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Post by briman on Apr 27, 2011 14:43:54 GMT -5
I bought a true bypass Master loop pedal board from ebay today and can't wait to try it out as I have massive tone suck from the front of my amp. I have Boss chorus>Boss GE7>Boss DD3>HolyGrail REV>Boss TU2 in the effect loop of my Competition and out front I have: crybaby wah>Boss Flanger BF3>EVH Phase 90>Boss NS >amp input.
Which ones should I put in the true bypass loop when it arrives? My guess would be Wah, Phase and Noise suppressor and then stick the Flange in the effect loop of amp somewhere? What do you guys recommend? Just wondering if you guys could recommend me advice to save myself the time and hassle of experimenting (plugging unplugging etc etc).
My Master Loop will only have 3 loops and a tuner out.
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Post by DonaldDemon on Apr 27, 2011 22:05:53 GMT -5
You have some notorious tone suckers there. Major ones with terrible buffers are GE-7 and Crybaby Wah. Boss chorus if it's digital (ie CE-5, CH-1 etc) are tone suckers as well as the BF-3 flanger. Here's what I would do with your set up. #1 get the crybaby modded for true bypass or ditch it for a better one that already is. They are the worst killers of good tone. There's a lot of options these days. #2 put the GE-7, Boss chorus and BF-3 in the TB looper. Take the TU-2 out of the efx loop and put it at the end of your chain going into the amp. Putting it in your efx loop means you are trying to tune with all the gain. Not the ideal situation. You want the cleanest signal while you are tuning. I say put it at the end of your chain because it actually has a good buffer and helps for driving the remaining cable to your amp. Actually if it was me, I would ditch all those pedals because there are way better options for not much more cash. The only pedal I like on that list is the DD-3. The rest would be on ebay...but that's just me.  |
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Post by briman on Apr 28, 2011 4:04:15 GMT -5
Thanks a bunch for the help! Is the MXR EVH phase 90 bad for tone suck too? Yeah I am gonna wait and see how it sounds with the True bypass loops and then decide which pedals to buy. I will definetely get a new wah because mine is beat up pretty good anyway.
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Post by sasquatch on Apr 28, 2011 10:06:12 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with the true bypass looper, I basically do the same thing using a Rocktron programmable loop switcher. But, if you want to eliminate tone suck from your pedals... buy a Freyette (used to be VHT) Valvulator. You could have 20+ pedals hooked together on your pedal board and it'll still sound like you're plugged straight into your amp. I run a few pedals out front that aren't routed through the switcher just so I can have access to a few F/X on the quick without having to change patches and also because I use a clean boost, and I wouldn't be caught dead without my Valvulator on my pedal board. All you have to do is A/B your sound with and without the Valvulator and you'll be sold!
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Post by speedemon on Apr 28, 2011 12:27:11 GMT -5
I like the bypass looper too, my setup is pretty close to DD's. My looper has a "tuner out" that routes my signal only to the tuner when that switch is hit. Nifty! Yes, the EVH pedals are tonesuckers. too. I like the GE-7, TU-2 and CE-2, you can have the rest of the boss pedals...
I want to try the valvulator though.
Good luck and have fun!
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Post by DonaldDemon on Apr 28, 2011 15:11:05 GMT -5
I know the old Phase 90’s were terrible tone suckers, not so sure about the EVH versions. As for wah, I always recommend the Budda Budwah. I have been through quite a few and I always like the tone of that one best. No friggin knobs to adjust, just plug in and get a great sound. It’s true bypass too. There’s also MXR/CAE wah which gets good reviews and then you get into high priced boutique stuff like Wilson and RMC. I own a Wilson for my live board and the Budda home only because the Wilson has a built in fuzz friendly buffer to work with germanium fuzzes. True bypass loopers are great and eventually I will convert my set up to run a 6 pedal looper just for ease of switching mostly. Honestly, I have a few pedals that have decent buffers and the rest are true bypass and I have no complaints about tone. I even bought a dedicated buffer/line driver once and it did nothing. I’m sure the VHT Valvulator is nice but it seems like overkill to me. Just remember that you need a good buffer or two somewhere all along the line. The trick is finding pedals that have good buffers or just buy a dedicated buffer. If you have all true bypass that will kill tone too so a buffer is important when using multiple pedals. Here’s an essential read (especially the last section): stinkfoot.se/archives/501 |
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Post by sasquatch on May 1, 2011 12:23:37 GMT -5
Interesting read DD... all the tricky terminology of the various pedal manufacturers out there makes 'em sound a bit like used car salesmen! The Valvulator is a tube driven buffer and also a power supply for up to eight pedals. It is a bit pricey, but a night / day difference in your sound with vs. without it. Check out this link, it's basically a guy running a lot of pedals and using a looper to switch the Valvulator in and out of the chain for an A/B comparison. www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Nye17ax28 |
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Post by briman on May 5, 2011 14:52:57 GMT -5
After playing around for days with my new looper....... I've discovered that I actually don't need it. I changed the order of my chain of effects and it sounds amazing now. The difference is I think........ that I took out my Boss EQ since I never used it and also put my EVH Phaser and Boss Flanger in the amps loop. I also put my tuner first in the front of amp. There is no noticeable tone suck now. Wow. I am suprised. So I now have a master looper with 3 loops and tuner out for sale!
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Post by DonaldDemon on May 5, 2011 21:18:23 GMT -5
Interesting read DD... all the tricky terminology of the various pedal manufacturers out there makes 'em sound a bit like used car salesmen! The Valvulator is a tube driven buffer and also a power supply for up to eight pedals. It is a bit pricey, but a night / day difference in your sound with vs. without it. Check out this link, it's basically a guy running a lot of pedals and using a looper to switch the Valvulator in and out of the chain for an A/B comparison. www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Nye17ax28 Cool, it actually sounds like it makes a noticeable difference in that vid. $240 difference, well that's for others to decide. Not to me personally, but I also need much more power requirements for my board so it would be too costly to use for my situation. I have bought dedicated buffers in the past and came to realize it did absolutely nothing for me. I am sure the tube in the VHT helps a bit. |
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Post by DonaldDemon on May 5, 2011 21:22:38 GMT -5
After playing around for days with my new looper....... I've discovered that I actually don't need it. I changed the order of my chain of effects and it sounds amazing now. The difference is I think........ that I took out my Boss EQ since I never used it and also put my EVH Phaser and Boss Flanger in the amps loop. I also put my tuner first in the front of amp. There is no noticeable tone suck now. Wow. I am suprised. So I now have a master looper with 3 loops and tuner out for sale! Nice, the GE-7 is definitely a tone sucking bastard! You still using the crybaby wah? I may go to a TB loop system some day but I am afraid to do all that work and spend the money only to find out what you did, lol. |
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Post by briman on May 6, 2011 4:06:52 GMT -5
Yeah I still have the Wah up front. I put my noise suppressor first and then the wah. Those are the only pedals up front. Everything else is in the loop. I haven't hooked up my tuner yet. Hopefully that won't change anything when I do. I am really surprised. I take my cable out and plug straight into amp and it sounds the same tone wise. Same thing if I disengage the loop on amp. Didn't need the master looper!
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Post by speedemon on May 6, 2011 18:14:26 GMT -5
yes, the tuner? is acting as a buffer for you.
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