Sub 37 through effect: volume loss

[willemw]

Hi guys,

My set-up is:

Sub 37 => Behringer xenix 1204usb

When I add an effect (Sub 37 => EHX Memory Boy/TCE Hall of Fame => Behringer xenix 1204usb) there is a considerable amount of volume loss. I have to crank up the amp on the mixer so much that the background noise becomes annoyingly noticeable. Is this volume loss normal? I just don't seam to get a clean tone on a normal volume level.

Cheers!

Willem

[breun]

Guitar effect pedals expect a high impedance instrument level signal, while synthesizers typically output a low impedance line level signal. This impedance mismatch may or may not be your problem. Google will probably have some reading material for you when you search for 'synthesizer effect pedal impedance'.

[mattyp]

I agree totally with the above. I use guitar effects pedals but in order to match the impedence i use a reamp box. This takes a line level input and outputs at guitar level. They are really designed for taking a clean guitar recording so it can be put through a guitar amp allowing for remixing later on but also work just as well with synth and guitar effects pedals
you could also use a passive DI box in reverse but i haven't tried that. I doubt whether it would give as good results. But i could be wrong. I'm sure someone will correct me on this.

[kvitekp]

Good guitar pedals can accommodate both types of signals -- I'm using TCE Flashback delay and TC Hall of Fame reverb with Sub37 and a bunch of other analogue synths and they all work perfectly. There is a good reason for that: guitar pedals are typically chained, and output of a guitar pedal is a low impedance signal, so unless you want to design pedal that is always placed first, you have to make it compatible with wide impedance range.

/Peter

[breun]

Some pedals definitely handle this better than others. Reordering effects might help.

[JonLukas]

I found that my Strymon BigSky reduced the audio quality of my Sub 37 a bit...it may be partly because I had to turn down the output of the Moog a bit in order to not overload the BigSky input.

I have now switched it so that I have the Sub 37 plugged right into the mixer, and the BigSky is hooked up through an aux send/return. Better sound quality, and now I don't have to worry so much about the Sub 37 output level. I can set the aux send to the BigSky to whatever level it needs without compromising the output level of the Sub 37. And I think it's better having the synth go right to the mixer rather than through the BigSky (even if the BigSky has an all analog path for the dry signal).

[willemw]

Ok, thanks guys, I'll check that out.

[paramnesia]

+1 fx on mixer aux send & returns, or use a spare channel for effects return then take advantage of built in feedback loops (sending the effect out to the input), eq, and insert points for additional processing (midi gate, compression, dynamic eq)