Using A Mono Pedal In A Stereo Signal Path

This is a question I get often. How do I run my mono guitar pedal after my stereo delay or stereo reverb or chorus. Is it possible to run a mono only pedal (like an EHX Holy Grail Reverb) in a stereo signal path?
The quick answer... is in the video. But hypothetically let's say the answer is no. I'll give you 5 alternative options to try with your rig to see if that can work for your needs!
Video:
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - The Problem
02:36 - Workarounds
04:55 - Parallel Explanation
06:36 - Audio Examples
07:39 - What We Heard
08:27 - Gear Required For Parallel
10:19 - Recap Workarounds
11:18 - Outro
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[@Zan_Halford]

The reverb BEFORE stereo chorus was surprisingly best to my ears.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

but that's breaking 'the rules' ;)

[@rebirth4lifetonelab573]

Love the way reverb sound b4 chorus sound the chorus clean the reverb amazingly.. i am changing my signal

[@GoodwoodAudio]

@@rebirth4lifetonelab573 Awesome!

[@luisfelipenicodemus2055]

me too

[@Zan_Halford]

@@GoodwoodAudio😂 just saw this

[@bootlegnjack]

Just wanted to comment to say a) great video and b) I bought an underfacer last week, dropped it and contacted you through the website for support and you answered straight away and sorted my issue out. Great products, great service, nice dude ✌️

[@GoodwoodAudio]

Thanks Adam! Appreciate it!

[@tonytaylor5087]

Sounds great! Love chorus, delay, etc after reverb.

[@jaguarsunburst1570]

Great Job Man 🎸🎸🎸

[@thisdyingsoul76]

Personally, I would just choose which side I want the effect on. For a mono reverb, I would usually put that on my left if putting it before the stereo effect wasn't desirable.

[@guyfawkes7041]

Great video Grant, as always... awesome dude. Just a thought...??? How about changing your Diagrams to flow Right-to-Left (you know how picky some folks get - can't follow "the Concept" and would end up feeling effects Out to In, rather than In to Out) - it's certainly easier to draw diagrams Left to Right, despite not being literal or real world...? Once again, great info mate. Cheers, Daz

[@GoodwoodAudio]

Great suggestion. I thought about that towards the end of the video - why it didn't occur to me sooner, I'll never know - and realised that would make more sense...way more sense. Next diagram... right to left!

[@78tag]

Are you telling me there are people who can't read that diagram left to right? If they can't see that, maybe they shouldn't be attempting anything stereo ????

[@FatalBrainError]

You can use the EHX Epitom3 - a stereo multi FX pedal with a Holy Grail built in! You can even throw away your stereo chorus, because it has the stereo electric mistress flanger/chorus built in as well... (and a pog!). Everything stereo! Cheers!

[@GoodwoodAudio]

nice!

[@oldasrocks9121]

Put reverb at the very front of your pedal chain, it's a magnificent carastrophe

[@GoodwoodAudio]

no we're talking!

[@regaudieguillaume]

Finally! A video that address my question!! That stereo mixer is exactly what I need. I want to blend my acoustic guitar with its stereo effects, with my electric guitar with its stereo effects, and go out L and R. I can do that, right? Thank you so much!

[@GoodwoodAudio]

correct!

[@Gary-zq3pz]

Make a different chain of mono pedals for each channel, the results can be very interesting.

[@phunkyjunkee]

Does holy grail go full wet? You could always put the holy grail at the end of 1 signal, full wet, the other no reverb. Essentially a wet/dry stereo hybrid rig.

[@nicoguarini28]

Easy fix. Get another EHX HOLY GRAIL and run them both in parallel then output to a left and right input pedal.😮

[@jonathan_vortex]

:0

[@madscientistlife]

I was thinking exactly that. Expensive... Yet... it ain't stupid if it works.

[@scarymike51]

Awesome video! What if I have 3 mono reverbs and one stereo reverb that I want to send through the effects loop of my amp? What would the wiring be?

[@scarymike51]

Sorry this into a stereo amp or a stereo effect’s processor with 2 send and 2 returns

[@DaNooch669]

can the old blood split meld be used for the parallel method? I want to run the reverb parallel to a stereo chorus and delay.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

I'd probably consider something more in the realm of the OBNE signal blender. Downside it's mono. Check out the parallelizer by musicom. That might be a good optioN!

