guitar pedals as effects sends

[modecai]

Hi,

I'm thinking about integrating guitar pedals into a live setup. I probably won't use a guitar though. That's the trick.
I have a fa-101 interface...lots of ins and outs. I was thinking I could put an ext. effect on a send , and send that send out one of my outputs into a guitar pedal and then back into an inputs as a send effect. IS this realistic? Do guitar pedals required a different line level volume or whatever?

If now that, I was thinking of getting a 802 vlz 3 mixer... could i just patch the guitar pedal as a send effect with the mixer?

Thanks for any tips, don't know too much about guitar pedals even though i've been playing for years... just never really got around to using them.

Thanks.

[aradder]

I've done this with no problem. You were right to suspect a level difference--the main issue you'll run into is that line outs push a lot more power than guitar pedals are looking for. You won't break the pedal, but you'll know right away if your send is too loud because it'll be overdriving the input and clipping. Just use a very low send amount and find the right level using trial and error. Be prepared for the possibility of picking up some noise - some guitar pedals are horribly shielded.

[modecai]

cool! thanks for the advice. So did you use pedals with your audio interface, or did you use it with an external analog mixer?

Cheers,

[icedsushi]

It will work as stated above, but the way to get the best sound quality is to match the impedance by using something like the Reamp box. You don't need a mixer, just run the 1/4 jacks out/back in your sound card.

[swishniak]

you are using the external effect device right? (you should - its great and make exactly for this kind of thing)

[aradder]

Personally I use the external effect device and hook it up to extra outs and ins on my interface. But using an aux send out and a new channel in (or the aux return channel if you don't need independent control of the effect signal) on a mixer would work just fine.

[BlackMath]

I use a radial x-amp into a voodoo labs gcx with several pedals...it works great

[philipc]

Yep, to do this properly you'll need a reamp box (many companies make these, just google "reamp" and you'll find a tonne of info). Just cutting your levels won't do any harm but the line level won't match the intended input impedance of the pedals. A reamp box not only cuts the levels but also mimics a guitar's impedance. Going without a reamp box may work well enough for reverbs, delays, etc. but it'll most likely sound terrible for distortion pedals and so on. Best idea is probably to try it with the gear you have and see what it sounds like. If you're happy with the sound then all is well. If it sounds thin and nasal then you'll need an impedance matching reamp type device. You won't harm anything by having mismatched impedance.

[Sage]

Most pedals are fine with line level signals as most are designed for a number of applications. The only pedal I own that distorts is a 1970's EHX Small Stone.

That said, line level is often a massively loud for a distortion pedal, much more than they are typically used to handling with a guitar, but the External Effect device has an output level control.

In regards to impedance, unless you're using old school germanium fuzzes, it's not going to make a single bit of difference and not worth bothering with. If it did, pedal chains wouldn't be possible as you'd need one of those boxes between every pedal.

[modecai]

Most pedals are fine with line level signals as most are designed for a number of applications. The only pedal I own that distorts is a 1970's EHX Small Stone.

That said, line level is often a massively loud for a distortion pedal, much more than they are typically used to handling with a guitar, but the External Effect device has an output level control.

In regards to impedance, unless you're using old school germanium fuzzes, it's not going to make a single bit of difference and not worth bothering with. If it did, pedal chains wouldn't be possible as you'd need one of those boxes between every pedal.

very helpful. Thanks. I'd likely be using reverb and delay pedals, and that is all.

Thanks,

[southsounder]

Not quite pedal related, but if it's reverb your after and you've got the spare i/o the basic Lexicon units work amazingly well using the External Effect plug-in trick described above. I've got a pair of old MPX100's set up on sends A & B on my default template. The quality of their reverb still easily exceeds any of my plug-ins, and there's no CPU hit. Plus they can be had for super cheap second-hand.