Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

[Animal]

Inspired by some comments in the 4-channel Marshall amp thread, I've been pondering a lot why some people are so intimidated by the COMPLEXITY of amps with more than 2 channels but have no problem with using a slew of single pedals in their setup.

The average pedal has say, 3 knobs. Once you have 2 or 3 pedals in your rig you have dramatically increased the palette of possibilities and sweet spots available. Let's also not forget the order in which they can be arranged, how the settings interact with the amp setttings, the extra cables/power/battery supplies necessary and tap-dancing involved.

I find it slightly amusing that adjusting a clearly laid out amp with lots of features seems to almost equate to brain surgery or be too "fiddley" to some folks.

This is not a discussion about which sounds better either but more along the lines of how you get to THAT sound.

So, fire away!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Four channels is nothing! I use a PodXT for my tone, and I'd happily use a Vetta if I could afford one.

My belief is that if you care about your tone, you shouldn't mind tweaking a few settings to get what you want.

 

[Jay 77]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Been using three channels, plus effects for 8 years now. I'll never look back... 3 channels are the way to go for me.

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Ah, the complexity of multi-channel amps. I'm luck I have a noob-tool like the GT6

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

I rarely find I need more than one channel. When I do bring a stimp-box it typically gets turned on and left on for the whole set.

I liked the way my Deluxe Reverb Reissue was laid out; everything was there and with only a few knobs to really work from it did the trick.

Then I came across the Trace Velocette; Volume, Tone, Reverb and that's it. Suddenly the Reissue looks like a NASA control panel from the 60's.

My ZenDrive is WAY complicated....four knobs on it. That's out of hand. But not nearly as bad as the Lakland bass with 5 knobs, a push-pull and a switch. That thing's just out of control!

 

[baritone]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

My main amp head has one channel and no knobs. I have about 50 stompboxes and a ToneLab (I usually only use one processor at a time). I don't mind multiple channels, but all the knobs and switches on Mesa/Boogie amps get confusing. I feel that with only a few parameters to adjust, you are more likely to stretch the capabilities and explore different sounds. But with a whole bunch of knobs and switches, I would most likely find the best placement of each and leave them there.

 

[ksmith63]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

less knobs = less time fooling with the amp and more time playing it.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Knobs and switches are good! When using a handful of different guitars, I can get closer to the sound in my head for each one.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Personally, I don't think there's really anything in the guitar world that is too confusing. A rackmount FX unit or Vetta is about as complex as it gets.

I love and play all my amps, and the Bogner is almost limitless in tweakability, while my Gibson Goldtone has a volume, tone, reverb. Both amps sound good, but they're polar opposites when it comes to learning curve.

In the other 'Marshall' thread, I referred to the clinician as a neanderthal, only because he explained the amp in a few sentences. Now compare that to a Roland keyboard/workstation with 2 manuals that are as thick as a phonebook! I've owned one for a year, and I'm barely even scraping the surface of what it can do. I feel like a kindergartner in college the second I turn on the Roland!

 

[greendy123]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

I just think all the knobs on multi-channel amps are alot to take in when you use one in the beginning. After using I bet I would be used to all knobs and get tones I wanted. The main thing I like about simple single channel amps is that you only need to adjust a few knobs and you get a good tone.

 

[34029324079]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

everyone knows what the sheer mechanics are of what knob does what and if you plug this in that happens. what is complicated is that some amps with lots of channels sound bad, have cascading gain, effects loops that allow tone to be lost, interactive bass/treble/mid knobs that screw up tone.

These things allow the guitar to sound bad or get lost in the mix, and generally are not fun to deal with, and are sometimes desired results that the audience wont really notice live anyway.

For recording, if you want a different sound, you can just use a different amp, axe, or an acoustic no prob/ no hassle.

 

[54stratlover]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

In my book, experimenting is half the fun. Am I wrong??? Different tones sometimes take me to an area of playing that I may have never even approached. I play by ear, and react to my own playing differently when different tones are involved. I like the "caveman" analogy. None of this is brain surgery. Patience is a virtue that pays off in dividends.

Craig

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

my main large loud set up is 2 heads into a single cab... so i have 4 channels between the 2 heads.... and the switcher system to deal with.... I prefer multi channel amps.. i love being able to switch between clean, dirt, and solo.... it's the volume boosts i love for solos.. Adding a pedal in front of a single channel amp like my JCM 800 is cool but i prefer a loud volume boost for my solos...

