What Do You Guys Do To Maintain Your Fundamental Tone When Using Effects?

[Phaedrus]

Hi,

Lots of effects sap tone in some way or other, so I'm wondering what folk do to prevent it?

Only buy FX that really don't negatively affect tone?

Use a blender/line-switcher/looper?

Use two separate amps (one clean & one effected)?

Send two separate clean & effected signals to the PA?

Something else?


Personally, I've been looking at sending two separate signals to our PA - one clean & one effected - by splitting the signal with a DI before the effects, but that'd leave me with just effected signal in my stage amp.

So I've started looking at using a blender instead - that'd give both my stage amp and the PA mixer the same blended signal.

Obviously this isn't an issue for guys who don't use effects . . .


Thanks,

Mark

[Doddy]

I put all my effects in one of the loops of a Boss LS2. That seems to do the trick
as I'm effectively taking the pedals out of the chain when I bypass the loop.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Doddy

[JTUK]

Don't use them..

one channel, two basses, and thats it for me...

The only effect I've recently considered is the Tone Hammer which is supposed to be pretty neutral.

[phil.i.stein]

I have a dual channel amp with two individual effects loops and a master.(Genz Shuttle 12).
it's a challenge to get to grips with, as there are so many gain stages/possibilities but, essentially i use one as my favourite 'clean' tone and one for fx.
i can then mute/blend them as appropriate.
fx do seem to suck tone though, so i recommend using a booster at the end of the chain (preferably one with a d.i. for recording purposes).
i'm constantly playing with the possibilities, it's fun.
today i received a 3 leaf audio groove regulator. it is unbelievably cool.
happy days..!

[chris_b]

I believe you can buy effects pedals which are transparent and don't suck the tone out of your playing, but they're expensive.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Doddy]

However,there are some manufacturers who don't believe that
true bypass is all it's made out to be and prefer to use buffers.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Phaedrus]

When I say "don't negatively affect tone", I don't just mean pedals that have crap bypass noise - I mean also pedals that, even if they're completely transparent when bypassed, when engaged they rob bottom end, for example.


Thanks for the replies,

Mark

[Jarhead]

If you want to keep bottom end, then a blend is probably the best way to go for you. I'm probably wrong, but I'm sure Boss LS-2's have a blend, and they are reasonably cheap.

Zach

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Higgie]

LS-2's are a very quick and cheap solution to the problem, as you can put the effects in one loop, and leave the other loop empty, and then use the level knobs to blend the sound together. Personally I use an Xotic X-Blender, as it has a big blend knob you can turn with your foot (invaluable for me as I have a fuzz in the loop, and sometimes just want a soft fuzz and then a heavy fuzz later in the song, so can change with my foot and either gradually fade the Fuzz in or just turn the knob up while the pedal is off) and it also has volume, bass and treble controls for EQ'ing the blended signal, eg to match your clean sound, or a bit of boost, etc. Then having the footswitch to be able to turn off the blend and go to straight effects is also very useful. Great pedal! The best blender available IMO.

[JackLondon]

[quote name='andyjingram' post='787876' date='Mar 27 2010, 02:21 PM']I'd say that this is a good option! Why use something which makes you sound worse?!

I think this is the reason for all the 'TRUE BYPASS!!!' declarations on manufacturers websites. It sort of boils down to a tiny bypass loop within the pedal, therefore saving you all the hassle and additional expence of adding one. If you have an effect which is indespensible to your sound, which has a terrible bypassed sound, an extra loop is a good idea, if you are just starting to buy pedals now, then make sure they don't mess with your sound (when bypassed, of course!) in the first place.[/quote]

Yes, but if you bypass the pedal it shouldn't make your tone crap as the signal should pass from input straight to output, it is the problem that so many manufacturers claim to offer true bypas when in reality it is far from it! The Cornish bloke case isn't exactly valid either! Technology has moved on since 2003 and at the end of the day his promoting his product so again is prone to big claims that are not always reality!

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='JTUK' post='787430' date='Mar 26 2010, 08:40 PM']Don't use them..

one channel, two basses, and thats it for me...

The only effect I've recently considered is the Tone Hammer which is supposed to be pretty neutral.[/quote]

Same here except for a compressor needed to avoid dispersion of undertones.

