Channel 3 and Delays...

[Daxman73]

Hey guys and gals, I've got a question...I'm having trouble balancing the volume on channel three with Delays, no matter what mode I'm in...I have a Line 6 DL4 and a VOX Joe Satriani Time Machine (I don't use them at the same time)...Both sound great and worked quite well in my Roadster 2x12 combo (although, it did take me a while to balance the volumes there as well, but I was able to do it)...On the other two channels I run the master volume anywhere from 9 to 12 and get great balance, no issues...The mix knob on the back is set at center right now, but I have messed with it...If I set my channel 3 master any higher than 9, when I engage the effects loop, there is a major drop in volume...I'm quite frustrated here...You see, not only do I have to balance it within channel 3, but I must then balance all 3 volumes in all 3 channels...And to be honest, I'd like to raise my channel 3 volume a little more than just 9?!...Please, any help would be great.

 

[Scary]

Hey guys and gals, I've got a question...I'm having trouble balancing the volume on channel three with Delays, no matter what mode I'm in...I have a Line 6 DL4 and a VOX Joe Satriani Time Machine (I don't use them at the same time)...Both sound great and worked quite well in my Roadster 2x12 combo (although, it did take me a while to balance the volumes there as well, but I was able to do it)...On the other two channels I run the master volume anywhere from 9 to 12 and get great balance, no issues...The mix knob on the back is set at center right now, but I have messed with it...If I set my channel 3 master any higher than 9, when I engage the effects loop, there is a major drop in volume...I'm quite frustrated here...You see, not only do I have to balance it within channel 3, but I must then balance all 3 volumes in all 3 channels...And to be honest, I'd like to raise my channel 3 volume a little more than just 9?!...Please, any help would be great.

I don't know how those processors work, but sometimes if a signal gets too hot, the processor will automatically lower the signal. That's how the Gforce seems to handle it. If that's the case put 3 at 9 and lower the other 2 channels.

Good luck!

 

[Iconoclysm]

I don't believe the G-Force does that since it has it's own input and output volumes and is actually capable of digital clipping.

 

[Daxman73]

Anyone else?

 

[Daxman73]

Has anybody had this issue?

 

[DaveDaveDave]

I had very similar problems to what the OP described - and funny tone too - my Nova System's "drive" input. Solved it by using the line input instead, which is much lower Z than the guitar input. Sounds like an impedance issue to me. If you can, try using the delays "line level" input - or tweak a setting.

Ruh roh... scratch that - I just searched for "DL4 line level" and came up with this thread:
http://line6.com/supportarchive/thread/53636

Looks like you either need a DI or some other kind of impedance matching box in front of your DL4. I know that the Boss DD-20 has switchable input levels, but I'm sure you don't need another delay

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[Daxman73]

I had very similar problems to what the OP described - and funny tone too - my Nova System's "drive" input. Solved it by using the line input instead, which is much lower Z than the guitar input. Sounds like an impedance issue to me. If you can, try using the delays "line level" input - or tweak a setting.

Ruh roh... scratch that - I just searched for "DL4 line level" and came up with this thread:
http://line6.com/supportarchive/thread/53636

Looks like you either need a DI or some other kind of impedance matching box in front of your DL4. I know that the Boss DD-20 has switchable input levels, but I'm sure you don't need another delay

Hope this helps,
Dave

Thanks for the tips Dave...I'm not sure why I would need any of this with a top-of-the-line delay like the DL4 or the VOX Joe Satriani Time Machine delay pedal though?...As well as my Boogie?...My tone doesn't sound funny though, it just drops in volume...Still frustrated :evil: ...Thanks again.

 

[DaveDaveDave]

I had very similar problems to what the OP described - and funny tone too - my Nova System's "drive" input. Solved it by using the line input instead, which is much lower Z than the guitar input. Sounds like an impedance issue to me. If you can, try using the delays "line level" input - or tweak a setting.

Ruh roh... scratch that - I just searched for "DL4 line level" and came up with this thread:
http://line6.com/supportarchive/thread/53636

Looks like you either need a DI or some other kind of impedance matching box in front of your DL4. I know that the Boss DD-20 has switchable input levels, but I'm sure you don't need another delay

Hope this helps,
Dave

Thanks for the tips Dave...I'm not sure why I would need any of this with a top-of-the-line delay like the DL4 or the VOX Joe Satriani Time Machine delay pedal though?...As well as my Boogie?...My tone doesn't sound funny though, it just drops in volume...Still frustrated :evil: ...Thanks again.

