no fx loop

[metal4ever]

hi, i have a line 6 spider3 30 watt amp which annoyingly has no fx loop. i am looking to buy a delay pedal, along with some other modulation pedals, but i have heard that it will sound terrible infront of the amp. is there any way round this?

i have seen some external fx loops by a company fxmonkey but i dont understand how they would work because they are still infront of the amp.

please help, thanks

 

[valem]

If you don't have an FX loop it's not going to sound good. I'm not familiar with that amp but there are amps that you can mod and put in an FX loop.

My VOx AD30Vt is modded to except an fx loop.

 

[Outlaws]

People have used modulation effects infront of the amp for years. You won't be the first, you won't be the last, and you won't automatically sound bad.

 

[Dani Pace]

It depends a lot on how high you crank the gain. If you run the amp mostly clean adding delay in front doesn't sound bad but if you push the gain you will notice the effect looses a lot of it's distinction. With SS amps it (delay or other digital efx) will work better than with tube amps when placed in front rather than in the loop. Still, you might want to give it a try, it could be the sound you are looking for.

 

[sajs]

Take it to an amp tech. They will be able to put an effects loop in for you. I put one in my Twin Reverb with no issues.

 

[wbcsound]

The only way to run your fx post preamp would be to mod the amp which will likely cost more than the amp is worth so if it's really important for you to run your fx post preamp then it may be time to get a new amp. on the other hand...remember, there was a time when no amp had an effects loop.

Good luck!

 

[ocnor]

hi, i have a line 6 spider3 30 watt amp which annoyingly has no fx loop. i am looking to buy a delay pedal, along with some other modulation pedals, but i have heard that it will sound terrible infront of the amp. is there any way round this?

 

[eeb]

i've never used an fx loop ever.. I'm currently very happy with my sound.

 

[rayc]

FX loops were created as a boutique and clever idea for sonic purists and "must haves" that then went on to sell new amps to people who had perfectly good amps.
If that overdriven tube breakup heard on so many 60's - 70's recordings is the holy grail then the FX loop is a stop at the French Castle to catch cows and unutterable Gaullic obscenities: amusing but not the most direct path.
All that said - for a metal head it's a cheap, versatile little practice amp - or, at worst, an amp emulator with a speaker. You're suppose to buy it because you love the metal or insane channels. To create your own sound hook up your FX into the clean channel.

 

[Sailjunkie]

Though this thread is 4 weeks old...

I have new information for those of us without effects loops on our amps...Xotic Pedals makes the X-Blender which is basically an effects loop pedal. I am using 12 pedals (and counting...soon to be picking up a BK Butler TubeDriver). Not all of my pedals are true bypass, but the XBlender is supposed to clean up the signal to the amp...pedalmania!!

 

[Tadpui]

I have new information for those of us without effects loops on our amps...Xotic Pedals makes the X-Blender which is basically an effects loop pedal. I am using 12 pedals (and counting...soon to be picking up a BK Butler TubeDriver). Not all of my pedals are true bypass, but the XBlender is supposed to clean up the signal to the amp...pedalmania!!

Well, the point of an effects loop is to be able to bypass the preamp of your amp and only apply effects to the line level signal before it gets sent to the power section of your amp. If you're using an "effects loop pedal", then you're still applying effects to the signal before it gets sent to the preamp.

But that kind of fx loop pedal would allow you to truly bypass all of your pedals like you say.

To the OP:
doesnt' the Spider amp have a delay effect already built-in? I thought that was the whole calling card of the Line 6 amps was that they have built-in effects. Either way, you're not going to sound like crap by using modulation effects pre-amp. It may sound different than it would if placed between the preamp and power section but that doesn't mean that its going to sound bad.

 

[metalj]

To the OP:
doesnt' the Spider amp have a delay effect already built-in? I thought that was the whole calling card of the Line 6 amps was that they have built-in effects. Either way, you're not going to sound like crap by using modulation effects pre-amp. It may sound different than it would if placed between the preamp and power section but that doesn't mean that its going to sound bad.

DIDO, why would you need extra delay pedal with this amp when its all built into it?

Maybe put money into the footswitch board that will switch everything on and off with this amp?

Good luck hope you find what works for you.

 

[starbuck26]

hi, i have a line 6 spider3 30 watt amp which annoyingly has no fx loop. i am looking to buy a delay pedal, along with some other modulation pedals, but i have heard that it will sound terrible infront of the amp. is there any way round this?

i have seen some external fx loops by a company fxmonkey but i dont understand how they would work because they are still infront of the amp.

please help, thanks

I assume since you're playing a Line Six you're a member of my generation and not one of the older guys. This Delay-in-FX-loop things has gone the way of the birds, man. First off, nothing is set in stone. Put shit wherever you want it. If it sounds good, let it be.

Tom Morello from Rage against the machine does everything wrong. He's got a Wah, a Digitech Whammy, a Boss (!!!) Digital Delay an MXR 7 band and an MXR Phase 90 all before the preamp. The idea of running that much modulation before his first gain op is almost ridiculous. I hate Rage and would dump a beer on Chris Cornell if I could, but let's be honest: Morello's tone is pleasing to the ear.

It's not the delay in the fx loop that will make the diffence here, IMHO. The real difference is taking that Line Six Spider whathaveyou and dumping it in the ocean.

 

[Minion]

a good tech with a proper schematic of the unit could easilly add an FX in and out between gain stages...It"s just a matter of tapping the audio signal and adding a couple jacks , it might be more difficult with newer amps as they use a lot more SMT components and multi layer boards which make it a lot harder to work on.....


Cheers