Running two amps in tandem

TRex

New member
Hey, I just want to confirm I am not damaging either amp or speaker by doing this

I have a little 2w Danelectro honeytone amp that I want to use as a preamp boost to my Gdec 3 15w. Both do not have a line in or out, but the honey tone has a headphone out and the Gdec has a AUX in.

Could a take a 3.5mm male to male stereo cable and connect the two, with the honey tone boosting the signal to my Gdec3?

I tried it for a few minutes and it sounds awsome, but I don't want do break an amp

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Re: Running two amps in tandem

I don't see how running a headphone out into an auxiliary in could hurt anything.

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Re: Running two amps in tandem

I don't see how running a headphone out into an auxiliary in could hurt anything.

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That's what I thought, but I want to make sure

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Re: Running two amps in tandem

Isn't there a capacitance issue to be aware of though?

I once watched a headphone amp melt when I tried to drive a larger load than it was rated for. It was awesome, but the amp was literally toast. Black plastic toast.
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

Yeah, you should be fine.

No different than connecting your iPod to your home stereo instead of headphones.
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

Isn't there a capacitance issue to be aware of though?

I once watched a headphone amp melt when I tried to drive a larger load than it was rated for. It was awesome, but the amp was literally toast. Black plastic toast.
From a larger input into the headphone amp. The small Danelectro is getting a normal power input, the Fender is the one I'm worried about as it is getting a signal from another amplifier.


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Re: Running two amps in tandem

From a larger input into the headphone amp. The small Danelectro is getting a normal power input, the Fender is the one I'm worried about as it is getting a signal from another amplifier.


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A headphone out doesn't produce a hot enough signal to damage your GDec. What you're proposing would be comparable to using active pickups or a rather loud distortion pedal; it may clip the GDec's input, but it won't hurt anything.
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

A headphone out doesn't produce a hot enough signal to damage your GDec. What you're proposing would be comparable to using active pickups or a rather loud distortion pedal; it may clip the GDec's input, but it won't hurt anything.
Thanks, that's the effect I was going for, stacking distortions and boosting the signal a bit

I love the sounds I can get from this setup

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Re: Running two amps in tandem

I would REALLY like to hear a clip of this - because I really think what you are describing will sound like poo flung into a fan with a bad bearing.

But, you don't know if you don't try it. Could be all kinds of funky bad@$$ awesome.
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

I would REALLY like to hear a clip of this - because I really think what you are describing will sound like poo flung into a fan with a bad bearing.

But, you don't know if you don't try it. Could be all kinds of funky bad@$$ awesome.
Well if you all give me some tips on how to record it well, I can probably post it to SoundCloud.

Personally I don't have much of a home studio, nothing actually. The best mic I have is probably the one built in my phone.

Any suggestions for how to do that?
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

I would REALLY like to hear a clip of this - because I really think what you are describing will sound like poo flung into a fan with a bad bearing.

But, you don't know if you don't try it. Could be all kinds of funky bad@$$ awesome.

I love those tones. I have dialing in lo-fi settings into my Excelsior all week. Loose buzzy distortion that sounds more like a broken speaker.
 
Re: Running two amps in tandem

I would REALLY like to hear a clip of this - because I really think what you are describing will sound like poo flung into a fan with a bad bearing.

But, you don't know if you don't try it. Could be all kinds of funky bad@$$ awesome.

It'll probably sound like a fuzzed-out distortion pedal. A couple examples I can think of are:

Oasis - Definitely Maybe: Noel's guitar on this record is a LP with a DiMarzio PAF; in pictures it looks like a Heritage model from the early 80s. He's using a Marshall Valvestate 8080 1x12 Combo as a preamp into a WEM Dominator 18W. Live photos from that period show both amps being mic'd, so it's likely he's taking the effects send of the 8080 into the Space Echo and running one of the returns into the WEM. Leads are boosted with a Tube Screamer.

Izzy Stradlin - The song 'Pressure Drop' on Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds was recorded using a Marshall MS-2 headphone amp boosting the input of a Blackface Bassman.
 
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