Voodoo Lab

Hi there, new to the forum and looking for advice as to getting the right setup for my rig. I just made the switch from pedal board stompboxes to midi.

My setup is as follows:
Controller: Ground Control Pro w/GCX
Rack: TC Electronics G-Force
Rack: Line6 X3 Pro (on it's way so it's not in the rack yet)
Stompbox: VS Route 808 Overdrive
Stompbox: VS Open road Overdrive
Stompbox: VS Son of Hyde Distortion
Stompbox: VS True Tone Clean Boost
Amp: Orange Rocker 30 1x12 combo

Do I need to have an amp with an effects loop to properply use this gear?
I tried running the G-Force through one of the loops but that results in a pretty noisy pop when I engage it.

Also, I haven't yet found any good videos for setting up the G-Force with the ground control. Are there any out there? I've been using the manual but I'm new to the whole midi system vocab and haven't had that "AHA!" moment yet.

All of the other stompboxes sound fine but I'm curious as to the best sequence to have them in (subjective I understand) in case I want to use multiple pedals at once for heavier drive tones.

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated

As a rule: all time-based fx after distortion so if you run your amp clean and use the pedals for drive, put the rack-units between the stompboxes and the amp.

If you're using the amps overdrive a loop could come in handy.

On the order of the pedals: experiment the simple way (with patchcables and without the looper) until you find what you like. Then make the layout for how to use the loops.

Giga