Folks, first time here and new to Fryette.
I’m looking into the ZMACS to use with my amps/cabs.
How do you get shared effects loop across your amps with the ZMACS?
The alternative is KHE audio which has 4 amps/4 cabs with shared effects loop built in.
And I don’t have nor do I plan to use any attenuators.
Thanks y’all!
Hi Paulazzi03,
Sharing effects loops would have to be done trough an external switcher if you’re not using a Power Station. The ZMACS focuses on matching impedance and maximum compatibility. The KHE unit is more focused on maximizing feature sets with the unit leaving the impedance up to the amps and cabinets matching ahead of time. They are solving two different issues.
The ZMACS can be used with any amplifier and cabinet in any impedance. An example would be using a vintage Fender amplifier at 2 Ohms with a vintage Marshall cabinet at 16 Ohms. The ZMACS can do that without an issue. Some of our clients have the KHE unit and purchased the ZMACS for the impedance matching. KHE is great, we have nothing bad to say about their products whatsoever.
Thank You,
Terry
Hi Terry, thank you for getting back to me so quickly with the information.
That is very helpful. I’m yet to decide and only heard great things from both.
Impedance matching isn’t for me as important due to only having Mesa Mark amps and will be plugged at 8ohm leveraging 2 cabs.
The pro for the ZMACS is it’s US made, which I support.
I just wish I didn’t have to get a PS100 to run my shared effects loop.
Is fryette coming up with something to address that?
Thank you again,
Paul
Hi Paul,
The problem with building in something like that is your external cable count. Basically you have a send and return cable to each amplifier and then your send and return from your effects. If you have an amp rack where the amplifiers can live with the switcher in close proximity, it could be okay. The cable count will be high but at least it’s staying plugged in and has less of a chance to pick up the nastiness that can live outside of an amplifier. If you are using it on a club tour, not so much.
You can purchase either Power Station (PS-100 or PS-2A) and use it with the ZMACS. The Power Station is a great solution because the effects loop doesn’t have to split out into multiple amps, it’s self contained. That means less to go wrong, less noise/interference, less capacitance, and a lot more flexibility. I’d say Fryette addressed it extremely well.
Like I said, we’re solving different issues. It’s much easier to say, it’s a different tool from what others are offering because we are solving a different problem. You don’t hammer screws, right?
Thank You,
Terry
Terry, great point!
Today, I’m using the Mesa head track between 2 amps. That’s 6 cables for effects loop alone.
So with the ZMACS, I don’t need to cable the send/ return of each amp.
The run is amp - ZMACS -PS100 - effects loop - cab.
So my effects loop only hits through the ps100 and the amps all leverage that.
Last question, I’m assuming I can run the PS100 but without any attenuation?
Thank you again, Terry.
I appreciate it!!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Absolutely, The PS-100 would plug into the ZMACS, the PS-100 effects send and return are sent out to your effects, all of the amps plugged into the ZMACS will share the effects. The PS-100 can be turned up as loud as you’d like, depending on the amp and it’s wattage, the PS-100 can also help small amps be much louder as well. It is a 100 watt power amplifier after all.
You could be running four 5 watt amplifiers into a ZMACS with a PS-100, and have them going out to four 4x12 cabinets with a 100 watts. It’s a great setup. Add a Cyclops to the set up and now you get four amplifiers, four cabinets, and the capability to use a preamp with any of those cabinets while sharing the same effects loop. Pretty crazy.
Thank You,
Terry
Terry, you have been extremely helpful!
Thank you for taking the time and sharing this with me.
My local shop is The Guitar Sanctuary in McKinney, TX.
I will be stopping by today to speak with Brian.
Have a blessed day!
Paul
I see in the Zmacs manual that you can hook a KHE ACS 8x4 to the Zmacs for the impedance matching feature with the Power Station 100. Does this mean that all of the amps that are in the KHE unit will have shared effects like the ones that are on the Zmacs when using the power station 100?
Thanks