Man this video answered questions I didn't even know I had. Thanks so much Mason, I'm going Ampless for my church Worship setup and you've just saved me heaps of stress and time I would have wasted otherwise!
The depth of your tutorial is fantastic; yet, HOLY MOLY the complexity of a complete virtual rig is making me consider going acoustic and singing on a picnic blanket in the park . . . alone. ;-0
These new amp pedals have truly changed the game for me personally. The genre of music I play the sound men usually run your rig directly into the DI and out of a DI into your amp. They don't care if you're playing a $20k two rock amp. They're not micing it up. So, even though the tone out of your amp and something like magic. That DI sound is like a kazoo if you have any type of drive on. The UA Dream 65 has changed this for me. I run two lines out the outputs. One to my monitor or "power in" section of my amp. The other to the DI box. The IR's and cam Sims on any of the UA pedals are CRAZY good. Now I don't lose my tone.
It's good to be validated. I have a set up almost exactly like this. My guitar signal is like this: Guitar Tuner Compressor Distortion (amp sim preamp pedal) Overdrive Noise gate Mooer D.I. box. ^it has cab sim, d.i. xlr out [dry], and an unbalanced out to continue the chain. Univibe Chorus Mono female to dual mono male adapter Stereo in EQD Avalanche Run delay/reverb Left Stereo out to Joyo JDI-01 #1 [Wet Left] Right stereo out to Joyo JDI-01 #2 [Wet Right] Both of those have XLR outs to FoH or Interface.
I go back to when we brought our 30 watt amp to church and mic'd it or used the line out if it had one. Some people even tried using just a pedal with some boost like an overdrive pedal with the gain turned down to go to the board. Sometimes there were 3 amps up there all blaring. Thank God for these amp simulators.
So many good tips, Uncle Mase, idk what the pedal world would do without you. I've been playing digital for about 4 years now. I have a stomp, and I've always put my wet effects last on the chain and go straight into the stomp. But if your digital rig has an fx loop, run the wet effects into it either mono or stereo because it takes away so much digital harshness. Having your drives smash the amp and putting the wet effects post is amazing. Also, if you're running the stomp, axe fx, quad cortex, etc. put a compressor with a low mix after your amp and cab before your reverb tames a lot of digital noise coming from driving the amps into the delay/verbs. Because a lot of modelers are frfr, so you just get so many crazy signals coming through that you won't get with a regular amp. Love your content always!
You can also get into your global settings on the Stomp and set a high and low cut to taste. It will remove a lot of that extra signal and stay in the traditional amp spectrum.
The graphics, the editing...the clarity. You keep evolving Mason. Thank you. I still think in metaphors and concepts more than technology and blueprints, but your delivery continues to be more focused and It's getting easier to follow along. Such a useful presentation on this topic 2 video suggestions: - Would you consider a video on a cable management of your brand new STUDIO and WORKSTATION? Beyond the pedalboard, I'm a firm believer you can apply that kind of tidiness elswhere in one's music space. And I'm fairly certain many cords behind an average computer are a rats nest, lit up by some sort of LED light to create the illusion all is well. Or maybe it just signals you like create. Either way, I bet you could make one mean video on it? - It's been asked before, but could you discuss and dedicate a whole video to HX STOMP specific routing? I've watched Line 6's demos and they're good, but boy do they fly past the material. To me the ports on the unit seem to connect a little differently to an effects loop or setting up cap Sims, etc. And I am simply not an engineer. Considering there's millions of users out there, perhaps I wouldn't be alone. Keep on what you're doing!
Thanks Patrick. Full credit to Mejia who did the edit and graphics on this one. He knocked it out of the park! Thanks for those suggestions. We'll definitely add it to our list of possible future videos :)
Living in an apartment, a loud tube amp is just not really an option. So, I decided to go with an Iridium and I'm very happy with it. I have struggled with placement of pedals around it, though, so this video is very helpful. Thank you!
I use just a Boss multi effect board.. most of the time in the garage.. directly in to the board we have setup... works great and way lighter than my tube amp .. and way less wear and tear on it also ... but playing out i drag my amp and just run the Boss right in the front...like a drive pedal.. matter of fact i also run a Boss Combo Drive after the board.. and it just add the slightest bit of chime the board just doesn't have... i have always wanted to try others but i own this and it works well... Great video thanks... ✌👽👍
Being a drummer, I never got a lot of experience setting up effect pedal signal paths. Now that I have my home studio set up, I want to make sure I have a nice assortment of effects and pedals available for my partner and I to dabble with to get tones for guitar, vocals, drums and whatever else comes down the proverbial pike. I am glad to see I have somewhat approximated the kind of setups demonstrated here. But definitely learned a few alternatives. One cool addition you might find of interest that I added to my signal flow is the Erica Synths Matrix Mixer which I am using to program and automate from what and to where I can send my signal path for up to 16 inputs to 16 outputs. It can get really interesting. Thanks again for what you do. Cheers!
Super handy video. I have to go amp-less at a church and have been coping by using my Mesa boogie vtwin. I was stuck using the clean channel til I realized I could put my time based stuff after the boogie’s output and could set the calibration on my nova delay….now I’ve got cleaner delays, can run the boogie like a dirty amp, and can go stereo with two direct boxes if I get greedy.
The Boss IR-200 is so underrated. It has an effects loops which you can program to before or after amp, 2 eqs, reverb, noise gate, stereo with 2 different amp/cab combos u can split L/R, can act as simple midi controller, u can upload your IRs, tons of amps including bass…. It’s amazing, sounds amazing.
HAPPY NEW YEAR. I know it's late but still. Before I became a Gear head, I knew the basics, got my big muff,cry baby,CH-1,Boss digital delay ( I dont remember if it was DD3) and the DS-1. And then in 2014 got a Digitech RP360XP for xmas. I loved it, later went to pedals again. I got into TPS and learned more about everything.amp+cab simulation were in that RP360XP. Let me tell you the Heads and Cabinet or DEAD ON. This for me is a Sleeper pedal, I go to guitar center and bring the pedal and when compared to the real deal its extremely close
Nice work, Mason and hats off to vertex effects for putting on this video very helpful. I was going up that path already and apparently hooking things up right this video just confirmed it. Thanks.
