The Synthesist's Guide to Guitar Pedals 1 // Power, Stereo, & Levels

[@MPrint67]

This has been a topic that I’ve been pretty disappointed with content availability on KZbin. Thank you so much for doing this. I have a hard time not playing any of my synths through at the very least a reverb pedal nowadays. Looking to expand my knowledge with drive, distortion and chorus effects. Was a drummer most of my life so I didn’t bring any knowledge of effects when I started on synths.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, I agree that there wasn't nearly enough coverage. Happy to do it, so much possibility for sound design.

[@35otb]

same bro, nearly no content at all on youtube! 🙏

[@FabioRodrigues-xs8vf]

It's not KZbin's job to try things for you. You can go out and buy a pedal yourself !

[@MPrint67]

@@FabioRodrigues-xs8vf Calm down bro, you’re projecting.

[@FabioRodrigues-xs8vf]

@@MPrint67 what am I projecting? I am sufficiently calm.

[@jjdekay6969]

Nice intro to the series...can't wait for the rest! I would like to add that it is VERY important to double check the output of any wall wart of age or question of origin. I buy a lot of vintage gear and its always good to double check. I check mine every few years whether i need to or not. I have a dozen old wall warts that say one voltage and either put out less or in most cases more and that can wreak havoc on your equipment . I bought a really nice rack mount processor for nothing because the unit was freaking out after being used in certain environments because the wall wart read that it put out 12V.....in reality it was 18.8 v!!!!!!! Take it from an old timer, be smart and get a cheap multi meter and verify your wall warts labels,your gear will thank you!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Good tip! And probably something I should do more often, considering how often I just roll with random old power supplies. trusting the label.

[@GotYourWallet]

Some of the older wall warts I measured show a much higher voltage when not under load. So keep that in mind. You will only measure the actual voltage when the wall wart is already connected to your pedal.

[@jjdekay6969]

@@GotYourWallet degradation of old components under load or not under load is still internal component degradation and warrants scrutiny of said questionable components.

[@patrickhowes5833]

Congrats on starting this series. This episode was super informative, and I'll be excited for each additional episode!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers thank you! I'm very excited to get the next one out

[@Sharpened_Spoon]

The uncontrollable excitement when you introduce the video at 2:37! This is why I love your channel. Feels genuine like a hang-out but has depth way beyond what I could ever utilize.

[@CatFish107]

First pedal I bought was a cheap metal distortion, cause I grew up loving heavy metal, and I wanted my synth to sound mean. Then discovering concept of an octaver blew my mind. Then I picked up an amazon branded compressor to put some kind of limit on my levels. I'd love to learn lots more about using fx with synths!

[@JorbLovesGear]

You're in the right spot, all to come. Cheers

[@MatsueMusic]

How I remember Volts vs Amps: Volts Very Vital. Amp Appreciate Accuracy. Golden age of Syntheziers indeed. Pre-KZbin era, I think I would be lost cause I don't have any synth-head friends to help me learn, manuals don't teach you how to Connect a Zoom Livtrack into a HydraSynth and sync clocks between a deluge and minifreak.....

[@rationalrockstar6514]

Great knowledge. This is a whole world and you are exploring it.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, happy to share!

[@djjava303]

The algorithm did right by me bringing me here! Awesome video and as someone w kids around, I appreciate the synth swell to keep the language clean. Cheers, man

[@JorbLovesGear]

Algorithm did us both right! lol Cheers, watch out for some of the others though, I do openly swear in those, hahaaa

[@TheMarquistador]

Thank you Jorb! Largest hits on my search in this department yielded very overly basic and beginner takes on the subject. You nailed the sweet spot of nuance and technical knowledge along with the wisdom of "just turn it down" much appreciated

[@PabloGarcia-sf7bn]

3 minutes in and I'm all about it! I was given a Baldwin Discoverer 50 awhile back and it just screams bloody murder with the addition of my Electro Harmonix Holy Stain with an expression pedal hooked up in series. The possibilities are sick. Greetings from New Mexico!

[@roryjineffect]

Your narration is soothing, educational, and I am looking forward to the rest of this series.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, really appreciate that. I'm looking forward to it as well!

