The Great FX Loop Debate

Some players will say that FX like Verb, Delay, & Chorus belong in the FX loop rather than FOA (front of amp). I realize this debate is never settled, but it does get into some of the esoterics of the signal path which are a little bit challenging for some of us who don't have degrees in electronic engineering.

Ultimately it's always down to your ears. But, for those of you who are hard core, I'd love to hear your opinion on this debate as it relates to the design of the FX loop of the Mesa Mark series. Personally I have a MK3, but I have no idea whether all Marks have the same FX loop design (buffered? impedence? 100% signal out? etc).

I have always put time / modulation / verb fx in the loop; overdrive, wah, phase, and compression in the front. With my Mark III, I just have a Lexicon MX200 in the loop and it sounds great. Got it for $80 on eBay and it covers all the bases I need. Highly recommended little fx unit, easy to use and sounds incredible.

lowercasee said:

I have always put time / modulation / verb fx in the loop; overdrive, wah, phase, and compression in the front. With my Mark III, I just have a Lexicon MX200 in the loop and it sounds great. Got it for $80 on eBay and it covers all the bases I need. Highly recommended little fx unit, easy to use and sounds incredible.

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Cool thanks for the comment

I think it really depends on whether you're using much preamp distortion. If you are, it'll make a big difference whether those effects are before the amp (in which case all the added reverb, delay, etc. sounds will get loud and distorted) or in the loop (where they'll be adding clean/quiet echoes of the distorted signal).

In my experience the first option will tend to sound noisy and not necessarily like "reverb" or "delay," which can be cool in small doses but gets out of hand pretty fast when you turn the effects up. Whereas in the loop they'll sound much more "natural."

Running two extra cables always concerns me. I'm going to put the delay and a boost (MXR micro amp) in the loop tomorrow just for kicks but running two extra cables can be a hassle when set-up time is short.