Sounds frustrating indeed, but I'm sure this will get solved pretty easily. One thing you should start with - try jumpering the fx send and return and check if it still happens. If so, you need to get the amp repaired.

Otherwise - It's not a quality thing - it's a feature thing. The DL-4 is a good pedal, but it's not made to run at line level. A little googling showed me that a lot of DL4 users that complaint, and even modify it so that it works better in loops. Another pedal you might consider upgrading to is the Eventide Timefactor which does -10dbu/+4dbv. The TC Nova delay does too.

One more think to try is other pedals in the loop. Try a Boss TU-2 or something simple like that in the loop with the pedal on bypass. Even better, if you have any rack gear, try that out. If it doesn't happen with another pedal like a tuner, just throw that in front of the DL-4 to use it as a buffer - it's a pretty common solution.

Dave

 

[Rezamatix]

Anyone else?

I recently went thru this, the only way to avoid the volume drop is to keep the main output level at about noon and the channel masters below 11. I have a DL4 and contacted mesa directly with this problem. the DL4 is a line level output pedal so that wasnt the problem i originally thought it may have been. I tried what the mesa tech said and it works great now. no level drop and the tone is 98% there. you just have to keep the channel masters between 9-11 and always keep the master output higher than the channel master.

 

[gplex]

If you figure it out be sure to post.

I have a DL4 and had the same trouble with it, with most of the amps I have tried it on. I like the tape delay settings but they really color the tone instead of just the repeats. It also had the volume drop issue. I have lots of delay pedals and all the others work fine with the MKV. I have been using a Line Six Echo Park, on the tape delay and it sounds great. There must be something different between the two.

I tried a volume pedal before and after the delay. I was able to match the volume up on channel 3 but then it was off on other channels.

 

[Daxman73]

Hey guys, I'll post some findings here shortly...Thanks to all for the tips.

 

[Rezamatix]

If you figure it out be sure to post.

I have a DL4 and had the same trouble with it, with most of the amps I have tried it on. I like the tape delay settings but they really color the tone instead of just the repeats. It also had the volume drop issue. I have lots of delay pedals and all the others work fine with the MKV. I have been using a Line Six Echo Park, on the tape delay and it sounds great. There must be something different between the two.

I tried a volume pedal before and after the delay. I was able to match the volume up on channel 3 but then it was off on other channels.

I posted a youtube, with the DL4 in play , check my settings because you cannot have the channel masters higher than 11 o clock, and the master output has to be at noon or above to get the delays pretty clean sounding without the volume drop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHCqO7SUimU

 

[Nermel]

If you figure it out be sure to post.

I have a DL4 and had the same trouble with it, with most of the amps I have tried it on. I like the tape delay settings but they really color the tone instead of just the repeats. It also had the volume drop issue. I have lots of delay pedals and all the others work fine with the MKV. I have been using a Line Six Echo Park, on the tape delay and it sounds great. There must be something different between the two.

I tried a volume pedal before and after the delay. I was able to match the volume up on channel 3 but then it was off on other channels.

I posted a youtube, with the DL4 in play , check my settings because you cannot have the channel masters higher than 11 o clock, and the master output has to be at noon or above to get the delays pretty clean sounding without the volume drop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHCqO7SUimU

Awesome clip, man...best tone I've heard yet especially on Ch. 3...you need to post you settings to the sticky...I'm trying to figure out it is your cab/speakers making that extra difference??

 

[Rezamatix]

If you figure it out be sure to post.

I have a DL4 and had the same trouble with it, with most of the amps I have tried it on. I like the tape delay settings but they really color the tone instead of just the repeats. It also had the volume drop issue. I have lots of delay pedals and all the others work fine with the MKV. I have been using a Line Six Echo Park, on the tape delay and it sounds great. There must be something different between the two.

I tried a volume pedal before and after the delay. I was able to match the volume up on channel 3 but then it was off on other channels.

I posted a youtube, with the DL4 in play , check my settings because you cannot have the channel masters higher than 11 o clock, and the master output has to be at noon or above to get the delays pretty clean sounding without the volume drop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHCqO7SUimU

Awesome clip, man...best tone I've heard yet especially on Ch. 3...you need to post you settings to the sticky...I'm trying to figure out it is your cab/speakers making that extra difference??

here is a link to the pics of the settings, unfortunately i cannot for the life of me figure out why my pics are not posting to this forum.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/audioninja/sets/72157622322251788/