[@roryjineffect]

@@JorbLovesGear been digging your increased content flow, but the quality is really what has brought me back the past few weeks.

[@JorbLovesGear]

@@roryjineffect 🙏🙏been putting in work, cheers thank you

[@wilsonjaksetic6009]

Yes!! It dropped!! Been looking forward to this one!!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Happy to hear that. I'm happy with it, more to come!

[@brianmadison6623]

You are one of our the most proficient KZbinr I subscribe to. More than that you do such a great job of explaining in a way that makes your subjects understood and approachable by a wife range of consumers. Dude! Stop apologizing for marketing yourself. The more money you make the more we get to listen to you. Hopefully. Love your channel. Thank you for the consistently interesting and useful content.

[@brianmadison6623]

Do you Patreon? I would support your channel for sure.

[@JorbLovesGear]

No patreon yet, but soon! I want to have something to offer, thinking about it a lot. Eventually!

[@_B.C_]

This popped up at just the right time for me. I’m in the process of “pro pedalboarding” my cased synth rig. It uses 9 pedals for 7 synths, a drum machine, a mixer, and a sequencer all going into one case 88key gator piano flight case. I was tired of the rats nest of cables. I hope you get into cable management techniques in a future episode because this can of worms gets messy.

[@JorbLovesGear]

That sounds like a hell of a setup.

[@jnhutchinson]

Possibly the first video I've seen that explains what those little diagrams on power inputs mean. Thanks!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Now you have the power to know which random supplies are useful to you, weild it wisely

[@synthseeker]

Nice job sir, very helpful! I wasn't sure if it was normal that I had to turn one of my synths waaaaay down to keep the pedal from sounding crunchy, and you confirmed for me that I'm not crazy and turning down the synth is the right way to go. Please continue the series!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Glad it helped! That's exactly the sort of thing I wanted to clear up. I sure will!

[@TeftyMeems]

Great vid Jorb!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Ah cheers, nice to see you here! Excited to work on the rest of the series 🙏🙏

[@Somewhere_sometime_somehow]

Enjoyed this, my takeaway is that you do things by trying and listening. Which is what I do... what a relief

[@abnormaniac]

I am really enjoying your content. And I give you props for how you decided to setup you camera/angle/mic . You are not only informative but fun to watch.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏Appreciate all that

[@MrWDLopez]

Thanks for what you do man, really appreciate the time and effort you put into this.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏Future episodes are gonna be killer can't wait

[@Jacob-ur3lh]

Love the video! A good stereo delay/ reverb pedal I use for my Roland Alpha Juno is Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run. Preserving that stereo chorus for me in synths is crucial.

[@HazeAnderson]

I have and love that pedal. I also have the Dispatch Master and, yes, even though it sounds better ... the Avalanche Run has that sweet sweet expression input and yes ... stereo inputs and outputs. I gotta say that I use the Digitech Polara more for stereo reverbs however.

[@leonardoparra2823]

Just subscribed, and I haven't watched the other parts yet. Thanks for putting this together.

[@ronnie_cutmore]

thanks for putting this together. was fun to watch and helped a lot! cheers 🎹🎶

[@zugel]

Very nice info. Thanks. I have started to use a patch bay for my guitar pedals on my synths.

[@nickbalding3185]

Great job! And that BD-2 sounds sick with the minilogue

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers! Unironically, the BD-2 changed my life

[@darkcognitive]

Cheers, answered a few questions I’ve been struggling to find much info on. Subbed!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Happy to , cheers!

[@emmarossignol4445]

Great video! I came at this from the angle of playing guitar first, and you said everything that I was hoping you would say! Excited for the other parts of the series, those should be more unfamiliar ground for me. Also Big Muffs sound real good with synthesizers, I have the Tone Wicker Big Muff and the extra tone options are super useful, also sounds great on drum machines too!

[@HazeAnderson]

get a Fuzz Factory!! xD

[@emmarossignol4445]

@@HazeAnderson For synths? Haven't thought of that before, but that would be crazy!

