Studio pre amp

[coupie666]

Hi guys. I'm totally new to rack gear and have a studio pre amp coming. Basically I'm hoping to run it in the fx loop of my roadking to give me a Mark style lead tone and then e able to flick to a full recto assault. Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with the pre in the fx loop of an amp. Any advice welcomed as I'm a total rack newbie and need all te help I can get!

 

[elvis]

I'm not sure how you plan to hook it into the FX loop, but It could be tricky. You will be running through the road king preamp before you run into the SP, which means the SP will expect instrument level at its input, but get line level (or more) instead. You can turn down the input level of the SP, but it may or may not work very well (could be noisy or unstable).

Second, the output impedance of the SP, either from the FX send or the main outputs, is high. You will want to make sure that the road king's FX return is >1MegOhm input impedance, or you will need to put a buffer between the SP and RK. The buffer needs to have >1MegOhm input impedance. A Boss GE7 will work in a pinch. Most FET buffers will also do the trick. Or a Valvulator.

The main out of the SP is just a gained-up version of the FX return, so you probably want to try runnign just from the FX send of the SP into the FX ret of the RK. You can then set a switch between LOW and LINE to set the SP's output level to match what you need for the RK. If you still need more output signal than LINE, try the main output.

 

[coupie666]

Awesome thanks for the advice. I have a ge7 so will use that if the fx loop option is the way to go.

 

[Whoopysnorp]

On the Studio Pre, the two small knobs (one per output channel) in the lower right corner affect the main out level, as does the master volume. The master volume control also affects the level of the signal sent from the FX send. By playing with these you should be able to find the right level. The Studio Pre may or may not sound like it really should through the Road King power section. Is the loop on the RK switchable? If you want to be able to do the switching that you describe, you will need to split your signal between the RK input and the Studio Pre input. You SHOULD use a quality splitter box for this, but in a pinch you can get away with a Y-cable, though that does drop the guitar's level going into the amp a bit. Assuming the RK's loop is switchable, you should be able to kick it in and out once you have the levels balanced.

Good luck. The Studio Pre is a wonderful piece of equipment, in my opinion. I bought mine in '06 and I intend to have it forever.

 

[coupie666]

Cool thanks. Yeah the RK has 2 switchable fx loops. I think it will be mostly a trial and error kind of job to see what works best and stick with it. But like I said... I'm a total rack noob and need all the help I can get!

 

[Whoopysnorp]

If one of them is a serial loop, use that one.

 

[coupie666]

Thanks a bunch guys. Studio pre came yesterday. Using a line selector and switching the fx loop on the roadking gives me the recto grind and smooth lead from the pre. I'm in love. My setup is now complete. I have it all now. Sooooo happy :mrgreen:

 

[elvis]

Your setup is complete. For now...

Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

(Yes, I read your signature line)

 

[pabloguitar]

I do have a solution to running a separate preamp into the effects loop, and this works without the heads preamp affecting the sound. I'm running a 2 channel Dual Rectifier and I love the Modern channel for heavy stuff, but playing leads on it doesn't cut through the mix like I'd like. I love the Vintage channel for leads. But then I have a problem of not having a clean channel, so I use a Triaxis for that. Hopefully I can explain this well enough, but here's what I did....
Guitar into the Mesa High Gain Amp Switcher.
For cleans, out of the switcher to the Triaxis and back to the switcher
For both heavy tones, out of the switcher into the Dual input, out of the effects loop and back to the switcher.
Output of the switcher into a F-Force for effects, and into the Dual Rec's effects return.
Works great because I use the switching jacks from the Triaxis to toggle between the inputs/outputs of the switcher and toggle between Modern/Vintage of the Dual Rec. Since the Triaxis is MIDI, I can have any combination between the preamp sections and switch it all from one footswitch.
Hope this helps.

 

[talltxguy]

Coupie,

Glad to hear the Studio Pre is working out. It is by far the best preamp I've ever owned. I've had 2 of them and may end up getting another one.

I'm very curious about running the Studio Pre into the loop of my Egnater Tweaker. Got a favor to ask if & when you get the time...Would you mind trying to send the Studio Pre into the FX return of your Egnater Tweaker and let me know how that goes? I've got a Tweaker and enjoy it, but there are times when I'd like to have that lead tone of the SP as well. I'm not sure if the Tweaker loop and the SP would play nicely together. Thanks for the consideration.

 

[pabloguitar]

Oops, I meant into the G-Force, not the F-Force, although that sounds good too. Darn keys are too close together.

 

[coupie666]

Talltxguy I sure will try it this weekend and report back how it goes. I also plan on running it in the subway as well...

 

[Whoopysnorp]

talltxguy, my apartment playing setup is a Studio Pre or a Rocktron VP4 into the effects return of a Tweaker. It works great.

 

[talltxguy]

I'm glad to hear that the Tweaker and SP play nicely together. I look forward to trying this when I can find a good deal on an SP.

 

[Whoopysnorp]

Oh, one thing I should mention is that the Tweaker's power section seems a little on the dark side to me. Due to the lack of a presence control, I need to edge up the highs on the Studio Pre with the graphic EQ.