Can I Attenuate One Channel of My Amp, And Bypass PS-2 on the Other Channel?

Stage & Studio Power Station PS-2
1

Here’s my setup.

I have a '68 Bandmaster which is way, way too loud at its sweet spot for leads. So this weekend I bought a PS-2 and a Cyclops.

I use a Voodoo Labs GCX to jumper the two channels on the Bandmaster and switch between them. I set the volume of one channel at about 2 to 3 for clean sounds. I set the other channel to 6 or higher for lead sounds. Then I use two of the loop sends on the GCX to select which channel I am playing on the amp. In effect, the GCX is a MIDI controllable ABY switch.

As I wait for my new PS-2 to arrive, I got to thinking.

I want to be able to attenuate the lead channel so it isn’t ear splitting. Obviously, that’s doable with the PS-2. But I don’t need or want attenuation on the clean channel when I switch to it.

So my question is, can I set up the PS-2 to bypass the attenuation I’ve set for the lead channel when I am switched to the clean channel?

If that can’t be done, could I add a ZMACS and use it to turn the PS-2 in the ZMACS loop on or off depending on the channel I’m on? I plan on buying a ZMACS later but I’d rather get a Synergy Syn20-IR and some modules first.

Thanks, Steven.

2

Hi Steven, Thanks for contacting us! Since the PS-2 can attenuate only one amp at a time, there is no way to rig it to affect only one channel of your Fender amp at a time. You could use a PS-100 which has two pre-settable channels of attenuation or boost, then switch between the two amp channels and the two channels on the PS-100 simultaneously. Lastly, if you were to adda ZMACS to the set-up with the PS-2A, you could then connect the PS-2A into the switchable attenuator loop on the ZMACS and switch the attenuator in or out while switching the input channels on your Fender amp. You would need to use your GCX to accomplish the A/B amp input selection and to switch the ZMACS preset to activate or deactivate the switchable attenuator loop. Hope that all makes sense. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. Cheers! Gil

3

Thanks, Gil. That’s what I thought. I guess I’m going to have to get a ZMACS, too. I was planning on getting one anyway.