[@HazeAnderson]

@@emmarossignol4445 YASS! who needs voltage SAG when you have and know how to use a Fuzz Factory!! xD

[@RandomButtonPusher]

While primarily a guitar player, I've been using pedals with my MicroFreak, including delay, ambient/octave reverbs, vibrato, etc., with good results. Great to see the Rubberneck in use and looking forward to future episodes. Subbed.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, appreciate it. Yeah, microfreak really comes alive with even just a delay or a reverb.

[@fffffffffax]

so good, thank you jorb!

[@mikaelsundblad5381]

This is exactly what I wanted to see. Thank you, looking forward to the next episodes. Would also appreciate some personal opinions on what kind of effects you think works the best for synths, and why you would choose to do things with pedals instead of VST:s.

[@JorbLovesGear]

As I go through the individual effect types, I'll try and make recommendations for stuff at a few different price ranges.

[@chfanz]

This video is great and I’m only part way through! Been playing guitar for 30 years and got deeper into pedals over the last 3 years, beginning a slippery slope into synths… I’ve also found alternate uses for stereo pedals I never bought them for, like the EHX pulsar tremolo, can be an effective signal splitter when bypassed. I’m also plenty psyched to see the cs9 here, I bought a vintage one as a guitarist and am now using it on synths and loving it. Looking forward to using it to “stereo-ise” my nymphes when it arrives. Subbed and excited to follow your videos dude!

[@proxibomb4913]

people seldom ever talk about pedals with synths, and even more so with pedals like mxr or boss. i've got a little 'effects area' with like 12 boss pedals and my god just chaining two is enough to create immense sounds, or even stacking w included chorus or distortion on hardware synths! great video dude, as always

[@danielpirone8028]

Six track represent!

[@mcweiser]

This is just what I was lookin' for, thanks homie

[@JorbLovesGear]

Enjoy it fam

[@Tape_Echo_Player]

Looking forward to watching this.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏Hope I deliver!

[@NoirEtBlancVie]

Great work! This was a much needed video on the subject 🤗

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏High key, I can't wait to do the next one

[@SpikesStudio3]

This one time, in the 90's i ran a 909 kick through a boss Metalzone for a whole track and tweaked the shit out of the eq settings on it. Aaah good old hardcore. "Pedals and synths is like peas and carrots." Am i becoming the quirky comment guy? Lol. Cheers bro. Look forward to the rest of the series.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Sounds...heavy. lol Cheers, IM really excited to work on the next ones.

[@gileslambourn5317]

Nice! Look forward to part 2.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Me too lmao

[@LaymensLament]

Eyyy, this is really appreciated. I was looking into pedals but have no good idea about their specificities.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, hope this was helpful!

[@ListeningIsEmptiness]

This content is still fresh and helpful!

[@free2muse]

Really needed this! Thanks!!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏happy to help!

[@pjfossum4378]

Dig the talk about a mixer w/aux channels, this is my preferred setup. Can't wait for the rest of this series!

[@JorbLovesGear]

I'm trying to think of enough for a whole episode about stuff like that, the flexibility of a mixer. Don't quite have enough, but think I can come up with something

[@pjfossum4378]

​@@JorbLovesGear Sounds dope my dude, looking forward to anything/everything! I think the biggest benefit for me is the ability to leave all of my synths plugged into my mixer and have that flexibility of the aux channel(s) to mix in my FX with whatever synth I want or even record the pedals separately. I also like having decent preamps too given that my interface is a bit...budget

[@thejamman555]

Very helpful video, look forward to the next one!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏Cheers, working on more! A few other things in line first, but it is coming

[@alexandrumihaibudes3852]

This comes like one month after I started buying a few of the cheap Behringer clones and trying them out on my few synths and also on the DIY modular it working on since some time.... Really eager to see more of these episodes soon.

[@jonabrinck2905]

Amazing content!! Already looking forward to the next video. Keep up the great work.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏always working on more, cheers

[@mgl5760]

Hey, what're the 3 pedals flashed at the end of this video? (21:00) Particularly curious about the one that says "small studio, big sound".

