Distortion Pedals

[El Dunco]

I was experimenting with putting a distortion pedal in different parts if the input/effects loop of my Crate V-30 amp and found a sweet spot in the amps fx loop and running my other fx through the input.

I am just curious to know where do you guys put the distortion/overdrive pedal in your chain?

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Distortion Pedals

infront of the amp.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Distortion Pedals

infront of the amp.

care to elaborate?

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Yepp!
You like your tube tone right?So if you distort the signal after your preamp ,you send an extra distorted "non tube" signal to your power amp wich can be good or bad for your taste.But commonly ,Tube amps have their own nice dynamics ,so we put the distortion in front of the amp to drive the tubes more ,and your power section get the well driven tube preamp signal!
But you can experiment on that issue.Every amp is different!

 

[taphappy]

Re: Distortion Pedals

I put mine in front too. I tried it once in the loop and it sounded terrible.

 

[emilio]

Re: Distortion Pedals

so by in front you mean guitar>effect/distortion>amp, right?

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Mine sounds incredible in the loop, as if the distortion were built intot the amp rather than an external effect

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Well...what it's doing is distortion the preamp's signal and sending it to the amp, so really it's just your pedal straight into the amplifier section.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Distortion Pedals

I've never heard a dirt-box in a loop sound good. Regardless of whether I'm using it as a clean-ish boost, as an overdrive, or getting all the dirt from it, it's always in front of the amp.

 

[baritone]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Distortion pedals are best placed in front of the amp, but if you like the sound of it in the loop, go for it. In the loop, the volume jump may be pushing the power tubes harder, and power tube distortion sounds cooler than preamp tube gain.

 

[Imp]

Re: Distortion Pedals

i ran both a distortion and a boost/OD into the input for ages, i save the effect loop for anything i don't want to be distorted (e.g a flanger's tracking, a phaser, delay, etc)...

that said, if it sounds good, run with it

tom

 

[Rushfan2112]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Distortion pedals are best placed in front of the amp, but if you like the sound of it in the loop, go for it. In the loop, the volume jump may be pushing the power tubes harder, and power tube distortion sounds cooler than preamp tube gain.

I've heard of people putting volume boosts in the loop for more power tube distortion. If only I had an FX loop.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Distortion Pedals

I had a Zoom multi effect that had exeptable tone only when I used it in the loop... even the distortion... but all other distortion pedals I've used had good tone in front of the amp...
It's a matter of experimenting... just because the common place is in the front doesn't mean you can't find some innovative tones by using it in the loop.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Distortion Pedals

infront of the amp.

. . . yup same here - infact, all my dirt goes infront, OD, FUZZ and Boosters :smokin:

 

[Mephis]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Is it hard on your amp to throw a clean boost in your EFX loop?

I use to do it with the classic 50 and it sounded great but I was told it wasn't a great idea so I stoped doing it.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Distortion Pedals

In front of the amp it doesn't sound that good, it sounds thin and "papery" In the fx loop it sounds really clear and rich. The louder the amp is the better it sounds. I can turn the distortion on and off and it goes from clean to dirty very nicely. The EQ on the pedal seems to have more of an effect as well

 

[Aceman]

Re: Distortion Pedals

kids....they'll do the darndest things!

You might also try guitar>pedal>loop

Also a parellel vs series loop will make a BIG difference. with a parellel loop, you can probably blend clean with distorted. Possibly very cool.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Distortion Pedals

kids....they'll do the darndest things!

You might also try guitar>pedal>loop

Also a parellel vs series loop will make a BIG difference. with a parellel loop, you can probably blend clean with distorted. Possibly very cool.

Sounds good, can you give me a diagram of series vs parallel? I've heard of them but I'm not sure how to set it up

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Sounds good, can you give me a diagram of series vs parallel? I've heard of them but I'm not sure how to set it up

Whether the loop is series or parallel depends on how it's wired, as in inside the amp.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Distortion Pedals

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't boosting the gain of the signal going into the poweramp shorten your tube life?