help with set up! ahhh

[grim505]

i have a valveking head with a marshall 1960 lead cab and im having ALOT of trouble setting my gear up. i dont know if i should place it in the effects loop, what should come first, etc etc. its making me crazy.

gear i have....

bbe 482i sonic maximizer
boss md-2 distortion pedal
lexicon mx200
crybaby wah
and an eq.

i like the distortion on my amp but sometimes it lacks the 'balls' to play heavier stuff, its too 'nice'

if anyone could help me i would appreciated it so much. thanks for your time

[chaos731]

I think what I would do is put the bbe and lexicon in the effects loop (my BBE is in the effects loop, and it works perfectly there), and everything else before the amp in this order:

Guitar-->wah-->MD-2-->EQ-->Front end of amp.

In any event, putting the EQ (in my opinion) after the distortion is the only "definite" here, as you want to use the EQ to shape the distorted sound, not the other way around.

I'm sure others will chime in, but that's the way I'd do it.

[grim505]

bbe before the lexicon?

[grim505]

and why do so many people hate the maximizer, it does the job pretty well i think

[chaos731]

Originally Posted by grim505

and why do so many people hate the maximizer, it does the job pretty well i think

For any particular product, particularly anything that claims to improve sonic quality across the board, there will always be a core type of person that absolutely refuses to believe that the product in question actually does anything beyond removing money from your wallet. Likewise, there are people who blindly refuse to acknowledge that just because something claims to improve sonic quality across the board doesn't mean it actually does that.

For me, there's a middle ground...some products probably blatantly do not do what they claim to do, but some do to one extent or another. The point is that if it works for you, then use it. If the BBE improves sonic quality to your ears, then it's doing its job, regardless of what "purists" (on either side of the argument) have to say about it.

My BBE provides a noticeable increase in clarity and "punchiness", and it helps certain types of tones stand out better. It works in my setup. If it works in yours, great!

Oh, and I think I would put the BBE after the lexicon in the loop, but again...that's just my opinion.

[grim505]

thanks alot everyone. i guess i just need to screw around with the settings to find the "perfect" tone.