Hi,

Perhaps someone here can answer the question. I know very little about solid state electronics. All my expertise is in high voltage tube electronics.

Lets say one has two seperate 100 watt tube amps. We want to have one guitar plugged into both amps using only one amp at a time and being able to switch back and forth at very high gain levels with no pop/noise.

My uneducated hope is that some sort of IC could be used to do that type of switching.

There is a good bit of time in microseconds for this to happen. The idea is to go from a screaming metal music sound to a warm Fender sound on the same guitar within some reasonable timing based on the music without creating unwanted pops or noise.

Just dreaming??

Billy

Not dreaming. You gotta find or design a circuit that can see the closest zero crossing and make the switch at that point. That's how Cakewalk does punches in and out.

But.... why reinvent the wheel? Use a modeling amp with a foot switch to move between models. Heck, my Mesa Boogie does that without modeling. 2 channels, each set and ready to roll.

Or an A/B/Y foot switch to change to amp A, amp B o both A and B.

Hi Herb.

I have a custom built Mesa 45 that has has three channel foot switching. The issue is all three channel sound like Mesa Boogie.

There has never been a modeling amp that sounds like a vintage Vibroverb or bassman. In fact I have never herd a clone Vibroverb sound like the original and I have built several. Close but no cigar. I understand why this is true but I have never had the time/money to design and build custom capacitors, custom output transformers, and custom speakers.

How all this started was trying to integrated a EVH 5150 and a Fender Bassman onto the same circuit board and have them switch like the Mesa does at high volume on a big stage at a large outdoor concert, all trying to stay under a $5000 dollar budget.

Hours of work with no solution. Just getting the EVH and the Bassman to run through the same output tubes and sound right was a night mare.

I can build a Fender Bassman that sounds 95% like the original. I can build a EVH 5150 that sounds 99% like the original.

There is no end to the problems. For example you have to own or have access to a "original" vintage Bassman to set beside the one you build to compare the two.

None of this is simple.

Billy

Eddie, go take two amps connected to an A/B/Y foot switch and turn them up to perhaps two or three and see what happens. Then imagine two 100 Watt amps turned up on 10 being mic-ed by a 1000 watt PA.

Billy

EDIT: There is A/B/Y foot switch called a "Switchbone" that could possible work as it uses transistors to do the switching. Pretty cheap if it will work...APX $300

Something new to me.

Would it be any different from what you are describing? One amp, the other amp, or both amps.

More or less the same issue with two amps or one amp with two channels. Well...ground loop issue with two amps that is easy to solve with a isolation transformer. The switch needs to able to phase match the two amps.

When a guitar is plugged into a amp it is a complete circuit and acts a certain way and produces a certain tone. Active switching inserted into this circuit can change and degrade that tone which is another issue that has to be solved. Cable length can also create impedance issues.


I have just discovered a new switch that is supposed to solve these issues. Ordering it now. Not free but around $300...damn amp addiction...lol Between Amps, Airplanes, and Boats, I think Cocaine would have been cheaper....lol

Billy

EDIT: If you really want to jump off the deep end go look up Chris Merren. He can do anything that can be done with a transformer. Makes Mercury Magnetics look like a Wal-Mart.

Hi Kirsten and welcome to the forum.

Here is a link to a basic video about "Solid State Electronic".
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question558.htm

Your question has a pretty involved answer but this video will give you some idea.

Billy

For amplifiers, solid state electronics means a vacuum tube or valve is replaced by one or more transistors. This is done to reduce complexity, weight, cost and heat.