[@JorbLovesGear]

That's the small sound big sound mini. Bias control on a fet overdrive (I think) Ehx small stone phaser, solid gold fx surf rider reverb

[@mgl5760]

@@JorbLovesGear Thanks. I've been hungry for an all-purpose pedal for my synth that'll turn everything into a super-phat bass tone, like a bass guitar. Any suggestions on a specific pedal? :D

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Nailed it. Looking forward to the next one!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏Honestly me too lol

[@aggressivejazzhands2569]

Hello! My name's AggressiveJazzHands, and I love Jorb. Seriously though, just found your content and I love the depth and detail in which you dive into everything. I also VERY MUCH apprecita the jam breaks. Because what is gear, if not to make music with? Excellent stuff, my guy. I am eternally grateful four your wisdom.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, all of that is very kind. Welcome aboard!

[@3039-m9o]

I have a sequential pro 3 and some pedals, I will watch and try everything you share with us - the examples were nice! I work with simple methods right now, I mean I quit ableton with its thousands possibilities and just use some analog hardware. Just the synth with its midi from a digitakt. There is so much to do with multiple Envelopes, Panning, detuning, pwm, waveshaping, filter stuff, reverbs before and after distortion, delays.. There is so much to discover. I even love my cheap eq pedal because it sounds crappy but can tickle crazy sounds out of the chain...

[@JorbLovesGear]

Well said, there is a ton of depth even in the things that seem simple, relatively speaking.

[@skyreadersociety6183]

after toying around with pedals for quite some time, the level problem made me invest some money in a Eurorack FX rack to have/maintain 'hot' levels. Realize that too low levels take a lot energy out of the sound. However quite a few pedals like strymons can handle line signals.

[@HazeAnderson]

Pretty much all pedals can handle line level signals. I think you are mistaken in the belief that you have to have or maintain "hot" levels. When you actually measure their values with tools, you find that Eurorack is actually TOO hot. You have to ATTENUATE your Eurorack output DOWN to line level.

[@5amJones69]

Gosh knows why you've only just 7k subs. You're so pleasant and informative and entertaining. KEEP AT IT! Or don't. As long as you're happy, dude.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Oh, I will certainly be keeping at it. Cheers, glad to have ya.

[@tedstahl3794]

Considering how much I talk, I think I need to start incorporating jam breaks. It might confuse my colleagues and children, but they will probably appreciate the absurdity. I guess I'll have to walk around with my Deluge. It's battery-powered and has its own speaker. Great job as always, good sir!

[@JorbLovesGear]

😂😅Just pull out the deluge mid-sentence, that would be an excellent way to communicate with people

[@roymitchell5894]

Thank you Jorb! Another great and very informative video.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏Proud of it

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

This is really great information Jorb! Very helpful for new people just getting into pedals. It is indeed very confusing. Center tap polarity, barrel size, voltage, current, etc. requirements are often all over the place from one unit to the next. A dedicated PSU like your voodoo is a very worthy investment. I look forward to part two!

[@HazeAnderson]

Just remember that the Voodoo is not a PSU and is a power distribution unit that requires its own PSU. It is still your responsibility to ensure the correct polarity, voltage and current requirements are met when using them. Is it really that much more confusing than using your synthesizers? Guitars players have no problem understanding this stuff ... and I am just a drummer! xD

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

​@@HazeAnderson Never owned a voodoo so don't trust me! ...still think it was a great video

[@HazeAnderson]

@@SacSynths_Jack_Z I wish Jorb would do more research ... there is a lot he left out.

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

@@HazeAnderson Pedantic much? There's a ton of great info in this video... He also said it is a series (i.e. there's more info to come), so relax.

[@HazeAnderson]

@@SacSynths_Jack_Z No he is moving on from this specific topic (Power, Stereo, & Levels). You don't know what you don't know ... if you want to dismiss that as simply being pedantic then ask yourself this --- what DID Jorb leave out?

[@anterix1999]

Fantastic! Thank you!

[@apislapis]

Another great video Jorb. Looking forward to the next episode already. My first synth was a CZ-1000 and then my next synths SH-101, MC-202 & Pro-One none of them had in built FX either, probably because they were at the budget end of the market. I guess you could say I learnt the necessity of external FX the hard way.

