Let’s Talk Amp Effects Loops

I have played for years with a clean amp and a full assortment of pedals going into the preamp. Just recently I decided that I would take my reverb pedal and put it into the effects loop of my amp. A big improvement especially if I have engaged an OD pedal. Next up, I plan to do the same thing with my delay pedal. The journey continues....& I admit, I embrace new ideas and technologies (example - amp profilers) very cautiously.

Prefer to focus on the music and not so much on the gear.
 
Your happy place is a lot like mine! Tell us more about the amp?

Funny, the or so day after I posted that it died haha. It's still in the shop. Early 2000s AD30 single channel.

I like the old school oranges, they're no bull**** amps. Loud, middy, lots of presence, move a lot of air when you crank them. The gain and master knobs do nothing for a bit then suddenly it's rock n roll time.

I would like to get my hands on one of the original OR heads or a new Matamp one day. These sorts of things seem able to do the swampy ambient thing very well, and with a big muff in front straight into doom territory without a worry. Sounds simple but there are surprisingly few amps around that can do it.
 
Funny, the or so day after I posted that it died haha. It's still in the shop. Early 2000s AD30 single channel.

I like the old school oranges, they're no bull**** amps. Loud, middy, lots of presence, move a lot of air when you crank them. The gain and master knobs do nothing for a bit then suddenly it's rock n roll time.

I would like to get my hands on one of the original OR heads or a new Matamp one day. These sorts of things seem able to do the swampy ambient thing very well, and with a big muff in front straight into doom territory without a worry. Sounds simple but there are surprisingly few amps around that can do it.

I love those AD30s.

You’re right; simple, no BS, a real-deal amplifier with the tone of the gods built right in. Turn it on, crank it up, get the tone, there-it-is-thank-you-very-much!
 
I don’t use effects loops anymore, for two main reasons: 1) stereo, and 2) effects sound better to me after the speaker cabs.

I’m a big sucker for stereo effects ever since I switched. Amps can come and go, but stereo will never leave me. And once I tried using a loadbox with cab IRs and running my effects after, I was smitten with that as well. Guitar speakers naturally lop off high frequencies, and I find I like delays and reverbs better when they have the whole spectrum to work with. Things like shimmer and pitch shifting delays can get a little out-of-hand and have to get hi-cut, but I get to choose where and when.
 
I don’t use effects loops anymore, for two main reasons: 1) stereo, and 2) effects sound better to me after the speaker cabs.

I’m a big sucker for stereo effects ever since I switched. Amps can come and go, but stereo will never leave me. And once I tried using a loadbox with cab IRs and running my effects after, I was smitten with that as well. Guitar speakers naturally lop off high frequencies, and I find I like delays and reverbs better when they have the whole spectrum to work with. Things like shimmer and pitch shifting delays can get a little out-of-hand and have to get hi-cut, but I get to choose where and when.

Interesting that you mention the effects after speakers thing! For a period in the ‘90s I most often recorded straight into the amp, and used effects afterward, though I sometimes used rack effects in the loops, and in front of the amps.

I still often employ effects on an aux send and return on guitar tracks in mixes, usually delays and reverbs. However, I’ll use effects in front of the amps, too, so it’s a combination thing for me, certain effects juiced up in front of the amp, and others in post-production in the mix. It’s not too weird for me to use delays in front of the amp, and additional delay to add a different feel in the mix. I know that sounds kinda weird, but in the right context, it works.
 
Interesting that you mention the effects after speakers thing! For a period in the ‘90s I most often recorded straight into the amp, and used effects afterward, though I sometimes used rack effects in the loops, and in front of the amps.

I still often employ effects on an aux send and return on guitar tracks in mixes, usually delays and reverbs. However, I’ll use effects in front of the amps, too, so it’s a combination thing for me, certain effects juiced up in front of the amp, and others in post-production in the mix. It’s not too weird for me to use delays in front of the amp, and additional delay to add a different feel in the mix. I know that sounds kinda weird, but in the right context, it works.
Yea it can absolutely work. Heard lots of post-rock type examples of big washy sounds that have both. And then there's the simple spring reverb or Echoplex delay into the front as well. That's not a sound I often find myself in, but it totally works.
 
Yea it can absolutely work. Heard lots of post-rock type examples of big washy sounds that have both. And then there's the simple spring reverb or Echoplex delay into the front as well. That's not a sound I often find myself in, but it totally works.

Yup, I use an Echoplex (actually, the Fulltone tube clone).
 
You guys make me laugh. Reece’s Pieces.

If we’re going off-topic, let’s talk Monkey 47 gin. Because candy has too many carbs and that’s what I’m drinking at the moment.

Man, this is good gin. Made in the Black Forest of Germany.
Definitely a much better use of the carb budget!
 
Definitely a much better use of the carb budget!

Gin has 0.00 grams of carbohydrates - that’s why I started exploring good gins! I’ve found a few; Monkey 47 is my favorite, but I also like Hendrick’s, and of course, am still searching hither and yon for interesting types (that’s as opposed to ‘hither and thither’ which may or may not be the same thing ;)).

“Les, you really need to get with the times; you’re into all that Middle English again!”

“Yes, but the question for me always is, ‘Which times?’”
 
Gin has 0.00 grams of carbohydrates - that’s why I started exploring good gins! I’ve found a few; Monkey 47 is my favorite, but I also like Hendrick’s, and of course, am still searching hither and yon for interesting types (that’s as opposed to ‘hither and thither’ which may or may not be the same thing ;)).

“Les, you really need to get with the times; you’re into all that Middle English again!”

“Yes, but the question for me always is, ‘Which times?’”

Since you're always dropping mortality tidbits, you should try a bottle of Death's Door Gin.
 
german gin is $90 a bottle around here, so i make my own in a toilet tank.

Hah!

Yeah, the Monkey 47 is expensive, but worth it if you want a straight-up treat, as opposed to something that’s better in mixed drinks.
 
Since you're always dropping mortality tidbits, you should try a bottle of Death's Door Gin.

Good stuff, not as complex as the one I mentioned; fewer herbs and botanicals. Better in a mixed drink.

I do like the name, though!
 
Back
Top