switching between clean and overdrive

[gtr_guy26]

Here's the problem. I use a behringer 212 amp. For overdrive I have a preselected setting on channel 2 and also use my mxr pedal. Now to switch to clean I change to channel 1 using the footswitch for my amp turn off the mxr and turn on my chorus. That's a lot of foot movement. Any suggestions on how to simplify this. I don't wanna use the stock fx on the amp cuz I don't get enough sustain without the mxr and the clean sound isn't fat enought without the chorus. thanks for the help.

p.s. don't make fun of the amp it's all I could afford I'm saving up for a marshall half. later

 

[boogieman481]

First off, which MXR pedal is it?
If its a drive pedal, can you just leave your amp on clean and just use the MXR?

 

[gtr_guy26]

It's the zakk wylde pedal but i've found that if I select a distortion fx on channel two I get better sustain when using the pedal with it. what I was thinking of doing is getting an a/b box and using one amp for distortion and another for the chorus and clean. Is my train of thought correct for this? I'm not too sure what the a/b box function is. thanks

 

[TelePaul]

It's the zakk wylde pedal but i've found that if I select a distortion fx on channel two I get better sustain when using the pedal with it. what I was thinking of doing is getting an a/b box and using one amp for distortion and another for the chorus and clean. Is my train of thought correct for this? I'm not too sure what the a/b box function is. thanks

sound slike the mxr is being used as a booster...i do the same with my od channel and a boss sd 1. cool sounds!

The AB box is doable, certainly an option...so youd have guitar to a line selector, for example, channel A, a line to your MXR and OD channel'd Behringer. You'd also have a line out from Channel 'B' to your Chorus, and then to a second amp, we'll call it say, a Fender Princeton. Lots of people have seperate fx chains to different amps (Eric Johnson springs to mind). But it requires a) an a/b box and b) a whole other amp!

If i understand what you're saying the SIMPLEST way might be to use your Behringers DFX....

 

[gtr_guy26]

thanks man. I appreciate the help clearing all that up.

 

[dirtythermos]

There's really not an easy way to do what you want to do without spending a lot of money. If you just wanted to turn multiple effects on and off with a single stomp, you would want something called a "true bypass loop" pedal. But that won't help switch channels on your amp.

I admire what you're trying to do - I'm trying to do the same thing. Get everything down to one stomp. I want to go from any sound to any other sound with one stomp.

I am doing it with MIDI. I have an effects processor (TC Electronic G-Major) that also has a relay for amp channel switching - so every patch can select the amp channel it needs. The G-Major, in the FX loop of the amp, handles all the effects except compression and overdrive, which are before the preamp. Compression stays on all the time, so I don't worry about that. But the overdrives need to be MIDI controlled too, so I use these to make any stompbox MIDI controllable. It automatically adds $125 to the price of any stompbox, but then I can program my MIDI controller to turn them on and off.

So, one stomp on one switch of my floorboard can (1) switch amp channels, (2) turn stompboxes on and off, and (3) select effects. It is very nice.

 

[gtr_guy26]

sounds like a good setup. I'm not really into the midi boards. there nice and have great sounds but I like to keep things simple. My setup consist of a metal zone, mxr zakk wylde, ch-1 chorus, dunlop wah, my ibanez, and behringer. And I know there's no cheap way to do anything when it comes to music. besides I've already made the mistake of getting cheap gear before. So i plan on getting another amp and the a/b box. I think that route is my best choice. Til then I'll use the stock clean channel for clean and distortion. It won't be long til I can get another amp. And hell since i'm here might as well ask. I think I'm going to go with a Fender supersonic 212 cab for my clean sound. Any suggestions on head. I was looking at a vox custom classic. to give you and idea of what i'm going for my style falls somewhere between Black Label Society and Pantera, with enough southern rock thrown in for good measure.

 

[johnnymegabyte]

I used to have a Marshall 50 watt - two channel amp
I had a Zeus pre-amp pedal for boost and a Boss analog Delay pedal for solo's
So .. I just lined up then Zeus and Boss Delay side-by-side with a tiny U connector and had it right next to the Marshall's switch pedal
I could turn the Zeus+Delay with one step on both AND all three by turning my foot about 45 degrees.

 

[TelePaul]

johnnys idea is VERY good; great way of stepping outside the conventions of midi. and its cheaper too! maybe you could think about it in the future? Like johnny i have all my pedals mounted rather claustrophobically so multiple switching takes about as long as sustaining that note in your killer solo.

 

[gtr_guy26]

yeah i'll give it a try and see what happens. thanks for the advice.

 

[ocnor]

Depending on how the amp switching works there may be another way. It's possible that you could mod an A/B box so that it would switch the amp channel at the same time that it A/B switches. Most likely you would just need to wire a cable from the A/B box switch to the switching input of the amp.Then you could run your guitar into a pedal such as a compressor and split it's output into 2 signals. Side 1 would run into the distortion pedal and into side A of the A/B box. Side 2 would run into the chorus pedal and into side B of the A/B box. The common out of the A/B box would run into the amp input.

 

[gtr_guy26]

that's a damn good idea. that's why I like this place someone always thinking outside of the box.....no pun intended