Metalman_666
Well-known member
What's the deal with Amp effect loops. I never really thought about it until last week. What are advantages of putting effects in the loop as opposed to just in front of the amp through the input?
Effects loops
- Thread starter Metalman_666
- Start date
Simon_F
Super Moderator
Re: Effects loops
Pretty much what he said.
The effects loop allows you to put effects between your amp's pre-amp and power amp. If you use your amp's pre-amp section for distortion, then time-based effects like chorus, reverb and delay will probably sound better after the pre-amp, i.e. in the loop.
Wahs, distortions and compressors definitely go in front of the amp!
Well, you need to experiment to be sure.
Benjy_26 said:
Pretty much what he said.
The effects loop allows you to put effects between your amp's pre-amp and power amp. If you use your amp's pre-amp section for distortion, then time-based effects like chorus, reverb and delay will probably sound better after the pre-amp, i.e. in the loop.
Wahs, distortions and compressors definitely go in front of the amp!
Well, you need to experiment to be sure.
Last edited:
korovamilkdud
WhoDatologist
Re: Effects loops
If you can get your hands on a parallel fx loop you can also have wet/dry controls, handy feature to have.
If you can get your hands on a parallel fx loop you can also have wet/dry controls, handy feature to have.
Metalman_666
Well-known member
Re: Effects loops
hmmm why do some effects do better in the loop?
hmmm why do some effects do better in the loop?
tone4days
Heel Whacker
Re: Effects loops
i think the best way to describe it is that it has to do with the harmonic content of the signal at any given point in the chain ... when the signal comes out of the guitar, it is fairly low amplitude ... most folks then need to get this small signal up to a level that is more workable in the context of electric music ... so different effects that change the harmonic content (such as boost/overdrive pedals, distortion pedals, compressors, and sometimes EQs would go first) ... these pedals start to make the signal bigger and start to selectively enhance or reduce various frequencies in the overall signal (this can be refrred to as the 'frequency domain' without significant loss of generality) ... then you can go into the preamp section of your amp with gain and tone controls and stuff like that ... more frequency domain stuff ... ultimately, this is a major component of your 'foundation' tone ... now you can start putting 'effects' on the foundation ... so next, you can go out the effects loop and do 'time domain' processing (chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, reverb, etc) .. this takes the foundation signal and warps it around in ways that are changing the way that the end signal changes over time ... then its on to the power amp section where it gets strong enough to blow out the speakers ...
another aspect is signal level ... it is best to use effects in a way that maximizes the signal to noise ratio, ESPECIALLY with single coil pickups ... if you use rack gear that can handle the hotter signal out of the loop (+4), you can hit it harder before it distorts, so you can maximize the signal but minimize the noise .. the signal hitting a stomp box straight from the guitar has a lower signal to noise ratio ... (this is one reason why some guys like active pickups .. the signal is hotter straight out of the guitar)
now, obviously this is not a cast in concrete rule .. plenty of guys put time domain effects before the amp and it sounds incredible .. and plenty of guys put frequency domain things in the loop (especially EQs) ... it's all a matter of taste .. so experiment with all your stuff and see what YOU like
now, let all the guys smarter than me please jump in here and tell him how much i messed up this attempt at an answer
hope this helps
cheers
t4d
Metalman_666 said:
i think the best way to describe it is that it has to do with the harmonic content of the signal at any given point in the chain ... when the signal comes out of the guitar, it is fairly low amplitude ... most folks then need to get this small signal up to a level that is more workable in the context of electric music ... so different effects that change the harmonic content (such as boost/overdrive pedals, distortion pedals, compressors, and sometimes EQs would go first) ... these pedals start to make the signal bigger and start to selectively enhance or reduce various frequencies in the overall signal (this can be refrred to as the 'frequency domain' without significant loss of generality) ... then you can go into the preamp section of your amp with gain and tone controls and stuff like that ... more frequency domain stuff ... ultimately, this is a major component of your 'foundation' tone ... now you can start putting 'effects' on the foundation ... so next, you can go out the effects loop and do 'time domain' processing (chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, reverb, etc) .. this takes the foundation signal and warps it around in ways that are changing the way that the end signal changes over time ... then its on to the power amp section where it gets strong enough to blow out the speakers ...
another aspect is signal level ... it is best to use effects in a way that maximizes the signal to noise ratio, ESPECIALLY with single coil pickups ... if you use rack gear that can handle the hotter signal out of the loop (+4), you can hit it harder before it distorts, so you can maximize the signal but minimize the noise .. the signal hitting a stomp box straight from the guitar has a lower signal to noise ratio ... (this is one reason why some guys like active pickups .. the signal is hotter straight out of the guitar)
now, obviously this is not a cast in concrete rule .. plenty of guys put time domain effects before the amp and it sounds incredible .. and plenty of guys put frequency domain things in the loop (especially EQs) ... it's all a matter of taste .. so experiment with all your stuff and see what YOU like
now, let all the guys smarter than me please jump in here and tell him how much i messed up this attempt at an answer
hope this helps
cheers
t4d
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