stereo wet/dry any tried this particular setup?

adcard · Feb 10, 2012

Hey guys Im gonna get me a good quality ABY box and try this. Just curious if any of you have done something similar to what Im curious to try.
I have very limited space on stage to add an additional amp. I have a komet SW30 running into a closed back 212 Komet cab. The amp does not have reverb. I run a carbon copy delay in front and various OD/Dist Pedals/echoplex type preamps for my main gainy tones. I would love to be able to add a second amp in stereo. An amp with reverb that way I can get a good wet/dry blend. Due to space, the possible amps I could add would be either my Blues Jr or something very similar...I actually like the way my Blues Jr sounds. I use it as my practice amp at home.....but I don't know if such a lop-sided stereo rig would even work well. The komet amp is a $6,000 hand made awesome amp. The blues Jr. is a $400 amp good for practicing and a jamming at house.
Have any of you guys every tried adding a second amp in stereo to your main professional amp that is way way smaller in size and not even close to the same quality league? I'm not doing spacy ping pong stuff. The sound I like is Bonamassa/EJ lead stuff. It definitely wont be an even split between the two amps paned left and right. The komet will still be 95% of my sound. Just looking to add a little reverb to my sound and I don't like combing verb (whether on board or pedal) along with delay simultaneously.so thats why I am interested in doing the wet/dry stereo thing. The Jr would be mic'ed with its own mic obviously and the whole rig would have to be mixed appropriately in the front of the house.
The only tone Im concerned about is the overall sound mixed together in the sound system not the stage/room sound in proximity to the the amps. My band uses a big nice sound system and no matter what, the blues jr would not be able to have much of an effect on ambient stage/room volume. The Komet will burry the Jr on stage even with my closed back cab which is always pointed backwards into the back wall of the stage away from band and crowd to reduce stage volume. So what ever the Jr could hypothetically add to my sound would be more of a function of the mix of the two mic channels in the PA and in our in-ear monitors
I was just curious if anybody had ever tried adding "just a little bit" of second much smaller amp in stereo that is no where near the quality of the main amp? Did it work? Able to find a decent blend where the smaller amp could add just enough of the sound you were looking for with out negatively effecting your main fundamental tone.
Or does the stereo wet/dry really ONLY work with two amp rigs that can both offer a comparable output/sound-quality to be combined relatively evenly (50/50) in stereo making one overall tone composed of about half of one and about half of the other?
No matter what, I will not be attempting to rig this thing up with a cheap basic ABY box. I won't even begin to attempt any kind of amp combining without a good quality ABY the can correct phase, ground loop, level, noise, bleed over, levels etc. Im either going to get something like a Radial or Lehle or I might try to build one myself. I don't need any advice on issues associated with the cheaper boxes.

Thanks

effectsman · Feb 10, 2012

If you make your posts into paragraphs with more spacing everyone will have an easier time reading it. It's a big post.

In answer to your question yes I've done what your asking with a Mojave Plexi 45 (high quality tube amp through a OS 2x12) and a Roland Cube 15 (small solid state with 8" speaker).

Unless you are running the Komet with the volume very high you should be able to get enough volume out of the blues jr to balance the sound even on the stage. I know you stated that you weren't concerned about this. Getting them balanced in the monitors when they are both miked will be fine.

As long as you get close to having a balanced volume from each (even if it is only in the mix that this occurs) it will really add to the dimensionality of your sound. It's very addictive as it sounds awesomeand gives you a much more 3D sound. The only drawback is lugging the extra gear, the increased set up, PA issues and pull down time.

Have fun, you should be able to make it sound really good. Try something that has ping pong or stereo delays if you can get your hands on one.

adcard · Feb 10, 2012

tucky said: ↑

If you make your posts into paragraphs with more spacing everyone will have an easier time reading it. It's a big post.

In answer to your question yes I've done what your asking with a Mojave Plexi 45 (high quality tube amp through a OS 2x12) and a Roland Cube 15 (small solid state with 8" speaker).

Unless you are running the Komet with the volume very high you should be able to get enough volume out of the blues jr to balance the sound even on the stage. I know you stated that you weren't concerned about this. Getting them balanced in the monitors when they are both miked will be fine.

As long as you get close to having a balanced volume from each (even if it is only in the mix that this occurs) it will really add to the dimensionality of your sound. It's very addictive as it sounds awesomeand gives you a much more 3D sound. The only drawback is lugging the extra gear, the increased set up, PA issues and pull down time.

Have fun, you should be able to make it sound really good. Try something that has ping pong or stereo delays if you can get your hands on one.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! Wow thats a really big difference in amps between the mojave and the micro cube!! Thats pretty impressive

Yeah I don't really foresee any reason why it wouldn't work. I posted the question simply so I could double check and make sure that my proposed scenario checked out as plausible with people who have more experience running stereo before I spent close to 200 on a ABY box or tried to build one.

And yes I need to work on my forum'ing skills. (Notice the spaces) Sometimes I ramble on and on. I feel like sometimes if I don't really overly explain exactly what it is I am interested in discussing, I'll get a bunch of replies that don't really relate to my actual question.

Thanks for the suggestion

semi-hollowbody · Feb 10, 2012

I have done this...basically run my wah-octave-eq-compression-dirt into a boss ls-2 (line splitter, 2 channels with independant output controls, can boost or cut)...from the ls-2 a channel I go to my eq-modulation-delay-tremolo-reverb-amp, and from the ls-2 b-channel i go directly to another amp

this is a wet/dry set up, but I send the dirt to both amps...I like this better than splitting the signal at the guitar and running a wet/clean and dry rig...

but currently I am a one-amp at a time guy...

inca_roads · Feb 10, 2012

I was just curious if anybody had ever tried adding "just a little bit" of second much smaller amp in stereo that is no where near the quality of the main amp? Did it work?
Click to expand...

Yes, all the time. I'll send delay only to the small amp, and route the EH Freeze pedal to it as well. Neat!

Steve73 · Feb 10, 2012

You hardly need any volume out of the wet side to hear it. You'll be fine with a 15 watt amp. I would suggest adding a volume pedal on the wet side of your rig. That way, you can blend in as much wet as you want.

I use a .44 Magnum (44 watt power amp in a pedal enclosure) with a 1x12 cab as the wet side with my 100 watt Marshall. A delay pedal and a volume pedal is all I need for it. I use the line out of my Alex attenuator (which is attenuating the Marshall as well) to feed the wet side. This way, I am not hearing the tone of another amp, I am hearing the overdriven Marshall still but with FX added post amp. If you like the tone of the Komet and want to keep it, you might want to explore this method. Not much extra gear, but a big tone.

Log in or Sign up

Forums

stereo wet/dry any tried this particular setup?

adcard Member

effectsman Supporting Member

adcard Member

semi-hollowbody Member

inca_roads Member

Steve73 Member

Share This Page