[@danielrenton642]

Another great Video! What about running a parallel analog dry through and setting the mono reverb to kill dry? Would that work as another option? I'm thinking I might try this out with my Walrus Slo. Also: I'm happy to see you say chorus sounds good after reverb because that's where it goes in my signal chain if I use the chorus on my Roland JC-40! Comes in after the effects loop for some reason!

[@GoodwoodAudio]

ya, you could run a parallel dry for sure! It would just need to be parallel to all wet effects and mixed down before your final pedalboard outputs. But definitely a good way to do it!

[@derek8376]

Great video! Is there any way the loop controllers (eg. Boss ES-8 or GigRig G3) can solve this with their parallel modes?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

Pretty sure they won't have an issue with this. Depending on the controller you may just need specific cables (like a drop ring / shorted tip sleeve cable if using RJM). Not as familiar with this on the boss / gigrig stuff as I don't use them as much. But I know it's doable!

[@n.s.3812]

@@GoodwoodAudio actually just went through this (I have a G3), and it's actually not possible to run both stereo and parallel with the G3, you have to choose. And mono pedals have to come before the stereo in the chain to keep everything in stereo (since you're stuck in series). You can put them in parallel, but then you have to run the stereo pedals in mono, so... short answer is "no". I was super bummed to hear it, because I pretty much bought it assuming the holy grail of switchers could run do parallel stereo (since I have a W.D.W setup, and only use the switcher for my wet pedals, which are all stereo. I want most in kill-dry for obvious reasons, but can't do it now since that'd require parallel). Bummer. It *might* be possible to take the mono pedal into parallel so long as the loop starts and ends with that 1 single pedal and no stereo pedals are in the parallel chain, but I'm also pretty sure you would then have to have the mono pedal earlier in the chain/before your stereo pedals Only solution I can really think of, is using a device i found called the Musicom Lab Parallelizer II. I'm not 100% sure it'll work, but I think it will, and I may buy it even though it'll complicate the crap out of things since I'll basically have to have that (another switcher basically) in between 3 of my stereo pedals and the G3. The additional semi-benefit if it would at least open up 2 more loops in my G3 (with the compromise being that the 3 pedals in parallel using the Musicom are now stuck in 1 channel/selector on the G3, so I'll be tapdancing again). This is similar to using something like GigRigs Wetter Box, too, but I need it to do more than blending 2 pedals in parallel.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

been going through this this past week with a customer... been a bit frustrating finding out the limitations of the G3@@n.s.3812

[@urbanebicycler2173]

Wait, before I finish watching the video. I just can't help but wonder why on earth do you have to illustrate the signal in that direction? I mean, in real life we chain the patch cables the way the pedal inputs are placed. From right to left. But what you've given here is kind of confusing. Anyway it's just me. Now let's get back to watching the whole presentation.

[@78tag]

If you are dyslexic this diagram layout would be perfect -

[@henrod27]

Can you just put dual ts out the Strymon timeline and trs input to holy grail and trs out holy grail with dual ts to both amps ?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

GOod question. Unfortunately not. There is nothing that can carry signal on the ring of the holy grail input or output... so you'd be sending ring to the holy grail and nothing would pass signal wise as far as ring is concerned.

[@colinrobinson9674]

Old Blood Noise Signal Bender is the answer

[@GoodwoodAudio]

Great product!

[@paulversey6589]

How about putting the mono pedal through the tip of a split y stereo cable then rejoin the ring after ?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

passive 'mixing' of signals like this isn't going to work well. Going to load down the signal... You could try this with a line mixer but this is more of a wet dry type signal rather than stereo.

[@wireguy123]

I am a keyboard player looking to add a Wah pedal on one of my keys but run stereo to both our Zoom LiveTrakL20 for recording and the house to be in stereo. How can I add a mono Wah without breaking my stereo path?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

easiest way (while NOT being a keyboard enthusiast...so take this with a huge grain of salt) I would think is getting an expression pedal and a wah plugin. A real wah could be doable but in stereo it's most likely going to be a modeled (plug in style) wah anyways... so might as well keep it simple / in your computer if possible!

