Recording Two Amps

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Outlet7

New member
In my next session coming up I want to try recording two guitar amps at once from one guitar in order to get two different amp sounds for my ryhthym guitar tracks. I was thinking about splitting the signal right after it comes out of the guitar via a Y splitter. Would this work ok? I think I remember hearing some people saying not to do this because it creates phase problems or something along those lines. I think that might have been in regards to recording one of the signals direct though, not both signals going through amps if that makes a difference. If the Y splitter wont work what will I need? An ABY splitter? Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
It depends upon the effect you're after here but usually you'd do like johnyc suggested. The human factor in the equation will give you a fatter more natural sounding thick sound. If that's not what you're after, another idea would be to DI to your tracking software then send it back out and re-amp the signal to your heart's content.

If you split the signal as you've described, just make sure you've got a proper device intended for that application to keep the impedances correct. How were you going to actually record? Were you going to run both amps pointed at one mic or were you going to use to mics? That will answer your phasing question. Plan "A" will be a bit tougher to get a good sound. Plan "B" would be the best bet.
 
I think if you were to split your signal and record one play through two amps you should still play it multiple times and mix as is appropriate. That COULD end up sounding GREAT. But splitting your signal to two amps because you are lazy and don't want to play the part multiple times...well...going about things the lazy way will sound like you went about things the lazy way.

There is an active line splitter that is made just for this application. Check the BS2 Buffer/Splitter.

http://www.axess-electronics.com/
 
Outlet7 said:
In my next session coming up I want to try recording two guitar amps at once from one guitar in order to get two different amp sounds for my ryhthym guitar tracks. I was thinking about splitting the signal right after it comes out of the guitar via a Y splitter. Would this work ok? I think I remember hearing some people saying not to do this because it creates phase problems or something along those lines. I think that might have been in regards to recording one of the signals direct though, not both signals going through amps if that makes a difference. If the Y splitter wont work what will I need? An ABY splitter? Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Ryan
Click to expand...

That will work. People do it all the time. Velvet Revolver did it on Fall to Pieces. There is a Vox AC30 and Fender Deluxe Reverb going at the same time and mixed together for a fuller sound.

The sound of dubbing your guitar tracks as some have mentioned already is a great effect for thickening, but its a different effect. Everything is good, it just matter what you want/need in the mix.

...but back to your question. Yes, you can do that. Phasing issue migh arise, i don't know. But if they do, a lot of preamps have a phase inverter you can flip on one of the channels.
 
Hey, thanks for the replies. I'm not the guitar player. All I'm trying to do is record two amps, two microphones on each amp, at the same time. I want to do this so I can blend the sounds of two amps, to a desired effect. I want to keep things as clean as possible and don't want him to double the guitar in a second track for the rythym in one speaker (I'm doing rythym tracks twice already so I can pan wide anyway). So far reamping sounds like the best idea, if a splitter wont do the job. Anymore suggestions?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
I have an old discontinued Boss pedal called the MultipleJack J-5. Its the light blue one (not the grey one) with one input and 4 outputs. I used it for playing with multiple amps. There is nothing thicker that playing with a nice clean amp and a nice dirty amp at the same time.
 
I have to agree with Outlaws, two amps, one set up clean and one pumping the overdrive for a thick rich sound. I do it all the time simply by slaving my amps. Although there are a number of other ways to split a signal I prefer the simple route.
 
I think re-amping is definitely the best route. Not only can you record multiple amps easily and with no worries of mic bleed, you can also do it as many times as you want and experiment with different tones without having to play the parts again. you could even go back and change your original sound. it doesn't get any better than that!
 
I've tried recording 2 amps at once.
From guitar, use an A+B box (not an A OR B box). Behringer makes a couple low cost versions, or you could build your own (I did).
Send signal to both amps - the signal doesn't really weaken its strength in half, only about 5%.

The problem you may encounter is ground loop (60 hz buzz) from connecting both amps - the A+B box is essentially linking the grounds from both amps together.

Then just mic up both speaker cabinets. The problem here is phasing. You need to move the mics around until you don't hear any phasing sound, or the overall sound doesn't sound thinner. The more mics you use, the harder this is to set up - at least that was always my problem with multiple mics. If you use all the same type/brand it's not as difficult (because they're theoetically picking up the same sound and frequencies).
 
If possible, you can place the amps in separate rooms to avoid phase issues.

Hmm, I've never thought about using one clean amp and one dirty simultaneously. I'll give that a shot when I bring my other amp down.
 
Outlaws said:
I have an old discontinued Boss pedal called the MultipleJack J-5. Its the light blue one (not the grey one) with one input and 4 outputs. I used it for playing with multiple amps. There is nothing thicker that playing with a nice clean amp and a nice dirty amp at the same time.
Click to expand...

You could use a stereo chorus stompbox with the effect turned off.
 
Recording multiple amps simultaneously (as opposed to overdubbing the part) can make for really good sounds. You'll probably want a buffer of some sort because passive guitar pickups get loaded really easy and you'll lose highs. You also need to pay attention to ground loop problems and phase problems, as others have pointed out. If possible, record each amp onto a separate track for mixing later.

I got some really good lap steel sounds recently by splitting the signal into an amp and a compressor. The amp controlled warmth and tone, and the compressor controlled the attack and note shapes (thanks to the engineers on the session - it was their idea).
 
Probably a stupid question, but hey, what can ya do?

What kind of equipment do you need, and what kind of process would it take to re-amp? I've never tried this before (obviously), but it sounds like there are a lot of neat possibilities. I am using a Tascam FW-1804 interface with Cubase SL3. Is it possible re-amping with a pod and this setup? :o
 
You just need to record a DI guitar signal along with the initial tracking. Then when you send that track back out from your soundcard it is line level, so you need a re-amp box to adjust the impedance so that it is in line with an instrument signal. You can use the actual "Re-Amp" brand box or Radial engineering makes one called the "X-Amp. You can also actually use a passive DI box in reverse.
 
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