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

I don't particularly find amps with many knobs and switches confusing. Like that new Marshall the 4 channels are clearly separated into their sections, and then it is dead simple. Other amps have various switches, push/pull knobs etc. If you own an amp you have all the time in the world to play about and get what you want out of it, regardless of the control layout. For me and the type of music my band does, i set the amp as i want and then play about with my guitar vols and tones, my boss BD-2 and my wah, so a multi channel amp is not so important to me. If i was in a covers-band however, or a band where i need variety i would consider such an amp.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Personally, I don't think there's really anything in the guitar world that is too confusing. A rackmount FX unit or Vetta is about as complex as it gets.

Now compare that to a Roland keyboard/workstation with 2 manuals that are as thick as a phonebook! I've owned one for a year, and I'm barely even scraping the surface of what it can do. I feel like a kindergartner in college the second I turn on the Roland!

Oh, you got THAT right. After messing with a synth, my Vetta feels like a single knob 1950s combo! I gotta admit though, sometimes I just love plugging into an amp like my 65 Univox U45-b that already has great tone and only two knobs, vol & tone. The nice thing about an amp like the Vetta though, is that you have so much storage that once you've programmed the patches you like--you're done. Then it becomes that single knob amp we all love pretty much, unless you want to mess with what you've done and tweak and tweak and tweak.

I think it's not that people don't LIKE multi channel, lotsa knob amps but the one channel, one to six knob amps KEEP us from spending all our time tweaking. Only so much time you can spend tweaking a JMP or JCM, right? I find with the Vetta that I've got patches I love, but I just have to tweak whenever I turn on that amp. With the Univox or Fender Champ however, I flip the switch, adjust my two or three knobs and I'm done. If there were more knobs, I'd mess with them too. An amp with just a few knobs is like damage control, lol. It MAKES us play and not tweak.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL! :fing2:

 

[greendy123]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

I actually just remembered that my amp tech was talking about some multi-channel amps like the Mesa road king one day, he said they were just a pain in the butt to deal with. I'm not sure if all multi channel amps are hard to deal with, but thats why I like single channel amps for their simplicity in use and repair.

 

[SpeedDemon]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Hell I am thinking of getting on of the amps below, I like things simple. But then again I like synths too. Okay, I like my amps simple.

 

[joelap]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Bah, I'm in a love/hate relationship with both really. I found the best tone I ever had through a sound City 50+ head, with Volume Volume Bass Treble Mid controls. 5 knobs, thats it. Problem is it didnt really clean up all that well when I needed it to, nor did it get enough gain when goosed for the style of music I was in.

I feel like I'm personally in love with the CONCEPT of the single channel amp. In concept, a single channel amp does force you to rely on your guitar more, and your playing more: that's definately true. Its kind of like using an Esquire: you're forced to use the tone knob and your playing dynamics to coax the sounds you want out of the guitar. However, in practice, traditional single channel amps can be stifling. you dial in a certain tone, then you've gotta do the rest with pedals. 90% of single channel amps I've tried didnt clean up well enough (exception: Fender twin or any amp designed to be uber clean like that), but also didnt really get heavy enough unless absolutely balls-out cranked. In a studio situation, I'd love to have my Les Paul -> Rangemaster (on 10) -> Sound City 50+ (on 10). I would love that. But in the real world, its not feasable. I've had the cops called on me for that setup in a town where there's NO NOISE ORDINANCE LAWS (Wolcott, CT), but that was with my Schecter, not my LP, but you get the idea.

There's something about the way that The_Chris's Bogner Shiva sounds just as good at low volumes as it does when jamming with my drummer that sh*ts all over classic marshalls. I cant wait to try out an extasy, I have a feeling that just very well may be my dream amp.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

My philosophy is...turn your amp up...don't like it yet? turn it up more :smoker:
-X

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: Multi-channel amps are too confuzin'!?! Huh?

Nuts to complicated amps. My boss gigadelay is difficult enough to figure out. Anything more than three knobs on my pedals pisses me off.

Thing is I only tend to use one or two pedals at a time. And once I set up each of my pedals so they sound good on their own, they tend to sound good when combined with my other pedals as well.

I buy my pedals one at a time as well. That gives me more time to decide exactly where I should put each one, etc, etc.

My KRANK has almost everything I need and nothing I don't. My pedalboard consists of 5 pedals, one of em is a tuner.

I just wanna set my stuff, and go. The less I have to fiddle with the better.