Please explain how to slave an amp

[glassjaw7]

I have heard of it many times and know several of my fellow rig-talkers do it.
Can you slave an amp head to the power section(effects return) of another head?
Or should a head be slaved to a power amp?

Also, when slaving can you crank the master up on a head and get that "cranked up" sound at lower volume by turning the power amp volume down?

And finally, does the head have to be connected to a load?

Thanks so much in advance. -Jordan

 

[Shark Diver]

Well, some amps have a slave out. That would go to another power section of another amp. So, fx return, or input of a power amp.And yes you would need to load the original amp.

I don't think this sounds as good as - With any amp you can go from the speaker output, to a load, and tap off of that for the slave to the other amps fx return or a different power amp.

 

[stephen sawall]

Can you slave an amp head to the power section(effects return) of another head?

Yes

Or should a head be slaved to a power amp?

This also can be done.

Also, when slaving can you crank the master up on a head and get that "cranked up" sound at lower volume by turning the power amp volume down?

What ?

And finally, does the head have to be connected to a load?

Tube amps should always have a load at all times. Speaker or other wise.

....... Take the line out from the "master" amp and run it to a "slave" amp ~ a power amp, the power section of a other amp or the front end of a other amp.

Yes you can put a load on the master that is not a speaker. Turn up the "master" amp to get a voice you want from the "master" amp and then control the volume with the slave.

You can also use a speaker on the "master" amp if you want. This is a wet / dry rig of one type. If you put effects between the amps.

You can put line level effects (or effects that go in the effects loop of most amps) between the the "master" and "slave".

Be careful not to set any levels to high at first. You do not want to burn up anything. Start with things on zero and work your way up.

I use a THD Hot Plate for amps that have no line out to do this as well as one's that do because with it I can control the volume of the "master" from off to full on.

 

[glassjaw7]

Cool, thanks guys! I'm gonna try it

 

[stephen sawall]

Your welcome. Just ask if something else comes up.

 

[Digital Jams]

Can you slave an amp head to the power section(effects return) of another head?

Yes

Or should a head be slaved to a power amp?

This also can be done.

Also, when slaving can you crank the master up on a head and get that "cranked up" sound at lower volume by turning the power amp volume down?

What ?

And finally, does the head have to be connected to a load?

Tube amps should always have a load at all times. Speaker or other wise.

....... Take the line out from the "master" amp and run it to a "slave" amp ~ a power amp, the power section of a other amp or the front end of a other amp.

Yes you can put a load on the master that is not a speaker. Turn up the "master" amp to get a voice you want from the "master" amp and then control the volume with the slave.

You can also use a speaker on the "master" amp if you want. This is a wet / dry rig of one type. If you put effects between the amps.

You can put line level effects (or effects that go in the effects loop of most amps) between the the "master" and "slave".

Be careful not to set any levels to high at first. You do not want to burn up anything. Start with things on zero and work your way up.

I use a THD Hot Plate for amps that have no line out to do this as well as one's that do because with it I can control the volume of the "master" from off to full on.

Perfect answer and I use either a HP for non master amps or a Redbox Pro for w/d with the Mesa or JVM.

 

[stephen sawall]

If both amps are grounded it can have a ground loop. This can cause hum. Make sure you still have ground on one of the amps. No reason to electrocute yourself. Some amps have a ground lift switch. So you can use this to lift the ground. You can also use one of those gray or orange things you put on the end of the power chord that make a 3 prong end into a 2 prong type. (the other prong is the ground). The thing in the upper left corner of this link .....

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... l%26sa%3DG

 

[glassjaw7]

Well I tried it and it was pretty cool! I slaved my dual rec into the fx return of a couple different heads(nothing special, just carvin mts3200 and DSL, the Carvin route actually softened and smoothed out the tone, but it took some grind too)
and also into a Mesa 2:100 and a 2:90. It was really cool into the power amps, but I actually dig the tone as is with the KT-77's I have in my rectifier.
When I get near a VHT 2150 again I'll give it another go, and maybe try a more complicated wet/dry rig.

Thanks for helping! -Jordan

 

[stephen sawall]

Just wondering what you used as a load on the dual rec ?

Slaving always changes the tone, envelope and dynamic's to some degree.

 

[Gainiac]

OHHHH!!! Slaving!!!! slaving is GOOD!!!

the most slammin sound I used to get was sending the mark iv to a speaker emulator and kicking it out to the boog 2:90... then hit the front end with a pq3....

Ahhhh.... the good ol' days....

 

[Capulin Overdrive]