Which Fx Loop To Use?
guitaro
May 2 2021, 07:03 PM
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I have an ENGL E670 special edition have had it for quite a while. I was checking out my cable setup and noticed I had my Effects Loop cables going into the FX Loop 1 ports. At the time I setup the amp I had no idea of the difference in the FX inputs(series/parallel etc) but now know FX Loop 1 and 2 are parallel. Would it be best for me to move over to the Serial FX Loop as I have no need for the dry/effect balance function? I have a Strymon Timeline which has a "Kill Dry" function which could be used in the parallel loop but I have no idea how I would even set that up. I have all my pedals running through a GigRig Midi14 so I'm thinking that FX Loop send of the Midi14 should be going through the regular Serial FX Loop at least right? Thanks heaps in advance.

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This post has been edited by guitaro: May 2 2021, 07:03 PM

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Mertay
May 2 2021, 08:50 PM
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QUOTE (guitaro @ May 2 2021, 06:03 PM) *
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Yes the serial fx loop seems to be the most logical given your setup, very cool amp by the way cool.gif

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guitaro
May 3 2021, 03:57 AM
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QUOTE (Mertay @ May 2 2021, 07:50 PM) *
Yes the serial fx loop seems to be the most logical given your setup, very cool amp by the way cool.gif


Thanks! I feel like such an idiot for using the Parallel ports the whole time. Wonder if it robbed me of any tone/effect?

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Mertay
May 3 2021, 10:26 AM
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QUOTE (guitaro @ May 3 2021, 02:57 AM) *
Thanks! I feel like such an idiot for using the Parallel ports the whole time. Wonder if it robbed me of any tone/effect?


A friend of mine had a few amps and one with a parallel loop. It could be annoying at times like if you want more than 50% of fx, can't use amp sim. pedals...I also remember volume drop would occur when moving an fx setup from one amp to the other. I kind of remember reading something about rack fx users would prefer them when wanting to play the amp very loud in the old days.

But I imagine having more than 1 fx loop would be very handy, pretty much having the freedom we have in the computer but as hardware.

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klasaine
May 3 2021, 03:23 PM
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There is potentially a tonal difference between series and parallel fx loops.
With a 'series' loop, your sound is routed: pre-amp > FX (in the loop) > power amp.
With a 'parallel' loop your sound after the preamp is blended into or through the loop. Good parallel fx loops like your ENGL have a blend control for determining how much effect gets added to the straight amp tone.
It works just like an aux channel on a recording console. Notice that the serial loop on your amp doesn't have a blend pot - it's all or nothing. Depending on the amp manufacturer, the parallel loop's blend control can go from 1% to 99%.

*When you're not using the parallel loop(s), set the blend control to off or "dry"

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This post has been edited by klasaine: May 3 2021, 03:30 PM
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guitaro
May 4 2021, 04:33 PM
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QUOTE (Mertay @ May 3 2021, 09:26 AM) *
A friend of mine had a few amps and one with a parallel loop. It could be annoying at times like if you want more than 50% of fx, can't use amp sim. pedals...I also remember volume drop would occur when moving an fx setup from one amp to the other. I kind of remember reading something about rack fx users would prefer them when wanting to play the amp very loud in the old days.

But I imagine having more than 1 fx loop would be very handy, pretty much having the freedom we have in the computer but as hardware.


Thanks for that. It still confuses me in regards of setting up a pedal to take advantage of it. My Timeline has a "Kill Dry" function which is apparently perfect for parallel use but I have to look up some videos on how to set it up properly.

QUOTE (klasaine @ May 3 2021, 02:23 PM) *
There is potentially a tonal difference between series and parallel fx loops.
With a 'series' loop, your sound is routed: pre-amp > FX (in the loop) > power amp.
With a 'parallel' loop your sound after the preamp is blended into or through the loop. Good parallel fx loops like your ENGL have a blend control for determining how much effect gets added to the straight amp tone.
It works just like an aux channel on a recording console. Notice that the serial loop on your amp doesn't have a blend pot - it's all or nothing. Depending on the amp manufacturer, the parallel loop's blend control can go from 1% to 99%.

*When you're not using the parallel loop(s), set the blend control to off or "dry"


Thanks for the reply. I do need to check out some videos on how to actually set up a pedal to work with the parallel loop, especially as I run all my pedals through a Gigrig Midi14. I'm assuming my Strymon Timeline(which could take advantage of the parallel loop) would be independently routed to the parallel loop? But then I would lose the ability to turn it on and off via the Midi14?

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