Jeff's Tips - 8. Hooking Up Effects Pedals

Learn about hooking up a pedal board and how to use an effects loop on your guitar amp.

[@funkeety]

This is until now, THE BEST EFFECTS LOOP TUTORIAL ON KZbin!!!

[@GamezHere]

Finally a good educated and short video of how send and return work, Thank You Jeff!!!! Keep rocking man!

[@TRNFloyd]

this video cleared up a lot of questions i was having about effects looping. ive never really tried messing with looping before due to lack of pedals, but ive always been curious. ty =]

[@alvarez1284]

I personally have all my modulation (chorus, flanger, phaser, etc), delay, reverb and noise gate pedals on the effects loop. Then the tuner goes first in my chain, then the compressor, wah, overdrive-distortion or any gain pedal. Now on booster pedals, at first I use to have my booster in front of the amp, cause it pushes the tubes and it sound killer, but now I have an EQ right beside my booster on the effects loop and I love it this way. Its a bit louder this way and the eq helps with leadtone

[@joshlt2002]

im planning on getting an amp with an fx loop soon so this really helped me out cause i didnt know that you dont put gain related fx through it so i'm glad i found out

[@rhanzlikusaf]

This was really helpful as someone just getting into pedals and effects. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.

[@bassman3834]

I'm in agreement with all the positive comments stated here. Excellent job of explaining the chain of signals. Maybe someone could reply back as to where my expression pedal would be and to include my wah pedal. This is the first of many sites that really have helped me to achieve what I've been confused on for a long time. Thank you...

[@MORGANIist]

I think this is the best explanation of pedal board and connections for dummies like me who have been playing for years but lost in the technological developments. When I purchased my pedal board I hadn't realised that you have to buy "patch cables" from each pedal to the next. Also in the video it was not made clear whether you don't attach distortion pedals through the effects loop. How can this be done?

[@medicinalxtrichomes]

They do different things. 1. A noise gate in-front will stop noise from your guitar. So you can make quick stops and transitions while playing without hearing the feedback from your pickups/guitar 2. A noise gate in the loop will kill the hum of the amp. So this is for high gain amps etc. Hope this helps!

[@hunterjumper5892]

Super clear, concise and helpful video. U demystified this for me. Thank you.

[@webmasterman]

I'm sorry to say that I am not a tech guy so I can only tell you this the effects loop works after the input and before the out put so your effects signal comes in somewhere in the middle of the amp. Because of where it comes in it will cause the effect to be amplified in a different way. Finally your distortion will remain on when the the effects loop is engaged so don't worry about that.

[@anyday82]

very very very good video. Excellent A+ I didn't understand FX loops before but now I'm ready to be a sound engineer.

[@Ematched]

@crisis610 The best pedals to start with are overdrive/distortion on top of the amps drive, so you can learn to add layers of dirt for soloing, etc. Then get a wah and a vibe pedal of some kind. They will help you start thinking about timing and using effects to add color. Delay, flange, octave, and fuzz are very specialized effects, so you want to build up to them.

[@VayleGW]

the way I learned stuff is: tuner>tone modifiers (eq, wah etc)>distortion>pitch shifters>delay/reverb, so when you use the distortion of your amp, you first put in the tuner, then tone modifiers, then comes the amp distortion (pre amp), then your pitch shifters, then delay/reverb (if this isnt in your amp yet) and then it will go to the post amp...

[@1pspgofan]

thanks a lot im starting to use pedals now and really wanted to know what to do especially with the effects loop. thanks !!

[@ashkariuk]

An important thing to know, is whether the loop you are using is parallel (usually has the "mix" control) or serial, as that will have a big big effect on what you end up with. I don't suggest putting dynamics fx (compressor/eq/noise gate etc) in these [parallel/mix] kinds of loops, as they alter the sound permenantly and the blended version you end up with often sounds nasty or pointless in the case of gates and eq. Personally, i go: Gain -> Dynamics (serial) -> fx (parallel)

[@metalguitarist11]

thanks so much! works like a charm! always wondered how to set up my effects loop.

