Why do non-rack type heads have effects loops in them??

[SteveC]

Effects loops in heads are (generally) for line level rack type gear.
Makers of small heads (GB, Eden, etc.) have effects loops in their ultra light heads that will most likely never be racked or used with rack gear.

Why?

Pedals through the effects loop are a no-no, right?

Just curious.

 

[JTE]

Wrong-

Some pedals will work through the loop. Also the amp can be used sitting on top of a rack if the person decides effects are useful for certain gigs, but not needed for other gigs.

jte

 

[EricF]

Gain pedals (OD/distortion/fuzz) tend to not work so well in an effects loop, but time (delay, reverb) and modulation (flanger, chorus, phaser) pedals will often work just fine. You'll just have to test it for yourself to be sure.

 

[sevenorchids]

I might be racking my Shuttle at some point. They sell rack ears for it and it might be more convenient to have it racked if I had other racked gear to go along with it, like a wireless unit, tuner, rack effects, etc. Plus, the conveience of two plugs (wall, cabinet) just seems better to me.

To not include an effects loop would seem more strange (and quite limiting) to me...

 

[bassninja7]

you get better tone with the loop.

i have my amp set flat and run my sansamp and wah to the loop. if i run into my chain it sounds like crap, even after eqing my amp, but then my sansamp tone is off....

 

[EricF]

you get better tone with the loop.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on what's in the loop.

i have my amp set flat and run my sansamp and wah to the loop. if i run into my chain it sounds like crap, even after eqing my amp, but then my sansamp tone is off....

I honestly have no idea what this means.

 

[Juniorkimbrough]

what about the DI on the head? If you run your effects through the loop wouldn't the clean DI out be uneffected?

That's why I thought they were that way.

 

[bassninja7]

what about the DI on the head? If you run your effects through the loop wouldn't the clean DI out be uneffected?

That's why I thought they were that way.

i have a 1/4 out (to the amp) and a xlr out (to the PA) on my sansamp, but my di on the head is post eq);

 

[Murder_Worship]

correct me if i am wrong but does an effects loop just put the effect on post preamp rather than pre preamp.(standard bass>effect>amp)

so if you dont want your pedal to mess up with your mids and stuff you would want to put the effect after the preamp no?

 

[bongomania]

you get better tone with the loop.

Ehhh... sometimes... It truly depends on the design of the device you're running in the loop, and the design of the loop itself. They are not all the same. Generalizing like that is not smart.

i have my amp set flat and run my sansamp and wah to the loop. if i run into my chain it sounds like crap, even after eqing my amp, but then my sansamp tone is off....

I would suggest doing some reading on proper use of the Sansamp... it sounds like you don't know what you're doing yet. There are many useful threads about it in the fx forum.

To the OP, the reason they provide fx loops is because it is a very inexpensive feature to add, and it doesn't take up a lot of real estate on either the back panel or the circuitboard. So by adding it they please anyone who would find that feature useful, without adding much onto their cost to build it.

Also, as noted above, not all fx loops run at the same ideal signal level, and not all fx do either. Some pedals can handle a very high signal level, some cannot. Some rack fx require a line-level input, some do not.

 

[newbold]

the gear that likes line level more is best through an effects loop (usually mod, delay, rev, sampling)
the gear that likes instrument level more is best before the preamp (drive, distortion, boost)

 

[GreyBeard]

As soon as my Shuttle 6.0 comes it will be racked, I ordered the rack kit with the amp.

 

[JimmyM]

Gun to my head, I can't tell the difference between effects in line and effects in the amp's loop. I just run them in line usually, although if you have a blendable loop, it's a cool way of blending clean and dirty without splitting your signal.

 

[Visirale]

Because their mommies wanted them to be like all the other amps.

 

[ibnzneksrul]

Effects send can also double as a handy preamp out.

Effects return can be used as a handy power amp in.

 

[SteveC]

Good points. Never mind.