Valvestate effects loop

Tavernor

Afternoon all!

i know the response I deserve is probably ‘just try it..!’ but I’m not sure when I’ll be back at my place with the VS half stack.

Anywho, if I remember correctly it’s got an effects loop in the back (and effects loop level knob on the front).

Im amassing a decent pedal collection and always gone guitar - pedals - amp.

What are the pros and cons of using the dedicated loop? Should I be? It’s an old vs100 head as mentioned in another thread.

ICBM

You can use the loop for pedals like modulation, EQ and delay. The advantage is that this puts them after the amp's distortion, which gives a very different sound to having them before the distortion - much clearer, and usually more apparently effective. Turning down the mix control on the amp allows you to blend dry signal with the effect, but beware - some pedals have latency or reverse the phase, so you can get a thin, odd sound if the control is not fully up.

Don't ever put a distortion, fuzz, overdrive or amp-preamp type pedal in the loop - it will usually sound bad anyway, and can sometimes make the amp self-oscillate outside the audio range, which will sound even worse and in rare cases can damage the amp. You can run a pedal like this *into* the FX return to bypass the amp's own preamp, as long as it isn't being fed with a signal that comes from the FX send (even via other pedals)... if that makes sense!

Wahs won't cause any harm in the loop but generally don't sound good. Some other pedals have too low headroom to work well in a loop - they will reduce the volume and add unwanted extra distortion, although it also won't do any harm.

Does that help?

Tavernor

It does! Specifically should the big sky and el capistan go through it? Fuzz an looper between guitar and amp?

ICBM

Tavernor said:

It does! Specifically should the big sky and el capistan go through it? Fuzz an looper between guitar and amp?

Big Sky and El Capistan in the loop, definitely. Fuzz in front of the amp, even more definitely...

Where to put the looper depends on what you want to do with it, but in general most people would put it in the loop. That way you can set up a loop with a rhythm sound on the amp, then switch channels and play over it without altering the sound of the loop. Whether before or after the other two depends on how you want to add the reverb and delay to the looped parts.