Side Chain?

[Stumpy]

Hey all,

I got a SansAmp BDDI a little while ago. It sounds great and works awesome.

I am wondering about putting it in the side chain/effects loop of my amp. I have the Eden Metro and will be upgrading to the Eden WT800.

Is it as simple as Send 1 to BDDI - BDDI out to Return 1? Do I use regular bass cables?

I have never used any kind of effects before so it is all new.

 

[JanusZarate]

Yeah, two instrument cables will do the trick, just as you described.

Keep in mind, the BDDI is a special exception to the common rule of effects pedals - most pedals DON'T work well in an effects loop. Most pedals are easily overloaded (or overdriven) by the higher output of a preamp, and are meant to go between the instrument's output and the preamp's input. You'll know if it doesn't work well if your effect is distorting unpleasantly when in the effects loop. Sometimes, you can make adjustments to your preamp output and the effect pedal to prevent this, but you often sacrifice part of the tone you were trying to get... so it's often best to keep pedals where they belong.

The BDDI is unique because it has switches to adjust the output, so you could drive a poweramp with it or place it in the effects loop and avoid most issues.

By hooking it up the way you described, it's sort of like a rackmount unit. Most rackmount units are built to work within the effects loop, and not out before the preamp.

Also... if you want, you can connect your bass into the BDDI, and then the BDDI into just the "Return" jack to bypass the preamp of your WT800 and use the BDDI as the preamp instead. But if you're going to do that, why even buy such a nice amp?

When I had a BDDI, I always preferred using it as an overdrive effect, and I had it going into the input of the preamp. I really never use the effects loop of my amp since most of my effects don't work well in it anyway, and I prefer the sound I get when they're running up-front.

 

[Stumpy]

Great info...thanks

 

[bongomania]

Just to be finicky, a side chain is different from an effects loop. An effects loop just carries the audio signal from point A to point B, while a side chain allows a control function (like compression) to "listen to" and respond to the audio signal, without actually being in the audio path.

 

[JanusZarate]

Just to be finicky, a side chain is different from an effects loop. An effects loop just carries the audio signal from point A to point B, while a side chain allows a control function (like compression) to "listen to" and respond to the audio signal, without actually being in the audio path.

]

Ah... didn't know it was actually a real thing!

I just thought he meant to say "effects loop", which he did.