BUDGET BI-AMP?

Jim Quaife’s letter [Q&A, issue 420] prompted me to share this wheeze. For a bit of fun last year, I also bought a MEL9 and found it great at gigs to add a Mellotron to electric guitar, or some accompanying ‘aah’ choir to acoustic chords. As you noted, this works better through a PA, but even more so with a compressor in front to keep the input even, and a volume pedal to adjust the level of effect. As I didn’t want these three items permanently in my signal path, I took the alternative output from my Line 6 wireless receiver through them and into a spare input on our PA mixer. So I now have a completely separate path for the MEL9, monitored in my foldback.

I then discovered by accident, having once left the volume pedal on max with the MEL9 switched off, that I now have a cut-price alternative to true bi-amping! Whatever else is going on in my signal path or effects loop, I can send a foot-adjustable amount of ‘clean’ to the PA. It’s not the same as using two different styles of amp, but it’s not a bad compromise. Anyone with a spare PA input and either a wireless receiver with a separate tuner output, or a tuner pedal with a second ‘always-on’ output, can try this.

I hope somebody finds this useful. Dave Wheeler, via email Thanks Dave, a most ingenious idea. Any other readers got any similar wizard wheezes they can share with us? Send ’em in and we’ll print the best here…