Excellent, clearly explained and easy to understand. I use an Iridium when not using regular amps and use it in a stereo set up. What I learned from your demo is that I have my boost and volume pedal in the wrong place, many thanks for helping me understand why! Keep up the great work! 👍🎶
As someone who just bought a dream 65 and ruby this came at the perfect time for me. I’m running them kind of different than what you show here. But most likely I’ll switch it up. I’m running polytune> Nobels>obne visitor(modulation)> obne sunlight( tape reverb) > DL4 mk2> ruby> gfi specular tempus for reverb> walrus audio canvas in stereo. Signal chain starts in stereo after my dl4 . Run stereo xlr out through the canvas into interface or frfr. With the dream I don’t need the reverb as it has one so I just run that as the end of chain before canvas. The obne sunlight I have I kind of use separate even though it’s on the board. Mostly use it di into interface no amp modeling for pad sounds. So that explains why it’s in a weird place in my signal chain. I do recommend if you like reverb to set it after the ruby and not in front. I messed around with that for a while.
@@VertexEffectsInc yes. I agree I’m literally tinkering as we speak. I just got it and first setup was kind of a simple tone test. I’m also rewatching and picked up some other stuff I might try with wet dry wet. Thanks again Mason
You may be aware, but if you run them in stereo with the ruby on the brilliant channel (I think it’s just the brilliant?) you’ll need to flip the phase on one of them at FOH or with a pedal that does it for you if FOH can’t.
Nice to see something about this, I came back to guitar about 1.5 years ago and have joined a band, using just a pedal board. And it's taken a while to get the set up right, Iridium really helped to create the amp feel, and a DI box, and a whole host of pedal swapping. Can be hard to get your head around how to create all the tones you need. (Without using digital modelling. As that's just not for me!)
Thank you so much for this Doc. It would be interesting to hear next time if you can talk about Fractal Axe Efx, Neural DSP Quad Cortex, Kemper, Line6 Helix and the likes of it on how you set up this type of rigs on a live situation or how you incorporate this on a pedalboard set up along with some analog pedals. Thank You!
Nice vid and clear explanation. I am using the ruby to create an ampless rig and loving it. My modulation and wet effects are after the ruby to make them more pristine. I run a boss EQ pedal last in chain to create a clean volume boost for solos as I run the ruby dirty and have noticed that the reverb pedal I have tends to distort when boosted. Works like a charm!
I'm thinking of getting one of these ampsims pedals, probably the UA Dream 65....there are almost too many options today. This is good information. Thanks Mason
Very cool. I use more high gain and I used to always play tube amps, but not allowed much anymore. So, I'm looking at the Boss IR2 and some saturation pedals like a boss SD1 or maybe a boost before and after the amp, and some delay and a micro pitch and reverb and my Morley wah for sure, and maybe a phaser or flange from time to time and I was so wondering about XLR to FOH. You answered that, so thanks. I might just end up with the UA plexi amp sim pedal because it sounds so damn good on the brown sound. I love this channel, but I wish you would do more on High gain stuff. Just blues rock type stuff. Like Thin Lizzy, and Lynard Skynard and tones like that from pedals or amps . Best regards and great channel. I always like and I'm subscribed..❤
0:21 Not all are digital! Kingsley Amps make amazing ‘Pre Amp’ pedals that are all analog! Love the content! Thanks for all your commitment to educating us ❤
It's not really the same as these all-in-one amplifier simulators that have preamp, power amp, speaker/cabinet, and mics in the same box. To make the Kingsley behave as an amplifier like these you're still required to use some sort of power amp and cabinet or something like a Two Notes Cab M to complete the signal path of an amplifier.
@@VertexEffectsIncthese are the sort of comment threads that's are so useful. The original poster putting over a view very politely and complementing your channel. And then your detailed, but positive, explanation if the misunderstanding/difference. Useful because I read his and thought "er I don't think they are the same" so to so detailed confirmation of that really helps on the learning curve. Thanks to you both.
Hey Mason, amazing video as always :)) I use the DSM & Humbolt Simplifier Classic which has an integrated FX loop and balanced XLR outputs. I’ve been using the pedal live for months now and couldn’t be more happy with it. Just plug in the board and run the front of house. A save for any giging guitarist!
I use my Boss NS2 in conjunction with my Moore XP Live's effects loop to do a 4 cable method and keep my time based effects nice and separate from my Digitech ricochet and Octaver running clean close to my guitar signal. All distorted and clean amp.sounds are run directly from the Moore.
This so helpful Mason ! I watched many other signal chain videos for Amp-less rigs and only your detailed video gives me all the understanding and options w my Strymon Iridium. NICE ONE !!!
Nothing else will beat American Sound pedal (Joyo, Ammoon, Harley Benton...). That's the greatest cost-benefit ratio on pedal history. Same goes to the M-Vave Mini Universe and mosky bb box. Hard to beat that tone with that little money.
I'm a simple man. All mono, going into the Two Notes Torpedo Cab M+ with the preamp + poweramp + cab sim + a little verb. Set completely clean and flat so the pedals - coming before - are doing all the clipping and EQ. Cheers. HM
I see your point, but if you run all the pedals after the amp, then your reverb and frem would be before your modulation and delays. So I run my Dream 65 in the more traditional way. I then split my signal after my fuzz and drives (before modulation) and run the signal to a JTM45 head that (in time when I’ll have the chance to buy it) will go to a two notes captor x. But for now it just gives me the opportunity to have a live amp on stages for the guitar amp relationship, and then I have my wets running to FOH and in my in-ears.
What a wealth of knowledge. I have a DSM Humboldt Electronics Simplifier. I just got it. Still learning it on how I want to run it. Have you messed around with this device? Thank you.