[@HazeAnderson]

Guitars, drums, flutes and tubas don't have built in FX ... why are synth players so demanding? 😆

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, thank you! Yeah, I think synthesizer sounds really open up with even just a bit of reverb

[@twiglet2214]

Thanks that was very useful Jorb - wish i had seen this before but i can now understand how a collection of single function dedicated pedals can be chained and then switched on/off at will to modify the synth output - rather than a single,all singing,all dancing multi fx pedal that costs a fortune.A lot of this equipment ( not just pedals ) requires quite a steep learning curve and practise and the more you acquire - the more to learn ! Quick question if i may ? I bought the Eventide H9 CORE around 2 years ago,used, and discovered recently that they have discontinued the Core and the Standard - leaving just the Max. Eventide are now offering the H9 Plugin bundle at a good price and i have contacted them twice to find out if i can purchase the bundle and install it to my Core as i believe that may no longer be possible ? I registered it with them when i bought it but i find the lack of both information and feedback frustrating and maybe i'm better spending the £174 for the bundle elsewhere - the H9 bundle was originally priced at around £499 . Thanks for the very informative and well presented video.

[@ralphhathaway-coley5460]

I think the biggest tip I would give is do not think of them as guitar pedals but rather as distinct synth modules. The reason I say this is that guitarists tend to think very linearly and usually connect them in series, whereas you get so much better sonic possibilities by running them in a combination of parallel and serial connections, also A/BY pedals are often overlooked and are so useful.

[@repeat_defender]

Dude your videos are SUPER helpful for me, thank you!!

[@jramosmusic]

Great video awesome synth tones

[@JorbLovesGear]

Thank you sir! Proud of it, proud of em

[@fjfrancois]

Synthezisers are like a E guitar, what that makes a E guitar sound big, and spacious, Pedal FX 🙂

[@gigiborza1151]

Great (and super useful) video, as always. One more caveat when it comes to power supplies is DC vs AC... There are countless fried Boss CE-2 pedals because many assumed they would just take the usual DC power...

[@detoxxbraindead]

Extremely useful! Than you for talking so much good/needed knowledge 💪

[@FLH3official]

Excelent video. Waiting for the next and tank you for your work.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Much appreciated. More to come, and i really want to be sure i get it right!

[@thundersnow819]

was just kidding, you had me at Jorb.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Lmao. Took that long huh? lo

[@kennethtedford2650]

This is phenomenal stuff. Thanks!

[@theinnermostsanctum]

Recently got my first real set of synths (Korg Volcas notwithstanding) an Arturia Microfreak and a Rolamd Ax Edge (keytar) the later of which i run through an Orange Micro Dark Terror Amp and cabinet (because hey i love Sleep/High on Fire and have a small 2 room appartment with thin walls and old ass neighbors). It has an FX loop ive been dying to use and add some pedals to. This episode has been enlightening. Thanks for the great content.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, appreciate that. AX edge seems cool, I played one briefly at Namm 2018

[@3039-m9o]

0:21 can you share this? I really love how the sound is so huge and mixed around the kicks

[@JorbLovesGear]

I think the only place it still exists is in this year's Halloween special : kzbin.info/www/bejne/emLTgYqOitSnfNU

[@chiefbucknell]

If I was starting out with pedals and synths, instead of already deep down that rabbit hole, this video would be a HUGE help. As it stands, there’s still info that was new for me or that reinforced concepts I’ve learned! The portion about stereo-that alone is overflowing with important and too-little-known info (e.g., stereo pedals’ effect is often mono summed to stereo; mono-especially when mixing-can be great; and stereo can just be looked at as two mono outputs-so, why not go ahead and have two completely separate mono pedal chains?! That last one is very reminiscent of tips from the book Pedal Crush).

[@JorbLovesGear]

Ahh cheers, appreciate all that. I haven't read pedal crush! I asked about it at a barnes and noble a while back, but no dice.

[@chiefbucknell]

@@JorbLovesGear It only seem to be available from music instrument retailers like Sweetwater and Perfect Circuit (sometimes on sale at the latter). Also, there’s Reverb, of course.

