Dumb question about Pedals

S

Silvio

New member
Im thinking about buying a guitar effects pedal, one of those that has amp simulation, FX, etc. I have not decided yet wich one. Lets say for example a ZOOM G1.
My questions are:
Can i use it in this 2 ways (sorry for this really dumb question, but just to be sure):
1)My guitar-->Pedal--->My amp. (For example playing in my band)?
And :
2)My guitar-->Pedal-->Pc soundboard DIRECTLY (no DI or anything else)
and get a decent recorded sound?
Is this what Amp simulation is for, i mean connect the pedal directly to the PC, and get a good sound? (question 2)

Thanks in advance.
 
As you already know, guitar>pedal>amp gives you the sound you are used to hearing; guitar>pedal>soundboard (mixer?) removes any coloring the amp may be providing. If you like the sound through the amp you will be better off to mic the amp, the mic you use and mic placement will greatly affect the sound (recorded.) Either method will work but you should be able to hear quite a difference in the sound. Try it both ways and listen to the result, then use the method which gives you the sound you want to hear. I think most people here will agree that micing an amp is the best way but if you are limited by not being able to play at a volume level where the amp sounds really good (or some other reason) you can get acceptable guitar sounds by going directly to your mixer. If you go the direct route you might try guitar>pedal>amp simulator>mixer to regain some of the tone of your amp. Also using the line out from an amp will not have the same tone as micing the amp. The combination of amp/speaker has a lot of affect on the guitar tones you get and much of that tone is lost when you go direct.
 
heres a question i have that relates to the OP's topic.

My amp, traynor ycv40, has a send and rtn jacks on the back of it. Can I somehow route cables to my interface and use my amp solely for distortion effects? And then perhaps plug my guitar directly into my interface and route my signal through my amp but have the output come out of my monitors instead of my amp cabinet?

eg. send>amp, return>interface, guitar>interface?

I'm sure you'll gather quite easily that I am very new and learning to this kind of thing, so I appreciate any help.

thanks.
 
swayofpendulums said:
heres a question i have that relates to the OP's topic.

My amp, traynor ycv40, has a send and rtn jacks on the back of it. Can I somehow route cables to my interface and use my amp solely for distortion effects? And then perhaps plug my guitar directly into my interface and route my signal through my amp but have the output come out of my monitors instead of my amp cabinet?

eg. send>amp, return>interface, guitar>interface?

I'm sure you'll gather quite easily that I am very new and learning to this kind of thing, so I appreciate any help.

thanks.
Click to expand...
What you want to do is quite simple. Plug your guitar into your amp and mic the cabinet. The send/return is to add effects into the sound processed by your amp, e.g distortion/effects pedal, compressor etc.
 
swayofpendulums said:
Can I somehow route cables to my interface and use my amp solely for distortion effects? And then perhaps plug my guitar directly into my interface and route my signal through my amp but have the output come out of my monitors instead of my amp cabinet?
Click to expand...


yes, in theory you could.


remember that the send and return on the amp is labeled from the amps side, and is used to great a loop in which ou can put various FX.

What you'd need to do is plug your guitar into your interface, route that out to an output or your interface, plug the output into the return of your amp.


the only thing to look at is impedence matching and gain staging. i'll let you sort that out ;)
 
If I understand it corectly, the send/return loop is to insert the efx between the preamp and power amp of an amp. On most amps these jacks will also serve as a line out (send) and a line in (return) although there wont be any control on the return (all control comes from the source sending the signal.) As a general rule, use analog efx before the pre (guitar>pedal>amp) and digi efx in the loop (guitar>amp>loop efx {digital delay for example}.) This is not a solid set rule, it's just that some efx work better before the preamp and some are better after, this applies even more to tube amps than solid state. Noisy pedals will sometimes be quieter when used in the loop, not always but sometimes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top