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So now that I have two working amps that both sound good (Ampeg Gemini I and a 50W Katana), it's time for me to get serious about stereo; however, I don't really have much experience with this stuff and I get overwhelmed pretty easily when I'm just sitting in my living room with all my stuff (or when I'm sitting in my office without all my stuff), so I was hoping for some advice on how to capitalize on the various ins and outs I have in order to achieve maximum swirl. This is less about A/B/Y-ing between clean and dirty amps, and more about balancing effects between two clean amps.

The current iteration of the chain, more or less, is GTR (Les Paul Custom or Mascis JM) > fuzz and dirt [variable assortment of Muff, Rat, Sabbra, perc] > Starlight v2 > Phase 90 > FX67 Stereo Turbo Chorus* > Aria Analog Stereo Delay* > DD5* > RC3* > Katana, with a line out from the DD5 to the Ampeg. I also have a Flashback (v1) and a DD3* that I keep moving around; there's a custom trem and a wah on the way as well. (* denotes stereo/extra outs). The Katana has only one input; the Ampeg has 4, two for each channel, though I like jumpering the channels which cuts down the availability to two ins.

I guess what I'm asking for is opinions/tips on making the most out of my stereo effects. Obviously the thing to do is to sit down and try stuff, but like I said, overwhelm; a little guidance helps. (Also, please assume that my level of technical knowledge is pretty rudimentary).

So what would you do?

Thank you!

Setting one amp really bright and the other really dark can help maximize the effect. I'd do something like have chorus and percussive/hard delay going to a bright amp, and phaser, washy/atmospheric delay go the darker amp. Probably have one amp providing most of the gain, the other for more clean stuff.

I have a Princeton and a Champ that I use in stereo, I use the Princeton providing most of the sound (just light OD in it with its reverb) and then use the Champ as the kind of flavoring component running effect through that so they kind of sit with that main sound (all lo-fi-ish/trashy noisey verbs/ODs/modulation).

Run some spectrum analysis of your two signals, make sure that there are no boosted frequencies that overlap too much, as to avoid unneeded resonance and overtones and such.

Inconuucl wrote:Run some spectrum analysis of your two signals, make sure that there are no boosted frequencies that overlap too much, as to avoid unneeded resonance and overtones and such.

Interesting idea! How would I go about doing that?

I like a panning tremolo or a pingpong delay as the thing that splits the signal. I've never cared for things that have dry/effect outs. I like to use separate dirt pedals for each amp after the splitter, tuned to the amp. You can get some weird stuff going having different modulation pedals on the separate lines but it can get pretty fatiguing. Maybe try moving the Starlight and Phase after the DD5 to see what they sound like against each other. Try putting the Perc and Rat after the mods, too. Or, if you tend to leave the Muff or Sabbra on as your base tone, put those right before the amps and goose them with the Rat or Perc between the delays.

I played a stereo rig for 10 years in a very moody,textural post-rock thing. I chose amps that sounded very different from one another, one being a 100 watt Marshall half stack the other being a 50 watt open back Ampeg 1x12 combo. The only difference between the two signal lines I thought was necessary was keeping my looper pedal out of the Ampeg side, as it would quickly get saturated when playing a loop of one part and then harmonizing with it.

So Ampeg was crispy glitter and Marshall was beefy whump. Like repoman just said - a lot of the stereo image and motion comes from just making each side different sounding from the other and listener's ears do the rest.

Errant Tiger wrote:

Inconuucl wrote:Run some spectrum analysis of your two signals, make sure that there are no boosted frequencies that overlap too much, as to avoid unneeded resonance and overtones and such.

Interesting idea! How would I go about doing that?

Simplest way is to get a looper and record a phrase and record the it through both amps, get any daw (audacity even) and then look at the spectrum of both. This of course will not be much of an issue if you follow the advise on this thread to get two wildly different amps in the first place.

Inconuucl wrote: Simplest way is to get a looper and record a phrase and record the it through both amps, get any daw (audacity even) and then look at the spectrum of both. This of course will not be much of an issue if you follow the advise on this thread to get two wildly different amps in the first place.

Got it. The Katana is pretty clear and crisp and the Gemini is quite warm, so it might not be so much of an issue, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

I played a stereo rig for a few years. I think separate dirt chains was the most important part to me. I loved it. I didn't really mess with ping ponging delays and stuff cause I was usually playing through two cabs stacked, and also that wouldn't have really come through or mattered with what I was playing or how I was using delay. Also worth noting, a lot of stereo delays and other stereo effects actually blend the two inputs, so you end up losing your cool separate dirt sounds if they're earlier in your chain. I actually really liked doing a wet/dry setup once I finally tried it. Put the delay and reverb (and whatever else) on one amp and run them heavier than you normally would. Run the other amp dry. Separate dirt on each. Sounds really cool. It can be really heavy or whatever. Nice spacey atmosphere but still really tight. Worth giving a try.

Thanks to everyone so far - this is all really inspiring. Trying to limit screen time while on vacation, but do people have a favorite switcher? I've done a lot of research and have totally overwhelmed myself with options (though having a limited budget helps) and am contemplating the Switchblade and the MXR thing. Any thoughts? Thanks again!

Radial big shot is great if you don't need indicator LED's. If you're doing much or any switching you'll want those LED's though. The twin city is great and a step up from the big shot in terms of features and money. Lehle is killer but $$$. Get something with good isolation and a ground lift for sure. Whirlwind and moreley are not a good way to go.

misterstomach wrote:Radial big shot is great if you don't need indicator LED's. If you're doing much or any switching you'll want those LED's though. The twin city is great and a step up from the big shot in terms of features and money. Lehle is killer but $$$. Get something with good isolation and a ground lift for sure. Whirlwind and moreley are not a good way to go.

Those are all the other apps I had my eye on. The Lehle Little Deal looks perfect, other than being totally outside my budget. Sigh.