Volitions Advocate
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This is one for you gearheads and DiYers Bear with me because this can get kind of convoluted.
I'm a big multi-effects junkie and I like to use Boss pedals because of their features. But they suck my tone really badly. mind you everybody knows that.
I guess to start I'll let you know what my signal chain looks like so I can better describe my problem.
Guitar > Dunlop Crybaby > Boss GT-5 Processor > GT-5 Effects loop [Digitech Grunge > Metal Zone > OS/2 > EQ > Phaser > Delay] > Stereo outputs on my GT-5. Left side into my Rivera Tube amp, Right side into my Crate Solidstate amp.
I put the stompboxes into the loop of my GT-5 because it helped a lot in cutting out the Tone suck when I"m not using them. The Problem is when I turn the loop on to use 1 pedal. i still have 4 others sucking all my tone.. so that sucks. And then even when I turn the loop off and put my GT-5 in bypass my crazy over the top tube distortion (I use the same amp as Adam Jones and Mick Thompson) sounds like a Blues driver at half gain with no bottom end. To solve that problem theres a simple solution, put my whole effects board through the loop in my amp. Problem with that being that I use 2 amps and if I did that I would have to figure out some way to hook my other one up. I'm sure I could piggy back it somehow but then it would just be emulating the sound that my tube amp puts into the signal instead of interpereting the sound from my signal in its own way (yeah i sound ridiculous but still bear with me) Also I can't do that because my amp is designed to be used with a subwoofer, and its the only one I know of that has this capability built directly in. I know a lot of guys that scoff at this but let me tell you If i was a coke head I'd give up cocaine to have a sub with this amp it sounds incredible. In anycase, this is relevant because the sub output is a Dry output and doesn't include anything that goes through the FX loop in the amp. Which makes effects like my slowgear totally useless, and If im using a stompbox distortion, the subwoofer is going to be punching out a clean tone. which just wont do. So I can't use the FX loop on my amp. at least not for this application. (i'm thinking of just throwing an EQ and Compressor pedal in there, but thats for later).
So.... Follow me still?
This is what I'm thinking I need.
I have 2 options for the pedals, and I can do 1 or the other or both if i was going for overkill.
I dont have the time or the patience to mod all my pedals to tru bypass, with boss pedals its an enormous headache and you have to mangle them to do so. So I was thinking of building a Tru bypass box. just a long thin stompbox that goes on my board just underneath the pedals that has an In/Out for each pedal and a 3pdt switch to turn it on or off. Problem solved. leave the pedals on and just add or remove them from the signal chain, since they dont suck tone when activated. And I dont have to mess with the malarky of programming whether or not the loop is turned on in my patches, because i can just put them before my processor and use them whenever I want.
OR. I can get one of those blend pedals. I wish i knew where to get them, i found them on a site once, some guy makes them in his basement. Its an expression pedal that has an fx loop on it. with heel down you get direct signal from your guitar through it, and with toe down it goes through the loop first. and everywhere in between its a blend of the 2 signals. would make fx switching with my stomp boxes rather sleek and smooth and I like that idea, but then I run the same problem as before with having only 1 or 2 pedals being used and the rest sucking all my tone. So to fix that id need to do BOTH of these solutions I've just come up with. What a nightmare.
But we havent even touched on the subject of bypassing my effects processor. And with the problem of running 2 amps this gets very annoying.
I need a Line Selector kind of pedal that does something I dont think any pedal out there does which means I'll probably have to make it myself.
Id put it after my Wah and Stompboxes (once they're in true bypass) so that I can still use them anytime I want and put the line selector right in front of the GT-5. Now what I need is for it to have 1 input from the guitar. and then 2 going out to each amp. So it needs to be able to double the signal without loosing any of it. Then I need the loop for the processor. Which would need to be 1 send. and 2 returns, one for left and one for right. and each one of those needs correspond with the 2 existing output jacks so that my stereo effects work properly. So by toggling it id get Guitar > Stompboxes (true bypass) > Crybaby (true bypass) > 2 Amps / Guitar > Stompboxes (true bypass) > Crybaby (true bypass) > GT - 5 w/ Stereo outs > 2 amps.
Currently I've got 3 fulltone 3pdt switches coming in the mail. so i can mod my crybaby for true bypass, maybe stick an LED in there too. Any clue on how I'd make my blend/expression pedal or my confusing little line selector?
Any opinions on what to do. or new ideas I havent thought of?
Also I have to build my subwoofer for my amp. which is something I'm going to go start another thread about because I need help with that too and this is just way too much for one post already.
Thanks guys.
