FX Loop on Mark V

[cantoc04]

Guys, need your help to undertand what's going on with my amp...

I have the Mark V for 2 months now and have only played in my home, with no effects attached at all.

Tonight was the first time I plugged in my ME-50 BOSS multi-effect pedal through the fx Loop. All connections are fine: send return and Send Level is set to Noon.

The main objective to connect the ME-50 to the Mark V in the Loop mode is to add some Delay and Chorus effect to my sound. Nevertheless, when I try to balance the ME-50 volume to kind of get the same volume when FX is on and off in the foot switch (as recommended in Mark `V's Manual on pages 40 and 41), I start to get some noisy fuzzy sound.

If I turn the volume on the ME-50 down, the noisy fuzzy sound is minimized or even disappears, but then the overall volume using FX in footswitch is not balanced with the amp using no FX, which could be a pain if I want to disable the fx to play the raw Mark V sound in the middle of a song.

Can you please let me understand what is happening? Should I ever use ther ME-50 in the FX loop mode? What should I do then? Maybe sell this pedal and look for single effect stomp boxes for Delay and Chorus? Will those work properly in FX Loop Mode?

Thanks in advance for your attention and help! Cheers!

 

[screamingdaisy]

What are your channel master volumes set at?

 

[screamingdaisy]

Nevermind... just looked up the specs on the ME-50.

The ME-50 is designed to work at instrument level (-10dB). The effects loop is line level (+4dB). Long story short, the ME-50 wasn't designed to handle the signal levels present in the effects loop. It's one of the issues with consumer grade pedals (including high end boutique).... most aren't designed to work in an effects loop.

Myself, I use an Eventide TimeFactor delay pedal, which is designed to work at line levels and doubles as a surprisingly deep chorus pedal via the modulated delay mode with the repeats shut off.

The Boss DD-20 is also designed for line levels, as is the TC Electronics Nova Delay. I'm sure there's others, but those are what I remember off the top of my head.

 

[rocknroll9225]

eventide timefactor +1

 

[RocknRory]

My Boss DD-7 works perfectly in the loop.

 

[mxr2000]

TC Electronic Nova System Work fantastic with any amp with Loop or you can go rack and use a G-major 2. Both can be set to be transparent and can be use for both Line level or instrument level.

 

[screamingdaisy]

My Boss DD-7 works perfectly in the loop.

Most will still work, however they will degrade the performance of the amp. To illustrate, I pulled these specs off Boss's website;

----------------
Boss DD-7

Nominal Input Level
-20 dBu
Nominal Output Level
-20 dBu

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=958&ParentId=255#

---------------
Boss DD-20

Nominal Input Level
-20 dBu (GUITAR/BASS)
+4 dBu (AMPLIFIER SEND/RETURN)
Nominal Output Level
-20 dBu (GUITAR/BASS)
+4 dBu (AMPLIFIER SEND/RETURN)

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=531&ParentId=260

 

[cantoc04]

Guys,

Thanks so much for the prompt answer... I will definetelly retire my ME-50 and get a new delay to connect through the FX Loop. I really liked the Nova Delay, reading through its functionalities and technical specs.

One thing that I liked is the Ping Pong effect..... do you guys know if I can use this effect with only Mono input and output through the FX Loop in the Mark V? I wouldn't know how to use the Stereo anyway, as I have only this amp.

Thanks a lot! Cheers!

 

[SteveO]

Guys,

Thanks so much for the prompt answer... I will definetelly retire my ME-50 and get a new delay to connect through the FX Loop. I really liked the Nova Delay, reading through its functionalities and technical specs.

One thing that I liked is the Ping Pong effect..... do you guys know if I can use this effect with only Mono input and output through the FX Loop in the Mark V? I wouldn't know how to use the Stereo anyway, as I have only this amp.

Thanks a lot! Cheers!

You can use it, but it will operate like a dual-tap delay instead of a stereo ping-pong delay.