Let’s Talk Amp Effects Loops

When I had tube amps, I was a loop guy. Even bought a Fryette PS to add a loop to my HXDA combo (what?!?). Worked great.

My 3rd Power CSR effect loop was tube buffered and was the best I had ever hear (er, the lawyers insist on noting the very limited sample size disclaimer here). My H9 sounded fantastic through it.

I’ve never used dirt or boost pedals. I’m boring that way :rolleyes:

Now I have a toaster (Kemper) and it’s loop is great too ;)
 
Loops. A necessary evil. They can be a pain. I prefer to roll with wet/dry setup. When I was the only guitar player, that was my setup. 2 guitar players- it just makes everything a bigger pain so I switched to using the loop. I’ve always run 4CM with just my verb/delay in the loop or wet side.

Les, I get your preference too. I have an amp I run primarily clean with everything out front. The benefit of loops, for example, are all the crazy ambient FX on the H9...those can get messy and unusable with high gain. At least limited in how you can adjust them if using in front of a distorted amp. I use a boss Es-8 so I can set up programs to use with or without loop depending on the amp. Some stuff on the H9, like an octave down effect, I’ll move the H9 out of the loop and use it in front of the high gain channel because I like the sound better. Other FX, lots of the space time stuff, if I want to use with high gain, it’s gotta be in the loop if you want to hear notes cleanly without getting smeared all over the place.
 
vchizzle said:
Loops. A necessary evil. They can be a pain. I prefer to roll with wet/dry setup. When I was the only guitar player, that was my setup. 2 guitar players- it just makes everything a bigger pain so I switched to using the loop. I’ve always run 4CM with just my verb/delay in the loop or wet side.

Les, I get your preference too. I have an amp I run primarily clean with everything out front. The benefit of loops, for example, are all the crazy ambient FX on the H9...those can get messy and unusable with high gain. At least limited in how you can adjust them if using in front of a distorted amp. I use a boss Es-8 so I can set up programs to use with or without loop depending on the amp. Some stuff on the H9, like an octave down effect, I’ll move the H9 out of the loop and use it in front of the high gain channel because I like the sound better. Other FX, lots of the space time stuff, if I want to use with high gain, it’s gotta be in the loop if you want to hear notes cleanly without getting smeared all over the place.
Click to expand...

The higher the gain, no doubt the more ya need a loop. Not being a high gain player, my life is pretty simple, I guess! ;)

WA Paul said:
Now I have a toaster (Kemper)...
Click to expand...

“Les, were you going to say something about Kempers? You have that ‘I just discovered the steak I was planning to grill was in fact very old cheese’ look on your face.”

“It’s because I bit through my tongue and it’s bleeding into my throat.”

“”Want me to call 911?”

“It it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“Anything else I can do to help?”

“Yeah, I have a Kemper Zerstörer in my storage room, if you wouldn’t mind taking it to WA Paul’s...”
 
LSchefman said:
The higher the gain, no doubt the more ya need a loop. Not being a high gain player, my life is pretty simple, I guess! ;)



“Les, were you going to say something about Kempers? You have that ‘I just discovered the steak I was planning to grill was in fact very old cheese’ look on your face.”

“It’s because I bit through my tongue and it’s bleeding into my throat.”

“”Want me to call 911?”

“It it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“Anything else I can do to help?”

“Yeah, I have a Kemper Zerstörer in my storage room, if you wouldn’t mind taking it to WA Paul’s...”
Click to expand...
Mmmm.. beef for dinner! :)
 
Tried them, they have their place, but I don't like them

I just bought an old single channel Orange with no loop and I am in my happy place.

I prefer the murky depths of a reverb or delay in front of a driven amp.
 
JJJ said:
Tried them, they have their place, but I don't like them

I just bought an old single channel Orange with no loop and I am in my happy place.

I prefer the murky depths of a reverb or delay in front of a driven amp.
Click to expand...

Your happy place is a lot like mine! Tell us more about the amp?
 
I just grabbed two tube rigs. The first is a brand new Bad Cat Cub IV 15R combo. The loop is AMAZING. I'm running a Strymon Flint through the loop and it sounds like the trem and reverb are a part of the amp. The second is a 2005 Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R head with a matching 1x12 cab. Killer amp, but HORRIFIC loop. Anything I run through there destroys the tone. I'm perplexed. I have never heard a loop so bad in my life. It has send/return knobs, and no matter how I position them the tone sucks. Remove anything from the loop and the amp screams. Weird.

I'm used to Rivera loops. Those are amazing. I'm shocked that the Hot Cat loop is horrible for such a nice PTP, hand-wired amp. There is a tube for the loop inside the chasis, maybe it'll be bettet if I change that tube....
 
markd21 said:
I just grabbed two tube rigs. The first is a brand new Bad Cat Cub IV 15R combo. The loop is AMAZING. I'm running a Strymon Flint through the loop and it sounds like the trem and reverb are a part of the amp. The second is a 2005 Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R head with a matching 1x12 cab. Killer amp, but HORRIFIC loop. Anything I run through there destroys the tone. I'm perplexed. I have never heard a loop so bad in my life. It has send/return knobs, and no matter how I position them the tone sucks. Remove anything from the loop and the amp screams. Weird.

I'm used to Rivera loops. Those are amazing. I'm shocked that the Hot Cat loop is horrible for such a nice PTP, hand-wired amp. There is a tube for the loop inside the chasis, maybe it'll be bettet if I change that tube....
Click to expand...

I had a Hot Cat 30 of about that era, maybe a year or two earlier; I was still using rack effects, and loops; the loop sounded fine, no issues. I’d guess a 14 year old amp might need a little tweak here or there.
 
I use them a lot, mostly because I like the sound of modulation and delay after the gain stages. I'm sure there's some sort of compromise, but I've made it work for me and the sounds I'm after with my gear. Hence, my Frigidaire rack system and HX/DA modded with an effects loop.
 
LSchefman said:
I had a Hot Cat 30 of about that era, maybe a year or two earlier; I was still using rack effects, and loops; the loop sounded fine, no issues. I’d guess a 14 year old amp might need a little tweak here or there.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I'll swap out that tube for the loop and see what happens. With the Hot Cat, I am ok without the loop, I am using that amp more for drier tones anyway. It's the Cub IV, with the EF86 input, that "needs" the effects. Having the trem and reverb (the amp has built in 'verb, but I like the Strymon reverb better) really hammers home the 60's vibe I am going for with that amp.
 
In the first year of owning the Kemper, the Flint went into the loop. Kemper still doesn’t do a good harmonic trem, IMO and that Flint is insane! For my sound, with certain amps - including the Kemper - I need trem and Reverb thru the loop.
gig9-2017-1.jpg
 
Boogie said:
In the first year of owning the Kemper, the Flint went into the loop. Kemper still doesn’t do a good harmonic trem, IMO and that Flint is insane! For my sound, with certain amps - including the Kemper - I need trem and Reverb thru the loop.
gig9-2017-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Du brauchst mein Kemperzerstörer, mein Freund.
 
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