Backstage: Why You Need to Use the 4 Cable Method

On this episode of Temple Backstage we talk about leveling up your setup with the four cable method. We look into why some signal paths give unwanted results and how the four cable method might be the perfect solution for your muddy tone.
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#FourCableMethod #4cablemethod #templeboard #templeboards #pedalboard #pedalboards #fxloop #effectsloop #effectspedals #guitarpedals #templeaudio

[@outernationalstudios]

These little units for your pedalboard ins ans outs are the greatest thing ever!!! It makes running cables from my board so much neater. I mount it right next to the temple iec mount plate that i bought as well so now all my cables run together!

[@hasansalameh1170]

What a great video! Thank you

[@davidshankle7359]

you guys are simply the best and are the way to go love all the mods thanks for having me be a new artist and part of the team.

[@whiterabbit4479]

Excellent, simple, and clear. Thank you.

[@templeboards]

Glad it was helpful!

[@noveltycrusade]

Good rundown 👍

[@gwiongriffiths6540]

Such a great device! Massive timesaver and stops wear and tear on pedal jack inputs. Awesome!

[@templeboards]

Thanks!

[@megaBredman]

Amazin!!, thanks!!!

[@thelightstillshines2476]

That's beautiful

[@officialpoa3171]

*Soon as he got to the part with the buffers, Im like "OhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHH"*

[@sebastianriveros3046]

Loved the fact about the Shoegaze band! ahahaaha

[@nicholasrobins2835]

When will you your stuff be available in Australia again! Given me one store that has stock!

[@jcullennow]

I’ve had pedalboards in the past but I’ve been out of the game for a while. I just bought my first Temple board and I never ever heard of a four cable method. This was so informative, makes perfect sense, and now I know I need to update to four cables. Question: does the V2 require its own power source? It didn’t look like it from the video, but I wanted to double check. Thanks!

[@templeboards]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, the 4X Pro V2 requires 9V power just like a pedal.

[@andrewsinclair7940]

Would I be correct in assuming that with this unit I could ditch any 4CM gate or NS on my board and go with a simple I/O unit to gate any ungodly hi-gain amp squeal? If so, this would make going from a 5150 to a Dumble style amp without rerouting everything so convenient.

[@laszloszabo6952]

I appreciate the info. You didn't elaborate on a stereo setup.

[@templeboards]

The 4X MOD Pro V2 is intended for use with a mono setup with FX loop. You could also use it for a setup with mono in, stereo out (but not with FX loop). There’s so many options for routing your signal we’d need to cover the plethora of stereo options in a different video.

[@bcain5823]

I'm currently using a Pod Go with an external amp and 2-cable method. Likewise the Pod Go is designed to allow some effects before and after the preamp using the 4-cable method. I haven't tried the 4-cable method (yet) but am trying to decide the advantage of running effects before and after the preamp. What effects would you recommend and at what stage?

[@templeboards]

In general I'd put compressors, pitch shifters, boosts, and drives into the front of the amp. Modulations (chorus, tremolo, phaser, etc), delays, and reverbs go in the effects loop. This is the "standard and safe" approach, but have fun experimenting! Eddie Van Halen broke rules putting his phaser in front of his cranked Marshall and nobody complained.

[@Vander_berg]

How about a "3 cable" method with an effects unit (i.e. Boss GT-1)? Would go like this... Plug guitar into the amplifier (cable 1) and then from amplifier fx "send" go into the input on GT-1 (cable 2) and then from mono output on GT-1 into amplifier fx "return" (cable 3)? Technically the GT-1 doesn't have an effects unit... but is that not a an effects loop of sorts? I would just be using this for delay and chorus effects pretty much. I have a great amplifier (6505+) and just want to add some basic effects.

[@templeboards]

In a nutshell: the 4X Pro has two inputs and two outputs that you can use however you need. You’ll just need to disable the AUTO LOOP functionality.

[@Thompsongast]

I’d love to have one of these, but I can’t find a supplier that ships to the Netherlands. When can we expect to order these around here? The V1’s are available, but this one seems rare.

[@templeboards]

I'd recommend you contact Musifacts (our European distributor) about locating a store with stock near your. www.musifacts.eu

[@danbegelman]

Question: Sometimes I will be playing out of an amp with effects loop, and sometimes not (vintage Marshall, Fender, etc.) Is there a way to set up a pedal board where I can use the 4 cable method, sending some effects to the loop and some straight into the amp front end, and then also have all pedals going into the front end for an amp without an effects loop, without having to rewire the pedal chain to accommodate these two options? Thanks, Dan

[@templeboards]

Yes, the AUTO LOOP feature on the 4XMOD Pro V2 is for the exact situation you just described!: www.templeaudio.com/4x-mod-pro-v2

[@danbegelman]

I'll check this out thank you, Dan 😃

[@bumsuckaduck]

Is there a video that details the AMP-MOD 100W?

[@templeboards]

We'll definitely be providing more details/videos on the AMP MOD in the coming months. Keep posted to our social media and www.templeaudio.com!

[@tcrane8630]

Do u guys do midi adapters? Like this 4 input system?

[@templeboards]

We offer a “Punched Plate” that lets you mount any D-style connector into the side of your Templeboard. We also make a 5-pin MIDI connector so you could mount 3 MIDI connectors in one MOD slot with a Mini Module Punched Plate.

