Question about using 2 amps

[Kurt]

May be a dumb question, but I often read about guitarists using 2 amps live. I always assumed that they either use a box to run the amps in stereo or use it for amp switching, but are there any other common ways to run 2 amps? For those TDPRIers using 2 amps, why do you prefer it and how do you typically hook them up? Thanks.

[woof*]

hi!
i use two amps all the time. ive tried a couple different ways connecting them and currently i use a whirlwind "the selector" A/B/Y. my original way was with a A/B/Y box made by loooper that featured led's and a tuner/kill.
that box developed some problems and i just havnt had time to send it back yet but i bought the whirlwind box off the gear page for 50$ and love it. its dead silent switching cuz its optical and no ground hum probs either. for the tuner issue i have a tiny A/B box in the beginning of my chain that selects either the tuner or line into my effects and at the end of the effects is the whirlwind that goes to my fender super and rockytop jtm45. i can easily select either amp, or both. it all works effortlessly and perfectly and i couldnt be happier with this setup.

[J. Hayes]

as I just like my little tube Fender amp for that. On steel I use two Peavey Nashville 1-12 amps which are hooked together like this. Just take a short shielded guitar cord and go from the pre-amp out of the main amp to the power amp input of the other. This way the only control that works on the 2nd amp is the master volume control. All EQ is done on the main amp. This will work with all Peavey amps and most other brands also if they have the proper in/out jacks........JH in Va.

[charlie chitlin]

I, too, use an A/B/Y box.
Electro-Harmonix Switchblade.
Cheap and simple.

[Twangmeister]

I often gig with 2 amps, but I'm using a Lehle switcher that isolates the ground for each amp. This topic has been covered before extensively (and better than I could) on this Forum, so I suggest a search.

At the very least,, you might experience a ground loop hum. There is also the possibility of a nasty, potentially fatal shock, especially if you're singing into a mic.

Please research this topic some more because we need every live Tele player we can get! :D

[DavidP]

I'm using a Lehle switcher that isolates the ground for each amp

Me too, after trying other boxes w ground loop problems--expensive but worth it IMHO. Just wish it had a tuner out jack...

[jjmantele]

In addition to ground loops you need to consider the 50% chance of phase cancellation. The problem occurs if one speaker/set is moving forward at the moment that the other amp’s speaker/set is moving backwards. It causes reduced (cancelled) sound especially in the bass arena. Flipping the speaker polarity on one amp is usually not an option due to negative feedback circuitry. If the amps are the same circuit, and you use the same channel, no need to worry.

You can avoid the problem with:

-Phase switch (on a ABY box)
-Turning one (combo) amp around if needed
-Send dry to one and delay to other
-Luck

[trag-o-caster]

I'll use two DR's, sometimes with the settings near the same, and sometimes (if the room is too small for two amps blarin') I'll turn one DR down, and back off it's treble, and up the bass quite a bit, while leaving the other DR with it's usual LOUD setting. This creates a nice blend, and gives a little extra low end OOMPH that you can't get out of a single DR, when it's turned up. The two DR's have different speakers in them for a blend as well.

That's the secret to that SRV sound doncha know??? 8)

[Dacious]

Swapping speaker polarity is no issue at all. Speakers themselves don't care which way they are connected. The only reason for +ve and -ve marks is so we can avoid phase cancellation. As long as you swap all the speaker connections in the same amp, there will be no issue. The polarity only governs which way it moves first.

To connect two amps on the same earth (mains) circuit, make or modify a coaxial lead going between them so one end of the shield is disconnected. Then use a Y-adaptor to jumper the inputs, or go from the low on the first amp to the high on the second. I have a switch box which switches out the shield lead so I can use all standard cables.

The earth will be completed by the earth lead in your amps (you do have a three-core grounded power lead, don't you?). This will remove the possibility of a hummy ground loop more safely than floating the earths of your amps.

[Paul in Colorado]

My favorite Dual Amp rig:

Telecaster > Vox AC-15 > out from the second input jack to a Roland Space Echo > '66 Deluxe Reverb.

The DR gets the delay and the two amps compliment each other in a way that gives me jangle and twang.

Here's the one I'm experimenting with:

Guitar > Loop pedal input >
Loop send: input Mesa Studio. 22+ dialed in for lead tone. SM 57 mic'ing the amp feeding a Furman PQ-3 EQ > Loop return
Loop pedal output: Rivera S-120-210 with multi effects unit in the amp's stereo effect loop

The thought behind this is that I can use the Mesa for the uneffected lead tone, and then run it into the Rivera and use effects (reverbs, delays, chorus...) or I can just run into the Rivera for my clean tone.

Overkill? Maybe. It's still in the experimentation stage. It's kind of like what Larry Carlton is doing mic'ing his amp and running it into a PA mixer, adding effects and out to a couple of powered PA cabs.

[Daddy Elmis]

I run 2 amps separately and never "Y" them (one is my more clean amp, the other is overdriven).

After trying a number of A/B boxes, I also settled on a Lehle -- which is far and away the best. I got mine pretty cheap off eBay in one of those "lightning strike" lucky bids. It would be hard to justify retail on those boxes, but they are worth it (from design through workmanship).