Can an amp suppress modulation effects?

clarkefan

Wondering if anyone's had this. I've thought for a while now that there's something wrong with various effects I want in front of my amp, Phase 90, a reverb pedal, mod setting on DD-20. They either don't work or they're weak at best. It's just occurred to me I've been using the same amp the whole time (DSL 50) and maybe there's something wrong with the amp, not the pedals? I play through this amp all the time, so it works (including its reverb), but now I'm thinking maybe it's just been under performing in some way since I've owned it. I need to try another amp but my mate has my only other one. Any thoughts anyone? I'm grasping at straws here, I've never heard of such a thing but maybe somebody here has, thanks

ICBM

There is something wrong with the amp...







... it's a DSL50.




Are you using it clean or dirty? If it's too dirty it will obscure the effects unless they're turned up very high, and then it will just sound like mush. If so you'd be much better putting everything apart from the Phase 90 in the effects loop.

clarkefan

Yeah yeah So is this a typical "issue"? Mod sounding weak in front of a pushed amp? For instance the delay part of the modulated delay works fine, just no mod. The Phase 90 is just about audible. In front didn't seem to bother Eddie...

ICBM

clarkefan said:

Yeah yeah So is this a typical "issue"? Mod sounding weak in front of a pushed amp? For instance the delay part of the modulated delay works fine, just no mod. The Phase 90 is just about audible. In front didn't seem to bother Eddie...

You'll hear the delay repeats fine because they're separate sounds, but the modulation might be buried by the amp distortion too.

Van Halen did run a Phase 90 in front of the amp, but contrary to popular belief he didn't use a lot of gain really - that harmonic-rich sound he had is more a product of loading the amp in a very ill-advised DIY way which tends to produce a strange sort of very compressed distortion without that much gain.

Try setting the amp clean - even if you don't normally do that - and see if you can hear the effects. If you can, there's nothing wrong with the pedals.

clarkefan

Cheers @ICBM , I'm pretty sure I've done this and I just don't remember, and you'll undoubtedly be right Interesting thoughts on Eddie's sound as well, I'd like to pick your brains some day For instance I listened to a 77 live recording yesterday of an unreleased track song, it had quiet passages and the phase was loud and clear