Do pedals that suck tone still suck tone when placed in an amp's effect loop?

[elsupermanny14]

I'm curious if an amp's effect loop helps with pedals that suck tone. We all know the culprits such as the Whammy IV, Vox Wah, and Bad Monkey that come to mind. If you place these pedals in your amp's effects loop does it help out since your guitar is going straight into the amp or do they still suck tone even when placed inside the loop?

 

Very curious about this as my amp does not have an effects loop and this question crossed my mind.

[wrongnote85]

try it out and get back to us.

[ambient]

it depends on why they are sucking tone.

 

If it's to do with the input/output impedences, then they may sound better. They may also sound worse.

 

Some devices also work better/worse at different input levels, that could also make a difference.

 

It really depends on the pedals and the particular amp. So amps' fx loops aren't implemented well and cause tone suck of their own.

[elsupermanny14]

 

try it out and get back to us.

 

 

My amp does not have an effects loop. That's why I'm curious.

[Lanefair]

In my experience, anything that sounds bad in front of the amp, sounds worse in the fx loop. My Timefactor has different input level switches, and if I set them wrong, it sounds awful. Also some pedals have a noticable boost or cut which is always annoying. Less noticable in front of an amp than in the loop.

[caeman]

Amps FX loops can either be serial or parallel. They can be instrument or line level. The impedance values of the in and out may be wildly different than that of pedals. There is no standard with which to make assumptions.