hey everyone, me and my friends are trying to play the battle of the bands at school. The show is in april (don't worry, i'll definetly have pictures) However, we are trying to organize now how me and my friend, the other guitarist will be playing that show with 15w amps. I have saved enough money and am going to buy a new amp, but my friend is in a tougher spot.
I was thinking, I know that there is a way to daisy chain amps, with some sort of Y splitter cable. I want to know if it's possible to use these cables to go from my friend's guitar input and connect to each of our practice amps, he would be running two 15w amps, and he might be loud enough for that show.
The problem is now, does anyone know where I can buy this cable, or somehow make my own?
Also, would my idea of connecting the two amps together even work?
I don't know if it is even possible, but if I was going to look for a splitter like that, I would go to radio shack. Good luck.
as i said in a post about 2 minutes ago, i got a Morley ABY switch and it's great. you can run a single guitar into 2 amps simultaneously, or separately. or you can run 2 guitars into one amp.
You could always mic the amps & run them through the PA. Then the sound tech could level out the sound from the guitars in the mains & the monitors. Just a thought.
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
The sound should go to both all right with a Y-splitter, but I think you'll get a lot of hum. As I understand it, something that puts a transformer between the two when it splits will solve that problem. I'm guessing that a decent splitter box will do that, but a simple cable won't.
EDIT: Can anyone here confirm what I said?
dntalb has the best approach.
Using a 'Y' splitter (in some but not all cases) causes degradation of the signal to the tune of almost 10db. Further, you are both tied to the same tonal limits of the single amp. If you both play different guitar brands, someone may not be too happy with their own sound.
You should find a way to seperate each guitar from the other. Plus each guitarist should (personal preference) be on opposite sides of the stage from each other for better sound quality.
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
U2bono, where did you get that morley switch, it could be exactly what I'm looking for
Bish, I forgot to mention that we both have the same exact practice amp, so there shouldn't be any tonal differences. Also, I already considered having each guitarist on the opposite side of the stage. But there's one question, what do you mean when you say ,"If you both play different guitar brands, someone may not be too happy with their own sound."
Dntalb, my school doesn't really have a PA system in the room that we are having the show. Plus, my school would very reluctantly give a PA system to the battle of the bands. In general, we are lucky jsut to have one, the school doesn't really expand past that.
Bish, I forgot to mention that we both have the same exact practice amp, so there shouldn't be any tonal differences. Also, I already considered having each guitarist on the opposite side of the stage. But there's one question, what do you mean when you say ,"If you both play different guitar brands, someone may not be too happy with their own sound."
I was thinking, as an example, if one played a Strat and the other a Tele and you are trying to adjust the sound accordingly you may conflict with the others settings if you are sharing the same amp. Have you compared your settings with his to see if you are even close to the same knob adjustments?
Of course now that I think about it, if you have separate pre-amps and a common cabinet that would be okay. I don't condone this but if the show must go on and there's no other way, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Right? :wink: But to have two instruments coming out of a common system just isn't going to sound right, IMHO. I've been on stage for many years and that sort of sharing doesn't do much positive sound enforcement for the band.
Do what you can to each have separate amps, controls, and EQ-ability to show your best stage performance. Nothing can really sub for the real deal.
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
Its a misunderstanding I think.
I mean to say that I have the same practice amp as my friend, so I am going to lend it to him, and have him use the Y splitter cable so he can be powered through the 2 identical practice amps, while I would play on a new amp I would've purchased.
ME==> :oops:
OK, gottcha....What a waste of text I had, huh?
Sorry for the confusion.
So, in that case...Good luck with the show! :)
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
i dont see why this would not work, but then again i am no expert. have you tried just using his one practice amp? if you mess with the volumes of both amps, i imagine you could make it work...your friend just might not stand out as much from your guitar.
Simple y-splitter cables will work in that the signal will travel both cables. But it won't work nearly as well as a good A/B/Y box, as there's nothing in place to ensure that the signal level is the same on each cable, that the signals are in phase, and that the signals are not creating cross-interference.
A/B/Y switch boxes are available for only a few dollars almost anywhere.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
