Effects Loops vs. going in the front end.

fish-head

I've always wondered, what's the difference between having all of your effects in your amps effects loop compared to having your guitar going directly into them?

Would your signal be improved due to it not being dulled by a line of pedals, or is it better to have your guitar interacting directly with your pedals to get the most out of them?

Voodu Child

Generally speaking, and this is just general because i know plenty of lads will disagree, or be doing it differently....

Time based effects (delay, chorus, reverb) will sound better coming in the effects loop (ie after the signal has gone through the preamps tone-stack, and had preamp distortion added to it), and your wahs, compressors, overdrives etc will sound better before.

It's just the way it works, you don't NEED to, and plenty of guys don't, but thats the idea behind it anyhow.

A long line of effects will suck tone for sure, but clever design and decent quality pedals/cables will minimise this. The true-bypass vs buffered pedals is a debate for an electronics forum;)

-=al=-

delay has to go in the loop its so muffled infront of the amp same with harmonisers and pitch shifters theyre a definite loop pedal(s)

other modulations can be run both ways, preference really...

So Glad

I never knew effects loops ever existed until t'other day. I was getting repeatedly sick of the "pop your eardrums open" harsh sound I'd get out of my PODxt in rehearsal room amps and I spotted a connection that had "Effects Loop" on one of the amps and I remember Karl Hungus saying something about that so I plugged my PODxt through it and now if sounds amazing, so clear. I'm a happy man now

Also, I was just thinking about buying a really good Marshall cab, then just plugging the PODxt through it and putting it on top on the cab in place of the head . Would be funny and good sounding!

Karl Hungus

So Glad wrote:

I remember Karl Hungus saying something about that so I plugged my PODxt through it and now if sounds amazing, so clear. I'm a happy man now

Glad my advice worked out well for you.

So here's more:

So Glad wrote:

Also, I was just thinking about buying a really good Marshall cab, then just plugging the PODxt through it and putting it on top on the cab in place of the head . Would be funny and good sounding!

In order to run the Pod through a cab, you'd need a poweramp, like these fellows. A Pod on it's own wouldn't be able to power a cab.

So Glad

Out of curiosity, is the PODxt Pro a power amp?

Karl Hungus

So Glad wrote:

Out of curiosity, is the PODxt Pro a power amp?

No, all Pods are preamps.

-=al=-

Yup, power amps it is... or just use ur pod thru an normal amp since it has the power amp already

fish-head

Cheers lads. I appreciate your input.

punchdrunk

i get glorious reverb and delay going into the front end,though i lean towards more vintage type tones

rcaz

What about multi-effects dealies? I've got a Zoom GFX5, am I better off looping that? Or leave it out front? I use it delays and reverb, but also wahs and shifters and the like. I use my amp for distortion (When I turn the distortion on the Zoom on, the signal cuts completely, but is that a topic for another thread?).

Voodu Child

El Pr0n wrote:

What about multi-effects dealies? I've got a Zoom GFX5, am I better off looping that? Or leave it out front? I use it delays and reverb, but also wahs and shifters and the like. I use my amp for distortion (When I turn the distortion on the Zoom on, the signal cuts completely, but is that a topic for another thread?).

Thats one of those things where you don't worry about it - there's nothing you can do, so you just use it in front of the amp.

Something like the Boss GT8 has an effects loop of its own, so you can go through the wah, compressors etc, into the front of the amp, back out of the effects loop and into the GT8 again for reverb, chorus, delay etc, and back into the effects return. Thats the ideal solution for a multi-effects, but if you can't do that with the Zoom, i wouldnt worry too much about it.

rcaz

Good stuff, cheers.

So Glad

By the way, what is the difference between the "send" & "return" Effects Loops? How do I use them?

Voodu Child

So Glad wrote:

By the way, what is the difference between the "send" & "return" Effects Loops? How do I use them?

Pretty much what the name says - 'send' sends out the signal, after the preamp section of the amp (so you can put it through whatever effects you want), and then you 'return' the signal back in, so it can continue on to the power section of the amp.

Maccattack

A bit off topic but maybe Karl and Voodoo would know...

there was mention of the GT8 and power amps earlier. I have a Boss GT PRO. Im wondering if my Samson Servo would be adequate to use as an amp to drive a cab?

Do you know?

Voodu Child

Maccattack wrote:

I have a Boss GT PRO. Im wondering if my Samson Servo would be adequate to use as an amp to drive a cab?

Do you know?

I don't see why not.

What kind of speaker setup do you plan on using?

fourmations

hi all

excuse my denseness....
i have never known about the send/return thing

i have a gt6 at the mo, but no manual
and a 15w practice amp with send and return inputs

how exactly do i do it, will it make any odds with the gt6

thanks

4

Voodu Child

fourmations wrote:

how exactly do i do it, will it make any odds with the gt6

thanks

4

Do a google search for '4 cable-method GT6' and im sure you'll find something. The GT6 didnt have the feature built in, in the same way as the GT8, but it IS there if you fiddle around with the options.

Best way to decide if it will make any difference is to try it.

Maccattack

voodoo_child wrote:

I don't see why not.

What kind of speaker setup do you plan on using?

Dunno. Never thought about using it til today. Any suggestions?

Voodu Child

Maccattack wrote:

Dunno. Never thought about using it til today. Any suggestions?

Well, you've got the option of using the cab-sim on the GT-PRO and going into a full-range speaker(s) of some sort, or you could leave the cab-sim off and just go into a normal guitar cab if you have one already.

Honestly, im not sure which would sound better. Theres a guy here using a GT-Pro as his live preamp, he might have some suggestions based on different set-ups he tried.

feylya

GT-Pro into a full range speaker is the way to go imo. GT-8 through headphones and direct recording so I would imagine a full range speaker would sound somewhat similiar

Voodu Child

I ran a GT8 as a straight preamp (cab model & everything else turned off) through a poweramp and into a regular 1x12" cab.

It sounded pretty decent - basically, it just sounded like a regular pre/power/cab setup. The GT8 did a good enough job as a straight preamp in that kind of setup, that I had been thinking of buying a JMP-1 and decided not to.

I havent tried it through a flat power amp and full range speaker, so Fey might be right. But id check them both out of curiosity.