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Multi Amp Questions.

Turtle71

Turtle71

Aug 11, 2009
1,339
1,897
Madison, WI
#1
OK, so I did use the search feature, I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, perhaps I missed it.

So, I want to try something that I’m sure some of you already have, or are currently doing.

One of the bands I play in has just a single guitarist, and as almost always happens, when he heads of into “noodle land” a fair bit of the song drops away with him. My other band had this issue, but a second guitarist fixed that…but with this band, having a second guitarist is a “no fly zone”. (long story)

Normally I can keep it together quite well, but there are times…:scowl:

What I’m thinking about doing is, picking up something like a Radial BigShot ABY box, and splitting my signal, with one signal running through my usual FX, then into my bass rig, and the other signal running into a guitar rig. I have a Fender Twin, but I’m not going to gamble with that…I’ll probably grab an old Peavey 212 Combo to experiment with.

The questions I have are.

What should I put “in line” into the guitar amp to help cut some of the more damaging bass frequencies? EQ Pedal maybe? Some sort of preamp? (I’d rather not have to deal with any kind of a rack mount crossover).

What pedal/s could I try that will give me “overdriven guitar like tone”? Maybe a small multi FX type unit?

I won’t be “effect dancing” on the guitar side of things, I just want a nice overdriven “set it and forget it” tone, as I’ll probably only engage it during solos.

So, I guess to sum it up, can this be done? Can it be done with useful results?

I understand I won’t be able to get a “Faux Rhythm Guitarist”, but I’m hoping to at least get some useable tones to fill some of that sonic void.

Thoughts? Experiences?
 
#2
Could use an octave up pedal in the signal chain before the guitar amp. Another solution is an 8 or 12 string bass. I'm working with an amp builder right now on preamp pedals for my 12. 3 channels each. Total out, stereo guitar and mono 12 bass. Who needs a rhythm guitar player with that wall of sound?
 
#3
It absolutely can be done. There are only about a million different dirt pedals out there, so head to the effects forum and read JohnK 10's overdrive thread first, then some of the others. As for a device to cut lows on the guitar amp, it has one already...a bass knob. Turn it down.
 
#4
JimmyM said:
There are only about a million different dirt pedals out there, so head to the effects forum and read JohnK 10's overdrive thread first, then some of the others. As for a device to cut lows on the guitar amp, it has one already...a bass knob. Turn it down.
Click to expand...

Thanks Captain Obvious!! LOL :D

I know there are literally TONS of dirt pedals to choose from, I use them on my normal bass rig, I was mostly just looking for suggestions for the "guitar feed" end of things, since I'd be looking for more of a "guitar tone", a guitar FX pedal seemed sensible.

And yes, I do know where the bass knob is :D, I was more wondering about feeding a full tilt bass tone directly into the amp... yes, I know you can use guitar amps for bass (people did for years), but I thought if I was able to "thin" the tone a bit prior to the amp, then maybe I'd be able to dial in a closer "guitar tone"...I suppose it would depend on the particular amps EQing capabilities.

P.S. I did consider posting this in the effects forum, but seeing as how it seemed to be as much about amplification as it was about signal alteration, this seemed the appropriate forum...MODS please move it if I'm in error.
 
#6
I recently did something similar, so I'll share my experience. I'm playing bass in my main project but one of the guitarist lives in another town so when he's not at the rehearsal (and using my guitar cab), I'm running two amps using an ABY switch. The chain signal looks like that:

1: Bass -> ABY -> Trace Elliot AH400 -> Trace Elliot 4x10" cabinet. I mute most of the mids, this amp does the booooom and power in my sound
2: Bass -> ABY -> SansAmp BDDI -> Behringer EQ pedal -> Traynor Bassmaster -> Peavey Triple XXX 4x12" cabinet. I remove most of the bass and boost everything else on the EQ pedal, the EQ on the Traynor isn't much responsive but I also cut the bass and boost the treble.

Alone, the Traynor sounds thin and fuzzy and the TE sounds boomy and unclear, together it gives a pretty well balanced sound. This setup is far from being optimal, but it gives an idea. IMO, the important thing to consider is the guitar speakers capacity. My Peavey is rated at near 300w RMS and the amp is rated 50w, as a rule of thumb I'd try to have a cabinet to amp ratio of about 4:1 just to be sure, as I've been told on another forum that: "The usable frequency spec and power handling spec you listed are tied together. Meaning that below that usable frequency rating the power handling begins to drop off, but not by a predictable amount."

I'm not an expert, but here's my share on the subject. Cheers!
 

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