How to run my pedels into my amp

[Fragzilla]

I have running my pedels throught the effect loop since I bought my Amp about a yr ago. Got thinking that I may get better sound running them through the front or both. So i am looking for suggestions on how I should set my rig up.

Roadster 2 12 combo

Boss DD6 - delay
Boss CS3- compressor sustainer
Ibanez TS9 - Tube Screamer
MXR - Phase 90
Fish and Chips 7 band EQ
Wah pedel

Also looking to pick up a MXR flanger


Any suggestions.


Jeff

 

[TheBlackman]

I'd have the chain as follows:

Wah...Compressor...Phase 90...Tube Screamer all out front (although you could put the Phase 90 in the loop, but i find its too pronounced there) and put the eq...flanger...delay in the loop.

I'm not too sure on placement of the wah, my signal chain goes like this:
Tuner..Compressor..OCD Boost..Phase 90..Crybaby Q-Zone in the front
MXR 10 Band EQ..Chorus..Flanger..Delay in the loop.

 

[Fragzilla]

thanks for the reply.....

Couple of things though,

Why is this the way to go?

So in through the front means Guitare > effects> into the front?

and

the effect that are running through the loop. Do you mean through the effect loop or the other inputs that are called loop?

also have read about bypassing the effect lookp on this amp for better sound. if you do this that does mean you cant run through the effect loop, correct? if not through the effect all has to go through the front?

thanks for any help you all can give me. I used to use a effect rack which was a no brainer. Now with pedels I am trying to figure this all out.

Jeff

 

[charndt]

By loop he means effects loop. As far as I know, bypassing the fx loop will only give you a better sound if you have a pedal with terrible tone in the loop! Also, if you bypass the loop, no pedals in the loop will be heard.

Whether or not to put pedals in front of an amp or in the fx loop is very subjective. Play around with it and find what sounds best to you.

 

[Telemaster]

I use my pedals in front of the amp. Always have. My current rig is a simple and quick set up/tear down. Using a Pedal Pad with my Lonestar - I bought 30 feet of 4 strand snake cable and wired one strand for the signal and one strand for the Mesa channel switcher (TRS). (two snake strands left over for possible future use) Then I zip tied 30 feet of black power cord to the snake, (black zip ties approx every 12 inches) using a 90 degree power plug on the Pedal Pad power box end so it lays down flat at the pedal box. Since my signal chain ends on the upper deck of the Pedal Pad and my channel switcher is on the bottom deck, (both on the left side) I cut the two strands to length from the breakout point so there are no loose cable on the pedal board. The snake stays connected to the pedals and coils up in the box when the lid goes on. When I set up, it's as simple as opening the lid and uncoiling the snake and laying it out on the floor back to the amp. I color tape coded the amp inputs and snake input jacks for quick reference in low light. The breakout at the amp end has an extra few feet of power cable so as the two input jacks come from behind to plug into the amp, the power cable stays behind the amp. Then the amp and pedal power, plug into a quad box behind the amp. If I could figure out how to insert photos in these threads I'd share a photo.

 

[jpaul]

This is such a subjective thing...
I'd try :

cs3~~>ts9~~>eq~~>phase~~>wah~~>dd6 to roadstar

....but you never know.Analog pedals are pretty interactive and interdependent on the other pedals. Just try some different placements for a week or two and keep a chart.

The phase might go pre or post TS9
The Eq might go before the roadstar or 1st in the loop.

You should really just do whatever sounds good to your ears. We won't send you to detention. Let us know what you decide......
give us some sound clips too

 

[jpdennis]

I have found that it takes a good long time of TAE to get the chain the way I like it. After many years I am still going through that. For me it is a matter, as well, of what I want to affect with the FX. Sometimes I may want to EQ the guitar so I put that in the Guitar to amp chain. Othertimes I may want to EQ the amp in a way using the FX loop of the head itself. And since every pedal may affect the others I try to switch them around until I like what I hear and feel. Since we all have our own ears and sound we are shooting for I always say use you heart and your ears to make "your" decision at the final mix.