Been running an ampless rig w/d/w with the SSS as my “amp” in combination with the ultraphonix mk2 and Vox silk drive and the story on night sky and volante in the effects send on my mixer. Best choice
This is great stuff. I would love to see a breakdown of signal path once the foh gets it. Ij the variety of options for monitoring ( wedges, iem, etc )
This is great. You may have just sold me on getting a UA Ruby (side note: I wish there only there was stand-alone modeling for Matchless. IRs to the rescue?). Anyway, I feel like the perfect follow up to this would be a discussion on stereo width techniques i.e haas effect vs LCR and then for live mono FOH, optimizing a guitar’s place in the mix given the mono restrictions. You can even talk about Goodwoods new RCV box and the difference between “mix” and “sum”. I know I’d appreciate it! Good stuff today 👍🏼
Great Video Sir and thank you for sharing your knowledge(empirical).You have a lot if it. My name is Les & I have just 1 question if that's ok.Preface- I'm fairly new at Guitar and I have tried employing the following Method(s) right out of the gate for connecting to my Mixer(I should add for Context my 'faire des projets' : 100% Home Studio/Short Distances for all connections/100% Recording with Backing Tracks,no Live Performing with Guitar): My approach looks like this: ALL WIRELESS: 1.Bluetooth Stereo connectivity from Android instead of Wired(downloading Backing Tracks from UA-cam), 2.Wireless(RF)Headphone connectivity instead of Wired,3.Latency-Free,Wireless Guitar Input connectivity with UHF Reciever/Transmitter,4.Shure Wireless Microphone connectivity.I think that covers it.Final Point- It was because of an Inquiry into WiFi 6 that compelled me to go all out with Wireless.I read that WiFi 6's Technology has virtually caught up to the current Heavyweight Champ 'WIRED ETHERNET'.Iam kind of gambling into thinking that the Audio Recording World will very soon be 'Very Wireless'.Should I hit the reset Button and think twice about marching forward with a Wireless Mindset or should I start looking for all of my Cables?Thank you very much.
Hey Mason, thank you for this awesome video! I have a question for you regarding the stereo setup. I have your buffer. Would you run wet FXs > Buffer > Dream > DI > FOH, or would you run wet FXs > Dream > Buffer > DI > FOH?
Thank you so much for this info am really considering trying these individual amp sims verses the the all in one multi effects deep dive menu situations
OUTSTANDING advice and information ~ exceptionally presented and super generous, wow Mason thank you! I'll be gearing up with some of your buffers and boosts 100%! I have on my agenda to get help from a Rig Dr. consultation too. You could 'aka' this channel as Rock Star University man. The effort you put into your business and channel really comes across and the quality shines, super positive vibes. Great input and tips from the community also thanks all ~ awesome!!!
In the digital age, things have gotten much more complicated. Back in the '70s and '80s, when I made a living playing full time, my high-end amps didn't even have effects sends and returns. I kept my pedal array very simple ... a Vox Wah, MSR Distortion, MSR Phase 90, a Japanese Boss Chorus, and of course, Echo & Reverb. With those effects and the controls I had on my amps and guitar ... I could get any range of sound effects I needed. My current rig is not quite as simple, but I still limit my "toys" in the rig.
Great video and useful information as usual! I just got a Simplifier classic, not sure the tone is better than the alternatives but the opportunities in terms of connectivity are way better than Iridium & co
1) I don't think you need a boost at the end of the first half of your chain. The "Volume" on your distortion pedal is there for adjusting the output level. Right after that, you have an EQ with, again, a dedicated all-frequency boost/cut control (which you have shown at max boost). 2) A wah isn't a dynamic effect; it's a filter. It works by boosting/cutting select ranges of frequencies (just like your modulation effects like chorus, phaser, and flanger do). Just like the modulation effects, it has the most effect _after_ the distortion has filled the signal with lots of overtone frequencies.
I use a Shure GLDX16+ wireless guitar setup, in which the transmitter is also a tuner pedal and placed on the pedalboard. If I were to add an input buffer to my pedalboard, the only way to use the wireless system as intended would be to have the buffer pedal AFTER the Shure transmitter, because putting the buffer before the transmitter would require a wired setup, if I'm not mistaken. The transmitter pedal has a 100 ohm output, but the input is 900k ohms, falling short of your minimum that you recommend. So, is it the case that in order to have a properly "buffered" setup, I'll need to give up playing wireless? Cheers for your informative content.
I’m gonna catch crap for saying this, but one of the best pedals to use for an amp less setup, if you want that old school fender tone, is the Joyo American sound pedal. It’s not an amp/cab sim per se, but it does produce some absolutely killer sounds for $30-40.
Excellent content here...The digital amp emulators are still TOO DAMN PRICEY & still a bit behind the USA made Tech21 sansamp technology. Because their cab-sim is designed to also work *WITH* your traditional amp and speaker, it is not always the best sounding DI, but is still very good and flexible. Simply adding or stacking the sansamp into a standalone speaker sim or IR plugin yields the most realistic DI sound and feel that I have employed. The sansamp amp and their clones like the JOYO american sound are ALSO VERY effective in *re-voicing* a very sterile and cheap solid state amps or Blues Juniors into something much much better.
Greetings. My post might a little long, but it should be fun/stupid/entertaining (and, on the subject matter, of course). Oddly -- unrelated, ish -- I've been doing acoustic for about a year, but we all love electric and we all love our gear/rigs (give or take). Regardless (acoustic/electric), in ampless mode, I am always playing at headphone level (I even use the mixer out to headphone for my acoustics, as I mic a la Sure SM58 (not 57, but 58 -- all good, either way). For my last electric performance (Spiggot, circa spring of 2022), on a Univox Les Paul Junior clone (1978), I had an interesting amp-full/amp-less rig -- I have a modest pedalboard, and I run that to a 1964 Sears Silvertone 1482 (the single speaker combo with the rectangle cutout), but I run my Silvertone tube amp through the Bugera PS-1, which has a line out plus an XLR cab-sim out. I had my Silvertone pumped up to 8 on the volume (it's a 20 watt tube amp), and I run the line-out to my Pod GO, and I run the XLR cab-sim out to a small Euro-402 mixer, which then mixes the output of the Pod Go (after a digital reverb / stereo) with the cab-sim and then I send all of that to yet another mixer (Mackie DFX-12), where I add the final 5-band EQ along with yet another room-digital effect on the Mackie, and then I record the tape-out of the final mix to a Zoom H1N field recorder (a la line-in). On my front pedalboard, I have the usual assortment of NRs, Aphex Aural Exciter, a VT999 vintage tube monster. On the pod go, I have a full chain of amp/cab and effects (both drive and ambient), and I run the effects loop of the pod go to a Arion Chorus (stereo). Fun/stupid/entertaining gear signal path description for y'all to enjoy, chuckle. I must say, my Les Paul Junior (clone) sounded super-grungy on that set up. Oh, I replaced the Arion Chorus with a Zoom MS-70 CDR (remember the pod go limitations?, well the Zoom MS-70 CDR adds another 6 effects to the chain! Chuckle). Blessings... (it's 2023, we need all the help we can get, it's getting pretty scary out there).
