• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass A B splitter box for acoustic image two channel head

james condino

james condino

Spruce dork
Commercial User
Sep 30, 2007
5,443
13,478
asheville, nc
www.condino.com
#1
i like my two channel AI Focus head but for the life of me can not understand why you would make a two channel amp with no switching channel options or footswitch. I'd like to set one channel for the majority of use and then the other as a boosted one for taking solos. Most of the time it is just my upright with a peizo pickup. Can anyone reccommend an A B selector stopmbox that has the following:

Nothing made in China
Silent switching - no loud crashing clicks or static diacharge with the peizo on stage
Battery , no wall wart for power
SIMPLE

i aleady have a solid preamp and other devices, so I just need a basic model that works well for this application, but there seem to be a ton of options and I can't see bringing my upright and rig into some place like the Guitar Center to try them all.
Thx.
 
#2
DOD used to make a passive A/B stompbox. Somebody else asked the same question a while back, and I found one of those boxes for them on eBay for $15 or some nominal cost.

Lookie here: [This invalid link has been removed]
 
Last edited:
#4
I just got one of these used on Ebay for $39 ($89 new). Made in Canada by Radial (good stuff), appears to be bullet-proof. It's totally passive so it doesn't need any power (this means it also does NOT have lights indicating whether A or B is active.

Radial BigShot ABY
 
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
#6
Most passive ABY switches actually have resistors to ground to bleed off any residual voltage that would cause a pop when switching. Usually on the order of 1Meg Ohm, but that means that it's in parallel with the input impedance of your preamp, so if you have a 1Meg preamp, the resulting impedance between the ABY box and the preamp input stage is actually only 500k ohms.

However, if you have a buffer in front of the switcher, you don't have to worry about it.
 
#7
james condino said:
i like my two channel AI Focus head but for the life of me can not understand why you would make a two channel amp with no switching channel options or footswitch.
Click to expand...

Because that's not what most two channel amps are made for. The idea of switching channels started in the 1970s with guitar amps. Ironically many of those amps had only a single input so you couldn't use them for keeping two instruments connected at the same time. Peavey was the first mfr to offer bass amps with channel switching that I recall.

As far as AI you might ask why their early two channel amps had only an XLR mike input on the second channel. I once spoke with Rick Jones about that since I wanted to be able to keep my BG and DB on separate channels for doubling gigs. At the time the only amp on the market that could do that was Walter Woods. AI finally changed that with their Series II amps.
 
#9
tombowlus said:
Radial makes several different options that might float your boat. Check out the newish Bassbone V2.
Click to expand...
Tom,
That's a nice looking box (Bassbone V2) but I don't think it accomplishes what the OP was asking for in that it only has one output so he couldn't use it to switch between his two amp channels. Granted, the bassbone has it's own boost so he wouldn't need to use the second channel for that.

But, he says he also has a nice pre-amp so doesn't need another one - also doesn't want something with a wall-wart.

Pardon my critique, I'm just practicing my critical reading and editing skills.
 
#12
rickwolff said:
Thank you for being gracious toward my somewhat smart-a** post. I think something I ate for dinner gave me indigestion.
Click to expand...

Well, and I was reading the OP's post with more of a thought as to how I would address the situation, and I didn't pay enough attention to his stated preferences and intentions.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back