Grateful Dead Music Forum

I am trying to get more flexibility out of my rig and here is my idea. Please shoot holes in it and tell me why i am crazy.

I want to build a rack system that basically has 2 pre-amps into a power amp. The two pre amps will be an SMS Classic for all my Jerry tones and the second will be my Digi Eleven Rack for anything else. I love the soldano patches on the 11. The power amp will be a mcintosh, probably a 2105 or a 2205. The power amp with drive a 2X12 with E120's. Conceivably i could hook up each pre-amp to a separate side of the amp and have each power a 2X12 of its own.

I will also be using my gcx with all the FX.

Thoughts?

I love the Soldano clean on my 11R! Best rig, IMO!!

Seems like a nice idea but will be very heavy.

My 11R is always racked seperately.

Sounds pretty sane to me... I have a similar plan to have different preamps for different GD eras: SMS or F2b for 60s-80s and SWR Grand Prix for 90's and Phish.

I haven't looked into it fully but my initial thought is to mix the two preamps into the power amp with something like this:



http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=630417

Also still trying to figure out how to footswitch between rigs on the 11R. Like if i want to play soldano clean for a verse and soldano mod for the solo...

I guess with the mixer idea, you can just turn down one pre amp and turn up the other and utilize one channel on the power amp..

Strummin, does the 11R sound as good live as it does in the studio?

You could totally do that! Just have a Y splitter box to switch your guitar signal to go to the separate preamps (or maybe even have it so you can go to both at the same time? - that would be weird). As long as you're using two preamps and routing them to the two separate channels on the power amp, you basically have two separate rigs going on at once. Go with the 2105. I don't think you'll need the extra power the 2205 has or the extra weight. The 2105 is plenty loud and sounds really good especially if you crank it up past half way.

Jim

1960strat wrote:Also still trying to figure out how to footswitch between rigs on the 11R. Like if i want to play soldano clean for a verse and soldano mod for the solo...

I guess with the mixer idea, you can just turn down one pre amp and turn up the other and utilize one channel on the power amp..

Strummin, does the 11R sound as good live as it does in the studio?

You should integrated both your SMS and 11 into your GCX then out to the poweramp and that out to the speakers, problem solved.

11R sounds great going direct like a super wonder amp properly mic'd.

At home I run it all the time into my tubeworks amp and it sounds great but never tried it live. Just have other tones I prefer w.the band

But if you use the GCX for the amps, could you still use your GCX looped effects with your OBEL? I think you'd want to have all your GCX effects pre guitar volume control and the amps post guitar volume. Can this be done?

Using GCX with 2 is so simple watch:
Guitar > GCX IN
loop 1 = tuner
loop 2 = mutron
loop 3 = overdrive
loop 4 = phase 100
loop 5 = octave divider
loop 6 = delay
loop 7 = SMS
loop 8 = 11R
GCX out to poweramp

The way I've used the GCX is guitar OBEL SEND >GCX IN (then all the effects in the loops) then GCX OUT>OBEL RETURN back to guitar pre volume pot.

If both preamps were in the GCX loops in the effects loop (OBEL), where would the clean guitar signal go when the OBEL was switched off? Now, I have nothing against NOT using an OBEL and just plugging in the guitar into the GCX except for the problem with the Mutron sensitivity to guitar signal. If you have a good, transparent loop switcher like the GCX, you don't really need a pre-volume onboard guitar effects loop if it wasn't for the Mutron. The trigger of the Mutron effect changes dramatically to any change to input signal. I use my guitar volume all the time so I need the Mutron to "see" a consistant signal pre-volume so it is not affected by any change in my guitar volume.



Jim

strumminsix wrote:Using GCX with 2 is so simple watch:
Guitar > GCX IN
loop 1 = tuner
loop 2 = mutron
loop 3 = overdrive
loop 4 = phase 100
loop 5 = octave divider
loop 6 = delay
loop 7 = SMS
loop 8 = 11R
GCX out to poweramp

You'd run either the OBEL into GCX loop 1 or guitar clean into loop 7, right?

strumminsix wrote:Using GCX with 2 is so simple watch:
Guitar > GCX IN
loop 1 = tuner
loop 2 = mutron
loop 3 = overdrive
loop 4 = phase 100
loop 5 = octave divider
loop 6 = delay
loop 6 out > return via stereo chord to guitar vol pot
guitar vol > GCX loop 7
loop 7 = SMS
loop 8 = 11R
GCX out to poweramp

I would rather just have my OBEL going to all the GCX loops (and back) and my clean guitar signal going straight to an A/B box that splits between the two preamps.

Jim

Chuckles wrote:You'd run either the OBEL into GCX loop 1 or guitar clean into loop 7, right?

strumminsix wrote:Using GCX with 2 is so simple watch:
Guitar > GCX IN
loop 1 = tuner
loop 2 = mutron
loop 3 = overdrive
loop 4 = phase 100
loop 5 = octave divider
loop 6 = delay
loop 6 out > return via stereo chord to guitar vol pot
guitar vol > GCX loop 7
loop 7 = SMS
loop 8 = 11R
GCX out to poweramp

Bingo! Didn't know the OP had an OBEL. I thought I saw a trend that most players here that have more versatile rigs (mult guitars and mult amps) don't do the OBEL.

Loops 7 & 8 essentially are the A/B switch. The biggest hassle would be if you don't store your single/stereo guitar chord attached to the rack, you gotta go hunt around in back for the loop inputs/outputs every time you plug in. But the signal routing is identical. There's no right or wrong answer as either would work, but why add an A/B switch when you don't need it? (Answer for me: I couldn't do it because I have a rotating variety of chorus/flange/additional OD pedal filling out all 8 loops.) Seems to me it's just one more link in the chain that can break down and that routing via the GCX is a simple elegant solution that adheres to the KISS principle.

Ok. I guess the A/B wouldn't be needed if you could do the OBEL for only loops 1-6 and then run the clean guitar to 7-8. Same thing I suppose.

Well, i just scored an MC2105 off ebay.... Starting to make this rig happen....