Anyone actually use their effects loop?

[pine]

Is there an advantage to using the loop as opposed to putting effects in front of the amp?

 

[dgabriel]

FIrst you should find out what type of LOOP you have in your amp..
A Series loop or a Parallel loop..
You need to know which one you have in order to use it correctly.
DELAYs and REverbs just sound way better when placed in an amp's effects loop. if you place Delays & reverbs before your HIgh gain preamp section it will come out somewhat muddled and not as clear. TIme based effects should be placed in your amps Loop.

I myself just keep only DELAYS, REVERBS and maybe Pitchsifter/Harmonizer processors in my amps FX loop. Processors can better deal with the Signal output level coming out of the amp. Having the delays and Reverb after the preamp section sound way better and cleaner instead of getting muddled by heavy gain/distortion. everything else that is a stomp box I place before my preamp.. such as OD, Chorus, flanger, phaser stomp boxes...and of course the WAH.

But i have seen guitarist place their effect either in front of the preamp or behind the preamp.. everyone has their own taste..

just remember a mismatch in signal will occur if you put a stomp box in the effects loop. Stomp boxes do not have the same LINE level of a loop and they are not designed to place in an amp's LOOP. They dont sound good in the loop. JUst processors or anything with the correct line Level.


hope this helps.

 

[ylo]

Most effects loops are line level (or at least low Z), which lets you run a cable some distance to a rack without noticeable treble losses. You also get the ability to add time-based effects AFTER your amp's preamp distortion. Finally, assuming you use a good quality multi-effects rack unit, you get the ability to select multiple effects from a footswitch without messing with your fundamental amp sound. Now that multi-effects stomp boxes run in front of the amp have gotten pretty good, this last advantage is somewhat debatable I guess.

 

[EMGguitarist]

So stomp boxes are not made to go in the effects loop even though you can adjust the send and return volume? I use a DL4 through my effects loop and it sounds superbly better through the loop versus before with the chorus n wah... esp when distortion is engaged. The difference there is night and day. The chorus, well not so much lol Is an effects loop really intended just for the processors?

 

[dgabriel]

i also ran a dl4 line 6 delay in my dual rects effects loop.. it sounded way better than in front of the amp.. the only draw back was that it could never really matched the original signal level.. there was a drop of volume when i switched the loop in and out. do you have that problem? or you keep the loop activated all the time?
Another good pedal i kept in the loop was an older Boss Harmonizer pedal. it really shined in the loop and the effect was richer as oppose to it being placed in front of the amp.

these had a better dynamic range than the regular foot stomp boxes. Some stomp boxes can better deal with the levels being sent from a effects loop. Others cant. they end up sounding crappy, nasal, and not rich sounding.
here is another thing to think about.. if you place several pedals in the effects loop the sound levels and tone will change dramatically. for certain reasons i would try to use my my Boss Harmonizer with a effects processor that had a better reverb the levels were hard to correct.. with affected my over all gain and volume.
so i can say some pedals can work in the loop. but they are usually the high dollar ones. you will definitely know when a pedal sounds crappy in the loop. So use your ears to tell.
I now use a Gmajor in my loop.. I got tired of using and carrying around a lot of gear, cords, and pedals and wall warts. some wall warts will introduce extra noise in your sound/ signal.

i just run my guitar into a wah/ then into a Tube screamer/ into front amp/ G MAJOR is in the effects loop.

A rocktron patchmated to control amp switching and it also switches the tube screamer in and out of my signal.

 

[ylo]

so i can say some pedals can work in the loop.

Well, yup. Insisting on putting stomp boxes in the effects loop can get you in trouble, but some will work. If you read the specs for the stomp and the loop, you can usually figure out whether the signal levels will be OK.

 

[eltrain858]

with my mark iv i run my wah in front and vibe/flanger/delay pedals in the loop, sounds great