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='787390' date='Mar 26 2010, 08:07 PM']Obviously this isn't an issue for guys who don't use effects . . .


Thanks,

Mark[/quote]
...guess some people never bother reading things these days..

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I soak my cables in vinegar

[Phaedrus]

[quote name='Higgie' post='788010' date='Mar 27 2010, 05:04 PM']LS-2's are a very quick and cheap solution to the problem, as you can put the effects in one loop, and leave the other loop empty, and then use the level knobs to blend the sound together. [b][i]Personally I use an Xotic X-Blender[/i][/b], as it has a big blend knob you can turn with your foot (invaluable for me as I have a fuzz in the loop, and sometimes just want a soft fuzz and then a heavy fuzz later in the song, so can change with my foot and either gradually fade the Fuzz in or just turn the knob up while the pedal is off) and it also has volume, bass and treble controls for EQ'ing the blended signal, eg to match your clean sound, or a bit of boost, etc. Then having the footswitch to be able to turn off the blend and go to straight effects is also very useful. Great pedal! The best blender available IMO.[/quote]

Andyjingram, some of the effects I'm interested in / have tried and like do affect core tone when engaged, so I guess I'm in a different position to you, and I do want to preserve my clean core tone as well as have an awesome effected tone.

Like I said in my OP, I had been planning to split signal before FX, but that only gives PA FOH both clean & and effected signals, while my onstage amp gets effected-only. In fairness, I actually care a little more what happens FOH than on stage, so I could live with that, but now that blenders have come to my attention, I'm thinking that one could indeed achieve my goal for both FOH & onstage (and rehearsals).

Higgie, the X-Blender is the very product that's caught my attention. I'm aware of the LS-2, but while I don't have an aversion to Boss pedals, I'd just prefer to try something else. So you like the X-Blender?


Mark

[Higgie]

Yup. I hard a Barge Blender and I thought it was awesome until I bought the XBlender. Now I wouldn't use anything else

[Silent Fly]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='788115' date='Mar 27 2010, 07:20 PM']I soak my cables in vinegar[/quote]

[Silent Fly]

* [i]Only buy FX that really don't negatively affect tone?[/i]
It is a way to go but sometimes there are effects we like that do effect the tone.

* [i]Use a blender/line-switcher/looper?[/i]
A looper (aka external true-bypass switch) does not address the problem. It simply removes the pedal from the signal path.

Blenders are a very effective and popular solutions to address this. The only drawback is that unprocessed sound is added to the sound.

If you are interested, I am designing a blender that should be ready in a few weeks.

* [i]Use two separate amps (one clean & one effected)?[/i]
Not exactly the simplest solution but it would work. In practice you can get very similar results with a blender.

* [i]Send two separate clean & effected signals to the PA?[/i]
It is like using a blender with the difference that the two components (clean and processed) are mixed in the mixer instead of being mixed by you in the blender.

* [i]Something else?[/i]
In my opinion the best solution is a crossover. The signal is split in low and high frequencies. The two components are processed separately and then recombined. In this way it is possible leave the low frequencies untouched and process only the treble (or vice versa)

...strangely enough I am designing a crossover in pedal format with integrated mixer. It is a relatively complex design that requires some custom components I have ordered that should be ready in around 4 weeks.

[cheddatom]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='788115' date='Mar 27 2010, 08:20 PM']I soak my cables in vinegar[/quote]

Yeh, me too, it forms a protective layer around your tone so that nothing can get in between your fingers and the PA to suck it out, not even effects.

[Low End Bee]

I'm often puzzled by this 'tone suck' thing.
I've noticed nothing noticeably different when I use mine in line.
Is it the frequecies? If something takes a way a bit of low end (as somebody said to me recently) or whatever why wouldn't you just adjust the eq on the amp?

[cheddatom]

Well, some people like their pedals to be so transparent that you can't tell they're on

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='788450' date='Mar 28 2010, 12:30 PM']* [i]Something else?[/i]
In my opinion the best solution is a crossover. The signal is split in low and high frequencies. The two components are processed separately and then recombined. In this way it is possible leave the low frequencies untouched and process only the treble (or vice versa)[/quote]

Isn't this basically what the Lomenzo Hyperdrive does? Figure it would be handy to have a pedal like that but with a loop for another drive rather than the meh drive sound of the hyperdrive.