This isn't wired up in the picture the way i have it now, i just wanted to show you what it looks like at the moment.
I'm a big multi-effects junkie and I like to use Boss pedals because of their features. But they suck my tone really badly. mind you everybody knows that.
I guess to start I'll let you know what my signal chain looks like so I can better describe my problem.
Guitar > Dunlop Crybaby > Boss GT-5 Processor > GT-5 Effects loop [Digitech Grunge > Metal Zone > OS/2 > EQ > Phaser > Delay] > Stereo outputs on my GT-5. Left side into my Rivera Tube amp, Right side into my Crate Solidstate amp.
I put the stompboxes into the loop of my GT-5 because it helped a lot in cutting out the Tone suck when I"m not using them. The Problem is when I turn the loop on to use 1 pedal. i still have 4 others sucking all my tone.. so that sucks. And then even when I turn the loop off and put my GT-5 in bypass my crazy over the top tube distortion (I use the same amp as Adam Jones and Mick Thompson) sounds like a Blues driver at half gain with no bottom end. To solve that problem theres a simple solution, put my whole effects board through the loop in my amp. Problem with that being that I use 2 amps and if I did that I would have to figure out some way to hook my other one up. I'm sure I could piggy back it somehow but then it would just be emulating the sound that my tube amp puts into the signal instead of interpereting the sound from my signal in its own way (yeah i sound ridiculous but still bear with me) Also I can't do that because my amp is designed to be used with a subwoofer, and its the only one I know of that has this capability built directly in. I know a lot of guys that scoff at this but let me tell you If i was a coke head I'd give up cocaine to have a sub with this amp it sounds incredible. In anycase, this is relevant because the sub output is a Dry output and doesn't include anything that goes through the FX loop in the amp. Which makes effects like my slowgear totally useless, and If im using a stompbox distortion, the subwoofer is going to be punching out a clean tone. which just wont do. So I can't use the FX loop on my amp. at least not for this application. (i'm thinking of just throwing an EQ and Compressor pedal in there, but thats for later).
So.... Follow me still?
This is what I'm thinking I need.
I have 2 options for the pedals, and I can do 1 or the other or both if i was going for overkill.
I dont have the time or the patience to mod all my pedals to tru bypass, with boss pedals its an enormous headache and you have to mangle them to do so. So I was thinking of building a Tru bypass box. just a long thin stompbox that goes on my board just underneath the pedals that has an In/Out for each pedal and a 3pdt switch to turn it on or off. Problem solved. leave the pedals on and just add or remove them from the signal chain, since they dont suck tone when activated. And I dont have to mess with the malarky of programming whether or not the loop is turned on in my patches, because i can just put them before my processor and use them whenever I want.
OR. I can get one of those blend pedals. I wish i knew where to get them, i found them on a site once, some guy makes them in his basement. Its an expression pedal that has an fx loop on it. with heel down you get direct signal from your guitar through it, and with toe down it goes through the loop first. and everywhere in between its a blend of the 2 signals. would make fx switching with my stomp boxes rather sleek and smooth and I like that idea, but then I run the same problem as before with having only 1 or 2 pedals being used and the rest sucking all my tone. So to fix that id need to do BOTH of these solutions I've just come up with. What a nightmare.
But we havent even touched on the subject of bypassing my effects processor. And with the problem of running 2 amps this gets very annoying.
I need a Line Selector kind of pedal that does something I dont think any pedal out there does which means I'll probably have to make it myself.
Id put it after my Wah and Stompboxes (once they're in true bypass) so that I can still use them anytime I want and put the line selector right in front of the GT-5. Now what I need is for it to have 1 input from the guitar. and then 2 going out to each amp. So it needs to be able to double the signal without loosing any of it. Then I need the loop for the processor. Which would need to be 1 send. and 2 returns, one for left and one for right. and each one of those needs correspond with the 2 existing output jacks so that my stereo effects work properly. So by toggling it id get Guitar > Stompboxes (true bypass) > Crybaby (true bypass) > 2 Amps / Guitar > Stompboxes (true bypass) > Crybaby (true bypass) > GT - 5 w/ Stereo outs > 2 amps.
Currently I've got 3 fulltone 3pdt switches coming in the mail. so i can mod my crybaby for true bypass, maybe stick an LED in there too. Any clue on how I'd make my blend/expression pedal or my confusing little line selector?
Any opinions on what to do. or new ideas I havent thought of?
Also I have to build my subwoofer for my amp. which is something I'm going to go start another thread about because I need help with that too and this is just way too much for one post already.
Thanks guys.
This isn't wired up in the picture the way i have it now, i just wanted to show you what it looks like at the moment.