Blocks required for FX Loop L&R

[ramuji]

Hi, I've had my HX Stomp less than a week, so still have much to learn. 

I'm using it to process both sides of my Chapman Stick, with a Deluxe Reverb or Twin Reverb for the melody strings (Path A) and an Ampeg SVT for the bass strings (Path B). That uses up a lot of DSP, so I'm trying to be as economical/efficient as possible with the remaining DSP and blocks.

 

I have an MXR Carbon Copy delay and a TC Electronic Flashback Mini delay that I run mono into the FX Loop L and R channels. The delay pedals themselves are always on. The two blocks (FX Loop L and FX Loop R) are on Path A, and I route the signal between them with snapshots. I never route the signal through both delays at the same time, so if one block is on the other is off. 

 

This uses two blocks, but I wonder if there isn't a way to achieve this with only one block? Maybe there is a way to do it with a single FX Loop stereo block that I haven't figured out yet?

 

If not, I might add a request to Ideascale, to use a snapshot to toggle between FX Loop L and R on only one block.

 

 

Thanks!

ramuji

[Kilrahi]

The challenge of the Stomp - amazing routing possibilities with an artificially enforced 6 block limit. 

 

I don't know that there is a perfect solution. If it were me, I would skip having the Stomp control your delays. So, for example, rather than leave the delays always on - leave them always off. Have one FX send block that is always on, with both delays on the SAME loop, and manually engage the delays when needed.

 

It seems like this would give you the same result while only using one block. You just have to use switches beyond the Stomp's. Still not perfect for simplicity's sake. 

[ramuji]

Thanks for the reply. 

 

Yeah, I had considered your suggestion before posting my question, and even had my 2 delays wired in series on the same loop for a short while. But, I decided I preferred having each delay on a separate loop mostly for using snapshots.

 

On the other hand ... it might be beneficial to operate my long delay independent of whatever snapshots I set up. (My short delay will always be on.) 

 

Thanks for giving me some things to think about.

[ramuji]

Nope. Not gonna work for what I want. Manually engaging the delays doesn't allow me to maintain the delay trails when I switch them off. So, it looks like I'm back to using two mono FX loop blocks if I want to control two external delay pedals.

[Kilrahi]

8 hours ago, ramuji said:

Nope. Not gonna work for what I want. Manually engaging the delays doesn't allow me to maintain the delay trails when I switch them off. So, it looks like I'm back to using two mono FX loop blocks if I want to control two external delay pedals.

Ugh ... good point. Sorry man.

 

Delays are a unique animal. I use the Stomp for delays (with trails) so I hadn't encountered that.

[ramuji]

After a bit more trial and error, I came up with the following signal route:

                                     

      Split Y (L100) (R100)                                                                                      

               |                  |        

         G amp (L)   B amp (R)

               |                  |

     FX Loop L/R       |

               |                  |

    Stereo Width       |

                 \            /

                         |

                         |

     Mixer (L100) (R100)

                         |

      Output (Pan = Center)

 

So, that gives me two mono chains (guitar and bass) to send to FOH.

FX Loop L is my short delay, and FX Loop R is my long delay. With the FX Loop stereo block on my guitar amp chain (panned left), only the short delay is heard.

By placing the Stereo Width block after that, I can snapshot enable the "LRSwap" parameter to swap between the short and long delay.

 

Now, this isn't a solution to my original issue, because I'm still using 2 blocks and delay trails aren't maintained properly. But, I think it provides a clue for a possible solution.

 

I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to add an "FX Loop Swap" parameter to the MONO FX Loop blocks. If so, I could save a block while hopefully maintaining delay trails.

(From the Stereo Width example, the more obvious solution is to add an "LRSwap" parameter to the STEREO FX Loop block, but it seems simpler - maybe just to me - to use a MONO FX Loop block for a mono signal chain, if possible.)

 

I'm curious if anyone else is interested in this, and thinks it is worthy of an idea scale submission.

Edited April 17, 2019 by ramuji
edited for clarity (hopefully)

[ramuji]

I submitted this on Ideascale. Please vote it up if you think it would be useful.

 

https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/L-R-Swap-Parameter-for-FX-Loop/952056-23508?submitted=1