[@webmasterman]

A general rule is to think about which pedals have the most gain\distortion. Once you have thought this through put those with the most gain at the end of your effects chain. Last but not least keep in mind there are no rules,so set your pedals up in every possible order until you find a sound you love.

[@GregoMorgan]

@Reflix91 With a parallel loop, some of your signal will go directly from the pre-amp to the power-amp when with a series loop, all of what's coming out of the pre-amp will go through your effects processors and then to the power-amp. With a parallel loop you'll have a "dry-wet" knob on your amp that allows you to choose the amount of signal that goes through your effects processors.

[@_an_Amateur_Astro_Photographer]

Good job mate, some people want to know the basics, maybe they got a new amp with a FX loop. Good on you for spending some time, from Ray down in Sydney Australia.

[@XESexperience]

Thanks....this was so simple and good to understand.

[@78tag]

I;m sure there are a lot of people like me that listen to this stuff thru earphones. How about turning down the vol on your intro/outro - please. You just blew out my ears!

[@webmasterman]

A smart man would start with his earphone volume turned down when clicking on a video.

[@78tag]

A inconsiderate man doesn't care that he is making too much noise. I thought you might accept constructive criticism but obviously you don't care that your intro is five times louder the other sites.

[@webmasterman]

Sorry you don't like how we made the video. If you'll notice the vid has been posted since 2008. No one but you seems to have a problem with it. You can't just "turn it down". The video has to be re-edited, re-rendered and re-posted to do that. Sorry, it's just not worth it.

[@Conman208]

@78tag no joke bro, turn your own headphones down, webmasterman isn't here to make sure you don't blow out your eardrums, he is here to explain stuff. The intro isn't even that loud.

[@LanceSummer]

i got a tubescreamer ts9 and it totally adds that edge you need to the high end for solos and stuff like that. I'm thinkin about tradin it for an 808

[@webmasterman]

Not necessarily. You definitely can screw up your sound by not putting any thought into it. But lots of factors are involved: Mixing time affecting pedals with distortion pedals, the order of the pedals, are they buffered or not, is there a compressor in the chain, how long are the cables, are the pedals sharing too little power, failing to use the guitar volume control properly, amp has master volume or not, etc. That's why it takes a long time to get it right.

[@88mpny]

@fromthenorthwest No. the main advantage is that when you go through the effects loop it allows the amp to maintain it's best tone possible by using the correct signal path. When an amp doesn't have an effects loop and you plug straight in to it it won't produce the same tone as the same amp with an effects loop.

[@webmasterman]

Thanks for your input rodrigo and thanks for watching my back. In a undertaking like this I can't remember everything.

[@MarcelGrebMusic]

thank you so much!!! i guess a beginner could understand your easy explain! i'm not a beginner but now i know how to plug my pedals. thank u so much man!:P

[@a4ch1l]

Actually, a overdrive pedal in the effects loop works great as a boost. Turn the gain down and the volume up a bit, adjust the tone and you have a boost pedal. The Keely modded Boss Blues Driver works GREAT for this!

[@Lewiswayne0930]

you are right i hook my dd3 throu the effect loop and its sound so much better thanks for the tip.

[@Crispy9619]

The general order is that Wah goes first, Distortion and then Vibe last (all swirly and delay stuff last). You want to swirl your distortion, not distort you swirl (could be a cool sound though). The volume could go either first or last, depending on what sound your going for.

[@ed0985587]

Explained very well. Thanks for posting!

[@vicpnut1]

Feel so stupid ....lol I reversed my board current and was stumped ,and pissed..... I see why this older vid is still near the top of the search . Quick common sense reminder that we all (or maybe just me) need every now and then ....also solid info

[@webmasterman]

I am not sure but I don't believe that the tuner or wah are traditionally placed in the effects loop but you may be correct and I'm going to try it. Tuners are usually not adding or taking tone away from the input and the wah will be reduced to a very minimal sound I have tried that before and it seems to wah much less than if you put it in the front of the amp. Also it is important to say while there is theory of pedal order try as many things as you can you may find cool new sounds.

