In a couple of my recent threads I mentioned that my setup contains an amp/cab switcher and have had a couple of questions about it. Instead of muddying up threads I figured I’d make a new one to discuss the switcher.
There are several brands of amp/cab switchers; KHE, DeLisle, Ampete & Kahayan are the more known ones. I’ll link to their pages at the bottom. I personally use DeLisle since it has the main features I want and I feel I get the most bang for my buck. All 4 brands mentioned are top quality though. A lot of people like KHE the best since its feature rich and expandable.
Before I go into how they work I want to make one thing absolutely clear. They are not compatible with Class D power or any amp that operates in bridge mode. I won’t go into the techno-babble of why other than it deals with the way the power section operates. It will fry any Class D amp. They work only with tube power sections.
All of them were designed with studio use in mind. It’s a way to switch between heads and cabs easily without having to constantly move cables around. It works wonders for home use as well. If you own multiple head & cabs and like to change things up you know how much of a pain switching things around can be. It is such a convenience to push a button instead of having to re-cable everything. The one semi-downside is you will be using a lot of instrument & speaker cables to hook everything up. But once you’re set, you’re set.
They were also mainly designed more for guitar amps and cabs. With the majority of guitar heads being 100 watts or less, the switcher’s power handling is between 100-200 watts depending on the brand and model. I have talked to the guy at DeLisle and he is able to customize a handful of his models to handle up to 300 watts. So that means you could run a classic SVT through a modified one.
All of the switchers function in the same way. You are able to select between different amp head and cabinet combos. The selected head’s output is sent to the selected cabinet. Any unselected heads are muted at the input and placed on a protective load. The main differences are in the features. Some allow you to switch on the fly while amps are powered up, others do not. Some are controlled by midi footswitch, some use rotary dials. A couple have attenuator loops and/or built in attenuators. Etc., etc., etc.
One last thing to note: You do have to make sure the cab’s impedance matches the amps output impedance. Unless one of the companies has released something new, none of them are capable of impedance matching.
As mentioned I personally use DeLisle and have an 8x8 Deluxe and 12x12 Deluxe. I’ve been using the 8x8 for several years now and have not had a single problem with it. I bought the 12x12 a few months ago when I ran out of room on the 8x8. It works the exact same and I’ve had no issues with it either.
My setup now consists of running 12 heads and 3 cabs through the 12x12 and 3 amps and 1 cab with the 8x8. Future plans are to send the 8x8 to DeLisle to get it upgraded to handle more wattage so I can use it with my higher powered bass amps. I’ll likely get another 12x12 at some point as well as I have plans to expand my guitar head collection when I move things to a bigger room.
Here are the links to the companies I mentioned earlier:
KHE Audio | Amp Cab Switchers
de Lisle Guitar Co. – Maker of Fine Quality Guitars, Hand-Wired Boutique Tube Amplifiers and Effects Pedals
HOME | Ampete Engineering
https://www.kahayan.es/accesories
There are several brands of amp/cab switchers; KHE, DeLisle, Ampete & Kahayan are the more known ones. I’ll link to their pages at the bottom. I personally use DeLisle since it has the main features I want and I feel I get the most bang for my buck. All 4 brands mentioned are top quality though. A lot of people like KHE the best since its feature rich and expandable.
Before I go into how they work I want to make one thing absolutely clear. They are not compatible with Class D power or any amp that operates in bridge mode. I won’t go into the techno-babble of why other than it deals with the way the power section operates. It will fry any Class D amp. They work only with tube power sections.
All of them were designed with studio use in mind. It’s a way to switch between heads and cabs easily without having to constantly move cables around. It works wonders for home use as well. If you own multiple head & cabs and like to change things up you know how much of a pain switching things around can be. It is such a convenience to push a button instead of having to re-cable everything. The one semi-downside is you will be using a lot of instrument & speaker cables to hook everything up. But once you’re set, you’re set.
They were also mainly designed more for guitar amps and cabs. With the majority of guitar heads being 100 watts or less, the switcher’s power handling is between 100-200 watts depending on the brand and model. I have talked to the guy at DeLisle and he is able to customize a handful of his models to handle up to 300 watts. So that means you could run a classic SVT through a modified one.
All of the switchers function in the same way. You are able to select between different amp head and cabinet combos. The selected head’s output is sent to the selected cabinet. Any unselected heads are muted at the input and placed on a protective load. The main differences are in the features. Some allow you to switch on the fly while amps are powered up, others do not. Some are controlled by midi footswitch, some use rotary dials. A couple have attenuator loops and/or built in attenuators. Etc., etc., etc.
One last thing to note: You do have to make sure the cab’s impedance matches the amps output impedance. Unless one of the companies has released something new, none of them are capable of impedance matching.
As mentioned I personally use DeLisle and have an 8x8 Deluxe and 12x12 Deluxe. I’ve been using the 8x8 for several years now and have not had a single problem with it. I bought the 12x12 a few months ago when I ran out of room on the 8x8. It works the exact same and I’ve had no issues with it either.
My setup now consists of running 12 heads and 3 cabs through the 12x12 and 3 amps and 1 cab with the 8x8. Future plans are to send the 8x8 to DeLisle to get it upgraded to handle more wattage so I can use it with my higher powered bass amps. I’ll likely get another 12x12 at some point as well as I have plans to expand my guitar head collection when I move things to a bigger room.
Here are the links to the companies I mentioned earlier:
KHE Audio | Amp Cab Switchers
de Lisle Guitar Co. – Maker of Fine Quality Guitars, Hand-Wired Boutique Tube Amplifiers and Effects Pedals
HOME | Ampete Engineering
https://www.kahayan.es/accesories
