Best Delay for Mv in Fx Loop?

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shredhead72 said:
I have the Nova Delay in the loop. I love the thing. It's delay range is HUGE and if you calibrate it, it sound great at any volume. I have it set to about 525 and it gives me a nice subtle trail for single note passages. I leave it on all the time and just activate it with the FX loop switch on the Mark V switcher.

Sorry to revive this old thread. I too am a huge fan of the nova delay, and once I get my Mark V I wanna put it in the loop but how do you use the tap tempo when it's up by the amp? Or do you use longer cables? I'm just worried about the loss of high end due to long cables there.
 
I have a Timeline and Eventide H9 in the loop of my Mark V but my current fave for classic rock solos is the Boss DM2 Waza Craft, It enhances without detracting from the solo
 
Strymon DIG, brigadier and Big Sky. Boss Tera Echo all seem to work with the Mark V loop and no tone loss or other issues. Look for pedals that can handle line level signals down to instrument level.

There is Ebtech line level shifter made for FX loops that can run instrument up to line level and back down to instrument or goes the other way so if you have pedals and want to use them with the Mark V but have tone suck issues this may be an option.
 
TC flasback and strymon timeline, in my Mak V 90 and Mark V 25, flawless
 
I own a Flashback X4, Flashback, and an Alter Ego v2 and they all sound amazing in the loop.
 
My Eventide H9 sounds beautiful - delay's and everything else. It was the first time I used a pedal in effects loops and I didn't have to adjust anything on the amp (levels switchs etc....)

If you only want delay Timefactor might be the way to go - but there is not a huge difference in price between the 2 so i'd say keep both in mind.
 
Hi,

The toneprint option really is nice on the Flashback.

I noticed in this thread that it was mentioned that the Flashback was not compatible with the Mark V. Any more details on that? Does anyone have issues with it? I am noticing that with the Flashback in the LOOP the wet sounds are very soft compared with being in front of the amp. Anyone else experienced this?

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=73752

Mace
 
I have a TC Electronics G system AND a Nova system.
The G system sounds beyond belief. Deep Lush tones. In all respect's it is literally Pink Floyd in a box.

Whereas the Nova is considerably less in all departments.
I'm completely underwhelmed with it's Delay, Chorus and Overdrive. The compressor is fair and the reverb is so so.
I'll use it in a "riot jam" in front of my amp when effects aren't that important.
But on gig's where people are critically listening ... I use nothing less than my G system.
 
I have the V:25, so this may not apply to the 90 watt. I have a TC D-Two, TC G Major 2 and a Boss-DD-500. I thought my TC’s sounded fantastic in the loop, but when I plugged in the DD-500 I realized how much lower the output was when running my TC gear, even when bypassed. The DD-500 is super clean, and when bypassed I have my amps core sound as unaltered to my ear as it can get, in terms of tone and volume. I can get there on the TC units but I have to raise both input and output levels, which I don’t really like, but it does bring them to the level the Boss unit has out of the box.

I like all three units as delays, and the 2290 dynamic delay and dual delays are my favorite starting points. The reverse delay on the GM2 is pretty good too. I’ve only had the Boss for about a month. It’s very nice and I recommend it, especially if you already use midi to control your rig. If you just like a few knobs to tweak I think the TC flashback is nice.
 
The EH Memory Man did not work well in the loop of my Mk5:25. I got clipping which I assume was caused,by a line level signal into a pedal designed for insrument level. The Strymon Timeline I am using now sounds much better.
 
I was wondering if this is normal with any amp using overdrive. I have a Deluxe Memory Man, and i just bought and returned a Flashback to see if it would do the same thing and it did. When going through the effects loop if i pluck a note and mute the note i will get decent sounding repeats that will go on based on how i set the feedback. But if i pluck a note and hold it i will only get one repeat that sounds like a clipping sound, so if i want to play some lead with overdrive and with delay it sounds terrible. I just put a bid on a Timefactor to see if it does the same thing but maybe that's just the way it is with overdrive and delays? It does the same thing with my other amp also, so it's not just the Mark V.
 
What I can claim as far as Mesa products: TC-50, JP-2C, Roadster, and the RA100 are compatible with instrument level effects. The Mark V is the lone wolf in my arsenal that is among the sheep in terms of line level FX send. I have not gotten around to getting the Line Level shifter that has a dual isolation format to reduce the line level to instrument level for fx pedals and then restores back to line level. If the Mark series line up is driving the FX loop at the line level why not get a line level shifter, I believe Ebtech makes one. Especially if there is a delay or other effect that you feel is paramount in your signal chain and is part of your specific tone. My purpose for the Ebtech LLS-2 would be to slave into my other amps as the Mark V FX loop is too strong of a signal. At least you would be able to use your favorite effect where it belongs, in the loop. I have gone down that route which began in 2012 and since then have basically run the amp dry. Strymon is one brand that does work well in the Mark V as well as the other amps. I believe the buffers have an automatic shift for use with line level signals.
 