[@thenoiseking]

This video was nice and simple. Thanks, it really helped me out. :)

[@hifrets]

Excellent job.Simple and helpful. Thanx.

[@webmasterman]

Chili it depends on your application as to going in the front or the back. If you are using distortion effects I'd for sure go in through the front with a clean tone. If you are using amp distortion which is what I prefer, and using effects like delay, chorus, flange, etc. I'd go through the loop. Long story short trial and error will get you where you want to be. Thanks for your interest.

[@richardv.582]

many thnx..very well explained. I have a Boss es 5 switcher ,and now at least I have a blueprint to work from.

[@PhilEmanS]

very greatly explained, now i get it really, thx so much

[@chimchimlane]

I run my distortion clean boost in my loop, ahead of my chorus and delay. I do everything he said not to and my tone kills. I like the fact that my distortion blows up the other effects. I can also adjust the balance of effects to amp & I generally keep the effected signal low.

[@kotnbronson]

That was very-very helpful!thanks!!

[@EWTMP]

FINALLY a video that was helpfull

[@thinweasel1]

I like how you explained this

[@TS-nb9ko]

That video was very helpful thanks alot

[@webmasterman]

Yes you can and should use the loop and the front of your amp at the same time. Please don't quote me on this since I am not a tech guy all questions about what your amp can do should be in the users guide or with customer service of the company who makes the amp.

[@griffinmpable]

@kaskas55 ahhhh glad to see others like the rp units. got a rp 300a myself. try the rp 90 in the loop and the distortion to the front of the amp

[@griffinmpable]

@joho1701 break your signal. i run my dirt into the front and the delay, flange, and reverb in the effects loop. something that was like a revelation to me was, just because theyre all on the same board doesnt mean they need to be going to the same place. so, on the left side of the board put you gain pedals and run your guitar straight into them. then on the right side of the board group your "looped" effects and run them to the amp.

[@griffinmpable]

@RigorMortis203 personally, i would keep the metal wah and maybe the slow motion out of the loop. try out different combos though. only learn till you try

[@webmasterman]

A reverb pedal should work just fine in the loop. A compressor pedal usually goes first so that it will compress the basic signal going into the chain . If you were to put it later in the chain the signal may become overly driven thus the compression would not be able to keep up and compress.

[@djsmartmonkey]

thanks Jeff great video a lot of help to me

[@lando885]

FX Loop makes it so you can put your effects after you on-board distortion. That is its function. If you have a clean amp, and use stomp boxes for distortion, you don't need a XF Loop. And Huyiy is right about his sequence; it is the generally accepted rule (volume pedal, tuner, gain based pedals, modulation, volume/level (tremolo), then echo and time based (delay reverb). So following this rule,I would only put octave, flange, delay, ect. in FX loop cuz they r after distortion/gain in line.

[@webmasterman]

LOL Another for the books thanks for checking me out.

[@dwill1970]

great video thanks my friend

[@webmasterman]

As you folks say, "No worries, mate". Glad to hear from ya.

[@ljl787]

That Mesa is the great place to start.

[@Jbsantos54]

Very nice i learned a lot👍

[@webmasterman]

Long story short the most important thing I could ever tell anyone interested in the ART OF MUSIC is there are no rules try anything and everything and decide if you like the result. With that said explore away and see what you find. You just might stumble onto something new a refreshing. Good Luck

[@griffinmpable]

@DiscoverRicky2008 got an rp300a myself. try guitar to ds1 to amp and then the other two in the loop. just swap those two around to see what sounds better

[@FUNKSTER67]

Cheers mate, i'm a noob and this really explained alot to me. As for the haters.........get out of your house once in a while.

[@LaKuPuLa]

to troubleshoot your guitar's sound, you should check if it has strings properly installed

[@razormusik]

Have you ever tried the wah post-distortion? It can sound pretty cool when done right

[@sustayne]

@dangle66 Definitely!!! That is the best way to go. If you are not confident with an FX loop, just put your distortion before ALL of your other effects. It is the only way that it really makes an sonic sense.

[@jerseystringer]

I've always used distortion/overdrive pedals in front. Compressors and distortion boxes in the loop have always created uncontrollable feedback in my experience. I'm sure there's a way to make it work, but loops are really designed for line-level effects, aren't they?

