no effects loop

[k-dub]

i'm picking up a marshall bluesbreaker soon after getting rid of my vox ac30. one thing that is scaring me is i wont have an effects loop anymore. my pedalboard looks like this.... boss tu2 into mxr dyna comp into ernie ball passive volume into fulltone fulldrive mosfet into ts9 into line 6 dl4 into holy grail out.

 

i used to run all my effects thru my loop and my guitar direct into the amp. but the marshall bluesbreaker doesnt have a loop. what do you guys do with your effects when you dont have a loop? is there a secret way to keep your pedals out of the signal chain until theyre needed? i'd love some help!!!

 

thanks,

 

KC

[chase1410]

i'm picking up a marshall bluesbreaker soon after getting rid of my vox ac30. one thing that is scaring me is i wont have an effects loop anymore. my pedalboard looks like this.... boss tu2 into mxr dyna comp into ernie ball passive volume into fulltone fulldrive mosfet into ts9 into line 6 dl4 into holy grail out.

 

i used to run all my effects thru my loop and my guitar direct into the amp. but the marshall bluesbreaker doesnt have a loop. what do you guys do with your effects when you dont have a loop? is there a secret way to keep your pedals out of the signal chain until theyre needed? i'd love some help!!!

 

thanks,

 

KC

uhh the only two pedals, id put into the loop are the holy grail, and line 6 Dl4..usually only modulation fx should go in the loop..( delay chorus reverb etc.) And technically you don't need a loop, and I hardly ever use one...in fact since I sold the rest of my amps, I've JUST started putting my BBE sonic maximizer and MXR carbon copy in the loop..It's really not needed..

[Andy R]

uhh the only two pedals, id put into the loop are the holy grail, and line 6 Dl4..usually only modulation fx should go in the loop..( delay chorus reverb etc.) And technically you don't need a loop, and I hardly ever use one...in fact since I sold the rest of my amps, I've JUST started putting my BBE sonic maximizer and MXR carbon copy in the loop..It's really not needed..

 

Yep! +1 on Chase's response. I would give it a whirl without the effects loop. Is it a reissue or an older one? Basic effects loops really drain the output and tone from a Marshall. If you add one I would recommend a buffered effects loop like they sell at metro amps. Also has a bypass switch. I know some creative ways to add them without adding any holes and nothing that can't be easily switched back to original.

[Jeff-7]

i'm picking up a marshall bluesbreaker soon after getting rid of my vox ac30. one thing that is scaring me is i wont have an effects loop anymore. my pedalboard looks like this.... boss tu2 into mxr dyna comp into ernie ball passive volume into fulltone fulldrive mosfet into ts9 into line 6 dl4 into holy grail out.

 

i used to run all my effects thru my loop and my guitar direct into the amp. but the marshall bluesbreaker doesnt have a loop. what do you guys do with your effects when you dont have a loop? is there a secret way to keep your pedals out of the signal chain until theyre needed? i'd love some help!!!

 

thanks,

 

KC

Why did you dump the AC30, was it a TB?

[bonzoboy]

I have amps with and without effects loops and I have found that nothing sucks the tone out of your signal more than an effects loop.Even with effects loops built into the amp I always go direct in as the effects loop as far as I know runs between the preamp and main power amp so when you use the loop you're not utiliziing the full tonal capabilities of the amp.So don't sweat it if your amp has no effects loop.BTW there was a srvey a while back on another guitar enthusiasts forum and most of those who replied didn't use effects loop for the same reason that I don't.

[k-dub]

The vox is a mid 2000s assembled in China model. I think my Les Paul sounds beter thru a Bluesbreaker. The BB is from guitar center, its a reissue. I couldnt afford a legit vintage BB. Thanks for all the info guys, I appreciate it!!!

 

KC

[Jeff-7]

Ah gotcha, been hunting down a JMI era Ac30 for a while now, not the newer stuff.

[Silenced Fred]

Run it into the front of the amp. Or, you could get an ABY switcher I believe, and run your pedals through that, then switch it into the pedals, one end goes directly to amp (at least that's how I understand it)

 

I run everything straight into the amp anyways, I'm a hack

[Kimbabig]

I agree with Fred, I have an ABY switch and an effects loop, but I just go straight to the amp.

[Dub-T-123]

I used the effects loop on my ac30 once and thought it sounded bad.

 

I run all of my pedals straight in (including delay and all that) and I think it sounds better that way. I see the effects loop as more of a selling point than an actual useful feature. Then again, a lot of people use them and I'm sure they have their purpose. It's just not my thing.

 

I usually run my amp clean anyways. I don't see how I would benefit from an effects loop.

[damian]

Run it into the front of the amp. Or, you could get an ABY switcher I believe, and run your pedals through that, then switch it into the pedals, one end goes directly to amp (at least that's how I understand it)

 

I run everything straight into the amp anyways, I'm a hack

 

 

I agree with Fred, I have an ABY switch and an effects loop, but I just go straight to the amp.

 

 

I'm in agreement with Cris and Nat on this.......................... [thumbup] .......

[Andy R]

Run it into the front of the amp. Or, you could get an ABY switcher I believe, and run your pedals through that, then switch it into the pedals, one end goes directly to amp (at least that's how I understand it)

 

I run everything straight into the amp anyways, I'm a hack

 

 

That would just give you a "True Bypass" for the effects... Not a loop.

[Riffster]

I guess I am the odd man out here.

 

I much prefer modulation/time effects in the loop of my Mesa 5:25. I do not notice any tone sucking.

 

Running those pedals through the front of the amp just does not sound right to me even on the ideal sequence. Delay before the preamp? no thanks.

 

Going back to the original question, there's switches and loop pedals that you could configure to bypass pedals or engage a specific set of pedals.

