Effects order question of the day , with a twist

[alanfc]

hi, I've come back from my 2 month experiment with batteries and all FX upfront, and now want to go back to using power supply and the FX loop

I've also been playing around with an EQ in the FX loop and am happy with the small tweaks. Upfront the EQ doesn't help me.

 

I'm going to re-do my pedal board now- I know the conventional wisdom on pedal order (and about deviating from it) but,

The twist is, I use my Boss BD-2 Blues Driver as a solo boost, and it only pleases me in the loop. When I used to use it in the loop I didn't have the EQ pedal. I can't find any threads with this scenario...

so I have-

 

Upfront:

-Tuner (Boss Tu-2, is there something about buffering

I should know about with this, and its placement?)

-Compressor

-"Wah Rocker" envelope filter

 

the loop: order unknown

 

-EQ

-Delay

-Reverb

-Flanger

-Boss BD-2

-(possible phasery trippy pedal to add)

 

what would you do with this loop?

Using Amp distortion and playing dirty tones 70% of the time.

 

Thanks

[Gabriel E.]

In the loop:

 

BD-2

EQ

Flanger

Delay

Reverb

 

You might play with switching around the delay and 'verb.

[stanner]

here is what i do and i'm not suggesting anything...

i throw EVERYTHING in the EFX loop-that way i get the hottest signal-pickups to preamp and then i can mess w/ the signal every which way. some pedals dont like a preamp signal-so i dont use those...-but the overall hot signal is worth it.

ymmv

s

[alanfc]

thanks guys

 

Stanner- you mean put the tuner and Wah and compressor in the loop too?

 

Gabriel- so the reasoning with this order, with the BD-2 first, is that we'd rather grace the boosted solo signal with the effect,

rather than boost the already affected signal (delay, verb, flanger) ?

I think this is what I'm getting at, the tech side of this. Atleast its tecky to me

 

thanks

[Bluesape]

The loop is always the way to go when available. I'm currently using a 1953 Gibson Recording Amp, which precedes loops by 20 years or so, so the fx are up front, but still sound huge.

[Gabriel E.]

Originally posted by alanfc:

Gabriel- so the reasoning with this order, with the BD-2 first, is that we'd rather grace the boosted solo signal with the effect,

rather than boost the already affected signal (delay, verb, flanger) ?

I think this is what I'm getting at, the tech side of this. Atleast its tecky to me

 

thanks

Yep. Boosting the signal before it hits the effects will preserve more of the original tone. Won't get as "washed out". Try it both ways though. Depending on the loop's placement in the amp's gain stages/eq the difference may be subtle or it may be huge.

 

What kind of amp is it?

[alanfc]

Originally posted by Gabriel E.:

Originally posted by alanfc:

Gabriel- so the reasoning with this order, with the BD-2 first, is that we'd rather grace the boosted solo signal with the effect,

rather than boost the already affected signal (delay, verb, flanger) ?

I think this is what I'm getting at, the tech side of this. Atleast its tecky to me

 

thanks

Yep. Boosting the signal before it hits the effects will preserve more of the original tone. Won't get as "washed out". Try it both ways though. Depending on the loop's placement in the amp's gain stages/eq the difference may be subtle or it may be huge.

 

What kind of amp is it?

hi thanks

 

this is a Rivera R55-112

I use the amp's distortion on the British style channel 1 and not a box.

 

now only need to get me a trippy phasery typa pedal (that I can afford.)

[BluesWithoutBlame]

>Upfront:-Tuner (Boss Tu-2, is there something >about buffering I should know about with this, >and its placement?)

 

You know...I have one too and wondered the same thing. I even have mine hanging off my Ernie Ball volume pedal on a dedicated output for tuners...so I thought I was covered but recently read an interesting article on the net about even this will affect the sound.

 

Same article pointed out something I thought to be true was actually not. I thought (til now) that if you had a pedal and wanted to know if it was "true bypass" you could take out any battery, remove all power, turn the effect off and if it still passes signal to the amp it was true bypass. Not so apparently. It MIGHT be, and if it DOESN'T pass signal in that test it definitely ISN'T...but just passing signal doesn't mean it is. Jus thought I'd share that.

 

You can really go crazy with this stuff. I think the biggest test should always be...take it out physically from the chaing, play a while, put it back in...see if tone is lost or not. It's sometimes hard to tell...if so, I tend to drop it, but anytime I seem to be struggling to get a tone I "meant" I used to get...and I know the strings are not dead, etc..I start removing pedals til I find if it is that maybe.

 

The TU-2, I believe, has the same buffering chipset in it that the other Boss pedals have.

[alanfc]

thanks

 

yes I read posts from guys obsessing about this on a daily basis. I'm simple and don't care unless its really obvious !

 

I love my tuner though, I went 22 years without a pedal tuner and I'm never going back.

[picker]

The last time I tried using a distorto pedal in my fx loop was with a Boss Distortion/Feedbacker pedal in the loop of a Peavey Studio Pro 40. Even with the oupt put all the way up, it made the volume drop like a frozen rock. But you say your BD2 actually works in your fx loop? What amp are you using?

[Billster]

I agree with Gabriel. Definitely put time-based effects after the tone shaping stuff.

[alanfc]

Originally posted by picker:

The last time I tried using a distorto pedal in my fx loop was with a Boss Distortion/Feedbacker pedal in the loop of a Peavey Studio Pro 40. Even with the oupt put all the way up, it made the volume drop like a frozen rock. But you say your BD2 actually works in your fx loop? What amp are you using?

hi,

 

I'm not using the BD2 for distortion but purely for level increase for solos. In front of the amp, it just overdrives it more, doesn't give me a simple clean level boost.

But, in the loop, the level boost is precise and reliable. The tone is only so-so. Kinda boxy and flat but thats OK. I'd rather have it that way than piercing and painful to the audience.

This is a Rivera r55-112.

[Gifthorse]

Hey have you ever considered using the EQ for a boost instead of the overdrive? I just started doing that. It adds a nice clean boost for solos without coloring the tone. I am sensitive to tone and I hate it when a pedal cancels and compressed my tone making it smaller than the rythmn sound, cuz when you are playing a solo, you want those single notes to have some room.

 

BD-2-- I personally wouldn't use this for my lead boost as it will compress your tone making it smaller.

EQ-- I would use this for my solo boost, through the front, but thats just me. I don't want any coloration except perhaps a little bit of midrange. I have a BOSS. I keep it flat and use the level to boost. It also can add a tiny bit of gain, but it isn't overbearing.

 

Flanger--the tone of this effect is always different through the front, or through the loop. I prefer through the front. More tripped out sounding. More Eddie-ish

 

Delay--Always through the loop for me otherwise it is muddy.

 

Reverb- A pedal? loop never used a reverb pedal, but the digital contraptions I have had always sound better through the loop.

[alanfc]

hey,

yeah for me any boosting upfront just gets me more overdrive and little volume. Our drummer tends to get wilder and louder in solo sections so double whammy (I like it he's great).

Indeed the BD-2 sounds boxy and dull in the loop but its all I have and I don't mind the tone that much. I'd rather have it slightly dull anyway so I'm not killing people up front of the stage.

 

I did try my EQ (Danelectro) at one point but until I can get a second EQ box, this ones going to stay in my loop and be on 100% of the time. Since I found this magic -5 at 400hz cut that's kept me happy with my amp.

I almost went on a sell/buy adventure seeking a Peavey 5150 but not now.... Seriously the cut at 400 hz got me close enough to the 5150 sound just amazing.