[@mixc8]

Excellent! Can you please explain to me how to run the pedal board through the aux sends on my mixer board?

[@jesusofsuburbia57]

@TheBJKiD wah, tuner, compressor, ocd, volume pedal, delay. put noise gate right after your noisiest pedal.

[@wileypayote]

I'm really confused. Another KZbin post suggested starting with your wag then compressor, then tube driver, then any blues it metal pedals and then and EQ, and all of your chorus, delay and octaver pedals last. I guess there's no right way huh? Just have to play around with what sounds best for your playing style and expectations? What is better to use, individual batteries for all of your pedals it a main peer supply booster?

[@jakebailey175]

Great video thanks so much

[@crushingoverdrive]

I run 9 effects similtaniously into the front of my amp like a boss!

[@jasonism123]

hey, when you said the distortion should come last from the chain, did you mean, from the guitar? e.g. guitar-chorus-delay-phaser-distortion-amplifier-- something like this? or the other way around? thanks, this was very informative.

[@e4g1e1]

Distortion or Overdrive I have found is best to put before Delay or Reverb otherwise the delay seems to be distorted when it repeats... If that made sense... >.>

[@jasontheogre]

@Metallicafan13 the gain pdl's out should be hooked to the rc20's in. having the gain pdl put after the looper sends the loops crashing through it. having gain first puts the lead parts into the looper to be processed exactly the same as ne thing else. the rc 20xl should be at the end of ne effects loop if you wanna record all the fx tht you play with. its all about the signal moving forward and the way tht u allow the fx to run into eachother in the line. gain is an employee of the looper lol

[@6672rock]

So as a general rule of thumb, is there a preferred way to arrange the pedals? The guy in the video recommended putting a distortion box last, so does it matter what order the other pedals are in, so long as they're before the distortion? What about wah, volume and Dunlop Rotovibe pedals? Where are they in relation to the distortion box?

[@Dayglowvista]

Interesting how much this guy uses the glottal stop. Is this common in the states now?

[@FatsOmak]

Any guitar store will have "pedal patch cables". You can get real close with "Effects Pedal Couplers" Straight or offset to accommodate different brands. . Search Google images to see what I mean.

[@jefflee4001]

My opinion differs. Your logic about the effect loop is correct but inconsistent with comments about when a distortion pedal should happen. I think the distortion pedal should come *early* in the chain for 3 reasons--even right after the guitar itself in simple situations: (1) I've tried it both ways many times. (2) I believe you are thinking backwards. For an overdriven sound, the distorted signal is the "basic voice" to which effects are added (later!). Think about it. The *natural* musical situation where the *environment* adds the effect is just a basic tube amp cranked, which then echoes, bounces of walls and so forth creating "delay" and "reverb". Most effects are imitating an environment (like a music hall) for the main overdriven signal which should already have been created. The basic voice for an overdriven sound like a screaming solo, is the overdriven sound itself to which then experiences effects just like adding effect a voice. That's the voice box creates the character of the basic sound, gritty or sweet or whatever...as it were. I think you are conceptualizing things backwards. (3) The logic is exactly I give is exactly why we use an effect loop in the first place; the amp puts its own distortion and then that is modified just like if a singer made his or her voice "gritty" the effect are added on to that. I would certainly add effects after my vocal chords had added that "vocal overdrive" and not just because I have no choice. Consider delay for example; you want to repeat or delay the perfect screaming sound which has to have already be produced. The right sound has to get set first so that is what gets delayed or echoed. Basically, Time based effects should come last right before that amp (or even after if you have a studio with a reverb chamber". Distorting the output of a reverb pedal is especially crappy so reverb should come last, you can even let your amp do the reverb (which makes the same point again: the reverb would happen after the distortion in the amps own design after all)

[@webmasterman]

This site is for people who want to help each other. If you don't have anything constructive to add, then please don't participate. The world has enough know-it-alls.

