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So... as I've probably wittered on about quite a few times now, I run all my pedals into the front of the amp, with few exceptions. I prefer how modulations, delays, and reverbs, interact with the distortion channels on the amp. Even when the amp is clean, or set to edge of breakup, it sounds different than when using the effects loop. So this is a non-negotiable for me.
At the same time, since all my pedals are digital, I do get quite a high noise floor compared to most people's rigs. In the past I've tried various approaches to calm this down or otherwise nullify the noise; with varying degrees of success.
I've tried loopswitchers, which are obviously great for removing pedals that you are not using, from the signal path. But for pedals you are using, it obviously doesn't help much; and if you want to retain the trails/spillover of the pedal, then you end up leaving the 'return' signal wide open anyway, thus pretty much defeating the entire point of using the loopswitcher to solve this problem.
I've also tried noise-gates, to varying degrees of success too. The best experience I've had is using the built in gates on the Satriani JVM, which really does work well. You lose a tiny bit of the tail of your delay and reverb as they kick into effect, but nothing major. The worst experience I had was a Boss noise-gate. It just didn't sound transparent enough, and even added a small amount of its own noise.
This is one of the things that pushes me down the multi-effects route. Something like the Helix or Axe FX III, is definitely a lot quieter.
The Fractal VP4 by itself is quieter than a stack of Boss and MXR pedals as well. But honestly.... I'm very very fond of the tones I get our of my Boss RV-5....
Sooooo... what would you try next?????
I really wish someone would make a loopswitcher where each loop has its own programmable analog gate, so that you could dial in the noise-floor of each specific pedal, and set attack and release parameters to control when the signal is allowed to be routed through the pedal or not. Kinda surprised this doesn't exist.
At the same time, since all my pedals are digital, I do get quite a high noise floor compared to most people's rigs. In the past I've tried various approaches to calm this down or otherwise nullify the noise; with varying degrees of success.
I've tried loopswitchers, which are obviously great for removing pedals that you are not using, from the signal path. But for pedals you are using, it obviously doesn't help much; and if you want to retain the trails/spillover of the pedal, then you end up leaving the 'return' signal wide open anyway, thus pretty much defeating the entire point of using the loopswitcher to solve this problem.
I've also tried noise-gates, to varying degrees of success too. The best experience I've had is using the built in gates on the Satriani JVM, which really does work well. You lose a tiny bit of the tail of your delay and reverb as they kick into effect, but nothing major. The worst experience I had was a Boss noise-gate. It just didn't sound transparent enough, and even added a small amount of its own noise.
This is one of the things that pushes me down the multi-effects route. Something like the Helix or Axe FX III, is definitely a lot quieter.
The Fractal VP4 by itself is quieter than a stack of Boss and MXR pedals as well. But honestly.... I'm very very fond of the tones I get our of my Boss RV-5....
Sooooo... what would you try next?????
I really wish someone would make a loopswitcher where each loop has its own programmable analog gate, so that you could dial in the noise-floor of each specific pedal, and set attack and release parameters to control when the signal is allowed to be routed through the pedal or not. Kinda surprised this doesn't exist.
