effects loop; why?

paultelestrat

paultelestrat

New member
i guess i need to experiment to understand better.but in simple terms you plug the guitar into the amp then send goes to the input of the pedals and pedals out to amp return.is that right ?if so , why do i want to do this?is this a technique for recording or something.all i'm doing is jamming with my friends in one of their basements.what am i bypassing,the preamp??
 
Re: effects loop; why?

effects loop is for modulation effects like delay effects etc. which sound better behind the pre amp distortion...
overdrive and distortion better put in front of the amp so it's driving the tube preamp ...
nothing is bypassed ..
important fact is serial vs parallel effects loop...

some amps just like rack gear in the loop...
 
Re: effects loop; why?

your Not "bypassing the preamp" your guitar signal still goes through the preamp. Just not the effects.
Some people like to put timebased effects in the fx look, because they sound better after distortion. And if your useing preamp distortion, you'll be able to hear them through distortion alot clearer in the loop, than if you ran the same effects before the amp.
Some people Like fx loops, some dont. Some effects sound great through the loop, others don't. Its all just a matter of preferance really.
I say just try running effects both ways, and see which you like better. Try running chrous before the amp, and then try it in the loop. Theres a big sound difference. Weather its good or bad is really up to you. But there is a Major difference.
 
Re: effects loop; why?

but distortion/overdrive pedals always stay in front of the amp??? anything else?? besides more cables,lol.
 
Re: effects loop; why?

Let me make a small example:
Take a simple delay effect. You hit a note. It is repeated with less volume.

If you now have it before the preamp (in front of the amp) the lowered volume of the delayed signal will just cause less distortion... so it gets repeated cleaner.

If it is behind the preamp (in the fx loop) the signal will be first distorted and then repeat. So the delayed signal has the same amount of distortion and less volume. The orginal processed (distorted) signal is repeat with less volume. That's what most people want...
 
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Re: effects loop; why?

once again, reiterate that all this only matters really if you're getting your distortion from your amp! If you are using pedals to get your distortion and you just have your amp set to clean, then none of this really applies (though you should try it anyway)
 
Re: effects loop; why?

it goes like this

guitar -> user effects -> preamp -> effects loop send -> user effects in the loop chain -> effects loop return -> poweramp

correct me if i am wrong
 
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