ABY Pedal

[Solocaller]

I'm kind of wanting to get an ABY pedal so that I can run two different amps at once, but the more that I read and study, the more confused I get.

Passive, active, out of phase amps causing volume drops....it's all very confusing.

So can somebody educate me, please? I would love one with 3 switches; a separate switch for each amp and one to activate both amps at the same time. That way, when I want to switch to only a single amp, all I have to do is select that switch instead of cycling through both amps to get to my desired amp. If that makes sense. But I don't think that such a pedal exists. This pedal will probably be run at the end of a signal change before going to the amps because I can't justify the cost of having two sets of effects pedals, if that makes a difference.

 

[C&M Music - Lafayette]

I will try to help explain without confusing myself or you. Most AB switches accomplish what you seek. Switch A switches on/off A and B together at the same time, A and B are on together and off together. Switch B alternates between A on or B on by depressing the switch . The Morley ABC pedal has the three switches, but is for one guitar to three amps. It does not have a switching system to give you two at the same time.

 

[Hopeful Sinner]

I have a Whirlwind A/B/Y switch and I love it.

No signal problems or noise, just does exactly what it's supposed to do, quietly and efficiently.

It's also worth mentioning that it is very well built. Solid as a rock.

Happy hunting...

 

[Egads]

I've played around with a few different straight ABY boxes and felt that every single one sucked the life out of the signal. I haven't tried the Lehle stuff, but have heard very good things about it. There are also dedicated amp switchers to do just this. I haven't tried those, either.

 

[jimistephen]

You will want to make sure one channel has a phase inverter on it. When some thing is out of phase, it's only out of phase against something else. What would be happening is amp A speaker is moving out while amp B speaker is moving in, ala out of phase. The phase inverter will just make one move like the other.

 

[László]

This will solve all your worries and then some.

http://www.fulltone.com/products/true-path-aby

 

[Woundtight]

I have tons of time invested in using A//B/Y switches. For what you described I think a two switch A/B/Y will work fine. The Radial Tonebone Twin Cities is a great example.

The picture is not quite right.The A and B toggle LEDs will never be on at the same time. its also the reason why this A/B/Y with two switches should work for you.
If you happen to be on A and then switch on both amps, you can hit the toggle footswitch and the LEDs will change from green (A) to amber (B). There will be no change in sound, both amps are still on. When you hit 'both' switch it will revert back to one amp- the amp with the illuminated LED, in this case amp B (amber). So you can be playing along with both amps on, when you look down to switch to a single amp you know which one its going to switch to because of the LED. If you want it to switch to the other amp, hit the toggle before hitting the 'both' footswitch.

 

[Woundtight]

It is good that you run all of your pedals ahead of the switcher. Some pedals, like most compressors, invert phase every time you switch on and off . If you put a pedal that flips phase in one output on the ABY, it can result in an intermittent phase issue that will just drive you crazy.

 

[vchizzle]

I'd buy that radial all day long. Best quality and options of everything you might need. I've had great luck with other products by them. Not a bad price for all the options IMO. I had a Lehle that was great too, but more expensive and no phase or lift switches. I tried a Morley and it was noisy for my situation.

 

[yankeebulldog]

I'd buy that radial all day long. Best quality and options of everything you might need. I've had great luck with other products by them. Not a bad price for all the options IMO. I had a Lehle that was great too, but more expensive and no phase or lift switches. I tried a Morley and it was noisy for my situation.

I have the Radial Big Shot ABY. It's similar to the Twin Cities but it does have a tuner out which I like since it takes my tuner out of the signal path into the amp and I can leave it on all the time without muting.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Framptone might be the ticket...AB and C I think. I use a Toadworks looper with my bass to A/B between head and tuner

 

[Solocaller]

Thanks guys. Lots of good suggestions here. That Fulltone looks like it has all the features that I need right now and all the features I'll need as my setup grows. I still need to do some research into the others as well.

 

[wardog]

i use a Morley quad box. it is designed t run 2 inputs to 2 amp outs. so you can use 2 guitars and a/b them to 2 amps that you can a/b/both!!!! i think this is what your looking for.

 

[watelessness]

I have the Radial Switch bone. I subscribe to the school of thought that if one is switching between channel-switching amps, one should use an active switch device.

 

[helmi]

Framptone might be the ticket...AB and C I think. I use a Toadworks looper with my bass to A/B between head and tuner

it's quite pricey, but the FRAMPTONE switcher is a fantastic unit.