Thanks for the explanation. Was considering a UA lion, UA Dream, and a UA Ox Stomp as a 3 pedal board. Im not sure if I need a power amp in a box - to be able to send one signal to a onstage FRFR cabinet. The other to go through a DI to front of house.
5:57 I understand that a lot of amp sims have an Xlr output, while other pedals usually dont. So isn't it better to hit the mixer/foh with an xlr cable coming out of the preamp than with a quarter inch jack (out of the reverb here) ? Isn't the Xlr output usually more balanced ?
I saw the Simplifier in the thumbnail, and was hoping that you would've covered that in W/D/W configuration as it does have an effects loop and stereo XLR/unbalanced outputs.
Agreed, came for the simplifier section, as the unit addresses some of the issues mentioned in this video with other amp style boxes. Would you consider doing a video on it and it's possibilities in the future?
@@VertexEffectsInc But wouldn't that mean that you would then need 3 additional speaker simulated D.I. devices? The Simplifier has stereo return, and dual XLR/line outs.
@@brettmarlar4154 My current setup utilizes the stereo returns in the fx loop, then going out stereo XLR (which are balanced.) I use the 1/4" Left output on the THRU setting. The only problem I have with this, is that it bypasses the Simplifier entirely, preamp and all. I'm only recording at home, so on my dry signal, I use a cab sim plugin. If I were to go live, I'd probably send that through an actual amp
@@AdamGarrett72 Of course, I want to use the preamp sound in the mix as well. Of course I have another preamp I would like to use as well to get a couple other tones that the Simplifier doesn't have. That would require a switchable loop pedal that has two outputs and another speaker simulated DI (which I do have from a previous mono version of my rig). When recording, I plug directly into a D.I. box that is always connected to my interface, and use its throughput to connect to my pedalboard which comes back to the interface in stereo with the left and right XLR's. I can always re-amp the straight D.I. track through the pedalboard in mono without the effectsif I wish not to blend another amp tone to the sound.
No, this would pretty much be 1:1. You can also reference our bass signal path video as well for a bit more in depth understanding of the pedalboard order before the amp.
With the Fuzz Face before the tuner, are you going to have to remember to turn off the Fuzz Face before tuning? I've always had tuners first to ensure they get the cleanest signal possible. I also tend to use tuners that have a built in buffer to avoid having two pedals. Curious to the downsides of this approach when you're compensating for an impedance sensitive device.
Far too many pro's / hardware manufacturers just assume everyone knows this stuff. Thanks for being different and explaining everything clearly 😉.
You’ve been doing a great service for our community, I wish you all the success.
Wow, thanks so much Cam!
You don't know about his past, do ya?
@@middaymeds I’m aware, but I don’t live in the past. You should consider life in the moment because failures tend to live in the past.
@@CamBaldeonagreed! Been a learning a lot from him lately.
@@middaymeds Everyone has a past and nobody is perfect, but the goal is growth and we should be lifting each other up
Man this video answered questions I didn't even know I had. Thanks so much Mason, I'm going Ampless for my church Worship setup and you've just saved me heaps of stress and time I would have wasted otherwise!
The depth of your tutorial is fantastic; yet, HOLY MOLY the complexity of a complete virtual rig is making me consider going acoustic and singing on a picnic blanket in the park . . . alone. ;-0
I use the Bass Simplifier and it has changed my whole sound. I couldn't live without it!
Wow, that's great! Congrats!
These new amp pedals have truly changed the game for me personally. The genre of music I play the sound men usually run your rig directly into the DI and out of a DI into your amp. They don't care if you're playing a $20k two rock amp. They're not micing it up. So, even though the tone out of your amp and something like magic. That DI sound is like a kazoo if you have any type of drive on. The UA Dream 65 has changed this for me. I run two lines out the outputs. One to my monitor or "power in" section of my amp. The other to the DI box. The IR's and cam Sims on any of the UA pedals are CRAZY good. Now I don't lose my tone.
I have never seen this explained better. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work! God bless.
It's good to be validated. I have a set up almost exactly like this.
My guitar signal is like this:
Guitar
Tuner
Compressor
Distortion (amp sim preamp pedal)
Overdrive
Noise gate
Mooer D.I. box.
^it has cab sim, d.i. xlr out [dry], and an unbalanced out to continue the chain.
Univibe
Chorus
Mono female to dual mono male adapter
Stereo in EQD Avalanche Run delay/reverb
Left Stereo out to Joyo JDI-01 #1 [Wet Left]
Right stereo out to Joyo JDI-01 #2
[Wet Right]
Both of those have XLR outs to FoH or Interface.
Thanks a bunch! I placed my wet effects after the Dream as you suggested, and the sound got SO MUCH better! 👍
Awesome video and good timing for me. I’m putting together an
Ampless praise and worship board for church right now.✌️👍
Great! Hope this helps! I hope we earned your subscription!
I go back to when we brought our 30 watt amp to church and mic'd it or used the line out if it had one. Some people even tried using just a pedal with some boost like an overdrive pedal with the gain turned down to go to the board. Sometimes there were 3 amps up there all blaring. Thank God for these amp simulators.
What a timely blessing this video is. I am reworking my rig to go amp less today with the Woodrow.
Absolutely spot on explanation, thanks! Been trying to understand half of this stuff for years!!
