Small amp switcher?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kapo_Polenton
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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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So here is the scenario and I can't seem to find what I want or maybe it is a simple ABY box.

2 or 3 amps on a shelf, only one will be powered on at a time ( for load reasons) into the SAME cab via a switcher. I just want one long cable run to my cab in the closet back to a box which serves 2 or 3 amps. What is going to do the trick?
 
Can’t think of anything but a Headbone but that will only do two heads. Honestly the only real way is to just move the speaker cable yourself. If you’re not going to power the other heads anyway until needed, you’re walking over there anyway.
Thinking further upon it, a 4x2 or 4x4 switcher is available. You just won’t worry about the other speaker outs.
KHE
Delisle
 
Any head switcher with a built-in load for protection. I actually have two I’m not using anymore - Ampete 221 and Metropoulos Headmaster. Both switch 2 amps and have foot switch control. PM me if you’re looking for more info. But regardless, that’s how I’d go about it. No cable shenanigans.
 
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Mesa Boogie Head-Track, but it is also a 2-amp switcher which I think is just an Ampete 221 rip-off.
 
I second DeLisle, and he can fully customize to your needs since he fabricates everything in his shop. Ampetes are great but expensive and probably overkill. Just contact Jer at DeLisle and he'll get you set up at a reasonable price. You'll be able to switch heads but also to multiple cabs if you want - which you will. You can also share one attenuator across all heads.
 
Could I not run a simple junction box.? 2 or 3 short speaker cables into box, 1 feed out to cab. Manually move the cable to the cab as needed and this way no need to get behind and plug speaker cable in/ out. I don't need it on a switch necessarily, it's more accessibility.
 

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I can only speak to the Head Master, but it’s a great unit if you want to A/B your amps. Switches quickly.
 
I tried ABY switchers and different things for a long time. I finally broke down and paid for a real amp switcher, first a DeLisle and now Ampete (because they are 1U). I’d highly recommend doing that, It’s so much easier to manage and easy to switch. Plus it allows you to add more amps in the future easily.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Could I not run a simple junction box.? 2 or 3 short speaker cables into box, 1 feed out to cab. Manually move the cable to the cab as needed and this way no need to get behind and plug speaker cable in/ out. I don't need it on a switch necessarily, it's more accessibility.
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That seems like a fast way to blow something up.

You'd basically be sending the speaker out of amp A into both the cab and back into amp B, and you'd be sending the output of amp B to the cab and back into amp A. Also you'd have to check to see whether that box could accommodate the high wattage throughput of the amps, which I would not be confident it could do.

There's a reason every amp switcher on the market is built as a heavy duty box with a highly engineered switching system and dummy loads everywhere inside.
 
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Kapo_Polenton said:
Could I not run a simple junction box.? 2 or 3 short speaker cables into box, 1 feed out to cab. Manually move the cable to the cab as needed and this way no need to get behind and plug speaker cable in/ out. I don't need it on a switch necessarily, it's more accessibility.
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Sure you could do a junction box / patch bay thing, and be diligent about making sure the right amps are on standby and right jack is being used. But if you’re switching with any regularity, you will likely tire of it, and wish you had gotten a switcher.
 
retrorack said:
Sure you could do a junction box / patch bay thing, and be diligent about making sure the right amps are on standby and right jack is being used. But if you’re switching with any regularity, you will likely tire of it, and wish you had gotten a switcher.
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If you’re only moving it between 2-3 amps and it’s very accessible, that wouldn’t be a chore at all. Especially if it’s just at home or in a studio and you don’t need on the fly changes. I used to have a Delisle switcher for about 9 heads and three cabs and it didn’t play nice with a couple of my Mesa’s. After all the cables I had to make and weird shenanigans with some of the amps, I bailed on the switcher idea, sold the Delisle and went back to just moving the one speaker cable going to my PS2 input to what head I want. Speaker cable for my 3rd cab (first two live in the PS2 outputs), is ready to go at the back of the PS2 when I need it. Caveat is, even though snug, I can get behind the gear. If things were more tightly spaced with less access I could imagine investigating a different switcher than the Delisle.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Could I not run a simple junction box.? 2 or 3 short speaker cables into box, 1 feed out to cab. Manually move the cable to the cab as needed and this way no need to get behind and plug speaker cable in/ out. I don't need it on a switch necessarily, it's more accessibility.
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No. Each amp not being used with the cabinet need to idled on an actual load via the switcher. Both the Metro headmaster,Delisle and KHE switchers do this.

Don't try to use anything that doesn't provide an impedance load for the amps not being used.
 
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Kapo_Polenton said:
Could I not run a simple junction box.? 2 or 3 short speaker cables into box, 1 feed out to cab. Manually move the cable to the cab as needed and this way no need to get behind and plug speaker cable in/ out. I don't need it on a switch necessarily, it's more accessibility.
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Ghetto fabulous. 🤌🏽
 
Don’t just buy any amp switcher.. Do your research.. I recently spoke with KHE. Sold my kahayan & went KHE primarily for the ground lift issue, and many other additional benefits I will list below that may be of significance to you or someone else. Also the question asked was what separates you from your competition in this case kahayan? Anyways here was the convo:

“I'm happy to tell the difference and share my opinion:

- The basic amp/cab switching is the same. The KHE ACS 8x4 and the Kahayan can both switch 8 amps and 4 cabs (one amp active at the time).

- With the KHE, you can enable Dual-Cab Mode to play two speaker cabs in parallel at the same time (not sure if the Kahayan has this)

- The KHE has a built-in master-buffer at the input. This converts the high-impedance guitar signal into low-impedance, so it can drive the long cable runs to the amps without any tone loss. The buffer inside the KHE is highest studio-quality. It is completely transparent, no signal-loss without any change in dynamics or tone. Tonally, it is completely "invisible". The Kahayan is passive I think, which can cause interference noise and also signal loss / treble-loss if long cables are used. With the KHE, this is no problem.

- The KHE has some advanced safety functions and features, for example the CabinetDetection, which blocks all not-connected cabinet jacks, so it is not possible to switch an amp to an used cabinet output (which would be very dangerous for the amps.

- Most importantly: The KHE does not require to remove the ground/earth from the amps. Doing so is actually illegal in most countries and it can be extremly dangerous if one of the amps has a malfunction or if the master-amp is removed. Never ever do that, the earthing of an amp is a critial safety aspect. In my honest opinion, if an amp switcher requires to do that to work properly, it is trash.

On a side-note, I have quite a few customers who previously had a Kahayan switcher, but were not happy with the sound and functions. Once they got their KHE switcher, they were happy :)

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

Best regards from Switzerland and have a nice day.”

I asked him to keep it raw & blunt which I appreciate.. I don’t like my shiza sugar coated..good luck on your journey.
 
Great info here thanks fellas. Ghetto DIY box is def out then. I will look into the switchers or because I am in Canada, just spring for the Radial VT headbone switcher. It's primarily for the two amps I have on the far shelf and the third I will just use with my 4 x 12 in the room. They are all 2204 circuits or modded circuits anyway with the exception being my Randall RM100 which runs a few diff preamps. That one is probably most useful variety wise so I want that and an 800 on the switch into the cab in the closet.
 
OR, old school, dongle a few of these out to the side of the cabinet and hook up whichever amp I want when I want to the primary speaker cable to the cab. This would make sure i know which one i am turning on and that it has a load.

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