[@audioa41]

also make sure your plugs are in the right holes i've mixed my input and tap before and it killed my signal and I couldn't hear anything . . . took me a while to figure out

[@fromthenorthwest]

So is the main advantage of an effects loop that you can plug the guitar straight into the amp, rather than into pedals?

[@andrewmoore6235]

Great video! I do, however, have a question. If I were to use a pedal that is also a preamp (Tech 21 Sansamp bass driver), would I run my bass directly to the Sansamp, and then from the sansamp to the amplifier head? Or would I go from my bass to the amplifier, and include the Sansamp in the effects loop? The reason I ask is because I am unsure if all of the rules mentioned in the video are the same for a pedal that is also a preamp, and not just an effect. Thanks in advance for your help!

[@likethehotels]

True, but there's an ever-growing amount of musician's who don't just play the guitar. They play the whole rig. I don't consider myself that great of a guitar player alone, but with pedals I make sounds that make me fill a completely different need in the band. (Look at Tom Morello! Granted, he has pure guitar skill, but a lot of his songs are impossible without those effects.)

[@slashnpraise]

it should go as such: guitar, distortion/over-drive, wah, flanger/chorus, delays, reverb, whammy pedal, loopers/recording pedal.

[@Herm1963]

Are you saying to put the distortion last if you are using it in the effects loop, or in any configuration? Your explaination makes sense to put it last, but every other video I have seen says to have the distortion right after the compressor and before modulation pedals. Confused!!

[@brownbigb]

@webmasterman wrong. putting the pedals with the most gain/distortion at the end of the chain, after the delay in this case, would give undesirable results.

[@bobholland5302]

Should you use the overdrive pedal in front of the amp to drive the preamp tubes and the rest of the non distortion effects in the effects loop?

[@evilradist]

Thank YOU!

[@manchiscap]

If the chain consist in analog true bypass pedals the order or the pedals will not affect the overall sound.

[@_J3RK_]

Haha he made that so simple I was watching other FX loop videos just cracking up how somebody can make something so simple so confusing and complicated.

[@XD4nNyX1]

I officially declare that the new Meme.

[@onemanzone727]

Thanks !

[@chilichad]

great info..I have a boss me 70, would I loop it the same way, or just plug in the input and run on clean channel? Thanks

[@BASSMASTA374JS]

I LOVE THIS. use the "wire" HEY I KNOW WHAT THAT IS!!

[@medicinalxtrichomes]

" Have fun turning knobs" lawlz

[@JCHernandezMusic]

i played for 2 years before using any kind of pedals. Honestly all i need would be a distortion, delay, wah and noise reduction pedal. Maybe a chorus pedal. there is no need for pedal boards with 10 freakin pedals. Its all about the way you play.

[@propheticrain-maker1486]

Thanks!

[@izzman007]

Where would a tuner generally be placed? Would it go in the effects loop?

[@sbrave]

@Ladera1017 I have the Vodoo Pedal Power 2, and it powers all my BOSS pedals and my Line 6 MM4. It can also do the Cry Baby wah. Think I paid $160? It does 8 pedals, 2 of which can be the Line 6 battery hogs.

[@randalltomes]

For a ernie ball stereo volume pedal, One side going to a clean amp the other to one that barks. What do you use to split the signal between your guitar and the stereo volume pedal? The pedal is expecting 2 in and returning 2 out.

[@Jeffrey9In4Chains]

ok so correct me if I'm wrong cause I'm very confused. You would basically connect the pedal effects loop to the back of the amp head, and connect the guitar to the front input like you normally would if you didn't have any pedals and that should work?

[@aaronserrano3580]

My question is once you have ur pedal set up u say u need to have all the pedals turn on to get the signal through. So what if u have a digital delay and u don't wanna use that effect at the moment when u turn it off will that kill your signal?

[@choobr549]

If I use the effects loop for my non-distortion pedals, then how will I be able to invoke, say a tremolo that is in the effects loop, but my ts9 is straight into the front of the amp? Thank you for your help in this.

[@AdamDodson]

can someone please explain to me the purpose of doing this: putting a noise suppressor in your effects loop and another noise suppressor in your guitar path? What exactly does this do? Thanks to whoever can help me out! :)