[@Maxmachtmusik]

Nice one! Thanks 🙌

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, thank you! Hope the rest of the series is well received as well.

[@hazelkingofrabbits]

You and I both have a minilogue And a Callisto - ergo We Rock! xD

[@semyonboyk0]

Man I love your videos

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏Cheers, appreciate that!

[@dethsyndrome]

Man i was about to send you the longest email about all this, thank you.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏hope it helps!

[@dethsyndrome]

@@JorbLovesGear Im stuck on the mpc 500, trying to get it off my boys hands cuz i no monies.

[@jellemeeuwsen9842]

Hey! Thanks for your great content. My Nymphes arrives tomorrow and was wondering if you could recommend me a mono to stereo chorus pedal which won’t give me phase issues when listening in mono. Keep up the good work and thanks in advance!

[@LC-ur8gv]

Nice video that explained some doubts I've had about levels, especially on pedal effects. However, how can you know if any instrument such as keyboard, synth, drum machine etc. is either instrument or line level? Is there any spec that tells you that? Thank you

[@JorbLovesGear]

Instrument level is expected from passive pickups, like electric guitars and basses. Line level is expected from electronic instruments, keyboards and drum machines.

[@LC-ur8gv]

@@JorbLovesGear nice, thank you!

[@frankenjstein9371]

I've been searching for that Morley box for a couple of weeks. Thank you. I'm running my TB-03 into a GT-1 and things are not quite right.

[@Iceshrooms]

Need a part 2!

[@JorbLovesGear]

There is, there are 3 parts 😭😂😭😂😂😭

[@fatbobe1986]

I run my analog mono synths through a TC Nova delay and a Oceans 11 reverb. Having messed around with synths and pedals for a good few years this is my favourite combo to add lushness. I would like a to add a chorus in the near future but not sure what to go for yet. Used a boss chorus pedal belonging to a friend in the past but wasn't sold on it.

[@HazeAnderson]

I have the Oceans 12 dual reverb ... it's really lush! I recommend the Digitech Nautila for a stereo in/out chorus, it also has a flanger.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Chorus can be tricky, I think stereo is a big part of chorus, the relationship of the 2 channels is a big part of the vibe. But honestly, hard to go wrong with most chorus pedals, past a certain threshold.

[@danwentz]

A big reason the Korg Kronos has had such a long span of sold out success is due to its internal effects, and the ability to use it as an audio interface.

[@dk2428]

Excellent video! New sub! Long time guitar/keys player here, but recording noob. Wanting to make a small pedal setup that can be used for both instruments, but a bit lost really.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Thanks! Still really love this series, wish it did better

[@markgriffiths5122]

Subscribing for the stereo chorus video. I copied a long explanation off the internet about the at least 3 types of stereo chorus and I still can't remember which is which. I think the Boss Dimension C re-issue is fully stereo and the Boss CE300 inverts one output? Disappointingly I think the Boss CE re-issue is simply a wet on one output and dry on the other which put me off. I think that's right - hopefully you will clarify it in your video.

[@JorbLovesGear]

You got it, I'm looking for a good example of dry / wet, unique vibrato lines, and phase relationship choruses.

[@chrisegonmusic]

Really great. Mono definitely isn’t worse! People seem a bit obsessed with everything being stereo at the moment.

[@jcauto31]

Love this. Thank you!! Ive struggled with how to mix and amp after using guitar pedals. What do you do after the mixer? Why cant you just plug headphones into the “out” of a pedal? Why dosent that work?

[@JorbLovesGear]

My mixer goes stereo out to speakers, or you can use its headphone out. Headphone cables have 2 connectors passing sound, left and right. A stereo cable into a mono jack will connect one side to audio, and another to ground BUT the level isn't necessarily to be tight. Line level =/= headphone level

[@jcauto31]

@@JorbLovesGear got it! Thanks!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Big problem with just turning down a synth is, often there’s background noise/hum that gets amplified (especially if overdrive is used). I really like my Eventide Mixing Link. Mixing Link can do anything you need with gain. Step down, step up, and very clean. It’s a gain swiss army knife. I bought 2 to have stereo stepdown/up, but most people aren’t obsessive like that.

