Re: How To Use Two Amps At The Same Time?
There are no less than 2 different types of set ups that involve more than one amp...Eric Johnson for example uses 4 different amps on stage, one for his lead tone (usally a Marshall half stack) one for his dirty rhythm sound (a different Marshall half stack) and a pair of amps for his stereo clean tone (usally a pair of Twin Reverbs) but with the exception of the stereop clean thing the amps are never all running at once and are never mixed up.
Brian May has a very different thing going on with his signal due to the use of lots of delay tricks.
I almost always run 2 amps these days, makes for a nice big tone with a lot more character than just one amp...
So in order to get a set up that works for you you have to decide what you really want/need.
You asked about the right way, there really is no wrong way...use an A/B, A/B/C, A/B/Y, etc box if you want one amp OR the other or the Y setting if you want both, run a stereo effect at the end of the chain and split there, simply daisy chain the amps together using the inputs and out outs of each amp...it all works
Pro's, if you go the A/B route ala Eric Johnson you get to use amps for whatever they do best...everybody wants an amp with Fender cleans and Marshall crunch, that amp does not exist so Eric simply uses Fenders AND Marshalls to cover all that sonic ground.
If you go the stereo route is like mixing speakers...if you use 2 different kinds of speakers with in one amp you get a bigger more complex sound because each of those speakers does one thing really well and the other speaker does something different...2 amps is the same thing, if they are different amps. Also if you are ruinning a stereo set up it can help keep things clear and more defined like in the set up Brian May uses.
Cons, it's more crap to haul around, there is more volume if you are using 2 amps, more physical space is needed, there can be phasing issues, etc
How big is the result...depending on the amps used VERY BIG...it's all about trying things until you land the set up that works for you. SRV for example almost never recorded with just one amp, it was always 2, 3 even 4 or more different amps all going at once to get a big huge sound.
Im not sure why anybody woudl tell you that 2 amps adds very little loudness...that has not been my expoerience at all but it all depends on the amps, the setting and the desired results...
What box is best...it just depends, if you use delay and have a stereo elay then it's a grea option, again, if you use stereo chorus and have one than that might be the best option, some flangers are stereo, some guys simply opt for a splitter like the Axxes BS-2, some boost pedals have 2 outs, the ZVEX SHO for example, any high quality A/B/Y box can be used for this (I have had great results with Loop-Master boxes) and sometimes a simply Y cord will do the trick (I know Lava-Man makes custom Y cables for various needs).
Good luck!