So many good tips, Uncle Mase, idk what the pedal world would do without you. I've been playing digital for about 4 years now. I have a stomp, and I've always put my wet effects last on the chain and go straight into the stomp. But if your digital rig has an fx loop, run the wet effects into it either mono or stereo because it takes away so much digital harshness. Having your drives smash the amp and putting the wet effects post is amazing. Also, if you're running the stomp, axe fx, quad cortex, etc. put a compressor with a low mix after your amp and cab before your reverb tames a lot of digital noise coming from driving the amps into the delay/verbs. Because a lot of modelers are frfr, so you just get so many crazy signals coming through that you won't get with a regular amp. Love your content always!
Thanks for watching and the thoughtful comment!
You can also get into your global settings on the Stomp and set a high and low cut to taste. It will remove a lot of that extra signal and stay in the traditional amp spectrum.
Thanks, this answered my question about using the boss ir-2 in a simple stereo ampless rig. 👍👍👍
The graphics, the editing...the clarity. You keep evolving Mason. Thank you. I still think in metaphors and concepts more than technology and blueprints, but your delivery continues to be more focused and It's getting easier to follow along. Such a useful presentation on this topic
2 video suggestions:
- Would you consider a video on a cable management of your brand new STUDIO and WORKSTATION? Beyond the pedalboard, I'm a firm believer you can apply that kind of tidiness elswhere in one's music space. And I'm fairly certain many cords behind an average computer are a rats nest, lit up by some sort of LED light to create the illusion all is well. Or maybe it just signals you like create. Either way, I bet you could make one mean video on it?
- It's been asked before, but could you discuss and dedicate a whole video to HX STOMP specific routing? I've watched Line 6's demos and they're good, but boy do they fly past the material. To me the ports on the unit seem to connect a little differently to an effects loop or setting up cap Sims, etc. And I am simply not an engineer. Considering there's millions of users out there, perhaps I wouldn't be alone.
Keep on what you're doing!
Thanks Patrick. Full credit to Mejia who did the edit and graphics on this one. He knocked it out of the park! Thanks for those suggestions. We'll definitely add it to our list of possible future videos :)
Living in an apartment, a loud tube amp is just not really an option. So, I decided to go with an Iridium and I'm very happy with it. I have struggled with placement of pedals around it, though, so this video is very helpful. Thank you!
I'm so glad! Hopefully it's useful!
I use just a Boss multi effect board.. most of the time in the garage.. directly in to the board we have setup... works great and way lighter than my tube amp .. and way less wear and tear on it also ... but playing out i drag my amp and just run the Boss right in the front...like a drive pedal.. matter of fact i also run a Boss Combo Drive after the board.. and it just add the slightest bit of chime the board just doesn't have... i have always wanted to try others but i own this and it works well...
Great video thanks...
✌👽👍
Thank you for instantly answering questions/fears I had about my UA lion and solutions given in a straightforward concise video!
Being a drummer, I never got a lot of experience setting up effect pedal signal paths. Now that I have my home studio set up, I want to make sure I have a nice assortment of effects and pedals available for my partner and I to dabble with to get tones for guitar, vocals, drums and whatever else comes down the proverbial pike. I am glad to see I have somewhat approximated the kind of setups demonstrated here. But definitely learned a few alternatives. One cool addition you might find of interest that I added to my signal flow is the Erica Synths Matrix Mixer which I am using to program and automate from what and to where I can send my signal path for up to 16 inputs to 16 outputs. It can get really interesting. Thanks again for what you do. Cheers!
Thank you for the explanation. When I build my next pedalboards I am selling my Pedaltrain board and picking up one of yours.
There I am trying to figure out an amp less option, and thank goodness you have a video about this. Everybody else is a bunch of fluff.
unexpected result from watching this video, I finally understand Wet/Dry/Wet set ups!! thanks!
Wow, great news! Hope we earned your sub!
Super handy video. I have to go amp-less at a church and have been coping by using my Mesa boogie vtwin. I was stuck using the clean channel til I realized I could put my time based stuff after the boogie’s output and could set the calibration on my nova delay….now I’ve got cleaner delays, can run the boogie like a dirty amp, and can go stereo with two direct boxes if I get greedy.
Thanks for watching!
The Boss IR-200 is so underrated. It has an effects loops which you can program to before or after amp, 2 eqs, reverb, noise gate, stereo with 2 different amp/cab combos u can split L/R, can act as simple midi controller, u can upload your IRs, tons of amps including bass…. It’s amazing, sounds amazing.
EXCELLENT video! I have always struggled with the concepts of "wet-dry-wet" rigs, and this made it much more clear
HAPPY NEW YEAR. I know it's late but still.
Before I became a Gear head, I knew the basics, got my big muff,cry baby,CH-1,Boss digital delay ( I dont remember if it was DD3) and the DS-1. And then in 2014 got a Digitech RP360XP for xmas. I loved it, later went to pedals again. I got into TPS and learned more about everything.amp+cab simulation were in that RP360XP. Let me tell you the Heads and Cabinet or DEAD ON. This for me is a Sleeper pedal, I go to guitar center and bring the pedal and when compared to the real deal its extremely close
Nice! Thanks for the comment!
Nice work, Mason and hats off to vertex effects for putting on this video very helpful. I was going up that path already and apparently hooking things up right this video just confirmed it. Thanks.
Excellent, clearly explained and easy to understand. I use an Iridium when not using regular amps and use it in a stereo set up. What I learned from your demo is that I have my boost and volume pedal in the wrong place, many thanks for helping me understand why! Keep up the great work! 👍🎶
Good video. I do the same idea within the helix using the DSM Humboldt DLX 4cm.
Love this sort of content 👍🏼
Thanks so much! Hope we earned your subscription!
@@VertexEffectsInc of course
Thanks, doc! Your rundowns are always clear crispy and concise, and also superlative!
Best video about ampless signal chain. Simple, clear, good examples. Thank u for sharing. Keep doing these stuff. Best luck for your work 🍻🤟
As someone who just bought a dream 65 and ruby this came at the perfect time for me.
