. I've been able to try the Deluxe and love it, just waiting to find one at a decent price (which I think I've found). But the Splawn I've heard is like a hot-rodded Marshall but I was thinking if I keep it on "Gear 1" and turn the gain under noon I could get some nice Zeppelin and AC/DCesque tones. Any experience with Splawns and classic rock play? All my guitars have humbuckers. Also, I know I would use an A/B pedal for the channels on the Fender but is there any sort of A/B/C switcher for amps? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 wow, thats a lot of amp and a lot of money involved at the same time.what amp(s) do you have now? whats wrong with them? if you are "new" to this, i would not buy two amps at the same time, i would start with one, play with it and get it to know and after i'm used to it i can check what i'm missing and search to fill the gaps nothing wrong with the to amp setup you suggested, but it will be a very complicated setup, a lot of knobs a lot of dependencies and if you don't know the tweeks of each amp alone, you will be just turning knobs and not being happy with the sound you will get.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Grumpy Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 Lots of pros use multi-amp setups, it *shouldn't* be too complicated. the main thing is you want to avoid any ground loop issues. Both amps should have 3-prong grounded power plugs and should always be plugged into the same outlet or power strip. Yes, they make A/B boxes for amps. If you have a hum/ground loop problem you may have to buy an audio isolation transformer or a direct box to break the ground loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 I haven't tried it but my gut is telling me this is a very iffy idea. Have you thought about a modelling amp? Line 6, Kemper, Peavey and Vox all make modelling heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RGfretter Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 Hey everyone, so I've had the idea of running two amps and a/b-ing them for my clean, breakup, and crunch tones instead of trying to find the holy grail of amps for $5k (exaggeration). I'm a huge fan of classic rock! Huge. I figure I'll be getting a 68 Fender Deluxe Reverb RI for the clean channel and the custom channel for bluesy grit/edge of breakup stuff. For my second amp though, I was thinking of getting a Splawn Competition 50w. I've been able to try the Deluxe and love it, just waiting to find one at a decent price (which I think I've found). But the Splawn I've heard is like a hot-rodded Marshall but I was thinking if I keep it on "Gear 1" and turn the gain under noon I could get some nice Zeppelin and AC/DCesque tones. Any experience with Splawns and classic rock play? All my guitars have humbuckers. Also, I know I would use an A/B pedal for the channels on the Fender but is there any sort of A/B/C switcher for amps? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RGfretter Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 Not that that's a bad idea, but I think you can get there much easier, and w/o all the gear needed. I have run two amps a time or two. But at this point I'd suggest a good channel switching amp. And to that, add a few boxes. You will get the same versatility w/o the haul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slojo88 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 3, 2014 Any suggestions on any such amp then? I have found both amps for a good price right now and I have an Avatar 2x12 cab I'm not getting rid of any time soon. I would go with the 2 channel and a pedal idea but I've never heard a pedal with the ability to make such a natural sounding breakup. Also never heard a very convincing Marshall in a box pedal. Suggestions? Don't mind buying used.Looking for clean, Fender tube breakup, and classic rock Plexi tonesHave around $2k to spend.Tube is necessary.Humbucker equipped guitars.Looking for 50w or underFor practice, jamming, and smaller gigs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 4, 2014 Members Share Posted October 4, 2014 how clean does it really need to be? do you really need 50w? with $2k there are almost endless possibilities i can tell you what my amp history is over the past ten years and why i switch to what, still have all amps tough my first tube amp was a laney lc-15r, just for homewanking, no band, 10" speaker combo, for home wanking always too loud next in band with drums, the laney was too small needed more volume welcome peavey classic 30 in the family, nice clean, reverb (not so nice as fenders or vox) dirt channel, very popular amp here at the time i had the possibility to play on different amps and test them, there was an vintage ac30 and a jcm800 damn from than on i wanted something to change. i almost bought a fender deluxe reverb ri, but the store let me take it to our rehearsal space to try it out first. so head to head to the c30 it didn't convince me, 1000$ for something the c30 already does and i liked the c30 better, ok back to the store... i wanted the crunch of the jcm800, without spending the money on a real one, i went through some pedals, e.g. the marshall shredmaster with the c30 were a good combination but not the real deal. so on ebay there popped up a sovtek midget50h i pulled the trigger. bought also a 2x12 cab, man, i was in marshall crunch heaven and still am using the high gain input, with gain almost to zero gives nice clean(ish) sound and a booster in front (mine ehx lpb-1) and/or the combination with a ts-9 (like) pedal makes it to a tone monster (at least for me) over the time it became too loud in band situation. too big to lug around to gigs back and forth. and the lust for a neil young like 57' deluxe amp grew. after some research i decided to build one myself with the amp kit from BYOC, where they have the greatest instructions ever. the BOYC tweed royal is a hybrid switchable 57' deluxe, champ, princeton clone, can be switched from 6w to 12w, the speaker you put in there has a big effect on overall sound an volume. with a celestion vintage 30 like i have now, it can be a really loud monster. so i play it in full band situation (bass, guitar, keys, drums, 2singer) on the 6w setting and they still complain i'm too loud there is no real "clean clean" with it, but the break up and crunch is a dream, it can do anything from blues, to rock to stone rocker, fuzz dreams like smashing pumpkins (with the right fuzz pedal), you could also do high gain metal with it if you like (again with the right pedal of course) a couple of weeks ago i bought the korg sdd3000-pedal delay and it really begins to shine in a 2 amp stereo setup. initially i wanted to use the laney lc15r (cause it is the smallest) with the deluxe clone, but i