bandit2013 said:
What I can claim as far as Mesa products: TC-50, JP-2C, Roadster, and the RA100 are compatible with instrument level effects. The Mark V is the lone wolf in my arsenal that is among the sheep in terms of line level FX send. I have not gotten around to getting the Line Level shifter that has a dual isolation format to reduce the line level to instrument level for fx pedals and then restores back to line level. If the Mark series line up is driving the FX loop at the line level why not get a line level shifter, I believe Ebtech makes one. Especially if there is a delay or other effect that you feel is paramount in your signal chain and is part of your specific tone. My purpose for the Ebtech LLS-2 would be to slave into my other amps as the Mark V FX loop is too strong of a signal. At least you would be able to use your favorite effect where it belongs, in the loop. I have gone down that route which began in 2012 and since then have basically run the amp dry. Strymon is one brand that does work well in the Mark V as well as the other amps. I believe the buffers have an automatic shift for use with line level signals.

Thanks very much for your response, but i don't understand most of what you said. I don't know what line level vs instrument level is or why Mesa would put one vs the other on an amp, or why i wouldn't be able to use very common delay pedals with my amp. Also why wouldn't Mesa put a switch or something on it for this.
If i was to get that line level shifter were would it go in the signal chain and how would it affect everything as i am running some stuff through the effects loop and some stuff through the front. Also, what would i notice if i hooked it up, how would the delay sound different?
 
The line level shifter is just that, It used two audio transformers to boost or reduce the signal level. The place you would use it is in the FX loop of the Mark V. The cable connected to the send (output) would connect to the +4dB input on CH1, the beginning of the FX pedal chain would be connected to the -10dBv of CH1, the last pedal in the fX chain would take its output and connect to the -10dBv of CH2 and the +4dB would connect to the return (input) on the Mark V. It is a simple device and will change the signal level from line (+4dB) down to instrument level (-10dBv) and your instrument level FX pedal (delay, reverb, chorus or what ever you have in the FX loop chain) should have a compatible signal level to prevent overdriving or clipping the input buffer of the pedal. Since the Mark V has a line level FX loop, the second channel will boost or step up the signal level from (-10dBV) back to line level (+4dB) for the return.

I would not use it anywhere else but the FX loop. Also this device does not require any power supply as it is just two audio grade transformers. I should get one and see how well it works with the Line6 DL4 as that one really compresses the signal and degrades the tone in the FX loop. I also have a rack mount delay I could not use with the Mark V as it was clipping the input and did not matter if the send level was reduced all the way.
 
Hi Bandit,

Have you ever lowered the send level on the Mark V? Does that reduce the signal enough to be compatible with the pedals you mention? I’m going to assume you have...but just checking. Did you by chance measure the signal level range which the “send level” knob on the Mark V? I suppose I could do this...one would measure the voltage of a sine wave at minimum and maximum. Is the formula then every voltage doubling is 6 dB of gain?

I suppose a big drawback of having to lower the signal level of the EFX send on the Mark V is this lowers the overall max volume level of the amp. My Mark V has the EFX send level at about 10:30 o’clock, this seems to work OK with the TC Electronic Flashback X4. With the send level at 12:00 detente position the wet sound was much softer than the dry sound. By lowering the EFX send level on the Mark V the dry volume goes down but the wet does not, so the volume ratio is more balanced. If the EFX send is at 12:00, the tone of the amp is still great, no degradation..the issue is the wet to dry volume ratio.
 
bandit2013 said:
The line level shifter is just that, It used two audio transformers to boost or reduce the signal level. The place you would use it is in the FX loop of the Mark V. The cable connected to the send (output) would connect to the +4dB input on CH1, the beginning of the FX pedal chain would be connected to the -10dBv of CH1, the last pedal in the fX chain would take its output and connect to the -10dBv of CH2 and the +4dB would connect to the return (input) on the Mark V. It is a simple device and will change the signal level from line (+4dB) down to instrument level (-10dBv) and your instrument level FX pedal (delay, reverb, chorus or what ever you have in the FX loop chain) should have a compatible signal level to prevent overdriving or clipping the input buffer of the pedal. Since the Mark V has a line level FX loop, the second channel will boost or step up the signal level from (-10dBV) back to line level (+4dB) for the return.

I would not use it anywhere else but the FX loop. Also this device does not require any power supply as it is just two audio grade transformers. I should get one and see how well it works with the Line6 DL4 as that one really compresses the signal and degrades the tone in the FX loop. I also have a rack mount delay I could not use with the Mark V as it was clipping the input and did not matter if the send level was reduced all the way.

I am waiting for the Ebtech to show up tonight and for a Timefactor on Friday. The Timefactor has an instrument level and a line level switch. I'd like to be able to keep my DMM delay if i can, but it has never sounded right and i never new why until i read this thread. A tech from Ebtech also sent me a couple different ways to try to hook it up so we'll see tonight.
I don't know why but I've never tried the amp with the effect loop bypassed until this afternoon, what a difference it makes. I usually use effects but it sounds really raw and tight just plain with a TS 808 boosting it a little. Probably all my pedals going into the loop are not line level so I've probably been missing out on really good tone for a long time.
 
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