Help with Effects Chain Please

[Allan Jirik]

I have a Nashville 112 and Brad Sarno recommended this hook up: Guitar-volume pedal-Black Box-amp. Tuner is connected to the tuner input of the Black Box. This arrangement works great. Now, I have three effects I'd like to connect- Reverb, Delay and Chorus. I am no electronics whiz... I tried plugging them into the send/return in the Pre and then the Post EQ Patch on the amp and nothing happened. So do they have to be somehow connected to the guitar to work? I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!

[David Higginbotham]

My preference would be guitar, black box, volume pedal, into input of the NV-112. Then a cord out of the (send) PRE-EQ to delay, reverb, chorus, then back to the (return) PRE-EQ. That places the Black box as the first thing the pickup sees before the volume pedal and all effects before the EQ section of the amp. Just my way of doing things. Your mileage may vary.
Dave

[Lane Gray]

I'd put chorus before reverb. It sends weird signals to the brain to have "space" added before the warble.

[Paul Sutherland]

I like reverb after the volume pedal. If you put it before the volume pedal then the reverb drop off when you back off the volume, which is not how a spring reverb in an amp works.

Also, are you sure Brad said to put the black box after the volume pedal? That's not what I've heard him say. I'd put it as first thing coming out of the steel, as David suggested.

I'd put the delay and chorus after the black box, but before the volume pedal so they get a full signal. I'll defer to Lane as to order on those two.

[Lane Gray]

He said he wants delay.
I'd put the Black Box after the guitar, the chorus after the Black Box, the volume pedal after the chorus, the reverb after the volume pedal, and the delay on Craigslist.
EVERY person I've heard use delay on steel convinces me that either: I'm hearing something they're not; they're hearing something that I'm not, or; they have a deep-seated psychological need to damage their sound.
I've NEVER heard delay on steel and thought "ooh, I want to sound like that." Except "Witches Brew".
If you HAVE to add it, yeah, either the last thing before the volume pedal or the last thing before the reverb.


EDIT: yes, I've tried them. Never could tame my aversion. Just ick.

[Karen Sarkisian]

Pretty sure Brad recommends black box before volume pedal, at least for me he did (I use a hilton vol pedal). Personally I would then go chorus, delay, reverb, preferably in the effects loop but also okay out front of the amp.

[Richard Sinkler]

I recommend guitar, black box, chorus, volume pedal, reverb, then run the cords past the delay to the amp, and don't hook the pedal into the chain, unless your like me and only switch delay on for select songs.

I do run my RP155 in the front panel effects loop on my NV400. I use it only for reverb and figured that the best place would be in the loop.

[chris ivey]

iust goes to show that no one has the perfect answer.
i hate reverb and the washed out sound it gives.
i use a touch of delay before the volume pedal and no reverb.
referencing thousands of gigs and recordings, i'm satisfied with it.

[Bob Grado]

The Blackbox needs to see the pickup first for best
Results preferably with the shorts cable possible.
That's the way I've always understood it.

[Mike Brown]

The reverb, delay and chorus pedals should be connected to the POST SEND AND RETURN jacks.

[Carl Mesrobian]

Guitar , Buzztone (if needed) , volume pedal, amp, amp reverb. To tune I unplug the guitar end of the cable (volume pedal up) and jump the Strobo Flip straight into the guitar.

[Dale Foreman]

Probably been asked before but how does the Blackbox compare to the Lil Izzy?

[Lane Gray]

If all you want is a buffer, the Izzy is dynamite.
The Black Box also "tubifies" the sound, and has the Vari-Z knob, which brightens or darkens the tone.

[Mark Dayton]

First rule in effects chain is that anything goes but there are some things to think about unless you want some experimental, unusual sounds... When you go to delay before the chorus, you are sending a delayed /chopped signal to the chorus and you loose the fullness of the chorus, especially if running a stereo output. However the chorus first gives you the rich, fullness that is delayed like it's in a natural space. Then I agree with others that the reverb should follow as it gives a natural space effect and reverb doesn't sound natural when the reverb tail is interrupted by other effects. I would also think that the guitar would go straight into the black box first. With electric (6 string) guitar, experimental sounds can be cool but depending on what kind of a band you are playing in, a traditional instrument like steel sounds more at home with these rules as above. But hey, if your playing steel in a Pink Floyd cover band, anything goes!

[Carl Mesrobian]

If I have any questions I will reference this article from Roland:

http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2013/03/06 ... ts-pedals/

[Gregory Altman]

Mike brown,not to put you on the spot , but correct me if im wrong. In the instructions or some tutorials isnt it recomended to put the volume control in the pre eq patch on SEND and RETURN. The guitar straight to the amp input and in this case the Sarno box between guitar and amp. Then the effects in the post eq SENT and RETURN. Not saying its the only way and this is rocket science. But recommended way????

[Dave Hopping]

What I've done with my Peavey amps(old Session 500 and '08-ish NV112) is to run my guitar thru a limiter into the front of the amp,the volume pedal by itself through the pre-EQ patch,and the time-based effects through the post-EQ patch.I always just use the amp's internal reverb,and fairly lightly.
Someone told me once that gain-based effects like overdrive/distortion/compression/limiting go straight into the front of the amp,and time-based effects like delay/chorus/flange go in the effects loop.That's always worked for me.