[Andy R]

I have amps with and without effects loops and I have found that nothing sucks the tone out of your signal more than an effects loop.Even with effects loops built into the amp I always go direct in as the effects loop as far as I know runs between the preamp and main power amp so when you use the loop you're not utiliziing the full tonal capabilities of the amp.So don't sweat it if your amp has no effects loop.BTW there was a srvey a while back on another guitar enthusiasts forum and most of those who replied didn't use effects loop for the same reason that I don't.

 

Yep pretty much. It's usually not the actual effects loop that causes the issue since you are pretty much "Tapping In" ( unhooking a direct physical connection and using the "switching" in the jack to make the connection) so when you don't have anything plugged in you essentially have the same direct connection being made it just has a jack making the connection instead of hardwired. If you use a cheap jack or the connections get crusty you could lose some tone there.

 

The main problem is there is no good way to adjust the line level (Depending on the effects layout) and impedance to match the effects you are using once you tap into the signal chain. That's why a buffered and adjustable FX loop is better than the old tap method but now you are adding more components between the preamp and the poweramp section, and switches, etc... and the effect its self can be a tone robber as well.

 

For most effects they sound fine through the pre-amp but as stated before concerning "Time Based Effects" say a delay... You are either going to add the delay to the "Clean" ( obviously if you run an overdrive or distortion it won't be "clean" in the truest sense of the word) signal before the amplifiers pre-amp.... So the delayed sound is then being effected by the gain/pre-amp/EQ of the amp and then amplified.

 

Where as when you run in the effects loop the delay is actually reproducing the sound after the gain/preamp/EQ so in Theory if you want to delay the "Sound you have" then run it through the loop. If you want to use the delay to effect the sound you have then run it before the pre-amp... Same goes for Verb, Phase, Flange, Chorus yada yada. Some sound good one way some sound good the other I have found....

 

One way to get a very killer tone is to run a graphic EQ pedal before the preamp with a mid boost and run another in the effects loop with a mid scoop. I have also found boosts to be more effective in the effects loop if you need a volume kick for a lead....

 

What I do anymore is use a weber mass attenuator that has a line out and run that through my effects into another amp. That way I get a master volume on my non-master marshalls, I get to crank the power tubes ( without going deaf) and then run the effect after the power tubes and then amplify it. To me this is a "Real" Effects Loop....

 

 

Andy

[Andy R]

I guess I am the odd man out here.

 

I much prefer modulation/time effects in the loop of my Mesa 5:25. I do not notice any tone sucking.

 

Running those pedals through the front of the amp just does not sound right to me even on the ideal sequence. Delay before the preamp? no thanks.

 

Going back to the original question, there's switches and loop pedals that you could configure to bypass pedals or engage a specific set of pedals.

 

Mesa Generally have well built buffered tube driven effects loops.... I bet it sounded great. I'm with you on the delay and the verb and usually chorus....

[chase1410]

I used the effects loop on my ac30 once and thought it sounded bad.

 

I run all of my pedals straight in (including delay and all that) and I think it sounds better that way. I see the effects loop as more of a selling point than an actual useful feature. Then again, a lot of people use them and I'm sure they have their purpose. It's just not my thing.

 

I usually run my amp clean anyways. I don't see how I would benefit from an effects loop.

 

If you run your amp clean only, then you have no need for a fx loop...Its mainly used when your using the lead/drive channel of your amo, when using modulation, other then that theres no need.

[duane v]

What I do anymore is use a weber mass attenuator that has a line out and run that through my effects into another amp. That way I get a master volume on my non-master marshalls, I get to crank the power tubes ( without going deaf) and then run the effect after the power tubes and then amplify it. To me this is a "Real" Effects Loop....

 

 

Andy

 

This is exactly what I'm doing with my Aracom attenuator. I run my little peavey bandit through the line out on the attenuator (and it has an adjustable line-out knob). and run my effets

[Dub-T-123]

Andy - Thanks for the info! I already knew a bit about effects loops and such but that's a really informative and helpful post.

 

Chase - With my (limited) understanding of effects loops I figured that is the case.

[k-dub]

Ok, it sounds like keeping the pedals in line and keeping any modulations out of line is the best idea. I dont think delay before preamp is a great idea. All of my pedals (except for my tuner) are true bypass or modded by JHS for true bypass, so it wouldnt really be a problem to leave them in the signal chain. How about having an amp tech add a send/receive in the back of the amp so i can keep my fundamental pedals in line but send the delay and reverb thru a loop?

 

So my board would look like this, guitar into tuner into dyna comp into volume into mosfet into screamer into amp, then send the delay and reverb separately into the loop.

 

 

By the way, I use a pedaltrain pt-2 and a voodoo labs pedal power 2. I sag the modded ibanez tube screamer down to 3v to make it nasty, and keep the fulldrive at 9v and use the mosfet setting. i keep my amp driven to slight crunch to use as a 'foundation' and use my pedals to enhance that natural tone. i am 100% against fabricating tone on a tube amp.

[Dub-T-123]

Dang a PT-2 for 7 pedals? Are you leaving room to grow or do you just like your pedals really spread out?

 

I would just see how your pedals sound right into the amp. If you're not satisfied then have a good tech install a loop.

[duane v]

How about having an amp tech add a send/receive in the back of the amp so i can keep my fundamental pedals in line but send the delay and reverb thru a loop?

 

So my board would look like this, guitar into tuner into dyna comp into volume into mosfet into screamer into amp, then send the delay and reverb separately into the loop.

 

 

 

See image below, one of these line out boxes would solve the issue, however you will still need an amp with it to simulate a load. If I'm not mistaken the HotPlate has a load simulation feature to run with the line-out box if you don't want to carry another amp with speaker around.