Boss DD-3 Delay and Mark IVa

[dunkonu23]

Hi,

I have a problem with my trusty DD-3 Delay when using it with my Mark IVa. It's in the loop, last effect before a Noise Gate, with several other pedals before it. Problem is this: On R2 and Lead, while engaged, the pedal introduces a hiss, chops notes, and generally ruins things. When in the loop of my 5150, it doesn't do this. I've already decided that I need a new delay but before I can sell the DD-3 with a clear conscience (or dispose of it), I need to find out if the loop output of the Mark IVa is known to play havoc with effects like the DD-3? My other effects work great (DLS RotoSim, Boss CE-2, etc....).

Thanks!

Scott

 

[BobL]

Not uncommen with a DD-3 when the input get'***** to hard. Take it out of the effects loop and try it at the very end of the effects chain.

 

[dunkonu23]

Thanks for the reply. How common is this? On another forum, I've got a 2 people saying it's know, one saying it's okay. So, with your answer its 3-1 saying it's known.

So, I'm thinking I'll just sell the DD-3 with the disclaimer that it's not to be used with a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV.

Scott

 

[BobL]

I wouldn't do that either. I would sell the unit without a disclaimer simply because even if it won't work well when placed in the MKIV effects loop it still works within spec.. It was never designed for effects loop placement. And well you're at it sell mine. It's boxed and ready to go to Ebay and has only been used once. 10 minutes and it was back to the AD-9 for good.

 

[Chris McKinley]

dunkonu23,

One last thing before you decide to sell it: try putting it after the noise gate in the effects loop. Noise gates in a loop should be the very last thing placed right before a delay, not after it, since the delay signals will play havoc with the threshold on the noise gate and produce a very weird, unnatural result. Ideally, you want a clean, noiseless signal that then gets run through the delay, giving more natural decay and tone. It should be noted that that also holds true for any brand of noise gate and any brand of delay. Placement order with those two kinds of effects can have a dramatic effect on the quality of the final sound.

 

[BobL]

dunkonu23,

One last thing before you decide to sell it: try putting it after the noise gate in the effects loop. Noise gates in a loop should be the very last thing placed right before a delay, not after it, since the delay signals will play havoc with the threshold on the noise gate and produce a very weird, unnatural result. Ideally, you want a clean, noiseless signal that then gets run through the delay, giving more natural decay and tone. It should be noted that that also holds true for any brand of noise gate and any brand of delay. Placement order with those two kinds of effects can have a dramatic effect on the quality of the final sound.

Well put.

 

[dunkonu23]

dunkonu23,

One last thing before you decide to sell it: try putting it after the noise gate in the effects loop. Noise gates in a loop should be the very last thing placed right before a delay, not after it, since the delay signals will play havoc with the threshold on the noise gate and produce a very weird, unnatural result. Ideally, you want a clean, noiseless signal that then gets run through the delay, giving more natural decay and tone. It should be noted that that also holds true for any brand of noise gate and any brand of delay. Placement order with those two kinds of effects can have a dramatic effect on the quality of the final sound.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply. I would agree except for one thing... the gate is off when I kick the delay in. I'll still do it because you never know just how true bypass true bypass really is.

Scott

 

[ruso]

Not to jack your thread, but do you need anything in particular to run one of these in the effects loop of a MKIV? Is a buffer or anything like that required?

 

[dunkonu23]

Not to jack your thread, but do you need anything in particular to run one of these in the effects loop of a MKIV? Is a buffer or anything like that required?

I don't know. My input chain is buffered, but that's just to match the load on the guitar's pickups. I didn't buffer the effects loop because I honestly don't know if that would help anything but it's a good idea.

Oh, and positioning in the loop didn't affect the DD-3 crappiness.

Scott

 

[bigmondayz]

My DD-3 works really well with my Mark IV. I put it at the end of my loop chain, and it's clear as a bell, no noise, distortion or clipping of any sort. I don't use a noise gate, my keeley comp gives me a pretty noiseless input signal.

 

[dunkonu23]

That's good to know. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Scott

 

[harrySpider]

Greetings - I would like some education on the use of delays, since I can't seem to get what I'm after.

I have a Mk 4 and a Studio Caliber.

I also have a DD-3. It is placed in the effects loop, cuz that is where a delay does what I want it to do; it needs to be there, IMO, since my volume pedal is also in the FX loop (I use it as a master volume, works great there). I want to be able to cut the volume off with the vol pedal, but have the echoed notes continue.

If I put the vol pedal before the amp input, reducing volume also reduces gain, and my tone is altered. Vol pedal must go in the loop to act as a "master".

I also find that placing a delay in front of the input never results in the echoes I'm looking for... the delays, as they fade, just get cleaner, like turning down the guitar volume on each successive echo. So it seems "natural" that, to get echoes of the guitar tones with each echo sounding like the note as it was played thru the preamp, the delay MUST be placed after the preamp, ergo in the FX loop. In your opinion: True or not?

The problem:

BOTH Boogie amps produce harsh digital noise when I use the DD-3 in the loop. Wish it said on the box "won't work properly in FX loops" before I bought it. So: is there a way to fix this? Does someone do a mod that would make a DD-3 handle the input level of being placed in the loop?

Or: is there some other pedal I could buy which is designed for loop placement?

Thanks all,

- HS

 

[trem]

Have you tried turning the channel master down - like way down? That acts as an effect send level.

 

[J.L.C.]

I'm having the similar problems with a DD3 in the loop of a mark iv, it's distorting/clipping like crazy and sound terrible - even on a very clean R1.

I've tried playing with the channel master, but then it gets so quiet that it's really tough to balance channel volumes.

Is there a mod to let the DD3 handle more voltage or is there a digi delay out there that can handle a boogie loop??