Boss pedals in FX loop or in front?

backyardburial · Nov 28, 2009

Hi all,
Having not even looked at so much as a distortion pedal for about 10 years I have recently acquired Boss octave pedal, and am getting a Boss NS-2 (Noise gate) for my 3 channel triple recto. Could somebody explain to me where these should be in the signal? Not sure whether to put them in front of amp or in loop, thanks a lot

jimmyd · Nov 29, 2009

I had an ns-2 for a while and after experimenting with the way its hooked up and using the opinions of others, i found the best way for me was not plugging into the ns-2 like you usually do, guitar-->ns2's input-->ns-2's output-->amp. Plug into the input, then run the pedal's send into your other effects, then into your amp. Plug your effects loop send into the pedal's return, and then the pedal's output into your effects loop return.
This way your clean guitar signal controls the gate, the actual gating takes place after all your gain stages. If you just plug it in in front of the amp, even when the pedal cuts off, the silence will turn into noise when it goes through your amp's overdrive. If you just put it in the effects loop, by the time the signal hits the pedal there will be too much noise for it to work properly.

backyardburial · Nov 30, 2009

Cheers Jimmy, I'll give this a try. By the way, why dod you get rid of the NS-2? Did you upgrade or feel that it wasn't necessary?

b0nkersx · Dec 2, 2009

If you want an upgrade, the new standard in noise suppressors are those ISP Decimators. There are several models. Here are the two stompbox versions.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/ISP-Technologies-Decimator-Noise-Reduction-Pedal?sku=150368
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/ISP-Technologies-Decimator-G-String-Noise-Reduction-Guitar-Effects-Pedal?sku=150586