I’m running them kind of different than what you show here. But most likely I’ll switch it up. I’m running polytune> Nobels>obne visitor(modulation)> obne sunlight( tape reverb) > DL4 mk2> ruby> gfi specular tempus for reverb> walrus audio canvas in stereo. Signal chain starts in stereo after my dl4 . Run stereo xlr out through the canvas into interface or frfr. With the dream I don’t need the reverb as it has one so I just run that as the end of chain before canvas. The obne sunlight I have I kind of use separate even though it’s on the board. Mostly use it di into interface no amp modeling for pad sounds. So that explains why it’s in a weird place in my signal chain. I do recommend if you like reverb to set it after the ruby and not in front. I messed around with that for a while.
I would suggest trying the Modulation, Tape Reverb, and DL4 all after the amp sims in stereo into your Canvas.
@@VertexEffectsInc yes. I agree I’m literally tinkering as we speak. I just got it and first setup was kind of a simple tone test. I’m also rewatching and picked up some other stuff I might try with wet dry wet. Thanks again Mason
You may be aware, but if you run them in stereo with the ruby on the brilliant channel (I think it’s just the brilliant?) you’ll need to flip the phase on one of them at FOH or with a pedal that does it for you if FOH can’t.
Nice to see something about this, I came back to guitar about 1.5 years ago and have joined a band, using just a pedal board. And it's taken a while to get the set up right, Iridium really helped to create the amp feel, and a DI box, and a whole host of pedal swapping. Can be hard to get your head around how to create all the tones you need. (Without using digital modelling. As that's just not for me!)
Mase! Right out of the park! A walkoff winner. 😎
thank you for making time on this!🍻
Mason, your content is very enriching! Love it!
I'm so glad! Thanks for watching! Hope we earned your subscription!
Your channel Mason is guitar signal university, man great job, really appreciate your content.
Vertex makes pedals that feel awesome. Now you know why! 🎉 thanks for the video
Thank you for this wonderful guideline . Helped a lot . Keep posting such videos related to signal path and Mainly using pedals on recording
Thank you so much for this Doc. It would be interesting to hear next time if you can talk about Fractal Axe Efx, Neural DSP Quad Cortex, Kemper, Line6 Helix and the likes of it on how you set up this type of rigs on a live situation or how you incorporate this on a pedalboard set up along with some analog pedals. Thank You!
Truly the easiest explanation and examples out there thanks man…
Nice vid and clear explanation. I am using the ruby to create an ampless rig and loving it. My modulation and wet effects are after the ruby to make them more pristine. I run a boss EQ pedal last in chain to create a clean volume boost for solos as I run the ruby dirty and have noticed that the reverb pedal I have tends to distort when boosted. Works like a charm!
Great vid, i can always count on you to answer/ preempt my questions.
This is EXACTLY THE VIDEO I NEEDED
Thank you! Very informative and the images really helped!
I'm thinking of getting one of these ampsims pedals, probably the UA Dream 65....there are almost too many options today. This is good information. Thanks Mason
Hope it helps!
Very cool. I use more high gain and I used to always play tube amps, but not allowed much anymore. So, I'm looking at the Boss IR2 and some saturation pedals like a boss SD1 or maybe a boost before and after the amp, and some delay and a micro pitch and reverb and my Morley wah for sure, and maybe a phaser or flange from time to time and I was so wondering about XLR to FOH. You answered that, so thanks.
I might just end up with the UA plexi amp sim pedal because it sounds so damn good on the brown sound.
I love this channel, but I wish you would do more on High gain stuff. Just blues rock type stuff. Like Thin Lizzy, and Lynard Skynard and tones like that from pedals or amps .
Best regards and great channel. I always like and I'm subscribed..❤
0:21 Not all are digital! Kingsley Amps make amazing ‘Pre Amp’ pedals that are all analog! Love the content! Thanks for all your commitment to educating us ❤
It's not really the same as these all-in-one amplifier simulators that have preamp, power amp, speaker/cabinet, and mics in the same box. To make the Kingsley behave as an amplifier like these you're still required to use some sort of power amp and cabinet or something like a Two Notes Cab M to complete the signal path of an amplifier.
@@VertexEffectsIncthese are the sort of comment threads that's are so useful. The original poster putting over a view very politely and complementing your channel. And then your detailed, but positive, explanation if the misunderstanding/difference.
Useful because I read his and thought "er I don't think they are the same" so to so detailed confirmation of that really helps on the learning curve. Thanks to you both.
I use a Boss IR-200, and I don't know if I made the right choice...
I'm looking forward to what you are going to say Dr.! 😁
Paul Jackson Jr. loves these, they're nice. I have not objections.
Mason- no bias- one sentence- what's the best cab sim out there for gigging musician? Thx love your stuff- God Bless
Hey Mason, amazing video as always :)) I use the DSM & Humbolt Simplifier Classic which has an integrated FX loop and balanced XLR outputs. I’ve been using the pedal live for months now and couldn’t be more happy with it. Just plug in the board and run the front of house. A save for any giging guitarist!
Wow, great news!
Hey I’m thinking about getting the same pedal myself. Which pedals would you send to the FX loop?
It has good buffer on it right?
I use my Boss NS2 in conjunction with my Moore XP Live's effects loop to do a 4 cable method and keep my time based effects nice and separate from my Digitech ricochet and Octaver running clean close to my guitar signal. All distorted and clean amp.sounds are run directly from the Moore.
Thank you
This was the best explanation I’ve seen
Amazingly simplified with all the pitfalls
👍👍
Wow, thanks! Hope we earned your subscription!
@@VertexEffectsInc I was already subscribed
Sometimes the chairmen of the board are a little late for me but I watch eventually 👍
This so helpful Mason ! I watched many other signal chain videos for Amp-less rigs and only your detailed video gives me all the understanding and options w my Strymon Iridium. NICE ONE !!!
Wow, great news!
Thanks 🙏. Been doing both and not sure if it was right. Been trying to find info on this for a while. 🎉
Nothing else will beat American Sound pedal (Joyo, Ammoon, Harley Benton...). That's the greatest cost-benefit ratio on pedal history. Same goes to the M-Vave Mini Universe and mosky bb box. Hard to beat that tone with that little money.
Very helpful. Thank you.
Now do it with an amp-sim pedal that has an effects loop!
I think between this video and our advanced signal paths video you can caveat based on the main principles laid out here :). I believe in you!
