Is anyone in here using stereo cabs in a live situation?
My previous rig was a kemper into a 2x12 FR cab but since making the switch over to QC I am contemplating running stereo cabs live. Is there a significant benefit to this or is the stereo spread less noticeable in a live situation compared to playing with headphones for example
When you say “stereo cabs in a live situation” do you mean physical cabs on stage or do you mean stereo output from the QC with a different cab block simulated in the left and right?
Personal opinion, running a stereo rig live does not matter at all unless you’re doing some REALLY obvious chopping or swirling effect with some stereo modulation across the FOH spread in a venue. Stereo cabs won’t make much of a difference, though.
Mini rant here, I see waaaaaaay too many worship guitarists in particular get bent out of shape over having their rig in stereo, when church environments are the least likely place that their audience (or congregation) will notice.
It could be physical cabs AND sending a stereo feed to FOH.
I’ve played around using dual amp and cab rigs on the QC with a slight pitch detune on one side to give it more of a noticeable width, which sounds good at home through headphones and studio monitors but I’m wondering if it’s going to be worth it in a live environment.
I can imagine running stereo cabs would only really be noticeable if you’ve got them either side of the stage
I really enjoy running in stereo. The cabs are too close together for the audience to hear the spread but I often run stereo to FOH as well. It gives reverb and modulation effects extra depth and helps seperate the guitar from the effect a bit. If you send stereo to FOH, I wouldn’t recommend using extreme stereo effects like auto-pan or ping-pong delay as folks who are close to the stage and to one side will only hear half the effect when it shifts to their side. To your original question, I’m using two Headrush FRFR108 cabs with good success. They sound reasonably flat and will get quite loud for their size but they wouldn’t work for large stages or metal players who need lots of low end extension. Their plastic cabinets aren’t super durable but, for the price, they’re pretty amazing.
I run 2 4x12’s in stereo with my QC. I send the full routing to FOH with the IR blocks off outputs 1/2 and then a split right before the IR block which goes to two power stage amps that run directly to the cabs. Having stage volume is important (at least for me) if you want your guitar to really react like a guitar.
Depends on the scenario (both for what you send to the FoH/monitors and for what you have on stage with you).
On the part going to the PA, for guitar-driven music, if you’re the sole guitar player competing with a keyboard player, yeah I’d go stereo and use stereo delays, the doubler, the whole 9 yard. Half of a guitar pair ? Probably go mono.
As for what’s on stage with you, depends on whether you use the on-stage amp for monitoring or if it’s just here to “move air” and get the natural sustain/feedback/general guitar-amp interaction, and you’re on IEMs anyway. First option, yeah it might make sense to go stereo. Second option, I wouldn’t bother and would just go mono.
So, overall…it depends on what you want to achieve, I guess 
For me, I went back to mono because the venue we play live in most of the time is not deep enough for the crowd to hear the spread. It’s more wide than deep, so people are truly only getting part of the signal. Myself and the band found it more cohesive and unifying to run mono. But, in my ears, the stereo sure feels good, but what best suits the hearers, overall band, and serves the song must be paramount thing. Cheers! Just my two cents.