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by Jim Button January 12, 2021 3 min read
The four-cable method refers to the use of four cables in your guitar rig when using pedals both in front of your amp as well as in the effects loop.
This method should be considered if you are using your amp to provide some of - or all of - the gain, as time and modulation effects will sound much cleaner and faithful to the intended result when setup in the effects loop of the amplifier, while overdrive, wah and other similar effects will work best when setup between the guitar and the input of the amplifier.
If you are running the amplifier clean, you might get away with your time and modulation pedals connected up to your drive pedals in front of the amp, but if you are getting some dirt from the amp then utilising the effects loop is definitely preferable.
Typically wah, fuzz, overdrive and distortion pedals feed into the amp's input and therefore come before the amp's preamp section.
Time and modulation pedals, however, sound the most pristine and accurate when connected to the amp's effects loop, which bypasses the preamp section and avoids any colouration by that particular gain stage.
To achieve this setup, the four-cable method is put together as follows:
The result is one chain of pedals located pre-amplifier for your dirt and wah effects, then a second chain of pedals for time and modulation effects that sits in the amplifier's effects loop.
One benefit of using four cables is that you can use a preamp pedal in the effects loop to provide an alternative voicing to your amp. Say you have a Vox AC30C2 Custom Combo but for some songs in your set you require a Marshall tone. Stick a preamp pedal voiced on a Marshall in the effects loop and you can then switch between Vox and Marshall sounds with the simple click of the preamp's footswitch.
Multi-fx pedals are pretty complicated these days, providing the ability to reorder multiple patches and use an internal effects loop. One perk of the four-cable method when used with multi-fx pedals is that - as with the preamp pedal example above - you can switch between the multi-fx pedal's amplifier patches and your real amplifier tone.
Additionally, you can set up your effects patches to appear before the amp or in the amplifier's effects loop.. It's clear that if you want to use a multi-fx pedal to its fullest potential, the four-cable method will allow you to do so. Here's how to set it up:
So there you have it. If you're looking for a solution to enable you to run both drive- and time-type pedals together in a rig, give the four-cable method a go. Chances are you won't go back!
by Jim Button April 18, 2023 11 min read
by Guest Author August 26, 2022 3 min read
by Jim Button June 24, 2022 5 min read
The Bleak District Tapescape is one of the best delay and ambience style pedals ever invented. The controls are all intuitive but highly flexible, the sounds are rich and detailed, the modulation can go from dreamy to nightmarish very quickly, and all of that inside a small footprint with a low power requirement. It's difficult to get a bad sound out of it, honestly.
Add in that Boost shipped it out quickly and it arrived with a nice note written on the invoice, is there anything else you could ask for? Definitely will be buying more from both Boost and Bleak District in future.
Part came as described. Website was easy use.
very cool pedal
Awesome service and communication all along!
Will gladly order again
I ordered a set of strings from Boost, that did not initially turn up. After contacting Boost via the website they immediately sent out another set (no questions asked). Both sets arrived a few days later (Thanks Royal Mail!). Boost were prompt in dealing with the issue (gave) me a set of strings and got things sorted out. Highly recommend you use these guys.
My favourite strings, at a great price! Very reasonable postage rates and speedy service. My first purchase from Boost, but will definitely not be my last. Hassle free, excellent...
Jazzmaster happy🙏
I didn’t know that particular manufacturer from Italy, but I definitely recommend their "Vintage Vibe”. It’s simple, intuitive, it looks awesome, the build quality seems impeccable, and most importantly, it sounds fantastic.
Pre-ordered the Tapescape through Boost Pedals. Great pedal, great order experience
Thank you. I'm very satisfied !!!
Great quality and love the colour, I've not seen this colour available anywhere else. Thanks!
Really loving the range of organic tape sounds from the tapescape. Great build quality and a world of wobbly good times. Instant atmosphere as soon as you turn it in. Great small company from the UK, worth every penny
Great shirt, very quick delivery
Nice shirt, very fast delivery
Excellent pedal , one of the better vibes out there , obviously all about opinions . The service from Boost was excellent from communication to packaging and delivery .
Great swift service. Too big for Boss pedals but works fine on amps.