The Amplifi 75 effects don't sound like they are in stereo.

[davidcarrguitar]

Hi guys.

 

Newbie question. I got a second hand 75 from an Aussie rep which is in great condition. I've got an AXE FX 2 so I'm quite capable when it comes to routing things in the right order (stereo FX placed after the amp, drive etc) but I can't get a convincing ping pong delay out of this thing even with the delay last in the chain. The stereo panner just sounds like a tremolo. Streaming music is fine and the mid/tweeters clearly work in stereo, actually it's a great stereo unit for music. But perhaps not for guitar FX? 

Am I the only person who wants a ping pong delay to, well, ping pong from left to right?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Koebi]

Hi Dave,

Did you try tweaking the knobs next to the Volume Knob? FX, and/ OR reverb? But just slightly, they react very sensitive.

 

Good luck from Zuerich Switzerland

Jack

[davidcarrguitar]

Hi Jack,

Greetings from Melbourne. Yes indeed, the fx controls are enabled and appear to operate as a master for the FX/delays/mod. When at full clockwise there is only delays -BUT- the delays are not in stereo. The pingpong doesn't move from left to right, it just sits in the middle and no amount of tweeking via my ipad seems to make them move left to right. 
Can you try an experiment for me? Create a new patch with just an amp and place a pingpong delay in the last slot. Can you hear the delays clearly moving from side to side through the speakers? If you can, I'm doing something wrong. If you can't . . . .

Many thanks

[cbrillow]

Hi David,

 

Just out of curiosity, have you tried listening via headphones? I'd guess that it would immediately identify whether or not the effects have any stereo field, more so than listening through the speakers.

 

I have 3 amplifi devices -- 30, 150 and FX100. Would you share which specific effect you're using when you're wanting to hear the ping-pong? (I don't fool with stuff like that often...) I'd be happy to check it out on my devices and see what happens. It'd be an interesting experiment...

[cbrillow]

Did you try tweaking the knobs next to the Volume Knob? FX, and/ OR reverb? But just slightly, they react very sensitive.

 

 

Hello, Jack...

 

Just a comment, and just my opinion...

 

My observation is that adjusting any of these knobs may give you the impression that they're very sensitive, but I think the range of adjustment is actually fairly broad and smooth. Tweaking one of them may make a sudden, somewhat radical change to the sound, but I think that happens when the current setting of a control is significantly different from what's saved in the current patch. In other words, consider the case where the Treble control in the preset is at maxed out to really make the highs stand out, but the knob on the Amplifi is set a 9 o'clock. As soon as you move the knob just a little, the tone control becomes active and the highs will be cut drastically from full-bore to where the Treble knob currently positioned. That may seem to indicate sensitivity, but it really isn't. From that point on, adjusting the Treble knob is much smoother and controlled, just as it would be on an analog amp.

[davidcarrguitar]

Hi David,

 

Just out of curiosity, have you tried listening via headphones? I'd guess that it would immediately identify whether or not the effects have any stereo field, more so than listening through the speakers.

 

I have 3 amplifi devices -- 30, 150 and FX100. Would you share which specific effect you're using when you're wanting to hear the ping-pong? (I don't fool with stuff like that often...) I'd be happy to check it out on my devices and see what happens. It'd be an interesting experiment...

Yes indeed. In headphones the pingpong delay is in stereo- it bounces left to right as it should. In speakers it just sits in the middle. If you wouldn't mind checking tis for me, place a pingpong delay at the end of a chain and see what you hear when you put your head right in front of the speakers. Does it move left to right or just come from the middle? 

Another test is to place the panner last in the chain. Listen through headphones and you'll hear the sound move from left to right. Through my speakers it doesn't do anything. No change in amplitude. Please report back if you can. 

Best regards

[cbrillow]

Had to run some morning errands, so couldn't get back to you until now.

 

I played around with my Amplifi 30 a bit, and have to agree with your assessment that there's little-to-no apparent movement in the stereo field with the ping-pong delay selected when listening through the speakers. I played with the feedback and speeds to exaggerate the effect, and it didn't make much difference with respect to the apparent positioning of the sound - still sounds like it's in the middle.

 

And, of course, through the headphones, it's obviously in stereo and a very noticeable, changing L - R movement.  The speakers are quite close together on the Amplifi 30, but even if they're only 6 to 8 inches from one another, I would still expect to experience a stereo soundfield with my ears close to the face of the amplifier. And, in the case of the tone I use most often -- a very clean amp model with rich reverb -- the bulk of the guitar tone comes from the main guitar speaker, with the reverb being most noticeable in the periphery from the stereo side speakers. So the contention that the effects are stereo seems to hold up, aside from not being quite what you'd hope to hear with the ping-pond delay...

 

I'll try the Amplifi 150 a little later and report back. Must say I'm not expecting a much different result, but we'll see...

[cbrillow]

Confirming that the stereo effect on the Amplifi 150 pretty much matches what I heard in the 30. In other words, it's far less prominent than what is heard through headphones, and sounds mostly dead-center. Not exactly what I'd consider ping - pong...