Effects loop: Stomp box murderer??

[benjamminbond]

Hey everybody,
I am new to the MTS world and am full of awe at how long I have missed out on this awesome gear! I just bought a used Randall RM50 and am borrowing some stock mods (Randall Clean, Randall Plexi) until I can get some of my own.

This is the first amp that I have owned that has an effects loop that I want to use. I have, what is probably a stupid question about a situation I am in. I was using the series effects loop to run some effects. The chain went as follows: Send>Subdecay Quasar Phaser>Strymon El Capistan>Strymon Flint> Return. I had used this set up a few times before and it all sounded extraordinary! I was at practice the other day and all of a sudden my Strymon Flint malfunctioned. The reverb went completely dry and the tremelo side, when engaged, cut the signal entirely. The pedal still turns on but is obviously not in proper working order. I began to wonder about the effects loop and if it could have damaged the pedal... I was running the Master of the RM50 almost all the way up and controlling my volume with modules master volume. I am a little wary of trying to use this amazing set up again for fear that I could harm another $300+ pedal. Is this all fiction or did I miss something very important before I jumped into this effects loop business? Thanks in advance for helping a newbie out...

 

[webrthomson]

Yup - the loop can be an issue - essentially you get two flavors of loop, line level (+4db) or instrument level (-10 db). The RM50 has a line level loop and the level of the loop is further effected by the volume of the amp so you are probably slamming the front of the pedal way too hard!

I'm surprised the Strymon pedals don't work at line level as well as instrument level - maybe someone with more experience on them can jump in.

So basically check your pedals can all work in a line level loop and if not you will need to get a solution that moves the level down to one they can handle. Jaded Faith have a STEP pedal that does this.

If they can work at line level then the pedal has died for other reasons - hope that helps!

 

[MarcoR]

Hey everybody,
I am new to the MTS world and am full of awe at how long I have missed out on this awesome gear! I just bought a used Randall RM50 and am borrowing some stock mods (Randall Clean, Randall Plexi) until I can get some of my own.

This is the first amp that I have owned that has an effects loop that I want to use. I have, what is probably a stupid question about a situation I am in. I was using the series effects loop to run some effects. The chain went as follows: Send>Subdecay Quasar Phaser>Strymon El Capistan>Strymon Flint> Return. I had used this set up a few times before and it all sounded extraordinary! I was at practice the other day and all of a sudden my Strymon Flint malfunctioned. The reverb went completely dry and the tremelo side, when engaged, cut the signal entirely. The pedal still turns on but is obviously not in proper working order. I began to wonder about the effects loop and if it could have damaged the pedal... I was running the Master of the RM50 almost all the way up and controlling my volume with modules master volume. I am a little wary of trying to use this amazing set up again for fear that I could harm another $300+ pedal. Is this all fiction or did I miss something very important before I jumped into this effects loop business? Thanks in advance for helping a newbie out...

The symptom you have with the Strymon is due to inadequate power. Are you using the strymon power supply? If you are using a Pedal Power II, make sure you're using outputs 5 & 6 for the strymons.

The way you are stagging the gain "running the Master of the RM50 almost all the way up and controlling my volume with modules master volume" is the least likely way to cause clipping from the loop. So you should be good there. You would run into issues if you start getting the module master volume past 11:00.

 

[bruce egnater]

FYI there is no way for the loop to actually damage a pedal.

 

[mfgobbi]

Inadequate level will at most clip/distort the signal in the pedal but not damage. Strymon should take line level though .

Yup - the loop can be an issue - essentially you get two flavors of loop, line level (+4db) or instrument level (-10 db). The RM50 has a line level loop and the level of the loop is further effected by the volume of the amp so you are probably slamming the front of the pedal way too hard!

I'm surprised the Strymon pedals don't work at line level as well as instrument level - maybe someone with more experience on them can jump in.

So basically check your pedals can all work in a line level loop and if not you will need to get a solution that moves the level down to one they can handle. Jaded Faith have a STEP pedal that does this.

If they can work at line level then the pedal has died for other reasons - hope that helps!

 

[webrthomson]

Inadequate level will at most clip/distort the signal in the pedal but not damage. Strymon should take line level though .

Yup - the loop can be an issue - essentially you get two flavors of loop, line level (+4db) or instrument level (-10 db). The RM50 has a line level loop and the level of the loop is further effected by the volume of the amp so you are probably slamming the front of the pedal way too hard!

I'm surprised the Strymon pedals don't work at line level as well as instrument level - maybe someone with more experience on them can jump in.

So basically check your pedals can all work in a line level loop and if not you will need to get a solution that moves the level down to one they can handle. Jaded Faith have a STEP pedal that does this.

If they can work at line level then the pedal has died for other reasons - hope that helps!

Yeah I thought they would - my Eventide both do, not actually used the Styrmon thought!

 

[benjamminbond]

Wow! Thanks a ton for the quick and insightful responses everyone! You all have put my mind at ease. I was pretty sure that running the effects in the loop was just as safe as anything, but I wanted to be sure.
As far as finding the real culprit of the problem goes, I contacted Strymon as soon as the issue arose. They were swift in response as well, saying basically what MarcoR said. My whole pedal board is powered by a T-Rex Fuel Tank Classic. That is what I was using when the issue occurred. I tried the Damage Control Power Supply (9v DC, 660Ma) that came with the pedal as the Strymon guy instructed. I ran it isolated, both in the loop and in front of the amp with the same results as before: Signal passes through dry even when the reverb is engaged, signal cuts out when tremelo is engaged. I sent a follow up email to Strymon, I am expecting a response from them come the first part of the week. I really didn't do anything crazy to bring any of this on! At least I don't think I did...