iso thru box or alternative ways of splitting question...

[Inebrius]

So like many other bass players over the past decade I've picked up enough effects to attempt to duplicate Justin Chancellor's effects chains... The part I'm missing and just have no experience with is the splitting and looping.

I've done enough research now that it's clear it's not all one long chain. It's an always on grit channel, a modulation/clean channel, and a dry DI channel looped and split with an iso thru box and a JD-7 splitter.

I don't need a DI channel at least not for awhile. I'm coming back after a very long hiatus to pursue IT career so currently not in an projects so I only need a clean and dirty channel.

From the video from Dunlop the tech explains the use of an iso thru box and a JD-7 splitter. Does anyone know is there another way to split this to 2 channels with or without the ISO and JD-7 splitter?

Thanks in advance...

 

[ChubbyJerk]

You just want your signal to go to two different chains? Or two different amps? Do you want them recombined? Effects loops in series or parallel? I'm not sure I completely understand. There should be a lot of simple and relatively cheap ways to do this.

If I understand your goal correctly, an ABY pedal will work fine. Morley makes a cheap but solid one, or the Radial Big Shot, or several others. One input, two identical outputs to start two separate effects chains. Alternatively, if the front of one chain has a pedal with a Dry out, use that to split off for your 2nd chain. Either of these options works if your goal is 1 bass split to 2 effects chains going to 2 separate amps.

If you're going from 1 bass to 2 effects chains to 1 amp, then any sort of bypass looper with 2+ loops will work fine. Those will be in series though, the first loops (when switched on) will feed into the second one.

It sounds like maybe you want different parallel effects loops that will be re-combined (but not feed into each other) and go to the same amp? That would require a bit more, something like a Wounded Paw Super Blender, with separate effects loops that can be run in series or parallel which then get output to the same amp. There's also a clean channel on that pedal. So 1 bass can feed 2 effects loops and a dry channel which will be run in parallel and not affect each other and all 3 will go out to the same amp. I think maybe that's what you're looking for.

 

[bassbrad]

An aby pedal or effect with a dry out to split signal and a Boss LS2 to mix and combine signal chains if you are going to one amp is a simple solution.

 

[Inebrius]

One bass.. two chains.. two amps..

I've put red X through the stuff I wont need in the second picture.

Theres several diagrams floating around of how people think the effects chain is connected. I think it's mostly correct. I essentially have everything in the first picture and wont need or be doing the XLR out. I'm also a little skeptical that the chains are stacked for the dirty channel but until I get this all put together I cant tell for sure.

I think the first picture sums up what I'm trying to do minus the XLR out. I'm not sure what to use for a splitter box though. Or if theres a better way to do this. And lastly I'm not looking to do Tool covers exclusively so I'll probably want to add a different chain of effects for other styles as I get my bass legs back under me. I know that complicates things further but for now I'm really looking just looking to get this squared up then move on from there. Thanks for the replies...

 

[ChubbyJerk]

1 bass to 2 chains to 2 amps is incredibly simple. There's no reason you'd need anything more than a Morley ABY, Radial BigShot, or pedal with dry out.

In a little google search, I just read that Chancellor actually goes into the Rat from the dry out of his Whammy. You have certainly researched this more than me, so it could be wrong, but that makes sense to me (and was one of my suggestions).

Put the Whammy first, wet goes out to the main chain, dry goes out to the Rat chain. Trem could go in front like that 2nd picture if you want, depending on whether you want the distortion channel to be tremy too.

 

[Inebrius]

Cool ChubbyJerk and Bassbrad thanks for taking the time to reply greatly appreciated.

BTW is there still a club called Medusa's in Chicago anymore? Back in the late 80s when I was playing speed metal we came down from Minneapolis and played there. Was an old 4 story ballroom converted to a night club. Was a crazy scene they had different venues on each floor, quite a strange mix of bar goers. Was really cool place to gig though. There was a dressing room butting up against the L. It was my first time in Chicago and we're partying in this dressing room and it's dark so you have no idea the train is like right outside the window... Then in came by rattling everything. Reminded me of a scene in the Blues Brothers...

 

[SuperMoses]

Splitting signal with a tuner/stereo pedal/whammy will result as a tone loss, even buffered. Radial's devices will output the same signal with the original gain intact. The problem of the most pedal that offers a dry out/stereo out is that signal is splitted 50-50%, in some cases , like the ls-2, you can add gain but only after the split so you can have each channell with same volume but it is a 50% tone boosted, not even close at the shining original tone. Going biamped is a ground mass problem to, so you need ground controls for each channell.