LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 You know when guitarists have multiple amp stacks and multiple heads on stage,(Marshall for example). 1. How are they connected? Are they even connected together? 2. Do they use the controls on each head together? 3. Is a splitter used for separating heads? (each head set differently for different sounds) 4. If they use multiple heads without splitters, what is the purpose? Refer to question 2. Just wondering... Not that I'd have enough money to buy multiple Marshall Stacks,LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 You mean like this guy? You'd be surprised how many are fake, unloaded, or at least not actually used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 It varies from artist to artist. There is a good article in the back of Guitar World magazine called "A vulgar display of power" that shows various artists and their rigs. I know it's a shock, but sometimes they are just for looks and aren't used at all..... **** ETA******** Crap, Surf beat me to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 I use two amps. I switch with a Whirlwind Selector - A/B Both. CaliforniaMan just posted about his Bytchn Swytchn A/B/C switcher - http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/59932-such-a-deal/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 But, for the set-ups that are not fake. Are there answers to my questions? Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 I heard that many bands only used one amp or two and the others were just for show....like Bon Jovi in 1995 London vid on youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 I guess some could be for back-up, in case one blows up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 It seems like your question revolves around using multiples of the same amp. In other words the goal is power, not versatility... ie the player will not be interested in switching between the amps for different sounds but rather playing them all at once. Assuming that is correct, they can be daisy chained together. Another simple approach is the Y cable often used to mix the inputs on older Marshall heads. A variety of switches can also be used to turn them on individually or in combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 But, for the set-ups that are not fake. Are there answers to my questions? Thanks... I believe I pointed you towards the various set ups in "A Vulgar Display of Power" Some use one amp for cleans and another for everything else. Some use multiple heads into a single cabinet stack. Some use multiple cabinets off of dual identical heads. Some use mutliple identical stacks with various settings. Some use multiple identlical stacks with identical settings. As I said... it varies from artist to artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 It seems like your question revolves around using multiples of the same amp. In other words the goal is power, not versatility... ie the player will not be interested in switching between the amps for different sounds but rather playing them all at once. Assuming that is correct, they can be daisy chained together. Another simple approach is the Y cable often used to mix the inputs on older Marshall heads. A variety of switches can also be used to turn them on individually or in combination. Thanks Surf... So if they are daisy chained, you are using the controls on all heads. Just wondering what that does to your sound, blending clean channels and high gain channels? I know there are lots of possibilities... I guess if it were me, I'd use an A/B switch and set the amps differently to get multiple sounds at the press of a footswitch. Thanks for the info... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 I believe I pointed you towards the various set ups in "A Vulgar Display of Power" Some use one amp for cleans and another for everything else. Some use multiple heads into a single cabinet stack. Some use multiple cabinets off of dual identical heads. Some use mutliple identical stacks with various settings. Some use multiple identlical stacks with identical settings. As I said... it varies from artist to artist. Thanks ChanMan, I'll have to look into that article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Thanks ChanMan, I'll have to look into that article. I got a better resource for you... I'd lost the link but was able to find it again! http://www.guitargeek.com/ Find the artist who's sound you're looking for and check it out. Will be a LOT faster than researching multiple issues of GW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 I got a better resource for you... I'd lost the link but was able to find it again! http://www.guitargeek.com/ Find the artist who's sound you're looking for and check it out. Will be a LOT faster than researching multiple issues of GW. Wow, Cool website. Just added it to my favorites. Will take a real close look at it later. Thanks ChanMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Here's a pretty good shot the Y cord in action... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 When I was gigging I used two Marshall set ups. I had an old 50 head (4 input) and a master volume. I went into the first 50 in the top input. Out of the bottom input into the master vol. Then cranked them up. The old 50 was a nice warm distortion and the mv was a dirtier sound. Two mikes into the pa. Job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Here's a pretty good shot the Y cord in action... Cool photo. I've only seen one other photo of Clapton playing that Firebird. Never seen a Y cord before either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjay777 Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 You mean like this guy? You'd be surprised how many are fake, unloaded, or at least not actually used. That would look so tacky if you sat behind the stage. Unless it was Spinal Tap. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 You mean like this guy? You'd be surprised how many are fake, unloaded, or at least not actually used. I somehow suspected that was the case. I suspect Marshall has that wall in their inventory, either for sale, or for the lending to rock groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 I used to run two mesaboogie markIV heads out of two boogie full stacks... I used a morley A/B/Y box. I had to use a y-cable for my floor pedals. I later switched to rack effects that ran through the fx-loop for better control. I was able to run them stereo to get a cool effect, or I could hop between amps depending what I was looking for in terms of effect. It was also a pricey insurance policy if one of the amps went dead.... But that never happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 I somehow suspected that was the case. I suspect Marshall has that wall in their inventory, either for sale, or for the lending to rock groups. No doubt available to large touring performers. I mean, c'mon, it's the best ad campaign ever! Lots of times the actual guitar sound you are hearing in the house comes from a head into a soundproofed and miked cab in the wings or even under the stage. Reportedly KISS did this for years. I've heard EVH does the same. And a relatively knowledgeable friend told me Steve Vai is still using his old Carvin X100 head under the stage while a wall of his endorsed Legacy heads glow silently behind him! Of course all this is just hearsay.