Tube amp

[axel]

Hey folks
               I have built many pedals based on this site and others . I find it a relaxing and joyful thing . It taught me to solder
again and again and how to troubleshoot other electronic items . I have about 20 effects boxed and like them very much but
was always worried that they didnt sound as good as the videos . In fact I went back to Boss pedals to see what was going on . Anyway the Boss pedals didnt really do it for me either unless they were upgraded with better parts .

              Then , I got a tube amp . The Boss pedals sounded nice thru the tube powered effects loop .

              Then , I got another tube amp - a Fender HRDlx . the Boss pedals sounded worse thru the opamp type effects loop .

               For kicks one day ,I put my TS-808 build in front of the Fender - I was floored . Then I opened the effects drawer and tried out other pedal builds . I have been floored over and over Klon, Wampler ,Riot  - these pedals sound great .

They really come into their own in front of this amp . All the quality parts really come into play .

               I am born again and I will be forever grateful .

               Thanks

               Axel

[Neil mcNasty]

Nice to hear about your joy regarding the Tube Amp...
In my world there are no other options than a vintage tube amp.
It always makes pedals shine compared to Solid State and Amp Sims.

A slight note on Amp Effects loops though:
Most pedals (90% of them) are not designed to handle the signal in an effect loop of an amp, so don't expect too many of them to sound good in that position.
This is because the signal is WAY louder than your normal guitar signal, and it does not surprise me that the opamp driven effect loop sounded bad, and the tube amp sounded good.
Tubes are not as powerful and loud as opamps are, and when pushed... Tubes just sound better and dirtier, but the opamps can distort like hell, with a nasty crackly noise when pushed too hard.

The rule of thumb (could be):
Can it handle a line/synth signal without distorting/sounding bad, then it is probably good for the effects loop.

By the way: have you ever considered/heard about the "dropout looper"?
It is a looper that can switch a loop of pedals from being in a certain spot in the chain "on your pedalboard", to being "in the amp's effect loop", while giving you the on/off control from your pedalboard.
That way you can have two different locations of the pedals in your pedals chain, just by the flick of a switch.
A really handy tool, that can be used in many ways...!
Do a picture search for "Dropout Looper" and you'll find a wiring diagram for it.
A really simple passive build, with just a couple of switches, jacks and some wiring.

Cheers!
It's beer o'clock!

[Frank_NH]

Regarding BOSS effects...

They pretty much all have buffered bypass, which may impact the tone you hear versus the true bypass vero-based effects.  It would be interesting to compare an SD-1 to your 808 pedal if the 808 were going into the BOSS, its output thereby being affected by the buffer.

I love my home built effects too, but one thing that I still find occasionally is some noise creeping in during live use.  Probably shielded input wire and better power supplies would help that.

[Muadzin]

I'm of the opposite opinion, tube amps are overrated. I find them unreliable. When the tubes inside are having a good day the amp shines and it will sound glorious. When the tubes inside are having a day off you wonder what has happened to your once glorious sound even though you're using the exact same settings. In studio conditions or at home tubes amps are okay. Stationary conditions favor their finicky nature. But transportation on the road, constant handling, on stage, off stage, I'd rather take a good solid state amp or amp modeling instead. Consistency is a quality on its own.

[motterpaul]

IME - most overdrive pedals are really designed to be used in front of an amp, not in the effects loop. The effects loop is reserved for things like reverb, delay, EQ and other "after the pre-amp" effects units.

Amp effects loops are often made to be switchable between line level (rack effects) and guitar level (pedals), but in older amps they may be made for one or the other. Then there is also the
"series or parallel" question where your loop is concerned.

Most newer and cheaper amps use solid state loops, not tube driven. But more classic amps (boutique, etc) use the Dumble-style "Dumbleator" approach which is completely tube driven. These are pretty rare, though. Solid-state is far more reliable and cheaper for making effects loops.

I like effects loops best in amps when I want to get my overdrive tone from the amp pre-amp (generally two-channel amps with a high gain channel). But in older-style single channel tube amps where it's all pedals you don't even need an effects loop. (But if you have one, they can be handy for reverb and EQ.)

When I used a two-channel Marshall DSL100 the effects loop took a "clean boost" (for getting my solos louder), a delay pedal (daisy chained to the clean-boost so they turned on and off together), and an EQ which I sometimes used just for overall clarity.

Today - with my single channel tube amp everything is in front - except for my reverb which I built into my JCM800 by installing a tank. The point is that with most single channel tube amps where the pre-amp tubes can be pushed by hard and crunchy, or full & singing overdrive pedals, you can put "after the pre-amp" effects after the overdrive pedals, so there isn't much need for an effects loop.

I go in this order:

wah
compressor
Maxon 808 (just there in case I want to make my clean sound a little more jangly)
Chorus (I can use the 808 if I want a gainy chorus)

--- Looper pedal send ---
  loop 1 - Zendrive for crunchy rhythm
  Loop 2 CrunchBox V1 and Boss analog delay together for lead solos
--- Looper return

EQ pedal (ROG three-way EQ)
Noise gate (if needed, not usually)

Amp input

Reverb in the amp - pre-master volume control. The reverb tank is an Accutronix I rescued from an old Dean Markley. I used the Metroamps loop and the reverb tank control circuit from this site for mix and dwell.

Out of these pedals - most came from this site:

compressor (Baja),
Chorus (Angel),
Maxon 808 (with Timmy tone controls)
looper (from the forum)
Zendrive
CrunchBox V1
Noise Gate (the hum reducer; I also have the MXR noise gate but I took it off - not needed)
Reverb control

The only branded pedals I use are my wah, tuner and delay pedal.