I'm a simple man.
All mono, going into the Two Notes Torpedo Cab M+ with the preamp + poweramp + cab sim + a little verb.
Set completely clean and flat so the pedals - coming before - are doing all the clipping and EQ.
Cheers.
HM
Nice, that's another way to go!
I see your point, but if you run all the pedals after the amp, then your reverb and frem would be before your modulation and delays.
So I run my Dream 65 in the more traditional way.
I then split my signal after my fuzz and drives (before modulation) and run the signal to a JTM45 head that (in time when I’ll have the chance to buy it) will go to a two notes captor x.
But for now it just gives me the opportunity to have a live amp on stages for the guitar amp relationship, and then I have my wets running to FOH and in my in-ears.
Your good Mason, very good. And you keep getting better over the years.
I appreciate that!
What a wealth of knowledge. I have a DSM Humboldt Electronics Simplifier. I just got it. Still learning it on how I want to run it. Have you messed around with this device? Thank you.
Been running an ampless rig w/d/w with the SSS as my “amp” in combination with the ultraphonix mk2 and Vox silk drive and the story on night sky and volante in the effects send on my mixer. Best choice
This is great stuff. I would love to see a breakdown of signal path once the foh gets it. Ij the variety of options for monitoring ( wedges, iem, etc )
This is great. You may have just sold me on getting a UA Ruby (side note: I wish there only there was stand-alone modeling for Matchless. IRs to the rescue?). Anyway, I feel like the perfect follow up to this would be a discussion on stereo width techniques i.e haas effect vs LCR and then for live mono FOH, optimizing a guitar’s place in the mix given the mono restrictions. You can even talk about Goodwoods new RCV box and the difference between “mix” and “sum”. I know I’d appreciate it! Good stuff today 👍🏼
I second this 👆🏻
Thanks for the comments and suggestions!
Thank you! I was waiting for this 🙏🙏🙏
Wow, great!
Great suggestions for alternate routing with amp sims! I’ll have to try some of these.
Great Video Sir and thank you for sharing your knowledge(empirical).You have a lot if it. My name is Les & I have just 1 question if that's ok.Preface- I'm fairly new at Guitar and I have tried employing the following Method(s) right out of the gate for connecting to my Mixer(I should add for Context my 'faire des projets' : 100% Home Studio/Short Distances for all connections/100% Recording with Backing Tracks,no Live Performing with Guitar): My approach looks like this: ALL WIRELESS: 1.Bluetooth Stereo connectivity from Android instead of Wired(downloading Backing Tracks from UA-cam), 2.Wireless(RF)Headphone connectivity instead of Wired,3.Latency-Free,Wireless Guitar Input connectivity with UHF Reciever/Transmitter,4.Shure Wireless Microphone connectivity.I think that covers it.Final Point- It was because of an Inquiry into WiFi 6 that compelled me to go all out with Wireless.I read that WiFi 6's Technology has virtually caught up to the current Heavyweight Champ 'WIRED ETHERNET'.Iam kind of gambling into thinking that the Audio Recording World will very soon be 'Very Wireless'.Should I hit the reset Button and think twice about marching forward with a Wireless Mindset or should I start looking for all of my Cables?Thank you very much.
Damn that is hella tech , jeff beck plugs straight in to amp and sounds like God!
Hey Mason, thank you for this awesome video! I have a question for you regarding the stereo setup. I have your buffer. Would you run wet FXs > Buffer > Dream > DI > FOH, or would you run wet FXs > Dream > Buffer > DI > FOH?
That was super-helpful and very well explained! Thank you! 🤘
Solid video! Well thought out and easy to follow. 👍
Thank you so much for this info am really considering trying these individual amp sims verses the the all in one multi effects deep dive menu situations
OUTSTANDING advice and information ~ exceptionally presented and super generous, wow Mason thank you! I'll be gearing up with some of your buffers and boosts 100%! I have on my agenda to get help from a Rig Dr. consultation too. You could 'aka' this channel as Rock Star University man. The effort you put into your business and channel really comes across and the quality shines, super positive vibes. Great input and tips from the community also thanks all ~ awesome!!!
another reason for the DI is to get rid of any ground loop hum if you’re using 4 cable method / wet/dry method etc
In the digital age, things have gotten much more complicated. Back in the '70s and '80s, when I made a living playing full time, my high-end amps didn't even have effects sends and returns. I kept my pedal array very simple ... a Vox Wah, MSR Distortion, MSR Phase 90, a Japanese Boss Chorus, and of course, Echo & Reverb. With those effects and the controls I had on my amps and guitar ... I could get any range of sound effects I needed. My current rig is not quite as simple, but I still limit my "toys" in the rig.
Great video and useful information as usual! I just got a Simplifier classic, not sure the tone is better than the alternatives but the opportunities in terms of connectivity are way better than Iridium & co
Great! Hope you enjoy it!
1) I don't think you need a boost at the end of the first half of your chain. The "Volume" on your distortion pedal is there for adjusting the output level. Right after that, you have an EQ with, again, a dedicated all-frequency boost/cut control (which you have shown at max boost). 2) A wah isn't a dynamic effect; it's a filter. It works by boosting/cutting select ranges of frequencies (just like your modulation effects like chorus, phaser, and flanger do). Just like the modulation effects, it has the most effect _after_ the distortion has filled the signal with lots of overtone frequencies.
I use a Shure GLDX16+ wireless guitar setup, in which the transmitter is also a tuner pedal and placed on the pedalboard. If I were to add an input buffer to my pedalboard, the only way to use the wireless system as intended would be to have the buffer pedal AFTER the Shure transmitter, because putting the buffer before the transmitter would require a wired setup, if I'm not mistaken. The transmitter pedal has a 100 ohm output, but the input is 900k ohms, falling short of your minimum that you recommend. So, is it the case that in order to have a properly "buffered" setup, I'll need to give up playing wireless? Cheers for your informative content.
Thought this was brilliant. Thanks for sharing this with us. All my best wishes from the UK. 😎😎😎😎👍👍👍👍
Wow, thanks so much!