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 No doubt available to large touring performers. I mean, c'mon, it's the best ad campaign ever! Lots of times the actual guitar sound you are hearing in the house comes from a head into a soundproofed and miked cab in the wings or even under the stage. Reportedly KISS did this for years. I've heard EVH does the same. And a relatively knowledgeable friend told me Steve Vai is still using his old Carvin X100 head under the stage while a wall of his endorsed Legacy heads glow silently behind him! Of course all this is just hearsay.... Somewhere around here I got a business card from a guy who rents backline gear. I was shopping for guitars in GC and noticed this guy had been standing to my right for awhile, and whem I looked up I noticed he wasn't really shopping for anything, just listening to me. He introduced himself and told me about his business and a bunch of the gear he had available, including Marshall, Fender and Vox dummy cabs. Told me to call him if I needed him... Should I have asked him what I should use for a backline in my living room??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Yea, there are companies that create backlines and dummy cabs with storage drawers etc. built in. Hey, might as well get some use out of that space, so the tech can keep his tools, cables, etc in there. I always thought I'd like one set up as a beer fridge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Certainly some were "dummy cabs" but most guitar players will have at least two stacks with sound facing the crowd. Most big rock guitar players need thier sound in close proximity to get that desired feedback. Cant get it if you have your amps mic'd somewhere backstage in a corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Personally I run one amp and three heads of sorts I have a fender HRD which I split between a MESA Transatlantic and VOX Night Train. That way I get that VOX jingle jangley vibe for one song and then can move to that raw MESA sound. But in general it runs off the Fender Hot Rod mainly. those little heads sure make my life easier. I will say though the VOX NT could do with a few extra features like EQ on the Drive side and a loop would be nice but thats why I have the MESA :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 Warning Probably more info than you ever wanted... Along with daisy chaining from input to input you can also "slave" an amp into another amp or power amp. This is tube amp stuff I'm talking here. This is the method I use. This is perfect for Non-Master Volume amps and or amps that don't have effects loops. What I like about the slaving method is it allows you to not only get pre-amp distortion it also allows you to get power amp tube distortion as well and at a tolerable volume. It also allows you to take the truly dimed out amp signal and use it as an input for your time base effects. Unlike an effects loop which is just a "Tap" between the pre-amp section of the amp and the output amplifier section of the amp. When you use a standard effects loop you are only sending the distortion created by the pre-amp into the effect and then sending that signal back to the amps power amp section. So if you really dig the sound of the output tube distortion you would want to add that sound before the effect. A great example of what power amp distortion sounds like is when you dime out a little Marshall class 5 Anyway the trick is you need an attenuated load box with a line level output. With a tube amp you have to have a load (speaker) on the amplifier or you can burn up the output transformer. So the Attenuated load box is connected from the speaker out of your amp and simulates the speaker load ( a basic load box/attenuator is just some big High wattage resistors with a variable resistor ( dimmer or pot ) connected. With just a basic load attenuator you have a speaker out from the attenuator that runs back into your 4/12 or whatever your using. This is cool because it allows you to crank your amp and then take the cranked sound and turn it down but if it doesn't have a line out you can't slave into another amp or run effects. So using a modern load attenuator you could run from the speaker output of your amp into the attenuator, crank the amp at whatever level you want and take the low level signal from the attenuator into your effects, then out of your effects into the input ( preamp ) of another amplifier or into the receive input of another amplifiers effects loop ( so your only using the other amps power amp and bypassing the pre-amp section although I think you would lose the volume control at this point) Or you could run the signal into a mixing board, a regular power amplifier with a 4/12 or an Mbox or any other DAW interface. Or split it into both... A nice attenuator is the Webber Mass with line out option. The cool thing about the webber mass is that instead of using fixed resistors for the "Dummy Load" it uses an actual speaker "Motor" so that the resistance to the amplifier fluctuates dynamically like a speaker would. It also has speaker outs so you could run a wet/dry set-up. This where you would run from the speaker out of your amp into the attenuator loadbox, then out of the speaker out on the attenuator back into a 4/12 at the same time you run the line out from the attenuator into your effects into another amplifier with a 4/12. To me this sounds awesome!! So the advantages in my humble opinion are: 1. You don't hose up a vintage non-master volume by adding a post or pre-phase master volume. The smart guys figured out how to do this without adding holes but unfortunately there were a lot who didn't. These only effect the amount of gain going to the internal power section so if you want power tube saturation you still have to crank the amp. Which is cool if you can stand the volume because then you start to get actual speaker distortion in the tone as well.... 2. You don't hose up a vintage amp that doesn't have an effects loop. Adding a non-buffered effects loop which was pretty common on old Marshalls cuts the output volume and has a major impact on the natural tone of the amp and once again your looking for places to add holes (Yuck) and your not getting the power tube distortion into the effects. Buffered effects loops are a little better but same issues. I guess that's about it... Regards, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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