I happened to spot this odd item in the Talkbass Classifieds. I know a couple folks here have Walter Woods amps... this apparently is made to bridge the stereo output.
https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/new-bayou-cables-y-cable-for-bridging-walter-woods-stereo-electracoustic.1686522/
Butch at Bayou Cables is mostly retired from making custom cables, but his wares are famously well-made.
I think Walter's true stereo amps are even more rare than his regular 2-channel-pre / mono-power-amp heads. Both of mine are the latter...
Jimmy J
Bought this, hoping it will enable me to plug my Series bass into each channel (one pickup per channel) of my Walter Woods amp, then combine the outputs for a single mono out.
rv, what WW model do you have? Is there not a "stereo / mono" switch on the front panel? And there are two separate speaker output channels?
I need to read up on his fully-stereo heads. I can hardly believe he has squeezed another power amp channel into that package. Walter is amazing. 8)
Jimmy J
Jimmy,
I used to have the stereo MI-100, but 100 watts was not enough power, so I sold it and I now have an Electracoustic amber light 450-650 watts.
Rob
OK cool! Instead of a mono/stereo switch you have a BRG/STR switch. How great is that? That cable should be just the ticket. Nice catch!
Jimmy J
Awesome. I was hoping one of you guys could use that thing. 😎
Quote from: JimmyJ on August 29, 2026, 09:54:38 PMOK cool! Instead of a mono/stereo switch you have a BRG/STR switch. How great is that? That cable should be just the ticket. Nice catch!
Jimmy J
Can you explain how the BRG/STR switch works, its function? Thanks!
And thanks for posting EofH
Isn't that the Bridge/Stereo function? Bridged, I think they make something like 1200 watts at 4 Ohms.
Great, thank you! 😊
Although I don't have the manual that would be my guess as well. "BRG" meaning "Bridge" mode where the two channels of the power amp are working in tandem. Like one channel does the upper 1/2 of the waveform while the 2nd channel does the lower 1/2. Thus your power output is doubled!
It's sort of a distant cousin of our +/- Series power supply. ;)
So this special SPEAKER cable is wired so what is normally the hot pin of output 1 becomes "speaker +" and the hot pin of output 2 becomes "speaker -", or the other way around, I don't know.
The result should be exactly what you want - stereo preamps into a high-wattage mono power amp.
When dealing with that kind of power you definitely need a reliable cable!
Excuse me if I've "over-explained" things you already know. :o Let us know how it works out.
Jimmy J
Thanks very much for the explanation, Jimmy! I was originally just looking to combine the two separately mixed channels to a mono output, which I guess I can do with the STR (stereo) switch. But having the extra power with two channel mixing with the switch set at BRG is really nice to have as well. Thanks! 😊
Quote from: rv_bass on August 30, 2026, 01:12:34 PMThanks very much for the explanation, Jimmy! I was originally just looking to combine the two separately mixed channels to a mono output, which I guess I can do with the STR (stereo) switch. But having the extra power with two channel mixing with the switch set at BRG is really nice to have as well. Thanks! 😊
Let me try to be even clearer on this if I can... A-hem :)
In "STR" or stereo mode, whatever signal you send into the channel #1 input will be amplified and ONLY come out of the #1 speaker output. Same for channel #2. Your WW amp is "true stereo" in that it has two separate preamp and power amp channels in one chassis.
Now if you only want to run a single speaker cabinet but wish to retain the separate tone and volume controls of both channels, you can't just connect the two speaker outputs together into one speaker. And that's not what this cable does! You can never simply "combine" the outputs of two amps because they would react to each other and cause big problems. (On a small-signal scale this is why we need two resistors to sum our Series channels to mono. But at speaker level it's even more problematic.)
The special cable you're getting is ONLY designed be used in "BRG" or Bridge mode. When you switch to that mode the preamp channels 1&2 will be summed and sent into what is now a single channel of power amp.
So when you say
"I was originally just looking to combine the two separately mixed channels to a mono output..." you are talking about BRG mode and not STR mode.
A Series with the Treble and Bass outputs into separate channels of your amp - and then in "STR" mode driving two separate speaker cabinets - would make a lovely big sound! That's the neck pickup through one cabinet and the bridge pickup through another and is the cleanest and biggest tone you'll ever hear.
The next best thing is T&B signals into the separate channels - then in "BRG" mode driving a single speaker cabinet. That way you'd still have separate tone and volume controls for each pickup but a more powerful mono output to the speaker cabinet.