I’m gonna catch crap for saying this, but one of the best pedals to use for an amp less setup, if you want that old school fender tone, is the Joyo American sound pedal. It’s not an amp/cab sim per se, but it does produce some absolutely killer sounds for $30-40.
This helps out so many people, Thank you!
I hope so!
Great! Flawless explanation! I’ll try the wet/dry examples with Strymon Iridium! Many thanks! Best! Regards 👏👏👏
Enjoy!
Exact pedal I needed , thank you !
Excellent content here...The digital amp emulators are still TOO DAMN PRICEY & still a bit behind the USA made Tech21 sansamp technology. Because their cab-sim is designed to also work *WITH* your traditional amp and speaker, it is not always the best sounding DI, but is still very good and flexible. Simply adding or stacking the sansamp into a standalone speaker sim or IR plugin yields the most realistic DI sound and feel that I have employed. The sansamp amp and their clones like the JOYO american sound are ALSO VERY effective in *re-voicing* a very sterile and cheap solid state amps or Blues Juniors into something much much better.
Greetings. My post might a little long, but it should be fun/stupid/entertaining (and, on the subject matter, of course).
Oddly -- unrelated, ish -- I've been doing acoustic for about a year, but we all love electric and we all love our gear/rigs (give or take). Regardless (acoustic/electric), in ampless mode, I am always playing at headphone level (I even use the mixer out to headphone for my acoustics, as I mic a la Sure SM58 (not 57, but 58 -- all good, either way).
For my last electric performance (Spiggot, circa spring of 2022), on a Univox Les Paul Junior clone (1978), I had an interesting amp-full/amp-less rig -- I have a modest pedalboard, and I run that to a 1964 Sears Silvertone 1482 (the single speaker combo with the rectangle cutout), but I run my Silvertone tube amp through the Bugera PS-1, which has a line out plus an XLR cab-sim out.
I had my Silvertone pumped up to 8 on the volume (it's a 20 watt tube amp), and I run the line-out to my Pod GO, and I run the XLR cab-sim out to a small Euro-402 mixer, which then mixes the output of the Pod Go (after a digital reverb / stereo) with the cab-sim and then I send all of that to yet another mixer (Mackie DFX-12), where I add the final 5-band EQ along with yet another room-digital effect on the Mackie, and then I record the tape-out of the final mix to a Zoom H1N field recorder (a la line-in).
On my front pedalboard, I have the usual assortment of NRs, Aphex Aural Exciter, a VT999 vintage tube monster. On the pod go, I have a full chain of amp/cab and effects (both drive and ambient), and I run the effects loop of the pod go to a Arion Chorus (stereo).
Fun/stupid/entertaining gear signal path description for y'all to enjoy, chuckle. I must say, my Les Paul Junior (clone) sounded super-grungy on that set up.
Oh, I replaced the Arion Chorus with a Zoom MS-70 CDR (remember the pod go limitations?, well the Zoom MS-70 CDR adds another 6 effects to the chain! Chuckle).
Blessings... (it's 2023, we need all the help we can get, it's getting pretty scary out there).
Thanks for the explanation.
Was considering a UA lion, UA Dream, and a UA Ox Stomp as a 3 pedal board.
Im not sure if I need a power amp in a box - to be able to send one signal to a onstage FRFR cabinet.
The other to go through a DI to front of house.
5:57 I understand that a lot of amp sims have an Xlr output, while other pedals usually dont. So isn't it better to hit the mixer/foh with an xlr cable coming out of the preamp than with a quarter inch jack (out of the reverb here) ? Isn't the Xlr output usually more balanced ?
Thanks...Your videos are always so clear and informative.
thanks for this breakdown
This makes soo much sense. Thanks for making this video. Super clear
I saw the Simplifier in the thumbnail, and was hoping that you would've covered that in W/D/W configuration as it does have an effects loop and stereo XLR/unbalanced outputs.
Shouldn't be too much different however, you can use the SEND as an output to the wet effects and don't need to split out the main outputs.
Agreed, came for the simplifier section, as the unit addresses some of the issues mentioned in this video with other amp style boxes. Would you consider doing a video on it and it's possibilities in the future?
@@VertexEffectsInc But wouldn't that mean that you would then need 3 additional speaker simulated D.I. devices? The Simplifier has stereo return, and dual XLR/line outs.
@@brettmarlar4154 My current setup utilizes the stereo returns in the fx loop, then going out stereo XLR (which are balanced.) I use the 1/4" Left output on the THRU setting. The only problem I have with this, is that it bypasses the Simplifier entirely, preamp and all. I'm only recording at home, so on my dry signal, I use a cab sim plugin. If I were to go live, I'd probably send that through an actual amp
@@AdamGarrett72 Of course, I want to use the preamp sound in the mix as well. Of course I have another preamp I would like to use as well to get a couple other tones that the Simplifier doesn't have. That would require a switchable loop pedal that has two outputs and another speaker simulated DI (which I do have from a previous mono version of my rig).
When recording, I plug directly into a D.I. box that is always connected to my interface, and use its throughput to connect to my pedalboard which comes back to the interface in stereo with the left and right XLR's. I can always re-amp the straight D.I. track through the pedalboard in mono without the effectsif I wish not to blend another amp tone to the sound.
Any changes or tips for Bass rigs?
No, this would pretty much be 1:1. You can also reference our bass signal path video as well for a bit more in depth understanding of the pedalboard order before the amp.
TED Talks material.
Thank you. 🙏🏽😊
My pleasure!
Please do a video about stereo setup with different amp sim boxes and phasing issues. E.g. A UA pedal on one channel and Iridium on another.
Thanks Mason!👍🫡👏
My wah and volume pedals both have an active buffer. Not sure why anyone would care, but there it is.
Thank you. Your knowledge and sharing is the best. 👏👏👏👏👏
With the Fuzz Face before the tuner, are you going to have to remember to turn off the Fuzz Face before tuning? I've always had tuners first to ensure they get the cleanest signal possible. I also tend to use tuners that have a built in buffer to avoid having two pedals. Curious to the downsides of this approach when you're compensating for an impedance sensitive device.
I have the UAFX Dream. Do I need an output buffer for this ampless rig or is the buffer included in the dream good enough by your standards? Thanks!