Eventide’s MixingLink pedal is made for this. Takes any kind of input-guitar, line, mic-and routes it through a pedal FX loop.
1 Like
Very unlikely, worst case scenario is usually that it just sounds like shit.
2 Likes
More basic question alert:
Is it better to go straight from synth to pedal and then mixer or to put the pedal on an fx send from the mixer?
how is the Erica Fusionbox on stereo polysynths?
thinking about getting it for the Waldorf M. its p much everything i wanted for the M’s output: analogue bbd delay for flange/chorus, analogue lpf, analogue saturation, mono to stereo in case i decide to use it on my mixer send/returns
considered the klark teknik dimension chorus rack, the waza chorus pedal from boss, the screen violence drive+verb from obne, the retro mechanical labs germanium & cmos or whatever thing they have (not sure if they make anything stereo in the 3-$500 range), but this seems to be the best and most affordable for the feature set/quality level
2 Likes
Depends. If you put it on a send, remember to “kill dry’ on it if you can, or mute the source audio channel. Some effects will phase, otherwise. Which might be a cool effect in itself.
1 Like
I reviewed a lot of animal factory stuff here:
5 Likes
There are so many good distortion pedals for synths. I recently got a source audio ultra wave and while I’m mostly using it for bass it’s really great with synths too. The old dod death metal is truly insane. Obviously the big muff is a classic as is the rat. The dod grunge isn’t bad. The old maestro mfz1 is wonderful though not really crazy, a bit more refined.
I often like to use something like the ehx tri parallel mixer pedal to run two or three distortions in parallel. You can get some interesting sounds this way that are distinctly different than what you get from stacking.
4 Likes
Tempting, since I just nabbed a Foxtone wRATh v2.
- Workflow A: For a guitar going straight to the interface, no amp or mic, Source audio Zio at the front of the chain and DI at the end?
- Workflow B: For a line-level synth, reverse the DI box (low-z to high-z…) and then add the Zio to the end of chain?
OTO BOUM is great, the ol’ Analog Heat of course does the trick too…and while it’s not really a distortion unit the Meris Ottobit Jr (technically more of a bit/rate reducer) is like a wild secret weapon on my pedalboard at home. It does crazy shit:
2 Likes
That pedal is my jam! I don’t usually keep pedals forever, but I’ll probably never sell it. I love it on everything: synths, drums, vocals, guitar, etc. Also it takes line level (I think it requires booting with a special button combo or something). It has a wild 6-step sequencer for the parameters and also has a stutter feature. The stutter effect has very musical subdivisions of the tempo.
In general Meris makes really great stuff. And it’s all synth-friendly (takes line level)!
3 Likes
Sherman.
The Compact version with the jacks pointing up instead of back is very nice for desktop setups.
4 Likes
I always liked the original Sansamp on synths. Boss Metalzone too.
DOD Preamp 250 for thickening up a bit. Love it on my SH-01a.
Boss HM-2W for it’s lower noise floor and tighter low end.
Boss HM-2W
ProCo Rat
These are my favorite dirt pedals for synths.
I’m going to try my MXR Micro Amp because I remember it adding some cool low end on guitar, but that was over a decade ago so my memory could be trash.
Edit: Has anyone messed with gain staging multiple pedals? Like, 250 in to an HM-2?
1 Like
What are opinions on Animal Factory fx? I’ve been eying Pit Viper and Godeater modules (or pedals) for a while now.
1 Like
1 Like
re-amping stompboxes and pedals is more about impedence matching the inputs and outputs, since most pedals are set up for guitar outputs which have much higher impedance than most line level outputs.
again, this is for achieving a proper level going into the pedal as it was designed so you get the correct tone and function of the pedal, you’re unlikely to hurt anything within the pedal doing it your way, and you might find the tone is perfect for your needs 
2 Likes
Yeah, I feel like we say things like “line level” and “instrument level”, but it’s not just about level, it’s also a difference in impedance (which can have an effect on level). I’ve run all sorts of synths and samplers through pedals that expect guitars and sometimes it works really well, other times doesn’t sound great. I do find that turning down the synth output often yields better results for tone.
2 Likes
This looks fun.
1 Like
I have this. It’s one of my favorite HM-2 clones. Very sculptable.
2 Likes