[@robcorp_capital8521]

Chase bliss Dark world sounds good anywhere, anytime, anyplace, anystate.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

haha. agreed

[@MegaToogoodtobetrue]

a graphical presentation might help

[@Official_Keif]

Could you remove it from the chain completely? Amp 1 send > verb > amp 2 return?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

I don't think I full understand the question... are you talking about using the amps FX loop? In theory you could, but to keep a stereo chain, you'd still have to mix the signal in parallel with the other stereo pedals.

[@Official_Keif]

I was thinking a loop through both amps. An idea if you were trying this without having to add gear (except for a cable or 2) Stereo chain > both amps Send 1 > verb > return 2 Send 2 > return 1

[@GoodwoodAudio]

@@Official_Keif Gotchya. In that instance though you'd still be sending verb only to the return 2 cab with preamp 1 tone stack... Cab 1 would be getting preamp 2 without verb (if Im understanding correctly).... I think you're saying a mono reverb in the amp FX loop after a stereo chain, correct? Im not saying it wouldn't work, just that it would still only come out of one speaker cab on half of the stereo field.

[@connorlawrence8003]

What if I want to run stereo pedal into Apollo Twin Interface?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

So long as you're using amp and cab plugins or amp and cab sim on the board, I don't see why this wouldn't be straight forward!

[@78tag]

A Twin has two inputs - why not just run the parallel cables into the two separate inputs of the Twin?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

two inputs on a twin, yes, but not two separate signal paths in the twin / stereo inputs. You won't retain a stereo path by doing it this way on the twin unfortunately. Would be cool if you could though!

[@78tag]

@@GoodwoodAudio - gotcha, thanks. I've been looking all over for info about bridging the channels on a tone master twin but couldn't find anything. Is there even any advantage to jumping the channels on a twin?

[@ShaighJosephson]

NEVER sum stereo to mono unless you're not recording and it doesn't matter... You can try to run mono effects on split stereo signals, but your're only effecting part of signal instead of the whole signal...which sometimes can be a happy accident and actually sound good... The best thing to do is dump the mono pedal and get one that runs stereo...especially if you are recording where stereo makes a world of difference...

[@FURDOG1961]

1:00

[@ljrosello3200]

how about stereo then mono di box to p.a is it still stereo? im a noobs tnx 😂

[@GoodwoodAudio]

unfortunately no... It would need to be stereo all the way out to the speakers to be 'stereo' as we guitar players refer to it.

[@yanthetrooper67]

Was that a Diiv riff ?

[@GoodwoodAudio]

if it was... it wasn't on purpose! ha.

[@yanthetrooper67]

​@@GoodwoodAudio That's definitly "under the sun" riff haha, great playing !

[@GoodwoodAudio]

@@yanthetrooper67 I'll have to check it out. I probably heard it and without realising played it on the vid. I bet you I thought I was being super creative as well haha

[@darwinsaye]

Is this really such a big deal? Just use the reverb into only one of the amps. The whole point of stereo is to have something different happening on one side than what is happening on the other side. Reverb only going into one amp isn’t going to sound bad - it’s just like doing a wet dry setup - plus, with all the other effects going to both amps, it’s not like the amp not getting reverb is going to sound stark and dry. Personally, I would just put the reverb before the stereo effects though. I think it’s ridiculous that most people think you cannot put delay or reverb anywhere except last in your chain.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

I would tend to agree with you. But this would drive some people absolutely crazy. haha. Guitars players are fickle beings. We all (myself included) have our strong opinions.

[@huberjonathan]

buy 2 holy grails lol

[@GoodwoodAudio]

haha also doable!

[@joemanganese]

This is nonsense. If you mix the stereo chorus single into a mono path, you loose the stereo image of the chorus.

[@GoodwoodAudio]

totally agree...but that wasn't the point of the vid, which I cover with workarounds and parallel options (which can be done while maintaining a stereo signal)... But yes, you're right - you can't run a mono pedal in series after a stereo chain and maintain the stereo signal.

[@SpaceJockey805]

No shit dude. Did you even watch the video before commenting?