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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 27, 2017 2:45:05 GMT -7
Hi, before asking, let me tell you what I use. My rig is pretty simple: - two heads (Dr. Z Z-28, Dr. Z Carmen Ghia). None of them has master volume or FX loop
- two cabs (1x10 w/Celestion Gold, 1x12 w/WGS G12C/S)
- an attenuator (Dr. Z Air Brake)
- a small pedalboard (tuner, compressor, OD, boost, delay, verb)
I'd like to use my Z-28 for cleans because of its bigger wattage (22w) and headroom, while the (cranked) Carmen Ghia would cover dirt tones with its 18w of glorious saturation. I'd use the attenuator just with the Carmen Ghia to keep output volumes balanced. Both amps are loud! From what I understood, you can do this in two ways: 1) Using pedals with wet/dry outputs I have a Chase Bliss Tonal Recall (incoming) and a Neunaber Wet Reverb (Expanse series). I guess none of them has wet/dry outputs. Plus, this setup wouldn't allow you to manage ground/hum and phase problems, if I understand correctly. 2) Using two different amps, two cabs and an ABY switch, like this one: Is there something else I'd possibly need? I could run my entire pedalboard into the clean amp and use the dirty amp as an "overdrive pedal", maybe I could run an OD and the delay into the dirty amp, I don't know. Options are endless, please enlight me.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 27, 2017 3:08:15 GMT -7
Although the Big Shot works, the one I have is totally passive, that is to say, not a powered device. When I tried it, I lost some signal through the A/B box. Instead I opted for their powered unit, the JX-2. That device is fully buffered and includes some other useful features as well. Your experience will depend on the guitars you use, and how your amps respond through the pedal. You need to try before you buy.
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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 27, 2017 3:28:31 GMT -7
Radial Twin City and Lehle Little Dual seem the most used. Both active. I play mostly a 1975 Telecaster and a 6122 Gretsch.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 27, 2017 3:34:16 GMT -7
I just looked at the Radial site and it appears all of the boxes that I'm familiar with have been redesigned. The Big Shot now has a power input, so I assume that means it is active, but you'll need to be sure of what you're buying. I know my Big Shot is totally passive. And the JX-2 now does ABY/C... yikes!
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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 27, 2017 5:08:43 GMT -7
It's an interesting thing to try, I'm not sure if I would gig with a rig like that for a long time, but it's definitely cool at home, studio and rehersals.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 27, 2017 21:50:00 GMT -7
It's an interesting thing to try, I'm not sure if I would gig with a rig like that for a long time, but it's definitely cool at home, studio and rehersals. I did it that way for a long time and it was glorious. One of my first Z-Based setups (I did it with THD amps even earlier) included the Stingray for cleans and the RXES for dirt, each driving a 12" Alnico Gold in a THD 2x12 cab. Sound guy was pissed he had to set up two mics. As I said, before that I had been using THD amps and set up two there: The very first one that included the Z was a THD Flexi 50 and the venerable Mazerati 2x12 Combo: These evolved as my amp collection evolved, but I could not wean myself from the two amp setup. I finally ended up with the Maz 18 NR for hairy cleans and the Remedy for balls-out lead work, again driving two Alinco Golds - one in the Maz combo and one in a Z Convertible cab. Dang that worked great.
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Post by purpletele on Jul 27, 2017 23:14:19 GMT -7
^^^^^Great Shots!
Thank you, now I have proof on film that my ampsession is not unique.
I like the Remedy, looks like mine. I still haven't named mine.
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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 28, 2017 1:39:29 GMT -7
Jesus Christ, that's gear porn! You used two heads with the same speaker or one speaker for each head?
Back to my wet/dry rig, I'm thinking about putting a couple of pedals BEFORE the ABY switch in order to affect both signals. For example, I could put a Nocturne Dynobrain preamp right there to control the amount of signal hitting both amps. It's always on at unity gain in my current rig and it's useful when I change guitars or when I want to lower the volume without touching the amps. It's my main "faucet", I think it belongs to that place in the signal chain. I could also place a clean boost before the ABY switch, I need to try that. A clean boost into the dirty amp would add more gain, while it would add just volume in the clean amp. Let's say I have a clean boost for each amp (both are after the ABY switch), what happens when both the amps are working together and I engage one of them or both?
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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 28, 2017 3:29:41 GMT -7
After reading some reviews, I don't know if the Lehle Little Dual is the best option. It seems to work great, but: 1) The A/B switch work on press in some cases, on release in some cases. It's confusing. 2) It doesn't have separate LEDs for A and B, so when you're on Y mode it's hard to remember which one was engaged first, if you know what I mean. I guess the Radial Twin City is better, maybe? It's a little bit more pricey though.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 28, 2017 7:15:54 GMT -7
You used two heads with the same speaker or one speaker for each head? I did it both ways. Using the JX-2 AB/Y I had the cab wired stereo and could run either head or both at the same time. Later I started using the Headbone which is used to switch between heads using one set of speakers. You could not use this kind of setup for a wet/dry thing.
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Post by TelePrankster on Jul 30, 2017 2:13:08 GMT -7
Which effects do you use BEFORE the ABY switch? Compressor, booster?
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Post by goodez on Jul 31, 2017 19:37:59 GMT -7
Drooling over here. That first butterscotch prs was beautiful!
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Post by TelePrankster on Aug 1, 2017 1:25:27 GMT -7
I bought a Radial Twin City ABY switch, eventually. I'll start doing some tests during the weekend. If you have suggestions about the signal chain, speak up. I'll probably go like this: Guitar>Tuner>Preamp>Clean boost>ABY #1(wet): compressor, OD/boost(Bondi Sick As), delay, reverb--------->Z-28 (set clean) #2(dry): OD/boost(Timmy)-------------------------------------------->Carmen Ghia (set dirty w/attenuator) The reason why I keep the Sick As in the wet "channel" is because if I want to play with just one amp I don't need to rewire anything. It's a very versatile EQ/boost/OD and it covers the tones I normally need with my rig.
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