Do you double your pleasure? - Use of 2 amps

[Tone2TheBone]

Some players run 2 amps to get their sound. Think Joe Bonamassa, SRV et al. I think there is some merit to "layering" your tone with 2 amps. One amp could be set with a certain amount of grit or (back the other way)...cleanliness. The other amp set slightly differently or even be a different make of amp altogether. You can come up with different combinations of tone using 2 amps at the same time...especially when you're recording. You'd be able to contour the sounds you want by simply fading in or out the best sounds from both amps on the mixdown. Do any of you guys do this?

[Plank_Spanker]

I do. I A/B my Germino with a Johnson Millennium using a Framptone amp switcher. The Johnsons have a few patches that sound sweet, and the Germino is just sweet any way you play it.....

[guitartist]

I do too. Love the different textures you can get by playing through two amps at once...it really adds a lot of dimension to your sound. Crappy little solid state amps can actually suprisingly good when you combine them and space them apart (although if I could get away with playing loud very often, and $$$ wasn't an issue, I'd ditch them in a new york minute for tube heads and 4x12 cabs!)

Rather than use my A/B pedal to switch amps, I usually use it as an "on/off switch" for an amp set up to sound dirty, while I leave the clean amp on all the time (i use the dirty amp as a boost for solos). Depending on my mood though, sometimes I'll use an overdrive pedal for the boost, and leave both amps on all the time, or just set the A/B pedal to switch between the clean and dirty amps. Even when I am just noodling around playing through my Pignose while watching TV, it sounds so much better when I am also running my signal through a mini-amp, such as my Smokey or Dean Markley, etc.

Since I started doing this, its really inspired me to acquire more amps (although as you can see from my list below, they're all fairly inexpensive). Its really a lot of fun seeing what sounds you get through different amp combinations. Sometimes I'll play through my two tube amps, sometimes I'll play through my two Voxes, sometimes I'll combine different sounding amps, such as my Vox Pathfinder with the Marshall MG15 - depending on how ya tweak the knobs they can sound really good together. I'm getting a vintage Marshall Lead 12 amp (from the eighties, made in the UK) - can't wait to get that puppy so I can play through two Marshalls at once (even though they're wee little solid state combos, I can still pretend I'm a heavy metal god!)

Sometimes I'll get crazy and do a threeway, using either the stereo outputs on my POD, or a Radio Shack line splitter for the third output. (I'm planning on getting an A/B looper with three outputs in the near future).

For playing electric at low volumes, a multi-amp set up definitely helps getting a bigger sound. And at high volumes, it can melt your face!

[tot_Ou_tard]

I've thought about doing this if I get a new amp.

I'd get a tube amp & use that & my AD30VT.

[DaveO]

I have 2 Roland cubes. The cube 60 has a tuner out plug that puts out a low signal, so I run it into the input on the cube 30 and set one for tweed setting and the other on black panel or brit combo. Six models with lots of combinations. They sound pretty good like that. I was thinking of selling one but I would probably miss the sounds you can get from them.
Dave

[Tone2TheBone]

Great posts guys thanks. I have a general question regarding the use of OD pedals on 2 amps at the same time. I'm thinking that one would have to configure each amp for tone while any OD pedal was on, especially while using different kinds of amps (either different tube amps or solid state/tube amp) because of how each amp would react with input gain of some type. What might sound good and balanced out of 2 amps in a clean mode might be out of whack with overdrive introducted. Have you found this to be true if you're running both amps on and stomping on an OD pedal guitarist?

[TS808]

I never ran two amps at once, but definitely prefer the sound of dual 12's over a single 12" speaker.

If this counts, I had a Line 6 Duoverb amp that allowed you to use two amp models at once or blend the two together. I really liked the tones from the amp using the twin reverb and mesa boogie models, or two marshalls together. I'd like to see more amp modeling technology do this. To my knowledge, the only amp that allows you to do this now is the Line 6 Vetta.

[guitartist]

Hi Tone2theBone,
You raise a very good point. When I am running a pedal (or pedals) through two amps at once, sometimes it sounds good and sometimes it doesn't. It takes experimentation to find a combination that works. When playing an OD pedal through two amps, I usually keep the gain turned down pretty low on both amps so that the sound doesn't get too muddy (its not as critical an issue with effects like digital delay, rotary, tremolo, reverb, etc.). Also I find that my Crybaby Wah doesn't sound as good if both amps are set to much gain. An OD pedal run through two amps definitely works best when the amps sound similar (like playing through two Voxes or two tube amps).

Sometimes I'll just run my effects through one amp, and keep the other totally dry, or run the wah through both amps and an OD pedal just through one amp (gives more of a layering of sound that way). I'm still experimenting all the time trying to get a better tone.

