Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

ABY pedals


indiegrungesound
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'd like to get a bit more information about these pedals from anyone who uses or has used them. I'm considering starting up a 2 piece punk band as a side project to my main band. It would be drums and bass. The sound I'm thinking of is akin to Slaves, Drenge and-to a lesser extent-Royal Blood, though I'm also thinking I could divert into slightly less punk/rock territory too(E.g. Warpaint, DJ Shadow, Slint.).
You've probably guessed that I'm going for a bass amp & guitar amp split signal set up. The issue is is that my Behringer AB100 Amp/Instrument selector pedal doesn't have the function to send an instrument feed to 2 amps simultaneously.
Having done a bit of research, the most obvious choices for pedals that send simultaneous signals to Channels A and B are Fender's ABY Pedal; The Switchblade Plus by Electro Harmonix or-if I lose my common sense and decide to spend over £100+-The Orange Amp Detonator.
BTW, my Boss ME-50B does have Stereo outputs, so I know I could cheat/be tight/be thrifty by buying a tuner pedal as a mute, as per some Youtube videos. However, I really don't want to do that, as I have PLENTY of non pedal tuners anyway.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a Whirlwind ABY on my small doubling board - Double Bass to g30 wirelss into A and Bass guitar to g30 wireless into B - out to tuner/mute to VT bass Deluxe out to amp and desk.
Its a dream rig!

Have also used it sending one signal to two Ampeg B100r's via the BOTH switch. no issues there.
Love the ABY!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the fender aby for a similar purpose (at home only so far), but I wouldn't recommend it. Seems to generate noise on the A channel. Would sound terrible at gig volumes.

I ignored all the advice to with the super expensive isolating /active units, but now I see as usual the experts were right!

This may be solved for me in the near future by purchasing a HD500X, however if I was to actually play out with this rig is spend some money on a really good aby, or modify a bass to have two independent pickup outputs, ala Billy Sheehan attitude bass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1488527236' post='3249621']
No real advice but best if luck with the band. Let us know how it goes.
[/quote]

Thanks very much rOB! If it comes off, I certainly will!

And a big Thanks to the rest of you good people for the feedback. It looks like The Switchblade+ is the first choice purchase!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having been through a similar process, I would recommend a LS2. It will do the exact job of an ABY, but it is super useful to have level controls for each output. Well worth the extra outlay, and can be got second hand fairly easily.

I would second being wary of the Fender; it is attractively priced, but I had big unity issues with it. Didn't think it was particularly noisy, but I struggled to balance signal volume once I started engaging pedals further back along the chain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1488637481' post='3250679']
I don't think it will do simultaneous output to two amps. It can switch between one or the other.
[/quote]

...Despite being very confident earlier, I now have a suspicion you are right... Oops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1488637481' post='3250679']

I don't think it will do simultaneous output to two amps. It can switch between one or the other.
[/quote]

I'm pretty sure you can ...

https://static.roland.com/assets/images/products/main/ls2_main.jpg

A+B mix ??

Or bypass whichever ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make sure to get a powered/buffered/isolated/whatevertheywanttocallit if you're splitting the signal rather than using it as two inputs. . I had a Fender Micro ABY that was great but passive only iirc. Or if you're already using the me-50b anyway you could get a passive kill switch to mute the guitar amp feed.

Edited by Jack
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1488655565' post='3250878']
Make sure to get a powered/buffered/isolated/whatevertheywanttocallit if you're splitting the signal rather than using it as two inputs. . I had a Fender Micro ABY that was great but passive only iirc. Or if you're already using the me-50b anyway you could get a passive kill switch to mute the guitar amp feed.
[/quote]

I did think about that as an option actually. My initial thoughts about sticking with an ABY box were this though:

(1) I only know about 1 muting/kill switch pedal-The EHX chill Switch. I think TC Electronic might do one as well, but I'm not 100% sure.
(2) The aforementioned pedal may be dearer that the EHX Switchblade+.
(3) I want to have the option of muting the bass amp feed/signal, so the ABY pedal seems to be the best way offer that option.

Thanks for the feedback though, as it's given me a potentially good idea as I work on building this pedal rig!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's brightonion too. [url="http://www.brightonion.co.uk/active-aby-pedal-with-leds/"]A/B[/url] and [url="http://www.brightonion.co.uk/products/Mono-Latching-Kill-Switch.html"]killswitches[/url] My favorite for any pedal board routing such as this. If you'd like to be able to kill both, I don't know of a pedal that would do that. Most a/b switches do A or B, some obviously also do A and B. I can't think of any that offer a 'none' output. Be simple enough to do a kill switch before the a/b I suppose.

I know you want to be able to mute both, but honestly I wonder if it's worth the hassle. There are so many ways to split a signal without a dedicated a/b, and then just put a volume pedal in the guitar amp feed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1488802789' post='3251838']
There's brightonion too. [url="http://www.brightonion.co.uk/active-aby-pedal-with-leds/"]A/B[/url] and [url="http://www.brightonion.co.uk/products/Mono-Latching-Kill-Switch.html"]killswitches[/url] My favorite for any pedal board routing such as this. If you'd like to be able to kill both, I don't know of a pedal that would do that. Most a/b switches do A or B, some obviously also do A and B. I can't think of any that offer a 'none' output. Be simple enough to do a kill switch before the a/b I suppose.

I know you want to be able to mute both, but honestly I wonder if it's worth the hassle. There are so many ways to split a signal without a dedicated a/b, and then just put a volume pedal in the guitar amp feed?
[/quote]
Thanks Jack! I will just clarify my idea by saying the bass feed would be on most/all of the time at this stage of planning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...