think it has some tube issues and haven't them solved so far. so i use the peavey classic 30 now as second amp, which is really loud. i play it on the "crunch" channel, gain almost zero and volume set to match the other amp. with this i can use almost the same pedal settings for both amps and be always stereo. over the years i made a long journey back and forth through several amps and sounds, my sound taste changed also back and forth and i learned i can live with much less stage volume and the amp does not need to be loud to make a great sound (independently from the music genre you play) the deluxe clone with ~900$ is the most expensive amp i have, the others were around 500$ or below and i fear my amp journey will continue, currently i'm happy with the stereo setup, but i'm missing a real vox amp in my collection and maybe there will be something else coming up. my message you might ask? there is not one(two) amp(s) which you can buy, and it will make you happy in every situation of your musical life. there is no "i buy this amp(combination) and i'm done". your musical life will evolve, your sound taste may change, as your needs might also... i can not suggest which amp(s) you should buy, cause there are to many greats amps there, i can only recommend to start a bit smaller than what you have written in your initial post. smaller in sense of wattage, smaller in sense of money and you don't need to buy two amps at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 4, 2014 Members Share Posted October 4, 2014 I run two amps all the time but I don't run an A/B pedal. You give up the option for running pseudo stereo effects like Chorus, reverbs and echo's that are very cool to have. The sound is also much Bigger sounding with two cabs running. Because if this Its better to use heads with channel switching and not use single amps to get that effect. Maybe if you use a stereo cab it wouldn't sound so different when you switch heads completely. If anything use an A/B/Y switch early in your signal chain, then run separate effects pedals for each amp so you can reap the benefits of the separation between the two, plus you have control over them for all the different mixes you can get. Chances are you wont want one to completely shut off because its like having a speaker cut out and you loose all that speaker fill in back of you. You don't even need an A/B switch if the amps have channel switching. Just turn the volume down on one channel and when you switch to it, it kills the volume. You can even take a double foot switch and wire it with two cables to the amps. One for one amp, and one for the other. If you want either to cut out completely, just turn the one channel off. If you leave both channels on, then you have all kinds of blends between the two amps with drives and clean combinations to work with between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted October 6, 2014 Members Share Posted October 6, 2014 I know you specified tubes but I would like to suggest you try a Yamaha DG80-112 and a MIDI foot controller. The DG series was Yamaha's foray into modelling amps and, although they did not gain the same level of popularity that Line6 did, they are outstanding amplifiers for the applications listed in the OP. The DG80 has a versatile configuration with an effects loop and a speaker emulated balanced line out with its own output level control that is independent from the power amp output - providing options for live and recording applications. That being said - the bottom line is it sounds very good. It has all of the advantages of a tube amp without any of the disadvantages. [video=youtube;eXfUF2isTlE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted October 6, 2014 Members Share Posted October 6, 2014 "Why would a guitar player (me) with a studio chock full of vintage, tube amplifiers, even consider using this digital Wunderkind? Well it took just five minutes at the helm of this "eighth wonder of the guitar amp world" for this "tubehead" to come round. My arms had to be twisted to get me to try it, but once I did, my hat was tipped to the technical wizardry of Yamaha. The combination of features gives the player access to a virtually unlimited array of sounds that rivals any of my vintage amps." http://www.barryrudolph.com/ingear/bottomline/dg80.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slojo88 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2014 I know I'm going to go through quite a few amps... quite a few. But the search goes on. The Yamaha sounds pretty good, but the idea of a solid state modelling amp for $1,000 used is just not my favorite idea even if I'm going to make a risky purchase. Has anyone heard of Frenzel? Found this the other day: http://www.frenzeltubeamps.com/page25.php I'd get it even cheaper because I would want the 50w head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 7, 2014 Members Share Posted October 7, 2014 . . . Has anyone heard of Frenzel? Found this the other day: http://www.frenzeltubeamps.com/page25.php . . . Never heard of them but it sounds good on paper. Looks like it ought to meet your needs/wants. Still, I'm cheap and I'd chafe at spending $1100 on an amp I've never tried. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blindsummit Posted December 2, 2014 Members Share Posted December 2, 2014 I run two amps, the Fender for clean and driving with my pedals. The Orange is use for crunch and push into massive fuzz / overdrive with my Fulltone pedal. The Lehle Dual A/B/Y is built like a tank and worth the £££. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted December 4, 2014 Members Share Posted December 4, 2014 On the A/B pedal, the Lehle pedals are the way to go. I have the Lehle 3 at 1 model and it's perfect for what you're looking to do. I've used it for the same purpose: switching between my clean amp (usually a Fender) and dirty (usually a Marshall). Best switcher out there IMO, way better than, for example, the Morley A/B, though pricier as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted December 5, 2014 Members Share Posted December 5, 2014 This is what I use for a switcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Radial makes great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members realtree71 Posted December 12, 2014 Members Share Posted December 12, 2014 I A-B all the time. I use a Morley and it has always worked perfectly... I know a lot of guys use them a for crunch B for clean..... I find i love the sound of A-B on full time both amps going gives me a fuller sound..... One cab is a 4x12 celestion greenback, the other is a 2x12 with one celestion Blue and one Heritage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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