Two heads, one cab

[Imported_goods]

Hi,

Somewhat of an ignorant question: I have two amp heads and one speaker cab. The way my gear is set up, I find it's a bit of a pain to reach back behind my cab to plug/unplug the heads, depending on which one I want to play. Is there a way (Y-splitter, for example) for me to keep both heads plugged in simultaneously without risking damage to the cab or the heads?

Thanks for any help!

[Jeff Flowerday]

This would work:

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-headbone-vt.htm

[Imported_goods]

This would work:

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-headbone-vt.htm

Thanks for the suggestion! The Radial Headbone looks great, but quite expensive...

Your link reminded me of a new pedal line which I saw on Scott Hager's website (www.axeandyoushallreceive.com), and I sent an email to www.roadrageprogear.com to inquire whether their signal switchers would do the job. It took less than 6 hours to get this response:
"Hi Paul,
You could use our Mini A/B, it should do exactly what you want.
I would have to wire it with a speaker grade wire so you
would have no loss in volume. I will build one and test it and let you know."

Well, they sent a follow-up email this morning saying that the unit was tested and worked, so I pulled the trigger and it was sent out this evening (total cost, less than 60 bucks). :eek::rockon:

I can't wait to get the pedal, and was totally blown away by the customer service from this young canadian company...:smilie_flagge17:

[Paul]

Thanks for the suggestion! The Radial Headbone looks great, but quite expensive...

Your link reminded me of a new pedal line which I saw on Scott Hager's website (www.axeandyoushallreceive.com (http://www.axeandyoushallreceive.com)), and I sent an email to www.roadrageprogear.com (http://www.roadrageprogear.com) to inquire whether their signal switchers would do the job. It took less than 6 hours to get this response:
"Hi Paul,
You could use our Mini A/B, it should do exactly what you want.
I would have to wire it with a speaker grade wire so you
would have no loss in volume. I will build one and test it and let you know."

Well, they sent a follow-up email this morning saying that the unit was tested and worked, so I pulled the trigger and it was sent out this evening (total cost, less than 60 bucks). :eek::rockon:

I can't wait to get the pedal, and was totally blown away by the customer service from this young canadian company...:smilie_flagge17:

What two amp heads are you using? If the amp heads have tube power sections, make sure that the head that is NOT connected to the speaker cabinet has a dummy load of some sort applied. If not you risk bad things happening to the output transformer.

Good luck.

[Wild Bill]

What two amp heads are you using? If the amp heads have tube power sections, make sure that the head that is NOT connected to the speaker cabinet has a dummy load of some sort applied. If not you risk bad things happening to the output transformer.

Good luck.

+1 on what Paul said! I'm surprised that they gave you such a suggestion with no warnings. If you don't put a dummy load in the system so that when an amp is switched away from the cab it then sees the dummy load, YOU CAN BLOW YOUR AMP UP!

Or at least lose the output tubes and a fuse.

Frankly, whichever salesman gave you the recommendation seems a bit of a nob...:eek:

[Imported_goods]

+1 on what Paul said! I'm surprised that they gave you such a suggestion with no warnings. If you don't put a dummy load in the system so that when an amp is switched away from the cab it then sees the dummy load, YOU CAN BLOW YOUR AMP UP!

Or at least lose the output tubes and a fuse.

Frankly, whichever salesman gave you the recommendation seems a bit of a nob...:eek:
Thank you for the warnings!

I'm well aware that the amp which is switched off (unplugged from the cab) must not be played without a proper load, and I guess that the folks who sold me the switcher assumed that most people who own all-tube heads are aware of the dangers of playing without at least a dummy load...perhaps taking too much for granted, but it seems to be common knowledge, no?

As to which amps I am using, they indeed both have tube power sections; the first is a 5-watt custom Solaris head from Electrosonic amps, the other a 20-watt custom Brat head from Winfield amps. They are both treasured amps, so I will take extra care to not screw up and accidentally switch to the wrong amp head with the A/B switcher...again thanks to all for the heads up!

[Ripper]

Build one yourself, here's a schematic for one, you can mod it a bit to meet your needs. I've built three of them and they work just fine.
http://www.mts.net/~spiritw/headswitch.pdf

[Greg Ellis]

Assuming it's a 2-speaker or 4-speaker cab, you could wire the cab with two input jacks (if it's not stereo already); then run one amp into one set of speakers and the other amp into the other set.

It doesn't let you run all your speakers at once (unless you've got both amps running) but it does side-step the concerns about having a load on the amps at all times.

[konasexone]

Buy the Headbone and all is taken care of.

[Imported_goods]

Ripper, I might be tempted to try building one myself if I had any confidence at all in my soldering skills and my ability to read a schematic...basically, I prefer to leave soldering irons in the hands of experts. I've tried in the past, but have neither the time nor the motivation to learn properly.

Greg, good suggesion, but my cab is a 1x12, so that rules out any possibility of re-wiring the thing.

Konasexone, the Headbone looks like a fantastic product, but the price tag is more than what I'm willing to pay. If I was a serious musician with a busy performing or rehearsing schedule, I'm sure the headbone would be perfect regardless of price, but I'm just a casual musician who's getting lazy enough that bending over the cab to switch heads is somewhat bothersome...
:rockon: