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Is there a pedal that does this...?


xanda-panda

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Hi again guys! Long time no browse/post!

 

So I have a few nice fuzzes and I want to use 2 simultaneously going into different amps (Gooby Bag of Dicks into a JMI15 [not yet acquired] and a Rat into an Ampeg V4). In my head this will sound killer.

 

Anyway, the Rat is pretty tolerant but the Gooby is sensitive to buffered inputs (as in, it doesn't want one!) so is there a signal splitter/ABY box that won't somehow buffer the input or is that whole concept a total contradiction?

 

Hopefully you understand and suggest something...!

 

Cheers.

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Here's EXACTLY the right and best tool for that job, available with footswitches that are either "Hard Touch" (mechanically-clicking, so that you can feel the switch actuate, very good for live/gig use) or "Soft Touch" (non-clicking/smooth feel, very good for studio/recording where the mechanical "click" of a footswitch could be picked up by a mic):

 

 

____ Fulltone True-Path ABY

 

 

 

http://www.fulltone.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/news_body/photos/news/fulltone-true-path-two-paths-900-2.jpg

 

If going through two fuzzes at once messes with the impedance and thus messes with the sound and feel of either one or both of your fuzzes (fuzzes often don't like to play well with others in front of or in parallel with their inputs), a relatively inexpensive fix would be a variable load-correction, passive "drag" control like this unit from Radial/Tonebone, which can be attached to your guitar-strap, or a pedal-board, etc.:

 

______ http://www.tonebone.com/images/dragster-slice-dds.jpg ___ http://www.tonebone.com/images/dragster-on-strap.jpg

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Good call- come to think of it, many of the features that make the Fulltone True Path generally superior- not to mention more expensive- might have little or no value for xanda-panda's intended application, being as (I think) he'd be leaving both A and B on most or all of the time, as opposed to switching back-and-forth...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Thanks guys. Yeah Caevan, I just want to leave it on all the time and want full volume from both amps (so Larryz's idea wouldn't work but thanks anyway!). The True-Path looks good but might be a bit redundant, as you suggest Caevan.

 

Now the thing is, I actually have a Radial Twin City but I was asking for alternatives because when I plugged it into my EVJ it seemed to lose some volume. I can't find any other reports of this but either way, I didn't like it. (Incidentally, it has one of those load-correctors built in.)

 

In my original post I described a situation where each fuzz wouldn't 'see' the other so would have totally separate sounds in each channel however I'm now, instead, considering getting the Fulltone Supa-Trem2, which can act as a signal splitter at the end of the chain, and just having one fuzz sound going into it. Not really needing to isolate different channels, this would work fine but I notice that the True-Path does have a 'phase' control whereas the Supa-Trem2 doesn't.

 

So... supposing the two amps were out of phase when running simultaneously through the Supa-Trem2, I guess I would be stuck in 'out-of-phase' which would sound pretty lame. Am I right or not? Please advise.

 

I hope you understand what I'm getting at!

 

Thanks!

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Fuzzes may not like the buffer of your Radial Bones Twin City ABY; though some fuzzes aren't as fussy about that as most. Only your ear and feel can tell with the pedals that you have.

 

Unfortunately, while it's great that the Twin City ABY includes Radial's "Drag" feature, you can't use it without the active buffering; so if you need the load-correction without the buffering- as might be the case with your Gooby BOD in this dual-amp rig scenario- you'd need to get the free-standing Radial Dragster.

 

If one of two amps/signal-chains sounds or feels 'lite', try the Twin City ABY's 180° Polarity Switch; this may help. Also try reversing the positive + and negative - speaker-connectors, and make sure that the speaker cone moves forward on attack.

 

 

One very nice thing about the Fulltone True Path ABY is that it not only has excellent quality buffers for each channel, the buffers can be bypassed on one, the other or both.

 

That Radial BigShot ABY is passive- no buffering- and it's relatively inexpensive.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Thanks guys. (so Larryz's idea wouldn't work but thanks anyway!).

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah, sorry...I looked up the Ernie Ball Panning pedal and in the fine print it says it drops off 50% when it's in the center position so it's designed to go one way or the other...IIRC my old Morely panning pedal would work in the volume mode as it split the signal equally to both amps (it too would go left and right in the panning mode)...

 

http://www.vintageandrare.com/product/Morley-PVL-Pro-Panner-Pan-1970-31175 <---- Ps. Found this one on-line even though it's not what you are looking for, they were big and built like a 57 Chevy...

Take care, Larryz
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any buffer you put in front of an actual fuzz will mess up it's interaction with a guitar.

 

my advice? simple passive buffer.

 

guitar > 50k-1m pot wiper (center) output jack to either side of the pot.

 

50k is enough to make it think it's isolated withour doing so. i do that trick with my crybabys to they play nice with fuzzfaces.

 

no buffer will work the way peeps claim. it just doesn't work that way.

 

it comes down to the player. whether YOU like the interaction and tonal change.

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Hey Xanda,

 

Based on the contents of this thread I just picked up a Live Wire ABY-1 pedal. It was super inexpensive ($49 less 10% off for Christmas). If it works as described, it should be a great value.

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/live-wire-aby1-guitar-footswitch

 

I own three amps and two electric guitars, so switching between them to compare tones should be fun.

 

Prior to reading these posts, I had no idea that pedals like this existed. Just one of the benefits of hanging out on this forum.

 

Merry Christmas!

If you play cool, you are cool.
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Thanks again guys but for the time being, I'm just curious to know if the lack of 'phase' switch on the 'Supa-Trem 2' would leave the amps permanently out of phase.

 

(If so, would changing the +ve and -ve connectors on one of the speaker cabinets fix it, as Caevan suggests?)

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Thanks again guys but for the time being, I'm just curious to know if the lack of 'phase' switch on the 'Supa-Trem 2' would leave the amps permanently out of phase.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Many variables, 50/50 one way or the other at various points throughout the pedals, amps, etc. If it sdounds good, it is good; if it sounds weird and thin, maybe there's a possibility of phase-reversal, in which case changing the polarity at one point or another might change that.

 

(If so, would changing the +ve and -ve connectors on one of the speaker cabinets fix it, as Caevan suggests?)

 

Probably.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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