im planning on getting an amp with an fx loop soon so this really helped me out cause i didnt know that you dont put gain related fx through it so i'm glad i found out
this video cleared up a lot of questions i was having about effects looping. ive never really tried messing with looping before due to lack of pedals, but ive always been curious. ty =]
I personally have all my modulation (chorus, flanger, phaser, etc), delay, reverb and noise gate pedals on the effects loop. Then the tuner goes first in my chain, then the compressor, wah, overdrive-distortion or any gain pedal. Now on booster pedals, at first I use to have my booster in front of the amp, cause it pushes the tubes and it sound killer, but now I have an EQ right beside my booster on the effects loop and I love it this way. Its a bit louder this way and the eq helps with leadtone
I'm in agreement with all the positive comments stated here. Excellent job of explaining the chain of signals. Maybe someone could reply back as to where my expression pedal would be and to include my wah pedal. This is the first of many sites that really have helped me to achieve what I've been confused on for a long time. Thank you...
thank you so much!!! i guess a beginner could understand your easy explain! i'm not a beginner but now i know how to plug my pedals. thank u so much man!:P
Feel so stupid ....lol I reversed my board current and was stumped ,and pissed..... I see why this older vid is still near the top of the search . Quick common sense reminder that we all (or maybe just me) need every now and then ....also solid info
I think this is the best explanation of pedal board and connections for dummies like me who have been playing for years but lost in the technological developments. When I purchased my pedal board I hadn't realised that you have to buy "patch cables" from each pedal to the next. Also in the video it was not made clear whether you don't attach distortion pedals through the effects loop. How can this be done?
@Reflix91 With a parallel loop, some of your signal will go directly from the pre-amp to the power-amp when with a series loop, all of what's coming out of the pre-amp will go through your effects processors and then to the power-amp. With a parallel loop you'll have a "dry-wet" knob on your amp that allows you to choose the amount of signal that goes through your effects processors.
the way I learned stuff is: tuner>tone modifiers (eq, wah etc)>distortion>pitch shifters>delay/reverb, so when you use the distortion of your amp, you first put in the tuner, then tone modifiers, then comes the amp distortion (pre amp), then your pitch shifters, then delay/reverb (if this isnt in your amp yet) and then it will go to the post amp...
@crisis610 The best pedals to start with are overdrive/distortion on top of the amps drive, so you can learn to add layers of dirt for soloing, etc. Then get a wah and a vibe pedal of some kind. They will help you start thinking about timing and using effects to add color. Delay, flange, octave, and fuzz are very specialized effects, so you want to build up to them.
Good job mate, some people want to know the basics, maybe they got a new amp with a FX loop. Good on you for spending some time, from Ray down in Sydney Australia.
I'm sorry to say that I am not a tech guy so I can only tell you this the effects loop works after the input and before the out put so your effects signal comes in somewhere in the middle of the amp. Because of where it comes in it will cause the effect to be amplified in a different way. Finally your distortion will remain on when the the effects loop is engaged so don't worry about that.
They do different things. 1. A noise gate in-front will stop noise from your guitar. So you can make quick stops and transitions while playing without hearing the feedback from your pickups/guitar 2. A noise gate in the loop will kill the hum of the amp. So this is for high gain amps etc. Hope this helps!
@fromthenorthwest No. the main advantage is that when you go through the effects loop it allows the amp to maintain it's best tone possible by using the correct signal path. When an amp doesn't have an effects loop and you plug straight in to it it won't produce the same tone as the same amp with an effects loop.
A general rule is to think about which pedals have the most gain\distortion. Once you have thought this through put those with the most gain at the end of your effects chain. Last but not least keep in mind there are no rules,so set your pedals up in every possible order until you find a sound you love.
I run my distortion clean boost in my loop, ahead of my chorus and delay. I do everything he said not to and my tone kills. I like the fact that my distortion blows up the other effects. I can also adjust the balance of effects to amp & I generally keep the effected signal low.
The general order is that Wah goes first, Distortion and then Vibe last (all swirly and delay stuff last). You want to swirl your distortion, not distort you swirl (could be a cool sound though). The volume could go either first or last, depending on what sound your going for.
