Pedals in loops

[Al Krow]

I've just sold my Boss LS2. Probably a daft thing to do and will likely end up getting another in a few months time!

But as I'm wrapping it up ready to post tomorrow, it got me thinking how often folk are putting their pedals in loops and what they are primarily looking to achieve?

So please share your thoughts on:

- what are the main reasons for doing so (e.g. blending-in clean to maintain low end or 'ring-fencing' parts of your chain so they run in parallel rather than in series etc.)

- what are you putting in your loop chains?

- can you hear the difference?

- is latency and / or phasing an issue?

- are there better pedal alternatives to the well regarded LS2? If so, what are you using? Are you simply using the loops available in other pedals or on your amps?

Pics of your set ups very welcome! 

Edited May 17, 2019 by Al Krow

[jrixn1]

10 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I've just sold my Boss LS2. Probably a daft thing to do and will likely end up getting another in a few months time! 

Yep that's what happened to me 😁

[itu]

My two cents: try a X-over. KMA Tyler is a very powerful tool.

I do not care about milliseconds here, as I drive the low end practically without processing (excluding the compression or reverb). Higher frequencies get sometimes pretty harsh set of pedals but I am after sound, not some tiny details that I am unable to hear in band context.

If it sounds good, use it.

[dodge_bass]

I've got a Bright Onion box that includes an FX loop. I put all my FX in the loop that way there's less noise (i.e. you haven't got your clear bass sound running though up to 10 fx pedals - gets noisy! ) and it means I can have a couple of pedals turned on in the loop (e.g. 8ver and squelch) and that way one switch will turn them both on. Also I found sometime I'd not switch things on properly as the type of switches used to turn pedals on are all different and that got annoying so one switch all the time (loop on / off) works better for me.

 

 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, dodge_bass said:

I've got a Bright Onion box that includes an FX loop. I put all my FX in the loop that way there's less noise (i.e. you haven't got your clear bass sound running though up to 10 fx pedals - gets noisy! ) and it means I can have a couple of pedals turned on in the loop (e.g. 8ver and squelch) and that way one switch will turn them both on. Also I found sometime I'd not switch things on properly as the type of switches used to turn pedals on are all different and that got annoying so one switch all the time (loop on / off) works better for me.

Be great to see a pic of your board set up with this on, Ian! 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Al Krow

[dodge_bass]

18 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Be great to see a pic of your board set up with this on, Ian! 

There we go.

All the fx are in the loop.

Clean signal is BO box - microthump - comp - DI

FX signal - BO box - FX loop (all fx) - micro thump - comp - DI

Comp is set fairly low for clean finger style and obviously kicks in a little more when FX take hold. Microthump cleans out bottom end before it hits the comp.

 

 

[cLepto-bass]

I've always thought of the LS2 as one of the most underestimated pedals on the market. I've had mine for years and love to experiment with its use. I mostly play ambient soundscape type stuff these days with loads of reverb and delay. For a while a owned the EQD Organizer but it had one hell of a loud click when dis/engaging it which would obviously send a loud clunk sound through a super long delay signal. Hardly ideal. So I originally got the LS2 to simply quiet switch that effect off and on. Another primarily use is to have a B3K in the loop so as to maintain a completely clean and untouched bass sound with a second drive sound on the top as lowish volume. 

Huge fan of the LS2.

[cLepto-bass]

I should just add that I've never noticed any latency but I dont think I play the sort of music that would highlight latency.

[dannybuoy]

5 hours ago, cLepto-bass said:

I should just add that I've never noticed any latency but I dont think I play the sort of music that would highlight latency.

It’s only an issue when blending digital effects. Blending your sound with itself but delayed by a few milliseconds introduces a bunch of EQ notches, known as comb filtering. Think of a flanger but stuck in one place instead of moving.

[krispn]

Basswitch IQ DI pedal with a compressor in the always on loop and drive in the switchable ‘mix loop’ which has a clean blend function. It’s a veritable ‘brain’ on a pedal board. They do cost a bit but if you’re needing some eq options, wanna have a few pedals hooked up and use two instruments it is a really solid option. Very versatile and also great if your amp does mid gig!

[Al Krow]

Just come across this . Doesn't have the flexibility of the Boss LS-2, but it's more compact, cheaper and doesn't require any power supply:

http://www.one-control.com/1-loop-box.html

Seems like a neat solution if you're just looking for a loop option and don't have that available on any of your existing pedals.

[Dudgeman]

I love my LS2. Toured with it for years in Muse tribute. Used it to split and already split signal. I use a lehle dual to split first signal as it is simply the best ABY pedal out there imo. The LS 2 allowed me to combine fuzzes for songs like Hysteria. Loop A would have Animato loop B would have big muff and channel 2 out of the lehle would be clean with another big muff if needed. Animato and Big muff in different loops sounds totally different to being in series...I loved the dual volume controls on the LS2. very useful. I have now retired (tempoariliy) the pedal as my new project only needs the one signal split but I won't be selling it any time soon. Quick unwrap yours before it's too late...;-)