Parallel Lines a Serial Killer?

[javi_bassist]

I have tried going parallel and I absolutely love it. Distorsions are amazing in parallel. The chorus has more low end, being more noticeable in higher frequencies.
I keep the octaver in parallel because sometimes I only use the octave, not the real note, so having it in parallel wouldn't be that effective for me.

Tuner-->Comp-->Octaver--Boss LS-2-->HPF/LPF-->Tone Hammer
Loop A Fuzz-->Overdrive-->Line6 M5 (most of the time, a Chorus)
Loop B: Clean

 

[naetog]

@naetog - some nice kit on your board! You'll be able to save some more space by swapping your Enzo & Midi control for a Boss SY-1 shortly (just teasing!)

The controller also plays with the delay, dirt, and reverb pedals, so I can't give that up! That's another great pedal, the Morningstar controller. Super easy to setup and customize.

 

[cosmicevan]

That VFE Klein bottle does look like a fantastic piece of kit and also provides three loops. Love the fact that you have separate hpf and lpf for each loop, but it's coming in at almost 3x the cost of the EHX tri parallel mixer so, as you say, would be a cool candidate for a future upgrade.

The Saturnworks seems to be very well priced, but am I right in thinking it's a little less compact and has pretty limited control features?

A looper that doesn't seem to have got a mention so far is the Boss ES-5 and it's big brother the ES-8. One of my fellow bassists over here in the UK mentioned he had an ES-8 which allowed him to have each individual pedal in it's own loop, which he could then bring in either series or parallel. That's definitely overkill for me, but certainly a 'nice to have'!

The ES-8 is the center of my setup. When it comes to parallel processing you only get 2 mixers to work w, meaning you can have 2 separate parallel loops off of your main. Or you can have 2 effects that leave trails when you turn them off. It is enough to be dangerous but you are limited. The ES-8 does SO much beyond parallel loops though that is just one of the nice add ons. The magic of the ES is one button press can turn on/off 9+ pedals at once (and any combo within) depending on how you set it up. For MIDI capable, you can also controll parameter settings within that same one click.

I think I mentioned in this thread that I snagged a Klein bottle as well (saw one used for a GREAT price locally and couldnt resist). Havent really incorporated that into my setup yet beyond some light experimenting. The Klein is also so much more than just 3 parallel loops. As @Real Soon mentioned, it lets you reorder on the fly as well as bleed effect loops in and out of each other. I got that for a small board that will be elevated for knob twisting. The Klein is a waste if all you want are the parallel loops.