Help With FX Loop

[PingPongBob]

I've been using a Marshall JVM205 Head for the last week pending a trade from a friend who cannot use it anymore due to moving into an apartment. I've found that dimed, it's a 50 watt fire breathing beast, but I can still get nice tone and really nice feedback at lower volumes. I'm using it with both a 2x12 & 4x12. My problem is I've never used an FX Loop, led alone an amp that features a series and a parallel loop. I haven't used either yet.

 

My question is what pedals work best in either the parallel or series loop or both or in front.

 

With this head I will not need an overdrive or reverb pedal, that leaves me with a wah, compressor, fuzz, delay, phase shifter, chorus, and flanger.

 

My question is what would be the recommended way to put these pedals to use with this amp?

 

I've done some googling, but found mostly parallel usage info.

 

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[Guest Farnsbarns]

I've been using a Marshall JVM205 Head for the last week pending a trade from a friend who cannot use it anymore due to moving into an apartment. I've found that dimed, it's a 50 watt fire breathing beast, but I can still get nice tone and really nice feedback at lower volumes. I'm using it with both a 2x12 & 4x12. My problem is I've never used an FX Loop, led alone an amp that features a series and a parallel loop. I haven't used either yet.

 

My question is what pedals work best in either the parallel or series loop or both or in front.

 

With this head I will not need an overdrive or reverb pedal, that leaves me with a wah, compressor, fuzz, delay, phase shifter, chorus, and flanger.

 

My question is what would be the recommended way to put these pedals to use with this amp?

 

I've done some googling, but found mostly parallel usage info.

 

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

Delay, phase, chorus and flanger are all time shifting effects and would generally go on the loop to.place them after the dirt (pre-amp). Whether you put them on the serial or parallel loop is really just your preference, serial has no dry signal mixed with it where as parallel does.

[deeman]

My amp (Dual Rectifier) has a parallel F/X loop and I find it annoying to try and mix the wet/dry signal with the effects. It always seems to mess up the tone of the amp. It doesn't help that I don't know what i'm doing but i've researched the best ways to mix and i feel it still sounds like crap. My advise is use serial.

[SHO]

I find that parallel loops are only of real use when you have effects that can operate in kill dry mode, or what ever you prefer to call it. Else they do tend to get difficult to set the blend of dry and wet signal right, and, in my opinion, the whole point of using parallel over serial is lost. I think some of TC's pedals have a kill dry switch on the inside, but as far as I know it is not common for pedals to have that option. Most rack units and such can be set that way, and then I find parallel loops work really great, giving you effects where you want them in the chain but with keeping your original sound pretty much intact.

[kidblast]

I've got a Marshall with those two loop options as well.

 

and as said your Delays, and Modulations will go in the loop, keep your over drives, compressors, and Wahs in the signal path.

 

the only thing to know about the differences, when you use the serial loop, the "mix" or "blend" controls will react differently as in how much of the effect returns to the amp. So in serial, you would set your "mix" or "blend" more like if you had them "in line" in the signal path.

 

the parallel loop behaves differently, as it's controllable (or should be with your amp) with an effects level knob. I will usually set the "mix" or "blend" higher than I normally would if it was in line,, then you control how much of the effect comes back thru the loop with the loop (effects level) control on the amp.

 

IME, with my setup, the modulation "mix" (Line6 MM4) has to be just about all the way up, for it to actually be present when I turn it on. Delay is a not quite as touchy but that also has to be dialed in with more of a "wet" setting than if it was just in the signal path.

 

as to which one you're gonna like the best,,

experiment is the only way to know....

 

 

with my JTM, I prefer the parallel loop by far.

in my Gibson Goldtone, GA30RVS the serial loop seems to work better. Go figger? (both are noisy)

my Deville 4x10 only has one serial loop,, so - that's all she wrote.

 

My only other nit with Marshall, -- they didn't wire these as foot switchable (at least on my JTM). and I really wish they would have.

[PingPongBob]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I think tomorrow I'll try parallel first then series and compare.

 

Thanks again.