# 2 amp rig



## Chritar (Feb 16, 2009)

sorry if its been posted or asked about before, but i was wondering, has anyone used two amps live? and i mean independently of each other, say you have two half stacks and you're playing through both of them. i remember seeing a band(russian circles) do this but he had the same model amp head and was running different effects. but i want to set something up where its two completely different amp heads and neither one is the slave or master but rather you can get both distinct tones out(so essentialy it sounds like 2 guitarists playing together perfectly and fucking up at the same time) i have seen several bands with one guitarist do this, except it only sounds like 1 guitar because they are using one amp as a slave, plus i do want to experiment with loop effects so that i can play melodies through one amp while the other loops back a rythm(similar to what the guitarist of russian circles does)

can anyone point me in the direction of gear that would do this, for live situations; whatever device used to send the signal to 2 amps


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## Necky379 (Feb 16, 2009)

get an ACTIVE splitter. these are the ones that run off of batteries or plug into the wall. i have one made by whirlwind and it's perfect. btw i saw russian circles with clutch and viking skulls, sick show. rc killed it live, what an amazing instrumental band.

this is the same one i have.
Whirlwind Selector AB Guitar Pedal Instrument Switch - eBay (item 220361437940 end time Feb-18-09 20:00:00 PST)


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## Crucified (Feb 16, 2009)

you don't need to bother with an active splitter, i use two amps all the time and have a passive one. works fine. radial pedals ftw.


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 17, 2009)

you could also use that kerry king MXR signature EQ pedal. that way you also get an eq pedal! 

or some sort of stereo flanger/chorus, so that when you step on it, you get a huge stereo sound. i did this once on a gig (i&#180;m the only guitarist), and it was awesome 

splitters work just as well too, of course


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## Chritar (Feb 17, 2009)

sweeet, thanks for the reply, do you guys notice a difference in tone at all when using active or passive splitters?

... and i totally forgot about pedals with stereo outs, 

thanks guys im gonna look into these things


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## HammerAndSickle (Feb 17, 2009)

Slightly on-topic, what does master/slave mean in relation to amps (not bdsm)?


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## Chritar (Feb 17, 2009)

you plug into one amp(the master) and direct line it out to another amp(the slave) it would pretty much be the same tone from both amps, not two independent tones 

...im not 100&#37; sure thats what it is, but im pretty sure. i learned those terms in a midi class a few years ago


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 18, 2009)

that&#180;s what it means in the amp world too, yes.

i would get two different-sounding amps that would sound ok together though, and run a splitter before the amps, so theguitar goes into the inputs of both amps. 

if you want to have the same sound on both sides, you can just buy a new cab, and plug two cabs into the same head, and just put that cab on the other side. it&#180;s that easy! 

i would vote for getting different-sounding amps and splitting your guitar to go into both. that way it sounds like two different sounds. if you do master/slave, it would sound very "mono", and most people wouldn&#180;t notice any difference live. it would sound like you miced up one cab and ran it panned to the centre in the pa.


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## petereanima (Feb 18, 2009)

hmmm, but wouldnt it also sound "mono" also with 2 different sounding amps? to get a real "stereo" there should be a little delay on one of the signals, shouldnt it?


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 18, 2009)

if you really wanna go all the way, then yes. just using different amps will do most of the trick though, since the timbre and "grain" of each amp is different, and they react in different ways.


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## Meldville (Feb 19, 2009)

I'm actually considering this, depending on what I think of my new amp. If I like it, I may get a 2nd cab and run 2 halfstacks (but stack them so it looks like a fullstack).


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 19, 2009)

Ben Hutcherson said:


> I'm actually considering this, depending on what I think of my new amp. If I like it, I may get a 2nd cab and run 2 halfstacks (but stack them so it looks like a fullstack).



so you´re basically going to run a half stack? 

or are you going to get another amp with the second cab?

i´m confused...


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## backyardburial (Feb 19, 2009)

I have a marshall head and cab, and a mesa head and cab and use both thru a simple AB box that cost about 70 bucks NZD. Its sweet. Its just two buttons so you can turn off one and just have one amp for short quiet bits, or turn both buttons off and on at same time for complete cut out. My box is called a leem (or leen), and it has one small light for a attery check and the two buttons thats all. Its awesome. Sometimes tho, instead of lugging two cabs I plug both heads into my stereo marshall cab and use the AB box to switch sides. 2 cabs is the shit tho. Would be even better if I could stack them but I cant, pretty dodge being that high anyway.


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## 7deadlysins666 (Feb 19, 2009)

I wish our Van had room for another cab and head. This is exactly what I would do...being the only guitarist in the band, would give more of a dual guitar sound. I did it when we played Allentown, PA but I borrowed Supremia's cabs and one of their heads. It was epic.


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## Randy (Feb 19, 2009)

petereanima said:


> hmmm, but wouldnt it also sound "mono" also with 2 different sounding amps? to get a real "stereo" there should be a little delay on one of the signals, shouldnt it?



I've always considered that the "right" way to do it.


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## Austin (Feb 19, 2009)

The Radial Switchbone JX2 is great. You won't have phase issues or ground loop hum with that pedal, plus it has a built in adjustable mid/clean boost. Your tone will sound more full than it would through a regular A/B box. As for the buttons on the pedal, you can switch between either head, or select both at once, easily. Solid steel case, made in Canada. Unfortunately mine was recently stolen, but I'll buy another soon. They have another device for two heads and one cab, and some stripped down less-expensive models also.


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## Chritar (Feb 19, 2009)

petereanima said:


> hmmm, but wouldnt it also sound "mono" also with 2 different sounding amps? to get a real "stereo" there should be a little delay on one of the signals, shouldnt it?


 
i dont entirely understand why adding a delay would give it a more stereo sound that would be 'more' stereo than two different amp heads(and i do plan on having them complement eachother and not sound completely terrible together) only thing i can think of is adding the delay would make it more obvious that theres two differetn tones.

i do however want to have two halfstacks, one on each side to fill up live sound, with looping effects; sooo many ideas


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## Meldville (Feb 20, 2009)

MF_Kitten said:


> so you´re basically going to run a half stack?
> 
> or are you going to get another amp with the second cab?
> 
> i´m confused...



Haha sorry, I wasn't clear. No, I'm talking about running 2 halfstacks, My Engl with my Vader, and my 5150II with another cab (maybe a Mesa, maybe another Vader). I'd have to wait until our other guitarist got another cab, though, otherwise I don't think he'd stand a chance of being heard


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## sworth9411 (Feb 20, 2009)

Wall of sound = Awesome....it will also totally broaden your tonal spectrum....Im pushing my Stiletto for the lows and low mids and my 5150 to make the spectrum fuller.....Ill let you know when I try it live Im thinking results will be devastating.....


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## Vairocarnal (Mar 4, 2009)

I'm lame and can't embed so here's a nice vid on this topic.


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