bachsteady Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Just looking for some clarity on the best way to set up a keyboard through an effects pedal. I run the keyboard stereo to a mixer then out to to powered speakers. However since the pedal has just one output I am not sure how to integrate it into this setup. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 What pedal? Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mike Metlay Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 At first I was thinking, "What pedal? That doesn't matter at all." But then I woke up a bit more. The exact pedal doesn't matter, but the type of effect you're trying to use does. Some effects are designed to process the entire signal of the instrument (at least most of the time). These would include distortion, fuzz, EQ, wah/filter, and compression (aside from parallel compression which is a thing that exists and is very cool in DAWs and on mixing consoles but doesn't show up very often yet in pedals and really shouldn't be talked about here because it will just confuse the issue so I'll shut up about it now). You run the instrument into the effect and the effected sound comes out the other side. Other effects are designed to be blended in with an instrument's sound without completely processing all of it. These include delays, reverbs, and other time-based effects, where the dry signal is a critical part of the overall sound. The thing about these pedals is that they can either have a dry/wet mix knob right on them, OR they can be put in an Aux send (usually post-fader) on a mixer, so more than one instrument can be run through them. Since you mention going through a mixer, if it has a mono Aux send that would be an option for your effects box; send to the input, return from the output, and use the mixer to blend the effect with your keyboard. However, if you're using an effect that wants to process the entire keyboard signal, you run into the problem that you simply can't put a mono pedal in line with a stereo keyboard and get stereo in the end. You could use a little 2:1 mixer box (Radial makes one) or even a simple Y-cable to force your stereo signal into mono before sending it to the pedal, but any stereo effects in the keyboard will be lost (and if they create stereo by phase inversion, you could end up with a thinner sound). Alternatively, you could just run one channel of the keyboard to the pedal. Either way, you're going to be running to the mixer in mono. mike Quote Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1 clicky!: more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my book ~ my music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 When I am running a "stereo" keyboard through an effects pedal, I choose a pedal with "stereo in's and out's". Three that I own are the Line 6 M9, Line 6 M13, and Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 At first I was thinking, "What pedal? That doesn't matter at all." But then I woke up a bit more. The exact pedal doesn't matter, but the type of effect you're trying to use does. ..... mike Exactly. Sometimes simple wet dry split is simple and can sound best. Sometimes that sounds like ass. Using guitar effects on keys can throw you curve balls. Your mixer setup comes into play. Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 'Stereo is for amateurs.' ð Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Guitarists today tend to use two amps and effects (Wet signal) goes to one and dry signal goes to the other. Then you can balance your wet and dry and many cases send the wet signal thru a clean amp and let the dry be the overdriven amp. Seem like that would be easy with keyboard since most have both mono and stereo out. If you powered speaker have a mixer then could still use just the one speaker setup. Also does mix have an effects loop there's another point you could inject your pedal(s) and mix back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Y-chord. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Y-chord. ? All a y-chord would do is send a mono effect out to the left and right side. Let's say the effect is tremolo; if it is supposed to be a stereo tremolo then the tremolo bounces back and forth between the left and right side; using a Y-chord would have the effect processed by the left and right at the same time; far from what a person was trying to accomplish with the effect. The Ventilator, as an example, has a mono input but a stereo output, so it process a distinct left and right sound; adding more realism to the effect. Stereo ins and stereo outs work the best. As an example, the Digitech RP300 has a mono in but a stereo out. link Quote 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Y chord. Send left out into mixer left in. Send right out to ychord and split the signal between the mixer right in and the pedal in . Pedal out goes to another mixer channel. So..your stereo is still stereo and your mono pedal is as it always was, Mono. But it is LR in the PA. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachsteady Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 It is a mxr classic overdrive, sorry for the delay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboKeys Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 The other relevant question is what is your keyboard (i.e. does it have assignable aux outputs and/or inputs) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 You usually see mono fx like distortion, phaser, wah, compressor, and other dynamic tone shapes on real mechanical clavs, EPs, and organs which are pretty much all mono. Then stereo fx are added after. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachsteady Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Equipment: Yamaha s90es/ mixer- soundcraft epm8/ 2 ev zlx12p but I also have a fender twin that I was thinking of using to mix the two speakers, fender and ev as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.