[@briannolan]

Yaaaasssssssssss. More of this! 👍👍👍

[@JorbLovesGear]

Ooo don't worry, it's coming 😅🙏🙏

[@andrew6889-p5c]

Would love you to chat about what to think about when passing a balanced signal from a synth into a pedal that is built for unbalanced signals.

[@HazeAnderson]

You lose the ability to use Common Mode Rejection to prevent unwanted noise like power spikes from ruining your sound. The trick is to use SHORT cable lengths. Having said that most synths do not have balanced signals ... your mixers and rack effects are what use balanced inputs/outputs.

[@JorbLovesGear]

You would lose the noise cancelling, but are gonna get signal through no problem.

[@adastra123]

Got here from Bobeats video. This is great 👍. Subscribed.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Hes been great, happy to have you here.

[@adastra123]

@@JorbLovesGear Thanks from Ireland 🇮🇪

[@outdatedgear5036]

I just got a boss gt-1000 core. I was never really a fan of the gt series before. This one is a beast. I’m able to record any instrument wet/dry. I can take the dry tracks and run it through the pedal if I want a different effect later on. The best part is, I can run any of my stomp boxes through it, it’s got 2 fx loops. All this is possible only using one usb cable.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Ahh, the dry through for re-amping is really slick. I haven't used a lot of those multi-effects, but the utility is undeniable.

[@outdatedgear5036]

@@JorbLovesGear I’m not a big fan of multi effects either. But this one sold me.

[@akimfielding7866]

Funnily enough, I was looking into getting an effects pedal over this last month (prior to this video). I never used one before, and I was mainly looking for something with a decent enough reverb and looper for jamming, and ended up getting a Zoom G1X Four. I think it's a nice little tool to jam on, sounds decent, has USB power, is easy to use and also pretty good bang for the buck! I'm looking forward to your next episode on pedals 👍

[@HazeAnderson]

The Zoom G1 and B1 lines are GREAT starter pedals. I have been trying to get synth jammers turned on to the B1on and G1on for 4 years now! xD They are cheaper than the more desired MS-70CDR.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Good place to start! I'm considering an episode on multi effects, but want to have a good collection of them to demonstrate...Maybe I'll seek some out!

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

I have 4 Guitar pedals, a Looper, a Flanger and a Reverb to use with a old 1986 small Yamaha keyboard and MiniNova sythersizor. That was the plan however having trouble getting the correct 9 volt adapters for them. So currently there not being used.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Now you know how to find the right ones! hope you get em going.

[@huntergalloway3944]

You have great taste in guitars!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Thank you! Those are all iterations on the same core hardware, every element is taken from other guitars I had and enjoyed. Jazz master body, Tele neck and bridge, 3 pickups like a strat.

[@jawsxx8683]

I bet coming out of the pedal going into the DI of a 1073 would be cool.

[@Mind-your-own-beeswax]

I had issues with certain pedals on my gear as they would cut the output volume to the point where they were very low. After trying numerous different things what I found was that I needed true bypass pedals. Others were no good at all.

[@mymockumentary9716]

cool video, well done x

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏

[@shermanchow4264]

Oh man. That smallsound/ bigsound mini with the bias all the way down! BD-2 sounds better than I thought i would. Might have to pick one of those up...

[@JorbLovesGear]

The blues driver changed my life, I wish I was joking. Ss/bs mini, the bias control is why I keep it, so much flexibility

[@shermanchow4264]

​@@JorbLovesGear Agreed about the SS/BS Mini. I liked it so much I bought a SS/BS Fuck Overdrive. Really fun putting either of those after a delay to get the repeats breaking up. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[@droneshot4242]

Great vid, loads of useful info 👍 Re. matching synth output levels to FX pedals - I used to drop the output level like you suggest & it works okay. Now use a re-amper, makes a noticeable difference (I reckon 😅)

[@JorbLovesGear]

What re-amp do you use?

