As far as two amp setups go....I have a Mesa 5/25 and a Deluxe Reverb. I mostly use the Mesa, usually with a boost pedal or two, so it's somewhat driven. I really like that sound, but I also really like the percussiveness of a clean sound when I'm strumming. So I tried running both amps together, with the Deluxe set clean. As soon as I patched in the Deluxe, the tone of the Mesa went to absolute shit. Not subtle at all. So I got the JHS active a/b/y and problem solved. A goes to the pedals and then the Mesa, B goes straight into the Deluxe. Really nice what the Deluxe adds, makes everything really punchy.

And as for Klon clones, there's this thing:

https://crazytubecircuits.com/unobtanium

Yeah a passive ABY is good as a paperweight.

As far as that pedal, the Wilson Effects Angry Goat does the same thing but for a lot less loot.

I've been using a Preacher stereo output, one from each pickup, and a separate pedal chain into each amp (usually a Music Man 112 and a 70s Bassman. I guess it doesn't really solve the whole "volume knob change thing" (in this case you'd be rolling back volume for one amp but not the other since they're split before the volume knob.

Depending on the setup, but we just did this a couple practices ago - running one amp 'clean', use the direct out from that, and into the front of the second amp, and that pushed that amp into sweet chili heat territory. no messing with pedals or running two cables off the board. it was nice

Teacher's Pet wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:51 am Here's a dim photo of the two amp set-up I've been using for a while.

I feel OK sharing since Zom-Zom's no longer here to lampoon my rather homely set-up. (I miss Zom-Zom though.)
Let me add that this isn't for gigs, it only rolls a a few feet across the practice room, so practicality is not a huge concern.
It's more about plugging in the stuff that already sitting right there, because why not?

Hey, at least the amp on top isn’t wider than the amp on top!

benadrian- the way I see it, you've tried lots of set-ups and still haven't found the perfect usabilty/sick tone /phase etc. If i were you, try either two combos which are identical (then your pedals will determine the vol/phase/spatial field you want) and ffs, put each amp a few feet apart. Also, I had good results using a keyboard combo amp, (they have about 4 channels and 2 separate amps inside)- stereo noise guitar into 2 channels, You're getting all the shit through one speaker-which should sound awful but actually works very well. as the volume of each side is easily dialled in.
I feel the character of particular amps and their loading v/v your guitar/pedal gear differs so widely it's real hard to get what you want most of the time. But 2 combos of the same type should be easier to set up

I've been on this path for a while. My recent home setup has been just using Helix, with two amp models, running into a stereo power amp and two 1-12" cabs. For noisy rock music at adult volumes, it's been fine, and super easy.
Just the other day I pulled out my old, modded/rebuilt Traynor head. I plugged in and it was like "oh yeah, that's my guitar sound." Any time I tried to add a second amp, even one that I know sounds good on its own, it seems to mask my cool guitar tone. I think when it matters, when I need to make myself sound loud and sound good in front of other people, I need to use the gear that has been with me forever.

I mean, this is the tech room and we're all gear heads who fuck around with everything. I'm not going to stop. But when creating and writing music, when sitting around alone or with friends, I can kind of make anything work. Amp modeler, preamp pedal, SS practice amp, etc. I'm just gonna twist the knobs and the end result will be something that sounds pretty close to how I've always sounded for the last 30 years.

I was recording a guy with a weird 3 amp setup with different fx going to different amps and it was really annoying when mixing cause some times he would hit fx and it would reverse the polarity on one or more amps but not the others or the dry... etc. really annoying. Really hard to fold the tones together. Next time I'm just going to make him track 3 times through a single amp and different fx takes. One of his amps was 180 from the other 2 completely clean. Fixed that at the speaker but he had been playing like that forever.

How are John Reis's Stereo guitars setup? Is it just one out per pickup or is there any sort of switching involved?

skoz wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2023 10:08 pm How are John Reis's Stereo guitars setup? Is it just one out per pickup or is there any sort of switching involved?

https://reverb.com/news/maimed-les-paul ... -john-reis

Speedo modified the guitar with various pickups in the bridge position throughout the '90s ("Man, I tried just about everything,"), most notably with a passive EMG humbucker. In its final form, the guitar sported a humbucker in the bridge and a DeArmond gold foil pickup in the neck position. Each pickup is wired to a separate output, so each can be plugged straight into its own separate amplifier. This Les Paul was also subjected to Reis' DIY approach to weight relief, which no doubt has had some effect on the tone.