GCX w/effects loop. Boost or Not Boost

[hackersdna1]

So i got the EVH MXR pedal duo "Phaser/Flanger" patched into my GCX wich then runs into my effects loop on my RoadKing gen1. When engaged by my ground control i have a serious volume drop by 70% and tone drop by even more. Un-useable!! Well as John and I have pretty much figured by an earlier post its probably do to an imp problem.
My question today is would a buffer/boost be the answer? If so would it be used before the GCX path or after... Or would you need 2 boosters one for each MXR and drive the signal back into the GCX? Or is this whole thing a bad idea.
Think i started my last post with "It shouldnt be this hard" Guess what.. I still feel that way. Uggh

[JohnClark]

Well I suppose a refresh is in order.

Does the pedal behave any differently when it is connected directly to the amplifier's effects loop?

[hackersdna1]

Oh yeah they do the same with or without the GCX. Just hoped someone would have an answer on the boost/buffer. After all this the last thing i want to do is break or damage my GCX by just dropping in new signal +20.

[wake335]

Doesn't the road king have a knob on the back that sets the volume of the effect send and return? Maybe that got accidentally turned down? Those pedals do affect the signal in a slight drop of volume, but nothing like what you are describing.

[JohnClark]

I would suggest perhaps contacting Mesa Boogie about any possible settings on the amp that would cause this behavior. Adding buffers or other level matching devices seems to me to not be the best solution to the current problem.

Good Luck!

[hackersdna1]

Yeah Wake, It has both series and parallel. It dosent make a difference regardless of setting.

Cool John, But i have to say curiosity is killing me. Hell ive done spent a ton whats another benny. lol. Thx guys

[JohnClark]

In my mind I equate this with using a noise gate to stop a ground loop buzz... sure you may successfully eliminate the buzz when you are not playing the guitar, but it is still going to be there when playing. A better solution is to locate and eliminate the ground loop that is causing the buzz in the first place and save the noise gate for something else... (a full bore metal rig?, a doorstop? ).

Basically, I think something is just wrong here that can likely be fixed without resorting to such means... as you said, and I agree, "It shouldn't be so hard".
Do other users of the same amp and pedals have similar problems that you know of?
Does this happen when testing each of the pedals by them selves or only when the pair of them are used?
Does this happen with any other pedals or just the ones mentioned?
Do you really get a big volume drop regardless of the effects loop being series or parallel? A large drop in the overall volume just because you inserted a device into a parallel loop points to problems that no buffer or boost would fix. A big level drop shouldn't necessarily be possible when the additional device is added in parallel. Part of the loose definition of parallel means that the preamp section is directly connected to the power amp section with the output of the effects mixed in. Perhaps there is something causing a severe loading down of the effects send/preamp section... bad tube perhaps?
If this only happens when in the parallel effects loop then it could just be that you are experiencing a large amount of phase cancellation due to not being able to set the wet/dry mix of the pedals themselves to 100% wet.

[Mesa Lifer]

I too have the same problem with the volume/signal loss on a Roadking. the first 4 loops of the GCX are basic stomp boxes preamp, and loop 5 i have set for the FX loop with a Boss DD-20 in it. i have the loop master volume cranked to max, the pedal/effect volume maxed and get almost no delay or decay at all. the amp volume is normal, but the effect, especially while playing it is so low it acts like a chorus effect instead of a long trailing delay. Before the Current GCP/GCX setup, i had a chorus in one loop and the delay in the other sitting on the amp, with a pedal board on the floor for preamp effects only. they worked fine in the loop and were controlled via the Roadking Controller. now that its in the GCX, its unusable. the cables are new, there is no hum, no crackling, just signal loss on the one effect in the FX loop.

[JohnClark]

I too have the same problem with the volume/signal loss on a Roadking. the first 4 loops of the GCX are basic stomp boxes preamp, and loop 5 i have set for the FX loop with a Boss DD-20 in it. i have the loop master volume cranked to max, the pedal/effect volume maxed and get almost no delay or decay at all. the amp volume is normal, but the effect, especially while playing it is so low it acts like a chorus effect instead of a long trailing delay. Before the Current GCP/GCX setup, i had a chorus in one loop and the delay in the other sitting on the amp, with a pedal board on the floor for preamp effects only. they worked fine in the loop and were controlled via the Roadking Controller. now that its in the GCX, its unusable. the cables are new, there is no hum, no crackling, just signal loss on the one effect in the FX loop.

Just to be sure something hasn't accidentally changed, try running the DD-20 directly through the Mesa FX Loop and let us know how it behaves. The passive loops of a GCX cannot themselves account for any signal dropping like you describe... in fact, in your case it sounds more like a mix control either on the delay or on the amp has been changed since the last known working scenario.