Why does the FX Loop make my Axe sound like shite?

M

MattRicketts

Member
Hey guys. Potentially a dumb question here but... whenever I add an FX Loop block into my effects chain the sound quality deteriorates noticeably. When I bypass the FX Loop block the full sound returns.

Sure I'm doing something wrong but struggling to find it. Even tried boosting FX Loop output by 5 dbs but it still sounds weak.

Thanks.
 
Have a Jamman looper in it hooked up in mono. Know there is some tone suck as the pedal is not true bypass but the tone gets ok again when I bypass the FX Block even though the signal is still passing through the looper.

Thanks.
 
35 minute loops (w/ the stereo jamman)

Mine doesn't change the sound too much. Noticeable but not too bad. The thing I don't like it matching levels. I need to really lower levels to make things work ok.
 
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guitarjim said:
Jesus, what do you do, loop the first set so you can sit out the second?:D
Click to expand...

I never thought of that. i should be charging double!

Naw, I usually record about two or three minutes of changes for practicing. i got this looper a while back when the axe looper was really short. Was it 30 seconds?
But I notice the sound degrades a little. From my cables, I think. So, I'm trying to use the onboard looper again. Loop times are a little short, but it's so convenient. you guys started me thinking about this again, and i wonder if the guys at FAS could build a looper in the pc that could run thru the usb connection. Hmmm.
 
where is your output 2 volume set? on the Utility Status screen, how high is the signal going on the meters when you play the loop? sounds like poor gain staging to me.
 
I tried my Jamman in the loop recently and found gain staging was critical. My Jamman has a clip led that helped sort it out. Once dialed in, I couldn't tell much of a difference in loop tone or bypassed, monitored by a CLR.

HTH.
 
Found it guys. Output 2 was set to stereo so it was only feeding half a signal.

Chris, your video on gain staging is awesome and the utility page helped me find what I was doing wrong.

Thanks!
 
MattRicketts said:
Found it guys. Output 2 was set to stereo so it was only feeding half a signal.

Chris, your video on gain staging is awesome and the utility page helped me find what I was doing wrong.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

So if I'm going into the return of an amps effects loop what should this be set to? (mine was set to this but I've already sold off my real amp, could be the reason
I always thought that the FX loop out always sounded kind of shitty unless my real amps power amp was up quite high)
 
kmanick said:
So if I'm going into the return of an amps effects loop what should this be set to? (mine was set to this but I've already sold off my real amp, could be the reason
I always thought that the FX loop out always sounded kind of shitty unless my real amps power amp was up quite high)
Click to expand...

It only matters if the signal in the grid was stereo at that point. If you do want to apply stereo effects (like to record direct in stereo & monitor through amp in mono) the answer depends on exactly what's happening in the preset. In some cases avoiding stereo effects can be a better solution than dealing with it via output mode.
 
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