Help Required - Stomp XL into Amp as pedalboard into Quilter

[MWolfkiel]

Greetings all, I recently took delivery of a Quilter Mach 3 amp which sounds fantastic. I tried to run my HX StompXL into it as a pedalboard. In doing so, the Quilter's tone became dull and lifeless, lost all the sparkle and amp like characteristics I love about it.

 

I'm sure I am doing something wrong, as many have noted that the stomp works great as a pedal board. Here is how I ran it:

Guitar>Stomp (2 paths)>Path A (OD's and Phaser)>Input of Quilter>Path B (delay and reverb)> Send of Quilter FX Loop

 

Just typing that, I realized I should go into the return of the return of the FX Loop?

But, there my be other settings I need to adjust on the Stomp that I'm not aware of. Any suggestions or input is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[silverhead]

Try using the 4-cable method (4CM) as described in the Stomp XL manual pg9. There are lots of threads here that describe how to use it. Essentially this setup allows you to use either the amp modelling in the Stomp, or your physical amp’s preamp section. You don’t want to use both simultaneously. You use the Stomp’s FX Loop block to determine which amp (virtual or physical) you want to use for any preset.

[Schmalle]

If you use the split path method (left channel for front fx, right for post fx) you need to set the Split block's balances to A:L100, B:R100 and the Mixer block's pans to A:L100, B:R100.

 

[MWolfkiel]

Thanks Silverhead and Schmalle...any and all tips are welcome.

[MWolfkiel]

I have tried the 4CM and there is a loss in volume and sparkle to the amp's tone. I tried running a blank preset with just an input block and output block and the analog bypass on the global settings...same result, a significant dulling affect by the HX Stomp...also have global EQ turned off.

 

Any ideas ?

 

Thanks

[MWolfkiel]

Wait....may have figured it out. The output volume on the patch was set too low. Bumped in to 0 and we are in biz, I hope lol

 

Thanks

[MWolfkiel]

Nope...in 4CM it is really dull...like a blanket over it

[silverhead]

Are you sure you have all signal levels matching? For instance, cable #2 from the Stomp Send to the amp Guitar Input should be set to Instrument level since that’s what your amp is expecting. Consult your amp manual to determine its levels at the relevant jacks at both ends of each cable and set the Stomp levels accordingly.

[MWolfkiel]

I'm pretty sure I have everything set right, but I will recheck. One thing I noticed is that when in 4CM, all the amp dials/buttons( eq etc) become unresponsive. I'm thinking, that there is something on the Quilter end that I need to do, or isn't working properly. Thanks for the help, though.

[silverhead]

On 7/14/2023 at 8:57 AM, MWolfkiel said:

I'm pretty sure I have everything set right, but I will recheck. One thing I noticed is that when in 4CM, all the amp dials/buttons( eq etc) become unresponsive. I'm thinking, that there is something on the Quilter end that I need to do, or isn't working properly. Thanks for the help, though.

It’s not only normal but desirable to have your amp’s preamp section become unresponsive sometimes when you use 4CM. This is desired when you disable the FX Loop in your Stomp. That means the signal is not passed from the Stomp’s Send jack to the physical amp’s Guitar In jack (where the preamp and dials/buttons live). Instead, the preset is designed to bypass the amp’s preamp section and instead use one of the Stomp’s amp models. It then passes the signal directly from the Stomp output to the amp’s Return jack where it hits the amp’s power amp section and cab.

 

When using 4CM you need to understand that you want to use EITHER the physical amp’s preamp section OR one of the Stomp’s amp models. You should not use both simultaneously but you should use one or the other. The on/off state of the FX Loop in your Stomp preset reflects your choice of which one to use. With the FX Loop ON you are sending the signal to the physical amp’s preamp section and hence your Stomp preset should not use a Stomp amp model. With the FX Loop OFF you are bypassing the amp’s preamp and your preset should use a Stomp amp model.

[MWolfkiel]

Update is that I use the Stomp XL with 2 paths, 1 going into the front of the Quilter and 1 going into a Powercab +. It sounds incredible. I built an acoustic patch that is incredible, just have to drop the gain a bit on the Mach 3. On electric patches, I have a clean 59 channel and dirty Sweet channel on the Quilter (each with a boost for the 3 way foot switch) and use FX from the Stomp as needed. This way, I can build different "pedal board" configurations on the the Stomp OR use snapshots for song specific needs.It is just fantastic...if I do say so myself lol.