Switching between two amps

swatguitar85 · #1 01-24-2005, 06:12 PM

I am thinking about buying a Hot Rod Deluxe to add to my rig for clean tones. I have a Rect-O-Verb with a Standard Recto Cabinet. Now both amps are 8 ohms to match the 8 ohm cab. I was thinking about getting an A-B switch so that I can switch between either amp and run them both to the same cabinet. First of all, I don't even know if I can run two 8 ohm amps to one 8 ohm cabinet without overloading. Second, if I can do this, is there anyway to run the same effects loop to both amps, so that when I switch between either amp, it moves the effects loop as well.

Gresh · #2 01-24-2005, 07:00 PM

You can't do that with a normal A/B switch. Even if you had matching impedences, the problem would be that when you were driving the cabinet with one amp, the other amp would be sitting there with no load...frying your transformer in the process. When tube amps are powered, they have to have a load present.

There is a solution however, Radial Engineering makes a pedal called the Cab bone I think, it is a switch designed for what you just described...taking two amps and driving one speaker cabinet with it, being able to switch between heads. The other question is why bother with that when the Hot Rod deluxe is a combo amp to begin with? You won't be able to tail off any reverb or delay, once you switch it is a hard switch...and you may not be able to use them both simultaneously...I'm not positive on that one, but their website will explain that. It's also going to run you a few hundred bucks.

Regarding effects on these amps, you're going to need a rack mixer for that unless you've got stereo effects. I have a two amp set up and I run a line 6 Delay and Modulation in the loop of each. But since they are stereo pedals, I can just run one side to each amp. I put a tonebone classic, a volume and a wah in front of the amp selector ABY switch to act as a global volume and overdrive, while everything else sits in the loop. I use separate cabinets for each amp so I don't have to worry about a cabinet switcher.

Gresh · #3 01-24-2005, 07:06 PM

Oh I forgot...

You could do this without any special gear if your cabinet was a stereo cabinet, one side dedicated to each amp. You wouldn't get the full effect of pushing all that air with one amp, but it would do what you want. You would need an ABY switch to switch your signal from amp to amp, but since each side of the cabinet would present a constant load to your amps, no problems there as long as the impedence mismatch was in the right direction. Speaker impedence must be equal to or greater than the amp's impedence. For example: 8ohm speaker output run to a 4 ohm cabinet....not good. 8 ohm speaker out to a 16 ohm cabinet...not ideal but no problem. 8 ohm to 8 ohm is perfect.
Hope that helps.

vaijem777 · #4 01-24-2005, 07:29 PM

You should be able to do what you're wanting to do with a combonation of the HeadBone and the LoopBone. I think...

http://www.tonebone.com/tbone-headbone-ss.htm

Of course, since the Fender is a combo, it doesn't really make much sense to put it into a setup with a head/cabinet.

swatguitar85 · #5 01-24-2005, 07:35 PM

Thanks for all the info Gresh. That is a good point, that the fender is a combo so why send it through. I guess that I was just thinking about that to only have to mic one thing if playing live, but I mean one extra mic is no big deal. Anyway, I have a Line 6 DD4 which is in the effects loop, so I could easily have the two ouputs from that going to the return feeds in both amps, but what about the input to the loop? My current setup is wireless ->tuner->wah->phaser->amp. So I could easily through an AB Switch after the phaser. Effects loop is volume->tremolo->flanger->chorus->boss delay->line 6 delay. So as you are saying I could send the two outputs from the line 6 to both loops.

Gresh · #6 01-24-2005, 10:03 PM

Headbone connected to your, loopbone....altogether now...hardy har har

I think for the line 6 to send two outputs it has to be fed both a left and right input, but you'd still have to have an input coming from the effects send of each amp.

one place to check out is www.loooper.com

I think Chris is right that a looper might do the trick, but it's got to have multiple sends and returns to be fed and then feed the different effects loops you've got running.

he made me a custom patcher, great work, great prices, great service. He can build you a piece that will do just about anything you want when it comes to loops and switchers...the prices are incredibly reasonable.

Just email him...I had to give him a few diagrams of what I was after but he nailed it.