Dual Amps - Worth the CPU?

[VegaBaby]

Almost never. Unless I'm using two totally different sounds, maybe even running through different effects and usually panned apart for a special kinda doubling effect.

 

[m lebofsky]

Almost never. Unless I'm using two totally different sounds, maybe even running through different effects and usually panned apart for a special kinda doubling effect.

Same here.

 

[godprobe]

I usually build with one.
Then add another and I usually prefer that sound.

I mostly use high-gain, so combining a high gain amp with a non-hi-gain gives me a little more clarity.
Like lightning for the thunder. (wow... that was cheesy... but it fit too well to not write it...)

But you make a good point... I should probably play with the other blocks more to see how close I can get to what I really want without a dual amp setup -- maybe run one side dry or something.

 

[saxxamafone]

I use 1 amp to FOH and a separate amp to my poweramp/4x12 on stage

Usually the same amp but EQ'd differently

 

[frankiev]

As a side question . How are you guys balancing/panning the amps/cabs . Are you using the output mixer or a pan/vol block (which Im having difficulty with ) And can you explain a little how to do it
Thanks

 

[bigedawg]

As a side question . How are you guys balancing/panning the amps/cabs . Are you using the output mixer or a pan/vol block (which Im having difficulty with ) And can you explain a little how to do it
Thanks

I don't blend the amps together. I usually run the input into the pedal comp block then split the signal to parallel and then combine after the cabs to add reverb,delay,eq...I set each amp to bypass "Mute". The signal flow looks like....

/drive1->amp->cab Reverb Delay
guitar->comp block (pedal) > / ______\/______\Output
\ drive2->amp->cab

hope this helps!

 

[frankiev]

Thanks, but Im still not quite there .The diagram looks like you have three seperate paths ?Perhaps the perspective is off on the diagram If I understand correctly you split after the middle row, (guitar-pedal comp), to the drive-amp in each of the other rows , and then combine them ( how? with a mixer?)and then add reverb etc

 

[DNW]

As a side question . How are you guys balancing/panning the amps/cabs . Are you using the output mixer or a pan/vol block (which Im having difficulty with ) And can you explain a little how to do it
Thanks

What are you trying to achieve?

If I'm using two amps, I generally try to get as much of the leveling done in the amp block itself.

In my main patch which is one amp, but a parallel chain for a piezo signal, I have a delay and volume/pan block in parallel, the delay providing a single very quick repeat on the right side, and the volume/pan block panning the undelayed signal over to the left. Someone mentioned a lil while ago I could do the same thing just using the enhancer block, but I tried that and it didn't quite have the result I wanted. Admittedly I could play with it a bit more.

Point is I guess, there's a lot you can do and often a few ways you can go about getting the result you want. If you can post up some more specific info about what you're trying to achieve, someone might be able to help you out better, right down to pretty much handing it to you on a platter. There are some freaks here (and I mean that in the nicest possible way :lol who know their way around this thing like they were born with it attached to them. :lol:

 

[frankiev]

Im just trying to understand how to use the pan/vol. Why does it have a bal and a pan . Dosent the balance do the same thing as a pan? .If the pan/bal is in only one coloum why a pan left and a pan right
I just cant seem to come to grips with this

 

[Secret80'sMan]

one interesting use of two amps is to focus the frequencies that each amp will handle. Use filter and/or EQ blocks to have one amp for one frequency range and another for the remainder and then blend the result.

Zack Wylde did this brilliantly on the Ozzy Osbourne album No Rest for the Wicked.

Also interesting point that someone else brought up that they had been using dual amps in their Vetta to compensate I would assume for the shortcomings of the unit. I agree, dual amps are not necessary to get a killer tone from the Axe Fx but for some huge stereo sounds it does work well.

 

[GM Arts]

Similar Vetta experiences to a couple of earlier posts: 2 amps with different overdrive levels are the key to getting good saturation and note clarity.

But the Axe-FX one amp is so tweakable I haven't felt the need for another. No problem with note overdrive and note clarity at the same time. But I'm a big fan of blending cabs (the stereo block or 2 hi-res monos if I can squeeze it into the CPU allowance). Some of the cabs sound pretty extreme to me, so combining 2 seems to work well. Not too many phase issues either (where the combination sounds nothing like either alone), so that's good.

Mostly, I mix complementary tones (eg, a middley cab with a middle-sucked cab, or the 15" SR bass with bass-light cabs). Another approach is to mix a flattish cab such as Jay's excellent "Clean 2x12 on axis" with any extreme cab to make it sound less imposing.

 

[teejay]

I did for quite a while because i am using IEM and by delaying the 2nd Amp (right side) by about 30ms the stereo imaging sounded spectacular. But i have since come to the conclusion that whilst it sounds awesome for me, there is very little (if anything) gained by my audience so i have reverted back to a mono setup using a single amp block.

I've dabbled in using dual mono amps and frequency focussing but to be honest i've found it unnecessary on the Ultra. I can get a single Amp to sound every bit as good but in much less time...

 

[stvnscott]

I think it is totally worth it in some applications. Actually, I don't get why anyone would care how much CPU is being used as long as it isn't choking. It's there to be used, so USE IT ALL!!!

Case in point... I was looking for a great blues tone that would go from clean to scream with just volume knob adjustments. I used to achieve this in the real world by running a 65 Twin and a tweed Super together. I got the "tone" from the Super running hot and dirty and ran the Twin clean with the bass and treble up to give me some added punch and attack.

Translating this into the virtual world was simply a matter of creating a clean Black Face amp and cab setup and getting it to sound right, then adding a Brown Face amp and cab setup in parallel, pushing the drive, and pushing the mids with the bass turned way down. From there, I added tremolo and reverb blocks to the Black Face side and a delay block to the Brown Face side. Stuck compressor and drive blocks in front of both of them before the parallel split, and I have enough tonal candy to keep me busy for hours with just one patch! The CPU meter tells me it is sweating, but it handles it just fine.