![]() ![]() Problem 3: Most effect units in combination with the connecting cables will affect the sound of your amp, mostly because they have low quality components inside.Ī good Effects Loop has to include an electronic circuit that:ġ) brings the high signal level of the tube amp back to the low signal level of the effects unit which goes to the Send input on the amplifierĢ) brings the low signal level of the Return jack back to the high signal level of the tube ampģ) matches the impedances of the tube amp to those of the effects unit.Ĥ) does not affect the sound of the amp (!!!) This means that if an effects unit is connected, the signal level of the tube amp will drop drastically. Problem 2: Tube stages have very high impedances while solid state stages have rather low impedances. So if we would connect both by feeding the very high signal of the tube amp through the effects unit, it will be completely overloaded. Therefore, signal levels in an effects unit are very low. Therefore, signal levels inside a tube amp are very high.Įffect units, which are mostly battery operated, operate on 9V. Problem 1: Tubes operate on very high voltages from 300-500V. Yet nothing could be further from the truth, especially in tube amps. It might seem simple to build an effects loop in an amp, just cut the wire that connects the preamp with the power amp and place two jack plugs instead. This is the so called serial effects loop. The output was called “Send” and the input “Return” and they are always placed between the preamp and the power amp section. In the 70s, these Inserts became a feature on guitar amps as well and got the name: “Effects Loop” or “FX Loop”. If you wanted to have better control over your effects, the unit’s output could be fed back to a (free) channel input (parallel connection). This is a stereo jack with a combined input and output which made it possible to insert an effects unit in the signal path (serial connection). In recording studios, mixing consoles had so called “Inserts” in each channel as well as in the master section. ![]() Besides that, chorus type effects almost dissapeared and became inaudible when the distortion level was turned up high. However, when the first amps with overdrive channels came on the market, it turned out that having effect units in front of an overdrive channel increased the level of hissing noise rather drastically. Because amps didn’t have distortion channels this worked very well. Later, when effect units became available (wah-wah, delay, chorus, flanger), they were always connected between instrument and the amplifier input. The only two effects available were reverb and tremolo and top of the line models had one or both effects built in. ![]() Tube amps made in the 50s and 60s have no effect loops simply because there were no effect units. Although it just looks like it’s no more than just two jack inputs, a “Send” and a “Return”, there is so much more behind it! Nowadays, an effects loop is an integral part of almost any musical amplifier. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |