FX loops on your amp - Bust or Must?

smitty_p said:
Oops...my bad!

I saw the "CS" in the name and immediately thought of chorus because my chorus pedal is an Ibanez CS-9.

That saying about making assumptions comes to mind!
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I had to check too. The funny part to me was that I actually owned one for a few years :pound-hand:
 
Ive never tried a FX loop for pedals.I think my Orange 15 is the only amp i got with one.Ill have to give it a go some day.Sooooo the Send jack is where the FX chain starts and Return is where the FX chain goes back in ??????
 
JohnnyGoo said:
Ive never tried a FX loop for pedals.I think my Orange 15 is the only amp i got with one.Ill have to give it a go some day.Sooooo the Send jack is where the FX chain starts and Return is where the FX chain goes back in ??????
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Correct.

You can think of it like this...Send in/Return from.
 
JohnnyGoo said:
Ive never tried a FX loop for pedals.I think my Orange 15 is the only amp i got with one.Ill have to give it a go some day.Sooooo the Send jack is where the FX chain starts and Return is where the FX chain goes back in ??????
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Indeed sir!
Send >to an external effect unit.
Return <from external effect unit back to amp.

Edit hahaha Smitty and I are on the same schedule.
 
smitty_p said:
It's not so much a question of which is quieter, it's a question of where in the chain to deploy your pedals for best effect. I'd say you are a prime candidate for using an effects loop, since your distortion is coming from the amp. In this scenario, you are introducing distortion (via the amp) after the delay and chorus. Try putting the chorus and delay pedals in the loop, with the delay last in the chain. The EQ pedal is a matter of taste. Some put them early in the chain...others put them later. I really can't say, as I don't own one and have never played around with it.

BTW, I do just what you do. I don't use any distortion pedals, aside from a Tubescreamer that I use to put a little hair on the clean channel of my amp. I have a small, 5 watt Marshall DSL-5C. I use it's effects loop all the time. I run to an external speaker in my isolation cabinet. With a mic in the iso-box running to the PA, it sounds huge. You'd never believe you're listening to a 5 wattt amp.
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I'm definitely going to try that.
 
Robert Herndon said:
I'm definitely going to try that.
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I agree with smitty, I think you will be happy with the results - the loop can cure a lot of strange artifact problems when using a delay. Not everything sounds best in the loop, so best to experiment. I have found that I prefer phasers and flangers in front of the amp, chorus and delay in the loop. I use an overdrive set for a (mostly) clean solo boost and get my distortion from the amp, and this setup allows me to use any amount of delay I want without it getting harsh.

As for noise, not all loops are created equal, but the one in your Marshalls is a great one so nothing to worry about there. Just use high quality cables and you will be fine. I ended up with George L's cables for my loop and there is basically no signal loss.
 
gball said:
I agree with smitty, I think you will be happy with the results - the loop can cure a lot of strange artifact problems when using a delay. Not everything sounds best in the loop, so best to experiment. I have found that I prefer phasers and flangers in front of the amp, chorus and delay in the loop. I use an overdrive set for a (mostly) clean solo boost and get my distortion from the amp, and this setup allows me to use any amount of delay I want without it getting harsh.

As for noise, not all loops are created equal, but the one in your Marshalls is a great one so nothing to worry about there. Just use high quality cables and you will be fine. I ended up with George L's cables for my loop and there is basically no signal loss.
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Thanks I am going to try it soon
 
The amps and the tones I desire don't have or need an FX loop. Classic Plexi type amps and Classic Fender amps. They may have multiple inputs indicating multiple channels, but no channel switching.

For years, my only 2 amps were a 1976 Marshall 2204 (cheating with a master volume, but still very classic vintage Marshall tones!) and a Fender Champ. The only thing the Champ was missing is onboard Fender Reverb. I have an Alamo Reverb tank for that, but rarely use it. A Deluxe Reverb would cure that short coming. But most likely, I would go with a Silvertone 1482 instead.

There are amps that I would consider, like a Marshall Vintage Modern that have a loop and channel switching, but neither of those features appeal to me.
 
I added a loop to both my amps. They're both homebuilt clones, a 1987 Marshall & a 2204 with an added gain stage. The loop I added to them is the Metro Amp Zero Loss loop. This is a high voltage solid state, buffered series loop that doesn't color the amps tone. Nice loop that could be added to most tube amps quite easily. I have a delay in the 1987's loop (mxr carbon copy) & a chorus & delay (mxr analog chorus & mxr carbon copy bright) in the 2204 amp. Most of the time the 1987's loop is switched out, but its nice to have the option at times. Cheers
Edit; I use a Metro Amp Head Master Switcher to switch between amps (one 4x12 cabinet). Metro Amp makes some nice gear. Cheers
 
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