Remote true bypass looper for rack effects SCHEMATIC

[fuzzmonger]

Sup fellers,

This is a schematic for us 'Gazers who have a Yamaha or Alesis rackmount reverb but 1) can't stand the tone-sucking 2) would prefer it placed in the effects chain, rather than at the end or in the amps effects loop.



Using a regular stereo y-cable splitter for combining the mono send and return signals into one stereo cable (and linking the grounds) is cheaper and easier than some MIDI switcher (but, yeah, really only suitable for those who use one or two units, otherwise you'll have a mess of cables going between your rack and your board)



And in the remote footswitch, we have a standard kind of true bypass looper arrangement but the send and return are both on one stereo jack. One thing to bear in mind, before wiring it up, is to check which signal is going to the tip and which goes to the ring by plugging your stereo cable into the splitter and using a continuity tester to work it out. Could also do it by wiring it all up, seeing if it works before soldering and changing over the send / return wires if not.

Enjoy

[FiveseveN]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how is a pro grade buffered signal path going to "suck tone" more than at least an extra 20 feet of cable?

[Eddododo]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how is a pro grade buffered signal path going to "suck tone" more than at least an extra 20 feet of cable?

I was wondering the same...

Youll definitely want to include a quality buffer pre-send, with a lowwwwww freq rolloff (rather than an 'average' rolloff, since you're sending a buffer into a buffer basically,  which CAN add up to a loss of lows)
     google 'folk buffer' and read the applicable thread on the bjfe forum; great standalone buffer,  use the 'complicated' version halfway down the first page (omit the variable loading)

It could stay true bypass,  badabing!

[Eddododo]

Do you have alot of rack stuff?

I helped my buddy make a pedalboard that housed a rack preamp under the stompbox level.

Looked cool, but heavy, certainly not for everyone, food for thought

[fuzzmonger]

I have a couple of units that HAPPEN to have bypass issues, tbh. One's my crappy old Zoom Studio (it has an awesome ring mod and vocoder and can be found dirt cheap) where the wet/dry mix control is still active in bypass (if you use the effect at 100% wet, the 'bypass' gives you a big ol' load of silence) and it just wasn't made to sound nice with walls of stacked fuzzes going through it (due to the low input impedance, maybe?) the other is an Award Session preamp with no built in bypass.

We ain't talking about quality gear here, this is really for cheap not-made-for-guitar effects. Am I the only one who likes those things?

[FiveseveN]

Nah, that makes sense. But unless you plan to run them in or near your pedalboard, relay or electronic bypass with remote control would be better.