Best A/B/Y switcher for running my heads in stereo....

[Mizati20]

Hey fellas, I also posted this thread in the amps section, figured I might get more help that way, but my apologies for the double post. Lately I've been really wanting to run my 2 heads in stereo, I'm totally new to this, but have a pretty good idea of how it's done (or one of the ways) I know you can use a Boss Stereo Chorus that has two outputs, but for one...I don't like Boss pedals, two I already have a Chorus Pedal, and three I've heard the output levels are different or something like that. Anyhow, I know that I need an A/B/Y switcher, my question is, which brand works the best?

To help you guys with the advice I'll give you an idea of what I'm wanting to achieve, and I'll run you through my rig. I'm just looking to run two heads through my Mesa 4 x 12 Rectifier Cabinet, one head running the left two speakers, and the other running the right. My heads are a Peavey 6505+ and a Mesa Boogie Mark IV Medium Head. I'm pretty sure I know how to do everything, run both heads at 4 ohms with the signal chain going Guitar >Effects (one in front of the amp) A/B/Y switcher> Amps.

My dilemma is simply that I know nothing about these switchers. When splitting your guitar signal do I lose any power or tone? Do these switchers have an adapter like my effects pedals do so I can plug in my 1-spot power supply to it? I'm totally just guessing here, but to me, that seems like logical issues you would run into with switch boxes.

Does anyone have a lot of experience running their heads into stereo that are using the A/B/Y switching method? What is the best piece of equipment out there, I'm willing to spend about $100.00 give or take, not much more than that. I'm also open to other ideas as well if there is an easier/ better way of doing this, aside from the Boss Pedal thing.

Since joining these boards I've had nothing but great luck getting awesome advice, meeting some really cool people, and have even had the wifey lay off of me after seeing other people who have as crazy of an obsession as I do!!!

Sorry for the long post, once I get to talking about gear I tend to never want to stop, and before I know it, I've written another unnecessarily long thread for a simple question. Hope everyone is enjoying what's left of the weekend, thanks again in advance for anyone's help/advice!!

 

[Griz]

LEHLE Dual is the industry standard. But expensive. For $80 you can get a "Radial BigShot ABY." Google it or search on eBay.

 

[t0aj15]

IMO there is no "industry standard", because there are to many to choose from.
To often you will have ground loop problems using a simple ABY switcher, that's why I shelved my Morley ABY and bought this:
http://www.voodoolab.com/ampselector.htm
It solves all the problems with ground loops, levels, etc.

BTW, the way you want to run your rig will not be stereo, it will be two amps in mono through the same cab, but it won't be stereo.

 

[Chris McKinley]

There are a lot of good A/B/Y switches out there; it's easy to find a good one. But more importantly, as the other poster mentioned, that still won't give you a stereo rig. For some reason, this doesn't get tossed around as common knowledge, but in order to have a stereo rig instead of just two mono rigs, you have to have at least a small delay between the left and right signals, otherwise the human ear won't hear it as a stereo signal. Typically, the delay needs to be at least 20 to 25 milliseconds before true stereo separation can be perceived.

When people use stereo chorus pedals for such a purpose, it's not the detuning portion of the effect that they need, it's the delay. Stereo effects all provide at least this minimum delay, some allow the amount of that delay to be adjustable. The same can be achieved with any effect that has true stereo output. However, with some effects, it's not possible to have just the stereo output without also having some of the wet effect put on the signal. If you don't mind this, it can be fine. Otherwise, you'll need to get a dedicated (meaning: that's all it does) stereo signal splitter.

 

[lesterpaul]

LEHLE!!+1....But its gonna run more than 100...**** sure worth it IMO-super smooth,fast, and dead quiet

 

[goodwill559]

totally agree

 

[DeFrag]

Lehle, Framptone, Voodoo, or Radial.

 

[camsna]

The Lehle is very nice. But the Lava Flow kills it. It's simply incredible.

http://lavacable.com/lava.html