My Recto sound 10 TIMES better bypassing loop,even w/loop mo

[Adambomb]

My 2001 Dual Rectifier sounds so much better bypassing loop. WAY more fuller, punchier, more bottom, clearer highs. I did the serial loop mod about a year ago and sold all my pedals to get a G Major for the serial loop. I love the effects of the G Major but just straight playing even with loop on and G Major bypassed it dont sound that good at all. I have done everything under the sun to get rid of the phase issue in the loop but nothing has worked.

So now Im really thinking about converting the loop BACK to parallel and getting some pedals so I can use the Mesa amp footswitch to bypass the pedals in and out of the loop. I still gotta have my Reverb, Chorus, and delay effects somehow, but I want the sound that I get when the loop is bypassed.

Is anyone else in agreement or is there anything I can do to keep my rig MIDI with the Gmajor and still have that punch Recto sound when the loop is bypassed? Its not even worth having the loop on in my opinion.

 

[94Tremoverb]

Is it the loop, or the G-Major? Try using just a plain cable in the loop and see if it still kills the tone. If it does, try replacing V4 (the loop tube) - don't use a Russian-made one.

If it still sounds bad with a decent tube and a cable in the loop, it's possible you have a bad JFET in the loop circuit.

 

[konstantine RK]

Yea i agree.. I just got my roadking in from the shop for a problem with the FX loop.. I was swapping preamp and outoput tubes and I had a bad power issue... etc etc... what they did tell me from the shop was all my JFET and FET connections were leaky and had to be replaced.

I perfectly understand the complete bypass or the parallel loop but if you are using the parallel loop with the killdry bypass engaged... you should be able to control your dry to wet ratio to your liking.

 

[Adambomb]

Yea those are really good ideas guys thanks. Im getting ready to try the patch cable in the loop and see if I still get the 'bad' tone kill the loop gives me. I have a new JJ 12ax7 to put in V4 if that's it. And I forgot to mention that the Gmajot also gives me a bad "out of phase" sound too.

 

[konstantine RK]

thats probably because your running a DSP bypass and not a kill dry bypass... plug it into a series loop if you cant activate kill dry.

 

[Adambomb]

Plug what into a series loop? I have the serial mod on my DR. My Gmajor and MXR 10 band EQ is the only thing going into the loop of the Recto. And I did the patch cable in loop test....there is not much tone difference if any having loop on OR off. SO, it's got to be the Gmajor. When i turn killdry on, on the Gmajor you can hardly hear it. Is there something else I'm missing? I have tried to dial in this Gmajor forever seems like.

 

[94Tremoverb]

If you have 'kill-dry' on you need a parallel FX loop, or all you will hear is the effect part of the signal. You *either* need a parallel loop with no dry signal in the processor, *or* a series loop with dry signal in the processor, but not the other way round.

If running the signal through the processor in series (with no kill-dry) sounds bad, it's the ADA conversion in the processor that's the problem. It's going to be be better to go back to the parallel loop and keep the dry signal out of the G-Major - but the problem with that is that you need the full dry signal in the Graphic EQ, so for that a series loop *is* better.

So I think what you need to do is to get a parallel loop pedal, such as the Boss LS-2 Line Selector. Go from the amp's FX send to the GEQ, then from the GEQ to the LS-2 input, then from the LS-2 output back to the amp FX return. Then put the G-Major in the A loop of the LS-2 with nothing in the B loop, set it to A/B Mix, set the G-Major to kill-dry, and use the two level knobs on the LS-2 to balance your dry and effect signals... this way, the dry signal stays fully analog. This also has the advantage that you can turn off all the effects with the LS-2, but *not* the GEQ (which is what you get if you turn the whole FX loop off).

Or, possibly (I haven't used one myself, but heard so many stories like this) just get rid of the G-Major and try a different FX unit! - or analog pedals (or digitals with analog dry signal path, such as the older Boss delays). But really, that parallel-loop-pedal scheme does work. The Boss LS-2 is such a useful pedal for stuff like this that it's worth getting one even if the G-Major doesn't work out in the end.

 

[Adambomb]

I have my Recto loop modded to series loop and the Gmajor has the killdry off. No matter what I do to the configuration of the Gmajor, I still get that out of phase sound and the amp has no balls with the processor in the loop. I could try the Boss loop pedal u was talking about. I'd hate to have to go back to pedals but I will if it gives me the life of the amp back. I wish I could just turn the effects loop on the amp on and off by footswitch, haha. But having the series loop mod on the amp, I can't do that now.

 

[Adambomb]

Oh, and what's ADA conversion?

 

[espexp]

What happens if you press the hard bypass on the Gmajor?

How does it sound on a patch with no effects turned on?

I modded the loop in my DC-5 specifically for my Gmajor because the parallel loop sounded terrible even with the kill/dry on, it sounds fantastic now.
Many have done the same thing with rectos and dcs and have had great results.
Could there be something wrong with your mod?

 

[domct203]

I have a G-Major in the (series) Loop of my Roadster and it sounds awesome. Where is the send level on your loop and your channel masters?

What routing are you using in the G-Major and do you have it set for Pro or Consumer?

Analoge to Digital to Analoge audio conversion.

Dom

 

[konstantine RK]

remember... when you use the killdry bypass to turn the wet all the way up!

 

[Adambomb]

A patch cable in the loop sounds fine. It's the Gmajor phase issue I'm dealing with. The send knob on my amp is set at halfway just like everybody has suggested. When I bypass the effects of Gmajor I still get the phase sound. I'm gonna go home today and play with the levels some more to see if I can't dial in some better recto crunch. And the series loop mod is done right.

How does everybody else have their send knob, master on amp, and channel volume on amp, and all other levels and settings on the Recto and Gmajor? Thanks so much for everybodys input so far.

 

[espexp]

There should be no "phase issue" with the Gmajor in a series loop.

Go into the I/O menu and make sure your set to consumer and not pro.

 

[Adambomb]

There should be no "phase issue" with the Gmajor in a series loop.

Go into the I/O menu and make sure your set to consumer and not pro.

Yea Im set to comsumer.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I've found out that when I ran a power conditioner with my amp, it sounded very similar to bypassing the loop...

 

[espexp]

Here is a couple of other things to try.
Make sure the input meter on the screen of the Gmajor is not red lining. If it is, turn down the input knob so the meter stays in the upper portion of the green.
You can turn the output knob on the Gmajor up as much as needed to send the proper amount of signal back to the amp.
Set the global output to 0db.
Input range to consumer(which it is)
Output Range to 14dbu
Preset out level to -6db
global input to 0db

 

[cheameup]

I agree if you mean completley bypassing on the back .My unmodded amp is pretty simliar when turning the loop on and off with the footswtich but i only use 3 or 4 pedals .
its a double edged sword. Amp sounds better with no loop but you cant use effects . I need delay , reverb and some modultaion sounds for some parts of the music i play so I need the loop .

Its just physics. You run the signal through less it soudns better and more pure and I dont think you can change that

 

[Adambomb]

Than u guys so much. I have tried about everything in the last couple month, so I thinks it's just the sound won't be as pure with the Gmajor in the loop. Thanks again. I'm just really picky with my tone.

 

[frets70]

double check your actions on the fx loop mod--below is the Boogie recommended method--
it is easier to look from the back of the chassis--looking at the fx loop pot remove the right wire and tape it off--then solder the middle and the left wire together on the center lug of the pot.

I did this last night to my newly acquired single recto head because of phasing issues with my G major now it sounds killer