Triple Rect : Loop & Clean Setup questions

[soyasauce]

Heya guys I've got a triple rectifier recently, I've read through the book a few times however i still need a bit of help getting it right.

I use a bunch of effects pedals in the loop, and what I want is to just hear the effected sound. My understanding is the loop of the amp has the effected signal and the dry un-effected signal and combines them. I want +just+ the effected stuff as the end result - for example so when I'm using my wah pedal or phaser, you just hear that rather than hearing wah with the dry-signal over the top as well.

I can't quite get my round the mix and send knobs on the rear panel. ive got the mix on max which makes me think it should be doing this anyway. The use of the SEND knob still eludes no matter how many times i read the book.

Also as I've read is a common prob, the clean channel is v quiet compared to the distorted channels. Is there a way to balance it with these channels without considerably distorting the clean sound. My understanding of the MASTER controls is a bit muddled as well which could be affecting this. Is this literally just the volume of that channel or is it related to the mix of the FX loop somewhere (i read something that made me think that).

I appreciate any help as I researched but I'm used to my solid-state amp of just plug in to the fx loop, set mix on back to full fx, change channel volumes on front - done. Thanks very much. M


EDIT: oh if it helps my peds in loop are: wah, 2 phases, chorus, noise reducer, delay, compressor.

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

OK first problem is that many of those pedals are designed to go between guitar and amp, not in the loop. Try this:

Guitar > wah > comp > phase > noise gate > Amp
FX Send > chorus > delay > FX return

Set the mix/blend/intensity/whatever on the chorus and delay pedals all the way up.

FX Send on the back of the amp at 1:00 and leave it there, FX Mix all the way down for now.

Dont be afraid of the Gain knob on the clean channel...it will stay crystal-clean up to about 12:00 unless you are using a boost or have rediculously hot pickups in your guitars. This will also make the clean channel much louder. Set the amp Output around 12:00 and turn up the clean channel master until it starts to distort, then back it off a little (this will prob be around 12:30-1:00 and damn loud.) Set the levels of the dist channels to match volume. Use your ears not your eyes...the setting of the ch Maters can vary greatly depending on setting of Gain and Vintage/Modern switches.

Now that you have the channels balanced, set the Output for your desired playing volume, footswitch the FX loop on, and use the FX Mix to blend the chorus and delay in with your dry sound. A little goes a long way here, and 10:00-11:00 will probably be too much delay.

If you notice a drop (or jump) in volume when you kick the loop on, a *small* adjustment of FX Send should take care of it.

 

[soyasauce]

Heya thanks for the reply. I shall give the volume balancing/tweaking a go next time at the rehearsal studio!

So again is the MASTER volume strictly the volume of that channel (ie in theory you would have the same result by just cranking the output) or does it have a more complex role -- the manual says it is the 'master feed from the end of the pre-amp to the driver stage and the effects loop'. I dont know a lot about the technical side of amps so this doesnt mean much to me.

Thanks, what does changing the SEND knob actually do, I dont quite understand the purpose of this just yet.
I can't remove my phases pedals outside of the loop as my sound comes from having them after the distortion - thus why I want to get just hear the phase tone. Is there a reason the dry tone is coming through at all even though the MIX is set to max? Is it the case that the dry sound is always going to be there but you need to have the FX loop volume boosted so loud that its not noticeable?

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

OK, the Ch Master is the 2nd of 5 volume controls. Gain, Master, Send, Output, and Solo. In an oversimplified way of looking at your signal path, Gain is how much you boost the signal from your guitar before it goes to the tone controls. Master is the signal coming out of the preamp. If you have the loop hard-bypassed, Master becomes the final volume control, adjusting the preamp level into the power amp which is basically running wide open. When you take the loop out of bypass (channel assigned or FTSW), your preamp signal gets split into two parts. FX Send is the volume control for the loop and determines how strong a signal your fx processors get. For best results this should be set at "unity gain" (where the signal going thru the loop is the same strength as the preamp signal)...this will be at a setting of around 1:00-1:30 on the FX Send knob. Output is the volume of the FX return, and controls your overall playing vol. Solo is wired in parallel with Output and can give you a boost when you need it.

FX Mix blends the 2 parts of your preamp signal back together, the direct sound of the preamp and the signal that has gone thru your fx. Even with Mix set wide open, some of the dry signal is still present (about 90% wet/10% dry).

You can modify your FX loop to be a Series loop (100% wet all the time). This is a fairly simple mod and the schematics are posted here. If your amp is new, this will void your factory warranty.

For now, try running your phaser in the loop, with the FX Mix turned all the way up and the mix on your delay turned down to an appropriate level. If it works, great...if not you may have to experiment with the order of your pedals or modify the loop.

Good Luck
Jon

 

[sflight]

Great suggestions regarding the effects. Regarding the clean channel, recommend getting a seperate amp and using a aby switcher. No matter what I did, I could not get a clean sound that I was satisified with. So I use a Fender Hotrod Deluxe for my cleans and my triple for my dirt. I am very satisfied now...

 

[mikey383]

There was a post here a while back where a guy modified the Bigfoot pedal so that when he switched to the clean channel, it also activated the solo boost with just one stomp, then went back to normal on the distortion channels.

I wish I could find it. He gave detailed instructions on how to do that.