[@droneshot4242]

@@JorbLovesGear The ART Dual RDB (Re-Amping Direct Box). It handles dual/stereo signals, has decent transformers, and it's affordable.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Good rec! I've been trying to snatch and ART reverb for a minute

[@LuisTorres-qz5kr]

Great job on this video. And, very glad I ran into your channel (just sub'd) since I recently got into Synths and really want to enjoy these with additional effects. I've been looking at several options for Reverb/Delay/etc..., thus, hoping you get into some recommendations in the videos to come. BTW, would the Voodoo Pedal Power support a Empress Zoia rated for 300ma? Again, thank you!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Empress has a compatiblity chart that mentions it with a caveat ; assets.empresseffects.com/power.html#ref-r50c58

[@LuisTorres-qz5kr]

@@JorbLovesGear Thank you, much appreciated!

[@TwoBassed]

A simple EQ can make notable tonal changes used with a synth.

[@ZeppelinStorm]

I have a very specific scenario to do with synths and pedals, specifically the Pigtronix Infinity Looper, that has tied my brain into knots and I'm wondering if you or anyone have some insight--I'm not very knowledgeable and I think, in fact I hope, I could be missing something simple. So, I run a DM12-->Digitech Timebender-->Pig Infinity-->Mixer (Behringer Eurorack UB2222)-->Audio Interface (Scarlett Focusrite 2i2). When I incorporate the Infinity into the setup I get about a 10-15dB drop than if it was removed. Curious but not a huge deal to me. HOWEVER, I recently purchased a Behringer U-Phoria 1818 and when the Infinity is incorporated into the setup I get a massive 45dB drop in volume. I have two Infinity loopers and this happens to them both. Even more, I have a Zoom CDR pedal in which this also happens. The weirdest thing is I get ZERO volume drop with my Timebender AND my Ditto X4 looper. Also, with the Infinity, I get a lot of unwanted noise but only when I plug straight into the audio interface, NOT with the mixer into the audio interface. Also, this volume drop does not happen when used with a guitar. Anyways, you make great videos! I first subscribed after your vid about working with the AKAI MPC 1000 and the DM12 in MIDI which was super helpful. Thanks! Oh, and idk if this helps but one of my running theories is that because the Infinity has a dedicated Master Volume knob then that might be why it gets quieter for synths but I have no idea.

[@HazeAnderson]

As long as the Master Volume on the Pigtronix Infinity is turned up, then It sounds like you are suffering a serious impedance mismatch and need to add a buffer in between the Pigtronix Infinity and your mixer of choice. A simple boost pedal could do the trick.

[@JorbLovesGear]

This is a good route to check on, see if a buffered pedal in between might help at all.

[@ZeppelinStorm]

@@HazeAnderson Thanks for the advice! I'll be tryin this out.

[@user-ql1pc7pi9x]

I was hoping for a little example of how you plug them in. I'm a guitar player who has just bought a keyboard - Ch 1 and 2 have my monitors plugged in, so the Ch 3 and 4 is where I should patch the pedals into? Patch out of ch3 into pedal, then return into ch4?

[@JorbLovesGear]

Are you talking about a mixer? Channels of what? Depends on what you're trying to do, you could go synth > pedals > mixer, or if you have aux or effects sends in your mixer, you can send out of there to the pedals, and then come back in on a channel.

[@user-ql1pc7pi9x]

@@JorbLovesGear Say I just want to hook up my looper pedal to my keyboard. I just power it with my power supply, go out of the back of the keyboard (ch3), into the looper, then back into the keyboard (ch4)? I could just try myself, but I don't want to risk anything.

[@JorbLovesGear]

@@user-ql1pc7pi9x You won't want to come back into the keyboard, unless you're processing it again, but that doesn't seem likely. What's the keyboard, something with multiple channels? It would presumably be sending a different signal out on each of its channels. Keyboard > looper > mixer / your monitors.

[@triplebeam23]

Hey jorb I just purchased a moog matriarch and 2 guitar pedals where do I connect these to the matriarch? I got a boss tape delay 202 and a TC electronic chorus Great video btw 👌

[@JorbLovesGear]

Audio out of the matriarch into whichever pedals input, then the next one, then a mixer or speaker

[@triplebeam23]

@JorbLovesGear I got it thank you .. man your videos have been amazing.. thank you again