Dennis

 

[MrMarkIII]

When routing effects, think about how you would do it in a recording studio.
First of all, there's your amp, with a mike on the speaker.
Effects like delay, reverb, modulation, are going to be added later, at the board, after any amp distortion/overdrive. Compression would likely be used at the very beginning of the chain, at the recording channel input.
But, there are no hard and fast rules. Jimi didn't have no stinking candy-*** "effects loops", and he seemed to do OK. :lol:

 

[94Tremoverb]

You definitely shouldn't put wah, fuzz/overdrive/distortion and probably not compression in the loop - if you do it will completely strangle the tone and volume of the amp. (Maybe excepting the compressor, I know some people do like them in the loop, but you may need more of a studio-type one.) Phasers, flangers, EQ can go either way. Phasers more often sound better in front and flangers in the loop (they aren't the same thing). Delay and reverb usually work better in the loop, but some people do like them in front too.

If it was me, I would go: guitar > wah > compressor > TS9 > Phase 90 > amp. Then in the loop, Send > EQ > flanger > delay > Return. I would also get a better EQ... probably Boss or MXR.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Oh, yes! Put the compressor in the loop, then turn up the reverb. YOW! :lol:

 

[jpaul]

This is such a subjective thing...
I'd try :

cs3~~>ts9~~>eq~~>phase~~>wah~~>dd6 to roadstar

....but you never know.Analog pedals are pretty interactive and interdependent on the other pedals. Just try some different placements for a week or two and keep a chart.

The phase might go pre or post TS9
The Eq might go before the roadstar or 1st in the loop.

You should really just do whatever sounds good to your ears. We won't send you to detention. Let us know what you decide......
give us some sound clips too

WHOOPS
That's wrong (I must have been distracted) and none of you corrected me...
That's the wrong placement for wah, it should go before your gain pedals (TS9).
DD6 might work well in the FX loop

You might also try the EQ in the FX loop too (to jack the back end up)...can sometimes
make the everything "flower out" with better clarity ( goes from VHS to HD; lol); is dependent on the other pieces and their interaction.......

 

[herrball]

Ok, dumb question here but I think makes sense for this thread......

I just started using pedals for delay/chorus in the loop and a compressor pedal out front. ( got away from the rack stuff as the pedal quality has come WWWY up over the last 20 yrs and can't stand lugging a rack around anymore)
I have the comp, tuner, dist, before the amp and delay , chorus in the loop. I have all of them on a multi-power thingee and getting wierd squeeling and hum. signal yes, but can't live with the noise introduced.

I think I read somewhere that you have to have the loop effects on a different power strip and supply than the effects out front. why did I buy a multi-power brick then? I know I'm doing something wrong. pedals in the loop work fine alone, pedals out fron work fine alone but when on the dc brick, the noise starts.

Any thoughts/advice/guidance?

 

[94Tremoverb]

You will need to run the pedal in the loop on a separate power supply, or use one with fully isolated outputs. It's fine to run all the ones in front of the amp on one supply, or all the ones in the loop, but not both at the same time on the *same* supply. This is normal with amps with FX loops, it's caused by there being a path back through the power supply from the FX loop to in front of the amp. It usually just causes hum, but it can also make the amp unstable, as it sounds like yours is.

 

[Heritage Softail]

You will need to run the pedal in the loop on a separate power supply, or use one with fully isolated outputs. It's fine to run all the ones in front of the amp on one supply, or all the ones in the loop, but not both at the same time on the *same* supply. This is normal with amps with FX loops, it's caused by there being a path back through the power supply from the FX loop to in front of the amp. It usually just causes hum, but it can also make the amp unstable, as it sounds like yours is.

Good insight there.

A good power conditioner would fit the bill for this? Which one do you use?

 

[herrball]

Thanks for the quick reply 94T

Looks like I'll be making a trip to Home Depot looking for really good power strips.

 

[94Tremoverb]

You only need one power strip - it's the 9V DC supplies you need to keep separate. You should still only need two, one for the pedals in front of the amp and one for the loop pedals. Some power supplies (eg the Voodoo Labs one) have fully separate outputs and you can run everything from one supply box.

 

[herrball]

I have the 2 pedals in the loop on seperate power supplies and the pedals in front on a third supply in a multi-power plug thing. all plugged into the same strip though and getting the noise. I'm going to try splitting out the supplies to separate strips and different outlets until I get the trip with isolated plugs.