Need Help Doing Something Stupid

[LowBudgetViking]

So, I need to find a way to play through multiple amps at the same time. Which has lead me to an easy question and a hard question.

The easy one is what's a good splitter that will let me go out from a Tuner-Overdrive-Wah combo into three different amps. Please, not expensive. This will only get used for a short time, likely until the cops show up.

The second, and hard question, is effects loops. I have a Zoom G3 that I use for modulation effects in the effects loop of all three of these amps. Can they just be chained together? Here's a rough sketch:

Zoom G3 Send
Amp 1 FX Loop In
Amp 1 FX Loop Out
Amp 2 FX Loop In
Amp 2 FX Loop Out
Amp 3 FX Loop In
Amp 3 FX Loop Out
Zoom G3 Return

Thanks for your help.

 

[chadd]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

I have a Saturnworks buffer and a buffered splitter, and I have never had issues with either. They sell on Reverb, not sure if they are discounting for the holiday sale or not. For your needs, the active three way splitter would be my suggestion. That's assuming all three are always on and you are going into the front end of all three.
https://saturnworkspedals.com/product/splitter/

The second issue is much, much more difficult. If you sum the sends of the amps, then you will be blending the preamp section of each amp on the way in to the Zoom. Short of having a master controller sending commands to three different units, I can't see a simple (in terms of routing) way to do that.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

These are the rigs that put Bob Bradshaw and Pete Cornish on the map... and I’m only slightly joking.

As long as you are buffered first, splitting to multiple amps isn’t that hard, but the issue you may face is ground loop hum. I thought I could just split with a stereo pedal and boom, multiple amps. Depending on the amps and the power, that may or may not work. The ideal thing is a 3 way splitter with isolation transformers so you can safely lift ground from the humming amp. Whatever you do, don’t cut the ground off an amp power plug to do this.... Lehle makes very nice isolated splitters but they aren’t cheap. Maybe start with two amps and use a bypassed stereo effect like a Chorus to see if you get noise. The other method is to use the Low Sensitivity output on a Marshall or Fender to parallel out to another amp. You used to see that all the time in the 60’s and 70’s.

For the effects loops, you really can’t daisy chain preamps, you’ll be cascading gain into gain. The easiest way is each getting a separate effects chain. Of course you could experiment with Wet/Dry/Wet where the center amp has no effects in the loop and the outer two use the Stereo Left and Right from your loop effects.

If this is for fun, you can make it work for sure, lots of options. If it was a gigging rig, you might need some of these other options.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

What's a good splitter that will let me go out from a Tuner-Overdrive-Wah combo into three different amps. Please, not expensive. This will only get used for a short time, likely until the cops show up.

Sig worthy

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

Most loops don't work like that -unless some kind of weird parallel which doesn't break the signal to AMP 1 before it leaves -so check you amp. All of mine break the power stage -but I have mostly vintage amps.

Let me say something a little radical if you are ok with using the loop in and don't have those non breaking loop (or a switch that does this) on your amps -and ok with not using the pre in of each of the 3 amps (power stage only) and getting the color you want without with a pre, then here's the solution:

cut 3 guitar cables in half and solder a 1 x3 cable conductor to conducter -you can daisy chain near live level audio several times before a appreciably loss in level -and you have an Overdrive pedal you can dime from guitar level to closer to line level -since you are skipping the Pre -you will need to do that anyways. I can show anyone on a scope why a distribution amp/buffer is unnecessary for a couple of splits if the signal is above nominal guitar signal level (staying at unity)

If you want to enter the 3 Amps at there Pre IN and not loop (which is what I would do) then the impedance to the pre gets into the equation from your wah and/od OD which split 3 ways may affect your tone -in this case you likely want an active splitter (distribution amplifier) to present each pre with level.

 

[devastone]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

https://reverb.com/item/33756903-morley-george-lynch-tripler

As far as the fx loop routing you posted, no, that won't work, can't really use one effect for 3 different amps, assuming you are using the preamps on all 3 amps.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

My firat instinct was it might be possible with mixer added to your rig to actually do that, but I have not much experience with those to say for sure?

Mixer after preamps, then boost & split in the end of effect chain?

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

Mixer after preamps, then boost & split in the end of effect chain?

That would work -although a mixer pre is trying to be transparent and a guitar pre is not -so I guess it would come down to preference

 

[Mspin]

Re: Need Help Doing Something Stupid

So, I need to find a way to play through multiple amps at the same time. Which has lead me to an easy question and a hard question.

The easy one is what's a good splitter that will let me go out from a Tuner-Overdrive-Wah combo into three different amps. Please, not expensive. This will only get used for a short time, likely until the cops show up.

The second, and hard question, is effects loops. I have a Zoom G3 that I use for modulation effects in the effects loop of all three of these amps. Can they just be chained together? Here's a rough sketch:

Zoom G3 Send
Amp 1 FX Loop In
Amp 1 FX Loop Out
Amp 2 FX Loop In
Amp 2 FX Loop Out
Amp 3 FX Loop In
Amp 3 FX Loop Out
Zoom G3 Return

Thanks for your help.

This might be of interest

https://www.khe-audioelectronics.com/shop/acs-4x4-fx
https://youtu.be/GBZlEF0bp34