Again, I apologize if I'm "man-splaining" here. :-X
Jimmy J
PS: Don't be throwing that switch back and forth with the volume up! And always be careful when switching speaker cables because you never want to short the output of any amp, even for an instant.
I loved the extra explanation.
If you ran two cabinets with it in stereo, would you risk any phase issues?
Jimmy,
Thanks very much for the additional information, very helpful as I consider what to do going forward with this. I will try the cable in bridged mode at low volume to start and see how it goes. Thanks!
-Rob
Well,
I don't think that cable will work with my amp. Seems I don't have the BRG/STR switch, so it's just a two channel mono amp. The older Walter Woods amps I had that were only 100 watts had that switch I believe. Thanks for all of that information , Jimmy, it will help if (when) I acquire one of those amps but with more than 100 watts power (i.e., amber light).
-Rob
Ah alright! Thanks for posting the picture of your front panel. As you can see below, I have that very same model plus a much older oddball version (yes, that is an Alembic 5-pin connector - it's a long story).
When this thread started I looked up a "stereo" WW and saw the model with the "STR/BRG" switch. That's why I kept riffing on that, sorry. As it turns out, the cable we're talking about will not work with our models. But hang onto it because you never know, you may need it later.
Ours are the more standard WW models which have mono power amp sections along with the two input channels. Running the neck pickup through channel-1 and the bridge pickup through channel-2 is my preferred WW setup. The oddball amp is hardwired that way - plus the 1/4" jacks are TRS inserts before the EQ. I used to run a chorus pedal on the bridge pickup only...
Anyway, thanks for putting up with my long explanations. I never studied this stuff so I only know enough to get myself into trouble. But I have been fooling around with Alembics and amps for many, many years. :D
Cheers!
Jimmy J
That's great, I will try your method of neck in channel 1 and bridge in channel 2 (each channel going out to their own speaker cab). Great amps, thanks! 😊
They definitely are cool amps! But my friend, you can't run true stereo with our models. To get your individual pickups to come out of individual speaker cabinets you need one more channel of power amp.
If you have a power amp and additional speaker cab you could still use the WW as your "front-end" and plug a 1/4" cable out of the "send" jack of channel two - into the external power amp and speaker. That way you'd have the sound of only channel-2 in that speaker while the Woods would be only amplifying channel-1.
The Alembic electronics give us so many different ways to do things. Keep experimenting!
Jimmy J
Thanks, Jimmy, I have a two channel power amp and F-2B to achieve true stereo, I was hoping the Walter Woods could accomplish that in a smaller package. Looks like I will stick with mono for the Walter Woods. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge on this topic! 😊
Well, shoot. I hate that doo-hickey won't work out.
You might tag our buddy Jeff Scott over at the other place, Rob. He's a Walter Woods aficionado too. Not sure what his current setup is... last I saw, he was running an ElectrAcoustic 1200.
I now have a WW model with a bridge and stereo switch. It is 225w at 8 ohms (350 at 4 ohms I think). It says to bridge an 8 ohm cab only and it will provide 700w bridged into 8 ohms. I have an 8 ohm barefaced cab that can handle that, so I will try out that bridge cable 😊
Wow! The cable made you buy the amp. I love it. Looks like a rare bird too.
I am always astounded by how many controls Walter can fit into his front panels. I can't even say for certain what they all do. Did it come with the manual? I think the "L/G" switch is for "Lift" or "Ground" on the XLR outputs. But "Pan"? And the knob below that?
That's a lovely machine and I hope you enjoy it. I describe my Woods as perhaps not the most hi-fi amp but very versatile and extremely "fast", which is a feature of the class-D design. Not to mention lightweight. Back when he was the first to do it people would NOT believe so much sound could come out a lunchbox. :)
Let us know how it works!
Jimmy J
PS: You may need to exercise ALL those pots. Mine often requires it.
I'm not sure how exactly to game this new calling I seem to have stumbled over. 🤔
On the one hand, I feel kinda' bad for prompting Rob to buy a cable that didn't work with his current setup. On the other, he did wind up with an amp the cable does work with. I feel like I owe him dinner or something.
I think the lesson here (if there is one) is pay no attention to the banjo mechanic who posts about various electronica for sale.
Quote from: JimmyJ on September 14, 2026, 05:45:06 AMBut "Pan"? And the knob below that?
Definitely a cool amp you have there!
As I recall, "Pan" applies to both the upper and lower controls. It allows you to "pan" the output of each preamp channel to "Pwr Amp 1" or "Pwr Amp 2", or any mix of the two. If you're running bridged, then keep the Pan controls centered.
