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Message: [QUOTE="Shamiso, post: 93141, member: 160"] An amp effects loop places external processors after the preamp stage and before the power amp, changing what those pedals receive. Your guitar still goes into the amp normally, while selected pedals sit between the effects send and effects return. This matters most when the amp’s preamp supplies distortion because delay, reverb, modulation, and level control can then operate on the already shaped preamp sound. The send-return hookup for an effects loop is simple. Run an instrument cable from the amp’s send to the first loop pedal, connect the loop pedals in order, then run the final pedal output back to the return. The send jack is not a speaker output, and a speaker output should never be connected to a normal pedal input. A broader [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/guitar-pedal-signal-chain-order-that-actually-works.78548/']guitar pedal signal chain order[/URL] still decides what stays before the amp. Tuner, wah, many compressors, overdrive, and source-sensitive fuzz usually make more sense before the preamp, while the loop handles processors that you want after it. [HEADING=2]The send and return sit after the preamp[/HEADING] Understanding how an effects loop works starts with the preamp. The preamp provides gain and tone shaping, then the loop lets you interrupt or branch that signal before it reaches the power section. Effects loop order becomes especially audible on a dirty channel. A delay in front of a heavily driven preamp gets distorted along with the dry note, while a delay in the loop receives the distortion first and creates repeats from that finished preamp tone. A reverb pedal in the effects loop often sounds cleaner with high-gain amp settings. The same idea applies to chorus, flanger, and some pitch effects, although their best position still depends on the sound you want. Distortion in the effects loop is possible, but it changes the gain structure and can sound sharper than the same pedal in front. Vintage-style fuzz deserves extra care because [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/fuzz-pedal-vs-distortion.78390/']fuzz can react to source impedance and buffers[/URL]. Feeding that kind of circuit from an amp loop is a different electrical situation from plugging a passive guitar straight into it. [HEADING=2]Put pedals in the loop by the job they perform[/HEADING] The useful answer to what pedals go in the effects loop depends on what you want each control to change. An EQ in the effects loop reshapes the entire preamp sound, including its distortion, so it can work almost like a second tone section. EQ before the amp instead changes what frequencies drive the preamp hardest. A volume pedal in the effects loop usually changes loudness without backing off the preamp’s distortion. Put the same pedal before a driven amp and lowering it may clean up the preamp as well. A compressor in the effects loop similarly compresses the finished preamp tone rather than controlling the guitar before it reaches the gain stages. A noise gate in the effects loop can help when the amp’s preamp produces hiss or high-gain noise. Some four-cable noise suppressors monitor the guitar near the front while placing their reduction stage around the noisy preamp path. A looper in the effects loop can record the amp’s preamp tone, letting the recorded part keep that character while you change pedals before the amp. More complicated rigs expose another distinction. The [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/two-notes-captor-x-pro-setup.78422/']Captor X Pro stereo post-FX loop[/URL] places time-based processing after cabinet simulation in its own routing scheme. The [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/boss-ex-4-effects-expander-packs-120-effects.78544/'][B]BOSS EX-4 Effects Expander[/B][/URL] can use two of its audio jacks as an internal send and return, which is different from an amplifier loop even though the connections use the same terms. [HEADING=2]Series and parallel loops need different settings[/HEADING] Series and parallel effects loops behave differently once dry and wet signals are being mixed. A series loop sends the amp signal through the connected effects path. A parallel loop keeps a dry path inside the amp and mixes the returned effects signal beside it. With a parallel loop, delays and reverbs generally work best when the pedal can output a fully wet signal or use a kill-dry mode. Leaving another dry copy inside the pedal can raise the level or create phase problems when it rejoins the amp’s original dry path. Digital pedals can make this more obvious if conversion latency shifts the duplicated dry signal slightly in time. Signal level deserves a check because amp effects loops do not all send at the same operating level. Some provide level controls or switches, while others can hit a pedal harder than a normal guitar output. If a clean pedal clips in the loop, lower the loop send where the amp allows it or check whether the pedal accepts the stated level. A return jack can sometimes route directly into the power amp, but this is amplifier-specific. The [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/electro-harmonix-unveils-abrams100-amp-light-on-weight-heavy-on-punch.61112/']ABRAMS100 effects return can bypass its internal preamp[/URL], which is useful for an external preamp or modeler. Check your own amp’s manual before using the return that way. [/QUOTE]

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