i have a gk 700 rb II and i was wondering if i ran effects through the loop instead of straight through my input, would it affect my tone when not in use? btw none of them are true bypass.
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effects loop and tone
- Thread starter SOA_bassist
- Start date
The pedals inputs arent designed to be put in the effects loop. It will sound better just doing bass>effects>amp
The simple answer is, yes. Any non-true bypass unit will effect your tone when not in use. Whether or not it's an audible difference, only you can determine.
Part of the issue depends on what type of effects you talking about. Most pedal effects are designed for instrument level input and do best before the pre-amp (between your bass and the input on your head). However, some time and modulation effects (delays, reverbs, flangers, etc.) do okay in the effects loop. OD/distortion, envelope filter/wah, and octave effects generally do best before the preamp.
If it's a rack-mount unit, it's probably designed to be used in the effects loop.
If you want to figure out what works best, try everything and go with what sounds the best to you. That's the right answer.
Part of the issue depends on what type of effects you talking about. Most pedal effects are designed for instrument level input and do best before the pre-amp (between your bass and the input on your head). However, some time and modulation effects (delays, reverbs, flangers, etc.) do okay in the effects loop. OD/distortion, envelope filter/wah, and octave effects generally do best before the preamp.
If it's a rack-mount unit, it's probably designed to be used in the effects loop.
If you want to figure out what works best, try everything and go with what sounds the best to you. That's the right answer.
Looked at your profile. The OD and synth will work/sound better out front. Otherwise when you turn them on the OD will get too much signal (and probably sound like ****), and the synth wont work right.
If, and when, you get a compressor, reverb, and delay, definatly put those in the loop. Those will work/sound better with a larger signal. IME/O of course.
If, and when, you get a compressor, reverb, and delay, definatly put those in the loop. Those will work/sound better with a larger signal. IME/O of course.
SOA_bassist said:
That's a reeeeaaalllly broad question.
It largely depends on your pedals and your ears. Don't hesitate - just try your effects in the loop and see how it sounds!
An effects loop is really just a place to stick pedals between your preamp (tone-shaping) and poweramp (high-wattage amplification) section. Some effects may sound better to you before the tone shaping (through the regular input), others may sound better to you in the effects loop. Part of this is also due to the additional level of input that a preamp gives, that a regular signal from the bass won't. Like DH said... modulation, delay, and the like can often sound better in an effects loop.
I don't use the effects loop. Personal preference, that's all.
If a pedal affects your tone when it's before the preamp, it'll likely affect your tone after the preamp - it'll just sound a bit different than when it's in front.
By the way... true bypass is overrated, IMO. There are plenty of pedals out there that work better with a buffered bypass. For example, buffered bypass is often the solution to the dreaded "volume drop" that some pedals without gain/volume knobs have.
bongomania
Commercial User
Another factor is what sort of switching you use in your loop. If your amp has a master loop on/off switch, then then your tone (most probably) won't be affected if you bypass with that master switch, since tone loss from non-tbp switched fx is mostly due to loading of the signal between the guitar and the preamp. But if you're just going to use the pedals' individual switches to bypass, then you're no better off in the loop. And +1 to other comments above too.
I really want to figure out how to get pedals in the FX loop of my DB680 and not sound like crap, as it has its own volume and blend control that I'd really like to utilize, in addition to having really nice instrument switching built in. Any thoughts?
I really want to run a pair of wirelesses into the separate inputs of the DB680, and be able to use a pedalboard with both inputs.
I really want to run a pair of wirelesses into the separate inputs of the DB680, and be able to use a pedalboard with both inputs.