I'm really digging the fact that your amp has XLR preamp outputs. When I ordered my Ultra High Power (blue light) Electroacoustic years ago, Walter told me he stopped doing balanced outputs because he felt a transformer was required to do it correctly. He said it was too difficult to fit it (or them) into the enclosure.
Oh yeah, and +1 to Jimmy J's comment regarding exercising the pots.
Actually, I think the older WW amps sound a bit warmer than the newer ones and have some cool effects that the newer models don't have. I had a couple 100 watt older versions, but I've been looking for an older one with more power. This amp with the bridge cable does the trick 😊
This amp turned out to be defective, I sent it back. I will find another.
Oh man, the saga continues. Sorry to hear this one didn't work. :( Can you describe what was wrong with it?
Jimmy J
Quote from: JimmyJ on September 19, 2026, 08:37:28 PMOh man, the saga continues. Sorry to hear this one didn't work. :( Can you describe what was wrong with it?
Jimmy J
Rob's lucky tree got pruned back of late. Hopefully it comes back fuller.
Quote from: JimmyJ on September 19, 2026, 08:37:28 PMOh man, the saga continues. Sorry to hear this one didn't work. :( Can you describe what was wrong with it?
Jimmy J
the Vari and Treble controls and the bass cut/boost and treble cut/boost switches for both channels did not work (no noticeable change in sound when manipulating those controls and switches.
Quote from: rv_bass on September 20, 2026, 05:41:26 AMQuote from: JimmyJ on September 19, 2026, 08:37:28 PMOh man, the saga continues. Sorry to hear this one didn't work. :( Can you describe what was wrong with it?
Jimmy J
the Vari and Treble controls and the bass cut/boost and treble cut/boost switches for both channels did not work (no noticeable change in sound when manipulating those controls and switches.
Dang! That's a pretty bad score. Sorry to hear that story.
It used to be that Walter is the only guy willing to repair his own amps - and he always worked alone. I haven't been in touch with him in years and I hope he's still at it. That guy has done a LOT of soldering!
If you're still in pursuit we hope you can find another fully operational unit with the feature set you're looking for.
Jimmy J
Thanks, Jimmy, another one will show up eventually. And I hate to say it, but from what I have read online I don't think Water is still with us. Thanks, Rob
Quote from: rv_bass on September 20, 2026, 08:22:27 AMThanks, Jimmy, another one will show up eventually. And I hate to say it, but from what I have read online I don't think Water is still with us. Thanks, Rob
I hadn't heard that he'd passed and actually can't find any proof of that at the moment. But he was always a private guy and commonly wouldn't answer his phone unless he recognized your caller ID. Then if he did pick up he was soldering while talking to you. Quite a character!
He must have built a LOT of amps because they keep popping up. So keep an eye out and you'll find the feature combination you're looking for.
Jimmy J
PS: I'll say it again; the pots and switches on these amps need to be exercised to work properly. If presented with an amp that hasn't been used for years you may need to really work those controls to wake them up. ;)
I don't know if it's still true, but I read on TalkBass that Fuchs Audio did repair work on Walter Woods amps.
Fuchs website:
https://fuchsaudiotechnology.com/repair/
Just in case, Here's one of the TalkBass threads regarding repairs:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/can-anyone-repair-a-walter-woods-amplifier-is-walter-still-in-business.1660166/
I think it's a pretty good reference, since it also mentions the TalkBass "All Things Walter Woods" thread. Apologies if this is redundant info.
Quote from: cntrabssn on September 20, 2026, 06:19:56 PMI don't know if it's still true, but I read on TalkBass that Fuchs Audio did repair work on Walter Woods amps.
Fuchs website:
https://fuchsaudiotechnology.com/repair/
Just in case, Here's one of the TalkBass threads regarding repairs:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/can-anyone-repair-a-walter-woods-amplifier-is-walter-still-in-business.1660166/
I think it's a pretty good reference, since it also mentions the TalkBass "All Things Walter Woods" thread. Apologies if this is redundant info.
Thanks for this. I think I read somewhere that Fuchs no longer repairs WW amps, it was taking too much of his time, which is too bad since I've heard he did a good job with those repairs. I think he is now concentrating on his own amps that are modeled after the WW amps from what I understand.
I know that at least one of my WW amps has a complete paper schematic folded up and tucked into a small void inside. I don't know if that was his standard practice. As far as I know he didn't use any particularly exotic parts and I don't believe he "potted" anything (meaning an epoxy block over certain components to make areas of the circuit "secret"). So in fact I believe these amps to be field-repairable by any good tech. As we know, components can fail and often through no fault of the equipment builder...
Jimmy J