JVM FX loop

[Stitsel]

Hey guys,

perhaps this has been covered here before, but can anyone explain why I can't figure out my effects loop on my 410HD?

I know what to do; 1st effect input into SEND >>> RETURN back out into output of same effect, or into last effect in chain, with the effects connected in between....correct? Adjust FX level & I'm good right? Oh, and activate the loop button on front.....? It's possible I'm just an idiot & don't know what I'm doing......or, it just doesn't seem to work right. Sometimes it seems to work fine on certain channels; while not really working at all on others...... Anyhow, Ive been extremely busy the past several months, said screw it & just had time to play through my CODE 25 lately.Finally some time, cleaned out & rearranged my garage today & my jam space......cleaned up all my pedalboard spaghetti & really tried to take time & set it up right.Where did I get? NOWHERE! Extremely frustrated.Do I need to cart this head down to the local tech to see if something's wrong? I'm considering getting an all-in-one box, such as a Line 6 M13 & was hoping to just simply use the "4 cable method" : guitar into INPUT.... SEND out into amp SEND loop, amp RETURN loop out to RETURN on box, OUTPUT on box into front end of amp.I'm really tired of power supplies, plugged into each pedal, chaining them together correctly, getting the right ones in front of amp, the right ones into the loop ( that I can't figure out ) & all the other various headaches. I want simplicity, & the 4 channels on the JVM are all I'll ever need, so no need for an amp modeler or whatnot.

My pedal board is a s follows: Line 6 Relay 30 >>> TC Electronics Polytune >>> Crybaby into front of amp. BOSS Space Echo input into FX SEND >>> RETURN into Ernie Ball Ambient Delay output >>> input into EVH Chorus output >>> EVH input into BOSS Space Echo output ......FX Loop button on front engaged, MIX knob on back set to where I can hear it..... only the Chorus seems to work, very subtly.....the Space Echo very barely, the Ernie Ball pedal not at all. Regardless, I'm tired of the inconsistency of this amp's loop.Is it just me, or do I have a lemon? Or do these amps have sketchy loops? FWIW, the amp itself is golden.....if I just plug straight in it works like a motherfucker......

Can anyone please HELP.....!!!

Thanks in advance.

[jeffsmusic4919]

The things in front are good to go, Although I might put the tuner last before the effects return though. It will act like an amp mute button kind of and a tuner. Ok, here it goes for the rest......

Effects Send to the.......
EVH Chorus input
EVH Chorus output to the.....
Space Echo Input
Space Echo output to the......
Input of the Amient Delay
Ambient Delay output the.......
effects loop return
Put the mix on the back of the amp to full series
effects button in or on

This is the order I use pedals like these in. Having the chorus last would sound really odd but maybe that's the sound you are going for. You can adjust the effect level on all of the pedals till you reach the desired level, then adjust the overall mix with the mix knob on the back of the amp. Also if the amp has a +4/-10 button on back try both and select the louder of the two. I hope this helps.

[Stitsel]

Thank you so much for your advice, gonna go try it now..... I have a love/hate relationship with modulation effects ( chorus, flanger ....does phaser fit into this category? ) , I also have a bit of knowledge regarding reverb/delay/echo ( as I understand it, they're all the same thing; a time based effect....just varies by the time I guess....?) & the reason for the crazy setup is I just want to really dial in my reverbs & echoes, layer them >>> maybe have a certain delay, into a certain type of reverb....into a delay again.....I know this sounds crazy. Maybe I should just get a Mooer Ocean Machine ( the Devin Townsend pedal ) as I dig a lot of those spacey, atmospheric type of sounds, but then other times I just want to get a good Iron Maiden crunch thing going with just a bit of delay & some long sounding reverb like on their earlier album sounds. I mean, I'm basically a metalhead thrasher at heart but I love lots of other stuff too, so I want a good flexible rig. Hate the headaches. I'm basically a plug & play guy, but I love certain effects. I love Pat Travers flanger sounds, & Lifeson's too. I love that 80s chorus thing, just not so much Andy Summers, more like KK Downing & Dave Murray.....certainly EVH, hence the MXR EVH Chorus. Great pedal actually. I have flangers, a Phase 90, several delays & a few chorus's too. It really can become a headache. I'd rather be playing. That's why I said I'm considering an all-in-one pedalboard type FX system, ala the L6 M13..... we'll see....

