Amp Switchers

[Desertdweller]

If these were cheaper I’d be all over them. But at the prices they are, I’m happy to just plug in the amp I want to play when I want to play it, and I don’t do a lot of A/B work. I know what my amps sound like and what applications they’re best suited for. But that’s just me. If I found a KHE unit for $400ish I would snatch it up, but I really have no true use for them, and i have a decent collection of amps.

 

[laxu]

If these were cheaper I’d be all over them. But at the prices they are, I’m happy to just plug in the amp I want to play when I want to play it, and I don’t do a lot of A/B work. I know what my amps sound like and what applications they’re best suited for. But that’s just me. If I found a KHE unit for $400ish I would snatch it up, but I really have no true use for them, and i have a decent collection of amps.

They start to make sense when you have a whole staple of amps. I started considering one when I had only 3 amps as it was enough of a pain to swap between them.

 

[Orvillain]

I was gonna get one a while back, but there are just more important things. Like delay pedals, synths, and nappies.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I was gonna get one a while back, but there are just more important things. Like delay pedals, synths, and nappies.

no need to brag about how many poo switches you have m9

 

[Desertdweller]

They start to make sense when you have a whole staple of amps. I started considering one when I had only 3 amps as it was enough of a pain to swap between them.

I’d rather just buy more cabs and effects processors and keep them all hooked up to them all the time

 

[laxu]

I’d rather just buy more cabs and effects processors and keep them all hooked up to them all the time

That's where I ended up as well. But by the time you have a lot of amps that might mean you need a lot of space!

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Yeah, I have run out of amp and cab space and sold a few amps that I doubt will be replaced. I also sold my kemper recently so this is kind like just about consolidating what I do have so I can use it better.

I decided to take a punt on the Ampete - made an offer that got auto accepted. The main reasons being:

- Line out directly on the Ampete (permanently hooked up to my patchbay so I can get an amp DI from whatever load is selected without patching)
- Buffered and unbuffered inputs on front and rear. I have my reamp chain hooked up to the rear input. My reamp box has 2 outputs so I can just leave that hooked up and it’s always ready to go. I can also route my Avalon DI into the reamp box and have a pristine level calibrated DI as well as a consistent front end for the amps
- 4 cab options. It was hard to weigh up having 8 amps and one load, or 4 amps and 4 loads. Ultimately, 8 would still have been too few if I wanted EVERYTHING and for most situations it’s quite easy to pick 4 amps to use. Being able to compare load boxes is really handy - using only one can kind of skew things where you might miss a good sound. I can hook cabs up to my load boxes easily without having to poke my head behind the rack, so that’s still a very easy solution too.

Added bonus is the FX loop switching. I can put my spring reverb and delay into the Ampete loop and it’ll put that into the loop of whatever amp is selected. Just saves me pissing around.

At some point i’ll be curious to test the buffer of the Ampete. Using the Avalon as a front end seemed to sound better to me

 

[Elric]

They start to make sense when you have a whole staple of amps. I started considering one when I had only 3 amps as it was enough of a pain to swap between them.

Yeah... I was wanting to run my Synergy stuff with every amp I had and was looking at getting a cab and setting FX units in 4CM for each one... So, I'd basically get a new amp and decide to build another separate rig for that amp. Cabs are a big problem because they are gigantic and my home studio space is luxurious but sub-infinite.

The amount of stuff I took out of the signal chain across my amp setups in favor of the switcher easily has the resale value to to pay for the switcher (and very nearly covers the cost of all the damn cables I ended up buying). 106CM FTW...

Naturally, I've sold none of that stuff. It is all 'backup' or 'grab and go' or something. But, in principle, it was a sound financial move. LOL.

 

[Mr. Moon]

Takes someone brave to trust all their amps to something with Kruze written on it. Unfortunately I’ve heard to many horror stories of his work so it’s too risky for me

Interesting. I have not heard anything like that and have personally had great luck with his amp mods as well as one of the cab/amp routers. Were the sources of the bad reviews found online or anecdotal? I would love to check out any bad reviews you could point me to if they're posted online somewhere.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Interesting. I have not heard anything like that and have personally had great luck with his amp mods as well as one of the cab/amp routers. Were the sources of the bad reviews found online or anecdotal? I would love to check out any bad reviews you could point me to if they're posted online somewhere.

I’ve seen several respected amp tech’s work on amps he’s done and they’re shocked at the quality of his work. Lots of stuff that is unsafe and pretty questionable.

Also some amp builders weren’t happy that he was slapping his name badge on for basic tweaks without contacting them first.

I don’t mean to take away from your experience if it’s gone well for you - if you are happy with the sound then that perfect. but there’s more than enough information about his work online that makes me not trust him at all (especially so if the work is unsafe).

From what I’ve seen the amp building community is very supportive of each other and wouldn’t hound on someone for no reason

 

[Mr. Moon]

I’ve seen several respected amp tech’s work on amps he’s done and they’re shocked at the quality of his work. Lots of stuff that is unsafe and pretty questionable.

Also some amp builders weren’t happy that he was slapping his name badge on for basic tweaks without contacting them first.

