Stereo: worth the hassle?

Is your current amp a full stereo circuit? I have run stereo only at home and at band practice. I notice it at home for sure and it sounds great. In a band setting it kind of goes away and just sounds like a mono setup to me. YMMV

 

I have on and off over the years, but I've always used two different amps. From my experience some amp combinations work and some don't, and you're never gonna know unless you try it. I know my Super Champ XD and my AC15 sure don't work together.

You find two amps that sound good together and it can be a magical thing.

 

stereo works great for some of the high end effects and preamps
I use stereo for the studio setup , for live not so much as once the PA is set up no one is going to notice any panning while performing

 

It can make a difference. What I like to do is make sure that both amps are very different from each other. Having two of the same, lessons its impact. The theory behind that is like having a preamp section > off to f/x > split stereo > two of the same type amp, means that the signal will reach the speaker at almost the exact same moment. If it takes longer for one signal to get through it's side of the split, it makes it take a few milliseconds longer, and that deepens your stereo spread. Like a Mesa on one side and a Tweed with a rectifier tube on the other. Or a Dual Rec vs. Fender SF. Or, two really different Fenders. Or a Marshall and a Mesa etc.

If you are playing a lot of distorted rock type of music it's difficult to get much in the way of returns running in stereo. Greatly depends on how big the house system is and who is operating it.

 

Michael Swart (Swart Amps) makes a stereo amp (2 12 cab, I believe). I can't imagine what kind of separation you'd get with the speakers being so close together? However, he is a man of high regard in the boutique amp business. His amps are beyond reproach. And, he answers the phone, usually, when you call. Give him a ring.

 

Stereo is not worth it.

Now two decent and decidedly different tube amps is a different story. It's better to separate bass and treble in conjunction with delay and reverb. Delay in the bass, reverb in the treble. Like Chet Atkins. Now that's got the makings of something that has depth and edge.

One time I had three amps. All Fender Tweed. Deluxe (bass), Bassman (treble), and Champ (lead boost). It was a lot to carry and mic up for a gig but it sounded really cool.

 

I've been known to use 2 Tweed Deluxes.

 

So that is not a stereo amp. That is just an external speaker jack. Your signal will still be mono. Two amps with a stereo pedal chorus for example is stereo from a mono source (your guitar). If you could send the signal from each of your pickups to both amps that would be a full stereo setup. Neither the Roland JC120 or JC22 are full stereo. The JC40 is the closest to full stereo, but the effects loop is mono to stereo. Confused yet?

 

My experience with running a stereo rig live was that it was really lost. I spent money on a great rack rig and separate cabs, and we put one cab on either side of the drums...and offstage you couldn't tell.

At home, it was a blast with all of the delays and chorus hitting the separated cabs ~ but in the end it was a lot to load in and load out for very little result.

I wouldn't do it again - BUT...love the idea of using multiple amps for texture!

YMMV, just my humble two centavos

 

I used to use a stereo setup but live it makes no sense; you would want the entire audience to hear the same thing. However, it can sound cool up close and if that inspires you then go for it.

 

I enjoy running stereo and it just takes another amp and another cable. I run two Fender Super Champ XD amps off of the stereo outs from my Boss ME80 multi FX. It sounds huge live. The 30 total watts into 2 10” speakers is plenty of power in my band. Chorus, delays and reverbs sound very nice in stereo.

 

Lovely at home with your amps in front of you, too much hassle for live, i gave up after 2 gigs...

 

I agree, great at home and for recording but not worth it for live use.

 

I use stereo, 2 different tube amps or via the axeFX. I can never go back to 1 amp.

 

I wouldn’t gig with it unless I had a roadie, but I run a Fender Pinwheel and Oceans 12 reverb in stereo as the last two effects in the chain. Left goes to the Tone Master Blond Deluxe, right goes to the Supro Saturn. Glorious is the only way I can describe it.

 

Great at home, I know running keys in the past, stereo looses some grandness at a gig. But, I think the texture of having two amps and the dispersion is worth it. I'm pretty close to taking two amps tomorrow nite, although its a small stage. And, I don't wanna traumatize the band, lol. Thinking about it...

 

I run a Helix stereo into a Marshall combo and a Leslie. Simply marvelous.

Bob

 

I really enjoy playing in stereo at home, but I just use monitors (or headphones) rather than two amps.