If I use the effects loop for my non-distortion pedals, then how will I be able to invoke, say a tremolo that is in the effects loop, but my ts9 is straight into the front of the amp? Thank you for your help in this.
For a ernie ball stereo volume pedal, One side going to a clean amp the other to one that barks. What do you use to split the signal between your guitar and the stereo volume pedal? The pedal is expecting 2 in and returning 2 out.
An important thing to know, is whether the loop you are using is parallel (usually has the "mix" control) or serial, as that will have a big big effect on what you end up with. I don't suggest putting dynamics fx (compressor/eq/noise gate etc) in these [parallel/mix] kinds of loops, as they alter the sound permenantly and the blended version you end up with often sounds nasty or pointless in the case of gates and eq. Personally, i go: Gain -> Dynamics (serial) -> fx (parallel)
I have a question, I play a Peavey Valveking, (Which has an effects loop), I try putting it straight into the amp, and the delayed note sounds distorted. When I plug it through the effects loop, theres no sign of the delay pedal. And also when I plug anything into the effects loop, the amp stays at an incredibly low volume, and no matter how much I adjust the volume, it stays the same.
So how do I keep my distortion out of the effects loop while using a Boss BCB60 where all pedals are very close to each other? my order is wah, tuner, compressor, distortion, chorus, delay. THanks!!!
if you run a looper through the effects loop, and then record distortion into it, will the returning distortion simulate the breaking of the rule of no distortion in the effects loop? im thinking it will just duplicate just as clear, or will it boost and possibly mess things up?....or should i just run my 2 korg and zoom processors into the fx loop and keep the high gain distortion and looper in the front?
hello I have a Mustang 4 V2 and it is a stereo Amp with effects loop. My question is to get the stereo effect from my pedals would I plug into return fx left and then plug into send fx left ??? None of the manuals show you how.
where would my wah pedal go? the effects loop or in front? and if in front should it be before or after the distortion? also, would a flanger go work in the effects loop as well?
i have a loop station pedal at the end of my chain so i can record riffs with effects. when i put the delay and chorus in the fx loop the loop pedal doesnt record the chorus or delay. i have tried putting the looper in the fx loop and nothing,makes sense because the looper needs the signal from the guitar....so..is there a way to put effects in the fx loop and record with looper pedal with the effects added
There is no effects loop on my amp, so is there a way I can use effects (I mean a lot of effects) through some sort of external effects loop like a pedal or something? If not are there any ways I can get something like an effects loop when my amp lacks one?
Actually, a overdrive pedal in the effects loop works great as a boost. Turn the gain down and the volume up a bit, adjust the tone and you have a boost pedal. The Keely modded Boss Blues Driver works GREAT for this!
So as a general rule of thumb, is there a preferred way to arrange the pedals? The guy in the video recommended putting a distortion box last, so does it matter what order the other pedals are in, so long as they're before the distortion? What about wah, volume and Dunlop Rotovibe pedals? Where are they in relation to the distortion box?
Great video! I do, however, have a question. If I were to use a pedal that is also a preamp (Tech 21 Sansamp bass driver), would I run my bass directly to the Sansamp, and then from the sansamp to the amplifier head? Or would I go from my bass to the amplifier, and include the Sansamp in the effects loop? The reason I ask is because I am unsure if all of the rules mentioned in the video are the same for a pedal that is also a preamp, and not just an effect. Thanks in advance for your help!
ok so correct me if I'm wrong cause I'm very confused. You would basically connect the pedal effects loop to the back of the amp head, and connect the guitar to the front input like you normally would if you didn't have any pedals and that should work?
@DiscoverRicky2008 got an rp300a myself. try guitar to ds1 to amp and then the other two in the loop. just swap those two around to see what sounds better
@88mpny oh thanks, i had no idea! so even if i have just one pedal (the orange boss overdrive) would it be a good idea to hook it up through the effects loop on my amp? (fender hot rod deluxe) thanks! -Pete
Chili it depends on your application as to going in the front or the back. If you are using distortion effects I'd for sure go in through the front with a clean tone. If you are using amp distortion which is what I prefer, and using effects like delay, chorus, flange, etc. I'd go through the loop. Long story short trial and error will get you where you want to be. Thanks for your interest.
