Running stereo has generated a ton of buzz over the last couple years and why not. The soundscapes that come from a great delay fluttering through two different amps just cannot be beat. That being said there is a time and place for running stereo. There are also some things to keep in mind if you are thinking about running stereo on Sunday mornings. After reading the article shoot us your feedback in the comments below. We would love to hear what tips and tricks you guys and gals are using in your stereo rigs.
Is Your Church Setup For It?
I love watching guitar rig walkthroughs on YouTube from guys like Nigel Hendroff and Jeffrey Kunde and I too think stereo electric guitar sounds a million kazillion times better than mono. That being said not every Church is positioned to take advantage of stereo rigs. My first tip is that you look at your Church’s sound system. Does it have enough inputs to run two microphones into the board?
Next look at your sound engineer. Are they skilled enough and knowledgeable of the song flow to properly mix levels on two amps? This is extremely crucial because if all that is coming through the mix is the repeats on your delay it is going to sound like garbage. If the guy running sound is not quite there yet with his chops or the soundboard does not have enough inputs do not force the matter. It’s just not the time.
Do You Have Commitment Problems?
That’s right. If you are going to run stereo you should probably count on running it most every week you play. Once you go stereo you don’t go back. That being said lugging around an extra amp and cables can be a massive headache not to mention adjusting your pedalboard each week you want to go back to mono. Our good friends at Goodwood Audio have a tool called the Interfacer that fixes this but still something to consider.
And as in most things electric guitar you have to consider your sound guy. If your sound guy is a volunteer and has limited time to re-mix and re-work things you need to commit to running stereo or mono just to take it easy on him.
Just keep in mind that it is all fun and games until you have to lug two 75+ lb amps to church 2 times a week. Ouch
Don’t be a Rockstar
Let’s face it we are electric guitarists. We are a rare breed in which we struggle with wanting to have our way all the time. None of us want to do it but sometimes we find ourselves arguing with the worship leader or sound tech to get our way when in all reality it is not going to make or break the worship experience. I proposed that you always ask yourself “Is this going to help improve how our team leads the congregation in worship?” Sometimes the answer will be yes. Other times you will find yourself as one of only 2 musicians on stage and the increase in electric guitar tonal movement will just be a distraction. If you ask yourself the question above you will be able to keep your wits and everyone will like playing with you more
The Gear
Here are gear tips and tricks that we feel are essential to creating a great stereo guitar rig.
- Pick two amps with different tonal flavors such as Vox and Fender or Jackson Ampworks and BadCat. Getting a dark amp paired with a bright amp is a good start. Also don’t rule out an amp that you don’t necessarily like by itself. For instance I had a TopHat Club Royale that I did not love but man when you paired that thing with a Matchless SC-30 it was pure tonal heaven.
- Don’t skimp on cables. We recommend checking out Goodwood Audio or Sinasoid cables for all of your cables.
- Be careful with too many delay pedals. What? You can never have enough delay pedals. When running stereo things get a little more complex and if you are not careful you can end up with a muddy mess. Layer your delays slowly and you may need one or two less delay pedals to achieve the tone you are looking for when running stereo.
4 Comments
Where in Ohio? I’m in Columbus.
I was curious too; looks like Massillon. http://www.lwchurch.com/locations/
I’m relatively close in Ann Arbor. #OhioanInExile #LivingMissionally
You are close there in Ann Arbor. I have some family up there. How did you find out about our site?
We are actually in North Canton, OH but we serve a worldwide audience. The Church I personally attend is Living Water Massillon Campus. Where are you fellas from?