The sound I'm going for.....? It's all over the map I guess, but I guess I gave you a good idea of my influences, at least some of the old school ones....

I just want to turn all this stuff on, & go. No more scratching my head, no more getting frustrated & no more lost time.

Sometimes I do consider an all in one thing like Fractal AxeFX or Kemper, but I need an school Marshall head driving my sound. I need, at bare minimum, a half stack. 50 or 100 watt head on top of a 4x12 cab....

Again, sorry for such a long winded rant for such a complete succinct answer on your part. I'm gonna go try it now.

Thank you for taking the time to hear me out & reply!

[Stitsel]

So..... I tried jeffmusic4919's advice, & ...... not much better I'm afraid. I honestly think maybe there's something wrong with the amp? Just to be sure, I unplugged everything & plugged straight in & all was well; I have the 6 button footswitch & have it set up for channels 1,2,3,4 & Master Vol. & 6th switch is reverb......hmmmmm...... it was supposedly new when I bought it at GC roughly 5 yrs ago; I asked them why it was so cheap..... ( 1k off, they were asking $1,500 for it. Their reply: just need to move it, it's sat here for over a year....ok, so I bought it! ) .....so I bought it & have been actually quite happy.It's a monster of an amp. Just cranking it through a single 4x12 Marshall cab (loaded with Vintage 30s) is absolutely glorious. So, I think overall the amp is fine, but something is funky with the FX loop. Maybe it needs to be serviced, huh? I honestly don't know. I'm just a little surprised, because honestly this thing doesn't have much time on it..... ( I won't get into my life story, but right around the time I bought it I became a father too, fast forward 5 yrs & now I'm ready to play it, ha!! ) so I can't understand why this thing isn't just primo, no matter what I do to it....it seems a bit fussy, which isn't what I'd expect from a mass produced thing like this. Maybe if it was a boutique whatever, sure I could see it, but this thing has kind of given me problems, from the get-go.....regarding effects. Mind you, straight in......GLORIOUS. Still. Just need to get to the bottom of this, soon. I'm really ready to play through this thing every day now!! I need my sound, dialed in, no problems.

Thanks again, for any advice/help.

[jeffsmusic4919]

Sorry to hear that it didnt work. You can try plugging the guitar directly to the return and see if you get sound. You can also try plugging your guitar to the amp in on back and see if you get sound. Then plug each pedal one at a time to the front of the amp. Check each wire connection seperatly also, that should isolate the problem.

[Stitsel]

Thank you again, those are all things I wouldn't have thought of. I will try it today, & see what's up.....

[Stitsel]

So, plugging RETURN on FX loop (with FX Level button pushed IN -10dBV ) yields a clean, direct-in type of sound out of speakers.....nothing from AMP IN return over on right side, but left side loop does deliver some quiet sound....getting somewhere I guess. I think it would not hurt to take it in for a service call, I never have & I bought it in 2012 or something.....

But regarding the loop on these JVM's, has anyone else experienced them being fussy or is it just user error? I did try plugging pedals one at a time into front end, the EB Delay didn't seem to be working at all, so there's a new problem ..... that pedal's fairly new too.What the hell. Anyways, I've experienced problems with the loop before I got that thing.

Thanks again.

[Stitsel]

Hey all, it's been awhile since I checked this site out, & then I remembered this thread I started a few months ago.
At the risk of sounding like a total moron, I got it all figured out! Well, I don't know what I was doing wrong before, but my peabrain decided to look at the L6 M13's manual & actually simply follow their hookup method into an FX loop. Can't recall what exactly, it's out in the garage & I'm too lazy on this sweltering PNW day to go out there & check out the signal chain; needless to say it IS a 4 cable method, & it's set up to have CLEAN,CRUNCH & OD1 in the loop (w/the FX loop button on front panel engaged) while OD2 always seems to kick the loop off whenever I switch to it....but that's ok, since I want that channel to be FX-less anyhow...?! I think part of the culprit is perhaps the 6 button FS might have been programmed previously...? Whatever, everything WORKS most excellently now & I'm loving it.

I can scroll thru all 6 buttons on FS, & step on any FX on the M13 now & IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY.

I think it was a combination of general moron/user error & perhaps my not really following instructions well enough, which = moron....

Thanks for all helpful suggestions/comments etc. & for now I'm in pure heaven with my setup.....

PROST!!