Lately I've been real interested in the prospect of getting one of the Tech 21 character pedals, but I've also wondering about how to plug those directly when using other effects. For example, typically you put the od/distortion pedals in the chain before the mod/delay, but if you were going direct, would you want to put the character pedal last so that the last stage in the chain is the sansamp which will feed the best tone for the PA? I've never actually played any sansamp or character pedal either, so I pretty much am clueless as to how it works. Thanks in advance.
Do some research on here as there are a lot of posts but basically you can use the Character pedals or any pedal with Cab Sims to go direct in various ways. If you are old school meaning that normally you run all your pedals into your amp that wouldn't have an effects loop, then put it last in the chain. But alot of people including myself prefer to put the Boosts, Comps, Drives etc into the Character and then from the output of the Character to Mods Delays and Verbs etc and then to the board. It will work well in both ways. It comes down to what works and sounds best for you. To go a bit further on the Delays etc after the Character, think of that setup as if you were in a recording studio and adding those type of effects at the board instead of the effects loop of your amp if you had one. Dan
I see... well thanks for the help. I did a little bit of searching, but a couple of the threads were really long and I didn't really want to read them all without much result into my specific question. I figured you could just add the mod/delay/reverb effects afterwards with it still sounding good directly, but I wasn't sure if the other effects would sorta negate the purpose of how the Sansamp is designed to go into the board. Any other suggestions/experiences are more than welcome!
I put mine first in the chain but most threads I've read folks put theirs last. I imagine to get the most accurate model you would want it last. For me only the gain needs modeled/cab simed and the effects work well afterwards direct as long as I have a another DI at the end. Haven't tried any other way. I just found what works for me and stuck with it.
I followed the manual and have achieved great success with my sans amp Triac. Compression, od's, sansamp tri-ac, chorus, delay, reverb... Then I follow it up with a sansamp para driver to send a balanced xlr to the house. Hope that helps!
that does help a lot. thanks. do you find that you NEED another "sansamp" (or similar) at the end of everything in order to get all of the effects after the character pedal to sound right? basically, what's the advantage of having another pedal after all the effects?
I have found that using the sansamp para driver last in the chain works best because it acts as a post eq... Acts a direct box and sends a balanced signal to the house... I can use any open mic channel. (simply take off a mic and plug it in) if they complain about not having enough open channels. It also sends a direct 1/4" out to my qsc k12. Even has another tuner out. So I like the way it boost the signal the end... Cleans it up... And offers nice a nice final eq. This just what I've found works for me. Hope that helps...
thanks electricfiddle. once again that does help a lot. now I'm still wondering about the difference between using a paradriver as a final eq and using character pedal with some effects after it and then into the board. anyone have any experience with this?
I run both a Liverpool and a Classic with wah, vibe, compressor, OD before (then the Liverpool and the Classic, with exactly one on at any given time) then EQ, chorus, delay, trem after to the PA (via a direct box). Works fine. The only problem with doing it this way is that I can't have the Liverpool's output too high or the signal is too strong for my delay, but that's an issue with that specific pedal, not with running this way in general.
what exactly do you mean that the signal is too strong for your delay? what happens? also, have you tried NOT using the direct box and seeing how it sounds? I'm just wondering if it's necessary for me to buy a direct box too. thanks.
The delay is a DD-5, and if the input signal is too strong there is rather unpleasant clipping. For my use I need the direct box, but I wouldn't use it for a short cable run. I only need it because it's going through a long cable to a mixer.
I'm a new British user and I had the same problem with my delay (Maxon AD999) and some unpleasant clipping, I thought that maybe this model is not too good for going direct even into a DI... Is there any delay with some kind of direct output?
