Separate effect loops for distortion pedals and stereo delay and reverb

Quad Cortex
1

New here, so sorry if this question has been answered previously. I’m interested in setting up separate effects loops for a distortion pedal and then stereo delay and reverb. Could I use “send 1” to a distortion pedal, then output that pedal to input 2, route input 2 back to the first block, before the amp, then send the amp/cab mono to send 2, to my delay and reverb pedals, and route those in stereo to effects loop 1 and 2? Would that setup work?

2

For stereo operation of your delay and reverb pedals, you would need to use both loops. Send 1 and Return 1 make up FX Loop 1, likewise Send 2 and Return 2 make up FX Loop 2.

I don’t know if there’s much to be gained by having a distortion pedal in an effects loop. I would suggest setting up a capture of your distortion pedal so you can place it anywhere you want on the grid, OR running it before your QC.

2 Likes
3

Thanks for the reply! I was able to do what I wanted. By utilizing the send 1 to my overdrive pedal and sending that to input 2 I can then use send 2 to my delay and reverb pedals and return them in stereo and have 2 effects loops. I haven’t tried capturing the overdrive yet but it is 2 overdrives in one pedal in series. Felt like I wanted to keep it on my board for added flexibility. The way I have it set up I can keep the physical pedal and put it anywhere I want in the grid.

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4

nice workaround!
How are you getting your OD pedal ‘anywhere you want on the grid’ if it’s coming in thru Input 2?

5

Using splitting I’m able to route it into the grid. I set up 2 volume blocks, one on line one right after the “send” block, and one at the beginning of line 2, which is set to input 2, and assign both volume blocks to a footswitch, one off and one on. I set both volume blocks to 0. When I click a footswitch, one volume block switches off and one switches on, allowing me to interrupt the signal and send it to input 2, which includes the distortion pedals. Using the splitter, I send grid line 2 back into line 1 and set the mix to 100% of line 2. To insert the pedals anywhere in the grid, I just have to move the volume block and splitter in line 1 where I want it.

All of this allows me to utilize a mono send/return for the distortion pedals, and a mono send/stereo return for my time based pedals.

edit: I have the mix of the splitter set to 50% line 1 and 50% line 2, so no matter which volume block is “on” there is sound being passed to the rest of line 1 after the insert.

6

OK, that’s pretty cool! Nice work. You have definitely lived up to your username with this one.

1 Like
7

how about sharing that preset on the cloud as a template for others to try?