How do YOU run 2 Amps at once?

[mightywarlock]

So I'm never satisfied.
Even when I am satisfied, I find a way to me less satisfied.
So I have a ton of stuff.
And I want to run 2 amps at my next show.
At the same time.
So I'm considering running maybe my VH4 and my Modded Marshall JMP together. or my Marshall and Bogner. or my VH4 and Dual Recto. We'll see what it ends up being...

The VH4 has a THRU on the front panel, but I find when plugged into it, it dulls the tone, and makes the Marshall start to buzz, thereby ruining the tight tone. Everything becomes more round on the VH4.
So I try a Lehle Little Dual, and i still get the buzzing tone, and perhaps less of the dull tone in the VH4. but I can't seem to stop things from the ground loop...thereby still making it useless for live purposes to sound clean and tight. I even have a EB hum eliminator on one of the plugs (i think the Marshall).

So any other bright ideas and suggestions to make this all work cleanly, and easy to set up quick for live purposes? Clean and simple is the key here...

Note, I only get the ground loop issue when BOTH amps are connected. by themselves, everything is clean and clear.

 

[RedB4Black]

i have no problems with my Lehle Dual SGOS

 

[Solid Snake]

I ran a two amp set up for a while using a radial big shot aby.

 

[mightywarlock]

the other thing i wonder, would quality of cables make a difference in this circumstance?

 

[sinestro]

On the Lehle make sure you're using the A/B input. Did you try using the polarity switch at all? Try the hum eliminator on the ac for the Lehle too.

 

[Ventura]

i have no problems with my Lehle Dual SGOS

BINGO!!

Best unit out there too, IMHO



Mo

 

[mikehickey]

I have a cool old box called the Pedal Pusher which runs 1 guitar in to 8 outs with an active load control as well a a mini gain knob too. I also use a VHT Valvulator which is a buffered tube splitter with 1 in 2 outs. the ground thing can rear it's ugly head too... there are ground lifts on both of these, but sometimes they just decrease it, rather than eliminate. So the Ebtech gets inserted to one amp or I lift the ground on one of the boxes...both of these units are AC powered, and I know we're not supposed to lift the ground with the little adapter plug....but i have done it. Sometimes the loop seems to show up from nowhere even when running the same gear, the same way. I have seen the Lehle P Split and am interested in trying that.

 

[mightywarlock]

i have no problems with my Lehle Dual SGOS

BINGO!!

Best unit out there too, IMHO



Mo

This is the box I picked up.
Still buzzes.

 

[threadkiller]

I ran a two amp set up for a while using a radial big shot aby.

This works well. I have a bigshot ABY. If you want it PM me.

Doing this live, assuming you mic your amps live, you'll of course need to mic both cabs and blend them at the board. In small clubs this became impractical for me, or course in small clubs you may not need to mic the cabs.

 

[mrkmas]

First thing is first, both amps are plugged into the same power strip ( whether it be a $5 power strip or a $700 Furman) and are right next to each other?

 

[mightywarlock]

First thing is first, both amps are plugged into the same power strip ( whether it be a $5 power strip or a $700 Furman) and are right next to each other?

Yes, same strip. near each other.
different cabs.

 

[mrkmas]

possibly try using the ebtech on the amp that it is not currently used on. Maybe the loop is coming from the other amp.

 

[petejt]

Maybe they are out of phase?


If one amp has an odd number of gain stages, and the other has an even number of gain stages, then running both amps at once will result in them being out of phase. The signals partially cancel each other out- causing that dull, rounded off sound.

Change the polarity of the speaker cable/s for one of your amps.

 

[stephen sawall]

Like petejt said .... if you have the amps in phase and change channels on one or both channels they are more than likely now out of phase. That is why most people that use 2 or more amps use one sound and control the sound a lot with the volume on the guitar.

 

[philnz]

Radial Switchbone, no problems

 

[Giga]

I use the Lehle P-split to split the signal and still keep it strong. That's basically the same as your Little Dual but without the switching.
Works fine; the through signal goes directly to the dry amp and the generated signal goes via fx to the wet amp.

On the hum/buzz; are you sure you aren't accidentally using a stereo plug somewhere ? The Lehle unit is in stereo so even when you use a stereo plug in mono config that can cause the problems you're describing.

Normally the groundliftswitch on the Lehle pedal should resolve the groundloop related noise.

As others said, the phasing issue can be a bitch; that's why I use two similar amps now. Amps out of phase sound very thin though (bass gets cancelled out the most by far), they don't get woolly

I don't remember exactly how the thru jack on the Diezel is layed out but I seem to remember that even connecting a tuner to it had an adverse effect on the tone coming from the amp. This makes me think it's a simple parallel jack to the input which explains why your sound becomes less distinct. That little signal coming from your PU's is split between two inputs and becomes two less powerfull signals. On top of that, adjusting one amp influences the signal going to the other.

Giga

 

[RedB4Black]

i have no problems with my Lehle Dual SGOS

BINGO!!

Best unit out there too, IMHO



Mo

This is the box I picked up.
Still buzzes.

The SGOS mode l has ground lifts. Sometimes it'll buzz and I push the button and it's silent. Not sure about the little dual.

 

[racerevlon]

I've used the VooDoo Labs Amp Switcher for one-into-four for years now and no issues. The Amp Switcher has a ground lift switch for every output. Works great.

 

[Spaceboy]

I used a Radial Bigshot ABY switch, but eventually I got tired of lugging extra weight around.

 

[xXxGhotimanxXx]

Radial JX-2 Tonebone. Phase switch, ground lift, boost/mid boost, stompbox configuration with leds to let you know what amps are on, etc. Love it...works exactly how it's intended. I run the amps out of phase on purpose, mids boosted 10db, ground lifted for 0 hum. Running a Marshall MG and a Diezel VH4....sounds like heaven.

^ Nice avatar.
J