I don’t mean to take away from your experience if it’s gone well for you - if you are happy with the sound then that perfect. but there’s more than enough information about his work online that makes me not trust him at all (especially so if the work is unsafe).

From what I’ve seen the amp building community is very supportive of each other and wouldn’t hound on someone for no reason

Thanks for the additional info. I have met amp builders, modders, and technicians who both support one another and those who fall on the other side of the fence, and cut down one another for whatever reason ...actually any kind of specialist, not just amp-oriented. All I know is that I have had my two Kruse-modded EVH amps running hard for around 7+ years without any issues, so I guess I maybe got lucky? Who knows?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Loving the amp switcher so far.

Its really hard to appreciate what it offers until you use one for a bit. Having an INSTANT frame of reference between amps and load boxes makes it very easy to hear whats actually going on and not get sucked into a tone hole where you think it sounds great and then come back later and find its not quite how you remembered.

I currently have a few load boxes connected and being able to hear exactly what influence each one has on each amp without having to power up+down, swap cables, let the amp warm up etc is really cool. Hearing it all instantly makes it very clear what each piece of gear's strengths are and where you can take them tonally.

I had some reservations whether 4x4(x4 FX loops) would be enough, but honestly its kind of ideal. I think with 8 I'd basically always whittle that down to around 3 or 4 amps anyway and all it would save is having to move cables a little less frequently. The biggest surprise for me has been how useful the line out is. As someone who uses load boxes a lot, its so convenient to just have that always routed rather than having to tap that from each individual load.

 

[UncleJesse]

I have the DeLisle 8x8. It works just fine for me. I believe DeLisle recommends against switching the load under live conditions (I mute everything before changing the amp/cab) but if that’s not a dealbreaker, I’ve had 0 issues with mine.

I specifically asked tech support before I bought my 4x4 from Delisle and they said it was unnecessary to mute between changes.

 

[eggpl@nt]

I specifically asked tech support before I bought my 4x4 from Delisle and they said it was unnecessary to mute between changes.

Maybe it depends on the model. From the 8x8 manual.

This device is not designed to be switched under signal conditions.

 

[UncleJesse]

Maybe it depends on the model. From the 8x8 manual.

I went back and looked at the email and the question I asked was "Do I need to put the amp on standby before switching?" and the answer was no. So it seems I was actually asking a different question. What do you do? Just not play while it's switching or do you utilize some other form of mute or standby when switching?

 

[eggpl@nt]

I went back and looked at the email and the question I asked was "Do I need to put the amp on standby before switching?" and the answer was no. So it seems I was actually asking a different question. What do you do? Just not play while it's switching or do you utilize some other form of mute or standby when switching?

depends on the situation, but if I'm switching tube amp heads, I throw them on standby, yes.

If I’m swapping speakers when using my matrix power amp, I just mute my guitar and sometimes my Axe or Helix volume knob.

 

[Elric]

I went back and looked at the email and the question I asked was "Do I need to put the amp on standby before switching?" and the answer was no. So it seems I was actually asking a different question. What do you do? Just not play while it's switching or do you utilize some other form of mute or standby when switching?

I don't play while switching, generally, although I don't pay too much attention to it, TBH. With the Delisle you have to change it by hand and I tend to switch presets on my AxeFx when switching amps, because the Axe controls the amps. So I will put it on the AxeFx preset for that amop and the Axe controls the amp and does all the FX, etc, via scenes.

So I don't use it like one giant channel switching amp. The KHE's switch via MIDI so in theory one of those could be used like that.

The model I have kills the signal going to the amp before it switches to the next amp AFAIK. No need to put the amp on standby, that defeats the entire point of the switcher; IMHO.

 

[gearJunkie]

I've been interested in getting an amp switcher, but the potential impedance mismatch user error problem gives me pause.

Looking at the KHE website I found they recommend a Weber Z-matcher in the attenuator loop to mitigate the possible danger.

KHE + Weber Z-Matcher — KHE Audio | Amp Cab Switchers

www.khe-audioelectronics.com

Since I already have a Z-Matcher and a pair of Ironman II attenuators that also provide impedance matching, I may go for a KHE Audio ACS 4x4 FX Guitar Amplifier Speaker Cabinet FX-Loop Switcher Selector Router.

 

[JerEvil]

I've been interested in getting an amp switcher, but the potential impedance mismatch user error problem gives me pause.

Looking at the KHE website I found they recommend a Weber Z-matcher in the attenuator loop to mitigate the possible danger.

KHE + Weber Z-Matcher — KHE Audio | Amp Cab Switchers

www.khe-audioelectronics.com

Since I already have a Z-Matcher and a pair of Ironman II attenuators that also provide impedance matching, I may go for a KHE Audio ACS 4x4 FX Guitar Amplifier Speaker Cabinet FX-Loop Switcher Selector Router.
View attachment 20503

This is the switcher I have. I absolutely love it. 3 years now I’ve had it I think. No issues.

 

[gearJunkie]

This is the switcher I have. I absolutely love it. 3 years now I’ve had it I think. No issues.

Good to know. How do you handle impedance matching, or is it not an issue for you?