Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

[gordon_39422]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

A little side note on Parallel Loops... I have noticed that some companies don't allow for 100% Wet Signal... I had a Mesa Boogie rackmount pre-amp in the early 90's that would only allow me to go from 10-90%... of course, that seems logical... If you wanted NO wet signal, turn the firring pedals off... If you want ALL wet signal, then things got hairy....

 

[benjaturner]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Damage Inc.
I don't really want to put the pedal first for the reason that you stated; my guitar has got a volume knob and, effectively, a pedal would do the samething. Having the pedal at the end of my chain (excluding delay) I can control what the other pedals are doing as well and cut out any noise from them. It's also useful if I want to make any changes during a gig. I can cut out the volume and pull cables all over without the horrible sounds coming through my amp. Also stuff like changing guitars or when you break a string - stuff like that. Any more thoughts on Volume pedal placement?

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Hello everyone, I read this thread with interest as my amp has both a series loop and parrallel loop. I've ended up not using the parrellel because I run a volume pedal through the loop and I want to be able to kill my sound. Does this sound like a good idea to other forum users? I'd never really thought about using both before but I can't see a reason not to. Then I could run delays and modulation through the parrallel loop and the volume pedal exclusively through the series loop, or even infront with EQ, compression and O/D's. Any thoughts please, you guys really seem to know your loops, lol.

Volume pedal should probably be the first thing in your signal chain after the guitar. I wouldn't put it in a loop at all.

For everyone's reference: here is the "standard" way (IMO) of hooking up effects, whether you have a parallel or series loop:

For the input signal:
Guitar -> Volume -> Comp -> OD/Dist -> EQ -> Wah -> Gate -> Amp input

For the loop:
Fx Send -> Flanger/Phaser -> Trem -> Chorus -> Delay -> Reverb -> Fx Return

This is by no means the only way to hook up effects, but I think it's a good starting point.

 

[fenderiarhs]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Sorry, I totally do not understand your question dude......

I should have expressed myself better.
My amps effects loop is a parallel one and on the front pannel of the amp there's an effects mix knob:at 10 it is 100% wet and at 0 it is only the dry signal. On the effects loop i use a rocktron replifex and in the replifex menu there is the following option: DIRECT SIGNAL IN or DIRECT SIGNAL OUT.
Now i was wondering the correct way to use the replifex in a parallel effects loop with the amplifiers effects mix control set at 100% wet is to have the DIRECT SIGNAL set to IN or OUT ??

:smack: :question: :22: Now i think it's better (..............)

 

[RGN]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

I should have expressed myself better.
My amps effects loop is a parallel one and on the front pannel of the amp there's an effects mix knob:at 10 it is 100% wet and at 0 it is only the dry signal. On the effects loop i use a rocktron replifex and in the replifex menu there is the following option: DIRECT SIGNAL IN or DIRECT SIGNAL OUT.
Now i was wondering the correct way to use the replifex in a parallel effects loop with the amplifiers effects mix control set at 100% wet is to have the DIRECT SIGNAL set to IN or OUT ??

:smack: :question: :22: Now i think it's better (..............)

No problem bro... In understand now. First, I'd start with the mix control set to about 75%-80% and adjust it from there. For a parallel loop I'd set the unit on DIRECT SIGNAL OUT. This should kill the dry signal and only give you the processed signal out from the Rocktron.

For clarification here, based on my experience using VHT amps, setting the mix level to 100% is going to mean the processed tone and the dry tone are the same volume. It isn't going to behave exactly like a serial loop b/c there is still a dry and wet tone coming through the cabinet. In a serial loop, your entire signal is going into the effects unit and you will have one processed signal coming through the cabinet.

In a parallel loop your effects will be more subtle than in a serial loop. The wet signal is always going to be offset by the dry tone. You want get quite as radical flange effects for example. If you are running a solid state amp I'd just use the serial loop. If you are using a Bogner XTC it would be a shame to process that signal through a rack unit, I'd always use the parallel loop if you are using a high-end tube amp and don't want the tone altered. The other option would be true bypass pedals in front of the amp.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Volume pedal should probably be the first thing in your signal chain after the guitar. I wouldn't put it in a loop at all.

Depends on the effect you want. Putting it in the loop makes it like a foot-controlled master volume: you get volume changes without significant changes in timbre.

Personally, I'm with you and prefer the volume pedal in front but that's because I use it more for swells than adjusting the overall volume. In that application, I like the way the tone changes as the volume comes up. Horses for courses.

One more thing... Using a volume pedal in the loop might dictate a different pot in the pedal. For the low-impedance signal in the loop, you might get better results with a 25K pot instead of the 250K or 500k pots you usually find. It's really only an issue if you find the volume changes to be to abrupt with the current pot.

 

[Chaos]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Damage Inc.
I don't really want to put the pedal first for the reason that you stated; my guitar has got a volume knob and, effectively, a pedal would do the samething. Having the pedal at the end of my chain (excluding delay) I can control what the other pedals are doing as well and cut out any noise from them. It's also useful if I want to make any changes during a gig. I can cut out the volume and pull cables all over without the horrible sounds coming through my amp. Also stuff like changing guitars or when you break a string - stuff like that. Any more thoughts on Volume pedal placement?

Volume pedal should probably be the first thing in your signal chain after the guitar. I wouldn't put it in a loop at all.

I have to agree with Benjaturner. A volume pedal directly after the guitar is redundant. (unless you have no volume control on your guitar)
A volume pedal in the effects loop will give you more options. Use your guitar’s control to vary the amount of ‘crunch’ or drive to your preamp. Use the volume pedal to control the output from your preamp to your power amp without affecting preamp saturation.
Again as Benjaturner states, A volume pedal in the effects loop is a great way to silence your amp without all the buzz generated by your pedal chain.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Parallel FX-Loop... Anyone?

Depends on the effect you want. Putting it in the loop makes it like a foot-controlled master volume: you get volume changes without significant changes in timbre.

Personally, I'm with you and prefer the volume pedal in front but that's because I use it more for swells than adjusting the overall volume. In that application, I like the way the tone changes as the volume comes up. Horses for courses.

One more thing... Using a volume pedal in the loop might dictate a different pot in the pedal. For the low-impedance signal in the loop, you might get better results with a 25K pot instead of the 250K or 500k pots you usually find. It's really only an issue if you find the volume changes to be to abrupt with the current pot.

Good points, thank-you.

In response to what some other people have said: I don't think putting the volume pedal first is redundant at all. It works as a substitute for your guitar's volume knob that way - it is a lot easier to get the "violining" effect using a pedal than trying to crank on your knob while you're playing. Volume pedals also tend to affect the tone in different ways than your guitar's knob would, and it's usually a lot easier to get a precise adjustment from them.

If you're concerned about noise from your pedal chain, you can always put the volume pedal last thing before the amp input. That way, you can also use it to contour any gain you have from OD/dist or comps. It won't cut the noise from your loop effects, but if that's a problem for you I suggest you get some better effects units