Which pedals should be running in the fx loop

[Miklagaard]

hey guys i was wondering if anyone can help me out and shed some light on the fx loop on my amp and which pedals i should be running in there

so right now im running a od, eq, delay and phase all infront of my amp i really hadnt put any thought into it until now that i could run them throug the fx loop.

im just not sure what is the proper thing, in my mind i picture od and eq infront of amp and phase and delay in loop with all other mod effects but im not sure. can anyone help me out?

 

[cGoEcYk]

On bass I like running everything in the FX loop, even my Sansamp. My amp is pretty old school (Bass 400 circa 1987) and the FX loop is instrument level.

On guitar I've been running everything up front. I briefly tried putting my delay in the loop but it wasn't quite working out... I think the loop on it is Line level and I'll need to spend a little more time on it.

 

[Spinedriver]

hey guys i was wondering if anyone can help me out and shed some light on the fx loop on my amp and which pedals i should be running in there

so right now im running a od, eq, delay and phase all infront of my amp i really hadnt put any thought into it until now that i could run them throug the fx loop.

im just not sure what is the proper thing, in my mind i picture od and eq infront of amp and phase and delay in loop with all other mod effects but im not sure. can anyone help me out?

You're pretty much on the money with the wah/compressor/od being in front and modulation/delay being in the loop. The eq and chorus/flanger/phaser can work in either position, it just depends on which you prefer because they're going to sound quite different before & after the amp's eq section.

 

[Miklagaard]

so there really is no right and wrong its just preference right?

 

[Greatoliver]

so there really is no right and wrong its just preference right?

Some things need to come in the fx loop, after the preamp. The preamp gives the distortion, and so if you have e.g. reverb before, the preamp will distort the reverb which sounds weird... So there are some things which sound better...

....But you can experiment and find out what works well for you!

 

[vanhendrix]

I really just keep my delay and verb in the loop. I like running things like chorus or phaser in front because I might use it with my distortion as well. I don't use any kind of eq stuff, but I would use it in the loop.

I do cheat a bit though. If I'm going to be running a pedalboard for shows then I abandon my loop altogether (too much extra cabling, I'm lazy). I leave my reverb at home and run my delay in front. The trick with that is that I'll only be using my delay with a clean sound, so it won't be before any gain stages.

It's all about understanding the nature of the effects acting on one another. For instance I've never understood the practice of putting the overdrive after a compressor. Unless you're deliberately trying to make feedback I guess....?

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

I'd probably only run the delay in the loop. Although I would suggest experimenting with the phaser and the EQ in the loop.

I have a really nice phaser (Red Witch) which was sounding so shitty in the effects loop that I started to think that maybe I just wasn't into phasers anymore. I even kicked off the board for a few weeks until I tried it out in front on a whim one night. I now run [ guitar > wah > phaser > dirt > amp ] and [ delay > reverb > delay > boost ] in the loop.

Try everything everywhere though, because you never know when something unconventional is going to sound freakishly good.

 

[Miklagaard]

what about something like the mxr boost/line driver? something like that would go infront right?

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

Yeah, I'd put that out in front. I like to put the boost after my dirt pedals so I can get the same dirt sound, but louder, for solos and stuff. If you put the boost before your dirt pedals, it will give more of a gain boost and less of a level boost. Both are useful, but for my purposes I prefer the former.

I have a second boost in the fx loop so I can make looped sections pop a little bit more, as they tend to get muddy once a few layers have been added.

 

[Albionic]

what about something like the mxr boost/line driver? something like that would go infront right?

if you want it to make the sound louder for lead sound then put it in the loop if you want it to drive the tubes into more saturation (like a ts) then it goes in front.

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

^^ Oh yeah, this... I was thinking of using only pedals for gain and running into a clean channel. Lol, nevermind.

 

[ArtDecade]

I run everything up front... so did every guitar player everywhere before there things known as effects loops. In the end, its all about preference. There is no right or wrong.