Hello Sir, I do have a multi effects pedal (Digitech RP90). can i plug it to any amps with effects loop? I love my separate distortion pedal but I also like the modulations on the multi effects. Is this possible? Thanks a mile!
I am not sure but I don't believe that the tuner or wah are traditionally placed in the effects loop but you may be correct and I'm going to try it. Tuners are usually not adding or taking tone away from the input and the wah will be reduced to a very minimal sound I have tried that before and it seems to wah much less than if you put it in the front of the amp. Also it is important to say while there is theory of pedal order try as many things as you can you may find cool new sounds.
My question is once you have ur pedal set up u say u need to have all the pedals turn on to get the signal through. So what if u have a digital delay and u don't wanna use that effect at the moment when u turn it off will that kill your signal?
Hi Webmasterman Thanks for the video. I have read about some players who use the natural distortion of the amp using a Boost pedal in the effects loop. Is this dangerous? If I put the boost pedal between the guitar and input it only adds more distortion and not a volume boost, I guess this is because the boost is before the distorted signal...any tips Thanks
hey, when you said the distortion should come last from the chain, did you mean, from the guitar? e.g. guitar-chorus-delay-phaser-distortion-amplifier-- something like this? or the other way around? thanks, this was very informative.
I was told it better to run yr tube screamer through the front of the amp and run yr wah chorus through the back is there a certain way I should run my pedals in the back like wah chorus and tuner like what order
hey, how do you power all your pedals without using a separate power supply or batteries for each one? i have the boss tu-3 which can power some othe pedals but not my line 6 dl4. what cord do i need to buy to transfer the tu-3's power to the other pedals?...and would you just us the single power supply for the line 6 dl4? -Thanks
I need help. I have a Digitech RP300 Effects Processor, Boss DS-1, and Boss CH-1. How would I hook these pedals up? My whole sound is pretty much coming from my RP 300. Whats the best way to hook the pedals up?
I;m sure there are a lot of people like me that listen to this stuff thru earphones. How about turning down the vol on your intro/outro - please. You just blew out my ears!
A inconsiderate man doesn't care that he is making too much noise. I thought you might accept constructive criticism but obviously you don't care that your intro is five times louder the other sites.
Sorry you don't like how we made the video. If you'll notice the vid has been posted since 2008. No one but you seems to have a problem with it. You can't just "turn it down". The video has to be re-edited, re-rendered and re-posted to do that. Sorry, it's just not worth it.
@78tag no joke bro, turn your own headphones down, webmasterman isn't here to make sure you don't blow out your eardrums, he is here to explain stuff. The intro isn't even that loud.
@RigorMortis203 personally, i would keep the metal wah and maybe the slow motion out of the loop. try out different combos though. only learn till you try
hello, i have one question if any one can help that will be great. im making my pedal board first time and what i want to know is, i want to have rhythm distortion without delay/reverb when i play rhythm but when i play lead i want to have reverb delay. is any way this can be done with some kind of pedal? many thanks in advance.
Everyone says put the Wah pedal before distortion but if I put my Crybaby Wah before my Fuzzface (dunlop) I get this odd sound (in the bass position) that twists my dog's head around! So i always tend to put the Fuzz first and it works best that way for some reason. The only other pedal I use is the Uni-Vibe (dunlop). Whats up with that!?
Not necessarily. You definitely can screw up your sound by not putting any thought into it. But lots of factors are involved: Mixing time affecting pedals with distortion pedals, the order of the pedals, are they buffered or not, is there a compressor in the chain, how long are the cables, are the pedals sharing too little power, failing to use the guitar volume control properly, amp has master volume or not, etc. That's why it takes a long time to get it right.
@joho1701 break your signal. i run my dirt into the front and the delay, flange, and reverb in the effects loop. something that was like a revelation to me was, just because theyre all on the same board doesnt mean they need to be going to the same place. so, on the left side of the board put you gain pedals and run your guitar straight into them. then on the right side of the board group your "looped" effects and run them to the amp.
Are you saying to put the distortion last if you are using it in the effects loop, or in any configuration? Your explaination makes sense to put it last, but every other video I have seen says to have the distortion right after the compressor and before modulation pedals. Confused!!
also make sure your plugs are in the right holes i've mixed my input and tap before and it killed my signal and I couldn't hear anything . . . took me a while to figure out