Lately I haven't been using effects as much, been going more for pure amp sound, but I do love playing with effects. I try to limit it to just a few at a time though these days, cause even though I've got a boss noise suppressor I usually get a nasty hum if I use more than two or three pedals. Its a ***** constantly resetting up my pedals though, I need to get a pedal board and figure out a way to get rid of that hum when all my pedals are hooked up (I hope I can find a better noise gate than the boss, I'm not very happy with it) .

[Tone2TheBone]

I prefer the sound of pure amps also. I really need to try running 2 at once to try some layering for myself, thank you for your information. Have you isolated your pedals to find out which is making noise? You shouldn't be getting any hum noise. A little hiss here and there maybe but no hum.

[guitartist]

Hi T2TB, I highly recommend that you try playing through two amps; especially if you're not using any pedals, it can really fill out your sound.

I'm surprised not more guys have chimed in on this, I would think a lot of guys are into the stereo surround-sound of a duo-amp set-up. I'm no expert on any of this stuff, I'm definitely no pro, just a dedicated picker who loves to play...I've been at it a long time but am still learning all the time.

I'm a cheapskate when it comes to gear, and have to play fairly quietly for the most part these days, and am on a perpetual quest for good tone with inexpensive equipment.

The hum mostly happens when I have my FX57 Hard Rock Distortion unit in the chain...its a pretty crappy pedal, I guess I oughta just retire it. The Boss Noise suppressor doesn't clean the hum up much at all when the FX57 is plugged in. Even without it though my FX102 Mystic Blues Overdrive with my wah pedal sometimes gets a loud hiss going.

[Tone2TheBone]

Single coil hum from a Strat doesn't bother me at all. In fact I think it's part of the idiom. The other night I was watching an Aerosmith DVD and Joe had this hellacoius hum coming from one of his Strats while recording in the studio and I just laughed and said "dang thank God for filters and gates...at least you won't hear that noise on the tunes". It was crazy bad too. There are times when you can still hear a faint hum on other recordings though if you really listen. Even heard some pedal noise on Joe Bonamassa's BD CD.

Pedals for me though are another thing. I don't like noisy pedals. It interferes with my enjoyment of hearing the 60 cycle hum.

[guitartist]

Yeah, when you play electric, a certain amount of hum is to be expected, especially with single coils. It doesn't bother me as long as it doesn't get crazy loud, then it can be very annoying. When I play my Arion Tubulator through my Marshall MG15's distortion channel, it picks up radio stations! So of course I avoid that.

I used to play with a keyboard player who was very particular about any noise in my signal, and he made me a lot more aware of it than I had been previously. My tone has come a long way since those days (thank God!...still got a ways to go though.)

I forgot to mention earlier that if anyone else out there ever plays though a mini-amp, they ought to try playing through two of them. IMO mini-amps like the Smokey and the danelectro honeytone sound really awful by themselves, but played with another amp they sound 10 times better.

[Plank_Spanker]

I don't usually run both amps at once. I use two amps for "more color on the pallette". The Johnson is a modeler that has its uses; the Germino is my straight up rocker. Together, they're one hell of a team!

[Leonidas]

I had the idea of running two amps before, and came across this thread, so it moved me to try it out...

I tried running my valve jr more on the cleaner side along with my vox with more distortion.. AWESOME sound! It ads a whole level of dimension. The dirty crunch combined with the cleaner punchier sound made for a really cool sound, and all kinds of possibilities adjusting volumes of each, and tone and distortion of each. Definitely a cool way to get new sounds.. Also stereo chorus sounds SWEET through the dano cool cat

[Tone2TheBone]

That video of Joe Bonamassa showing off his equipment and amps got me to asking this question originally. I know he blends the sound of his Jubilees and (on the video) his Budda amps. I'm thinking you'd get some really hellacious tones that way and the harmonics would just color the sound of your playing in an awesome way. I'm glad you tried it Leonidas I've been wanting to try it too.

[Leonidas]

Yeah seems that that idea gets used often in recording. I originally had the idea when I saw the gear video of Warren Haynes from Gov't Mule. On the new Mule album (High and Mighty) he used combinations of 3 amps: a Diaz, a Soldano, and a Fender Blues Jr...


I really like it. Gives the sound a lot of depth.

[sunvalleylaw]

Dragging up this old thread, as I was considering trying this. I don't want to spend a bunch of money to try it though.

Is this a/b/y box ok? http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...Box?sku=180614

You can get them new on ebay for cheap, $39 shipped. I am not really wanting to spend $150 or something for a Lehle(sp?) splitter to try it.

[FrankenFretter***]

I run both my Marshall and my Vox at the same time, using a stereo chorus. It's a very full, wide sound with the chorus on. Sounds good with it off, too.

[markb]

Dragging up this old thread, as I was considering trying this. I don't want to spend a bunch of money to try it though.

Is this a/b/y box ok? http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...Box?sku=180614

You can get them new on ebay for cheap, $39 shipped. I am not really wanting to spend $150 or something for a Lehle(sp?) splitter to try it.

It'll do the job but some of the more expensive boxes use isolating circuits to avoid earth loops. Worth a try.