[@thehumblebardmusic]

Can the mod be used two create two separate channels on one board, e.g. an electric guitar pedal train to an amp and one pedal train to a DI for acoustic guitar?

[@templeboards]

The 4X Pro could work for that, yes. You may also want to check out the DI MOD Pro.

[@adownbeatexegete1549]

Can you help me real quick? I just got the latest ISP Decimator X G-String and am trying to use it with my Dirty Tree boost and Line 6 HX Effects all at the same time.

[@templeboards]

Did you get something sorted for this? I haven't personally used a couple of those devices, but you could email us and we could sort out how to use them with our MODs: [e-mail]

[@dinnerbellroad]

was going to completely transition to temple audio board, power supply and specifically the 4x mod. But why the hell can't I find the ac adapter for the cioks power mod? sweetwater sells the power block without the ac adapter, but need the ac adapter for the power supply.

[@templeboards]

There are 2 variations of the Hi5. The Hi5 MOD comes with an AC MOD and a power cable to plug into the wall outlet. The Hi5L comes with Link cables required to link from the previous Hi5 to the next. Please refer to this post that shows what comes with each variation: instagram.com/p/CJb3sxhB-77/ Unfortunately, we're facing some delays surrounding our AC MOD. I can't provide an accurate ETA at this time as to when we'll have more. They're definitely still a product we produce, but will be on pause for a season. Please keep posted to our website and social media. In the meantime, using something like this Strymon unit (www.strymon.net/product/ps-124-replacement-power-adapter-for-ojai-and-ojai-r30/) in conjunction with an IEC MOD would work well to power the Hi5. You could use a Medium Pedal Plate to mount the power brick underneath. Please email us if you have any further questions: [e-mail]

[@vigilantebird8675]

Hey guys, I’ve got a TRS cable for my dual footswitch. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to actually work with the 4xmod. Am I missing something?

[@templeboards]

You're not mussing anything and it should work great. You'll need to make sure you have a TRS cable on both sides of the MOD (ie. if one of the cables is TS then it won't work). If it's still not working, then please send us an email and we'll be happy to further troubleshoot: [e-mail]

[@jamesmoses4066]

My 4X mod pro V2 adds a bunch of unwanted noise when I engage the buffers...

[@templeboards]

Sorry to hear that! Please email us and we’ll figure out a solution asap: [e-mail]

[@oldtimer99]

Does it matter if the pedals in the loop are analog or digital or a mix? Thanks

[@templeboards]

No, it doesn't matter if they're analog or digital. You can play around with putting any pedals in the effects loop. There's no "right" way.

[@hselburn1]

How would the tonex pedal affect the 4 cable method? And what is the name of the unit you make with the buffers? I may need that.

[@themikepadua]

Your Tone-X is effectively your “amp,” so anything you want before your amp goes to the Tone-X’s input. Anything you would want in an amp’s effects loop would be after the Tone-X in the chain. This assumes you’re not using a physical amp, though.

[@templeboards]

What @themikepadua said. If you’re wanting to use the ToneX with other effects then pedals “before the amp” go in front of the ToneX and the ones you want “in the effects loop” would go after the ToneX. If the ToneX had FX loop send/returns like some other modelers then you’d have a few more connection options, but as far as I can tell this would be the best way to do it.

[@mxgr194]

Attention: If you don't have or use an effects loop, you don't need to watch this.

[@Henners_B]

Or if you’re a drummer!

[@kkint1821]

Or if you have half a brain

[@bolliz15]

Could you use this mod for stereo output to amps or amp sims?

[@templeboards]

The 4X MOD Pro V2 is intended for mono but the 4X (non-Pro) will allow you to pass TRS signal through and you could use it for a stereo setup.

[@kkint1821]

It is just setting up an Fxloop, with ads for their products

[@templeboards]

FX loops explained and showing how the products we make could help streamline that setup. Of course we hope artists want to buy our products because it’s the best solution for their needs!

[@kkint1821]

@@templeboards and there it is, "our product is the best solution" calm it down there Paul Reed Smith. There are probably 500 or so FX Loop explained videos, did not need another. This is a straight up click bait Ad

[@templeboards]

We’re confident in our products. That doesn’t necessarily mean our creations are going to be THE best solutions for absolutely every use case, period. I’m simply saying that this compact solution may be the best option for someone’s pedalboard setup. If this video helps someone understand signal chain order and fx loops then that’s great… even if they don’t buy something. We genuinely love music and helping others pursue their best performance.

[@McNathan321]

You say Auto Loop "saves you having to reroute your entire board" when switching from an amp with effects loop to amp without effects loop - except in that situation no rerouting is needed anyway, unless you count plugging a single short patch cable between your board's send and return jacks as "rerouting".

[@templeboards]

Fair. If you set things up right, all you’d need is that short cable. 👍

[@tobiasgerards6889]

🤔 "Promo sm"

[@gentGTR]

This is not what is usually meant by "The Four Cable Method."

[@templeboards]

Could you please elaborate? We will gladly take the feedback.

[@alexforget]

Unless you absolutely need the distrotion from your amp pream this is useless and complicated. There is so many pedals doing the same as the pream of your amp that this make no sense.

[@templeboards]

To each their own! Some people prefer a relatively clean amp with all pedals before it and that’s fine too.

[@coreymineard]

Meh. I’ve been running everything into the front of the amp for years, and I prefer it to other methods.