Voodoo Lab

I just got my new Medium Dingbat with Mondo VL. I am totally new to this and setting thing up and have some basic questions on setup. The whole reason I got this is because I wanted the switching ability which I never had previously.

a.) First of all my normal signal chain is as follows:

Wah>Buffer>TU2>Xotic SP compressor>FulltoneFD2>WayHuge>Strymon Deco>Fulltone Deja>Carbon Copy Delay>DD7

b.) I don't intend to add any pedals but in the future I might swap out things (for example I might add an Octavia) so that's my basic rig.

c.) It's time to cable up with my George L's. I will start with the simple loop method and then go to the presets later. My presets will probably have something like compressor, FD2 and DD7 always on and then add the other pedals in combination to taste. For now I will just go with loop method.

d.) Questions--

*Do I really need the buffer or is that already in the PX8 Plus? Will it hurt to put it at beginning?

*How does the insert/send between 6 and 7 work? is that the place to send/return the TU2 or Wah? What happens if I leave it unplugged? or Jumped?

* is there a recommended order for my pedals and or can I just go 1 through 8 in the order. So for example I would have 1 as Compressor,2 as FTFD2 etc until 7 is Carbon Copy and 8 as DD7. Or is there another order that I should be thinking about when I get into the preset patches?

as a p.s. let's assume I will not be using the effects loop on my amp for the time being. I mainly wanted to make sure the loop sequence from 1 to 8 corresponds to the recommended pedal order of tuner #1 and DD7 as #8.

My thought is that later when I set up the presets I will be thinking something like progressively from clean to more and more drive and delay.

So as I"m playing I don't want to have to think. I just want to go from left to right presets like this

1. compressor,Strymon MXR CCD

2. add clean boost to patch 1

3. add FTFD2 plus Deja Vibe

4. take out FTFD but use Way Huge and DD7 and CCD

5. use preset 4 but add waH

....and so on until when I get to the last preset I'm full on out of control drive and modulation and delay etc.

Congratulations on a fine rig!

The only signal path change I would make would likely be to go Guitar => Tuner => Wah => Buffer => PX-8 Plus Input then start with the SP Comp in Loop 1. This would leave the Tuner, Wah, and Buffer out of the switcher loops. I always start with the Wah not in a switched loop since you have to have your foot on it anyway to use it and the tuner shouldn't need its own loop unless it is affecting the signal when bypassed.

The PX-8 Plus buffer is at the end of the signal chain after Loop 8. You can defeat the buffer in the PX-8 Plus if you don't want it. Try it out and see if you like it. One feature of keeping the PX-8 buffer is that is also where the Quiet Switching occurs that helps to eliminate any pop from the true bypass relays.

The Insert is a way to break the signal path between Loops 6 and 7. It allows you to do something like run Loops 1-6 to the front end of an amp with Loops 7 and 8 in the Effects Loop of the amp. This would likely be useful for your delays to be routed this way in Loops 7 and 8.

Once set up with your pedal in the loops and the buffer combination you like, you can start crating presets that can instantly recall any combination of these eight loops you like. There are 36 Preset locations and while on any preset you can switch to Instant Access Mode to turn individual loops on and off if you like.

I hope that helps get you started!

Thanks John. The recommended changes at the beginning of the chain make total sense. Plus it gives me one extra open loop available for any additional pedal. I'll circle back if I have any other questions. I have noticed the switching is absolutely silent. I wouldn't do anything that changes that.

The preset instructions are very confusing to me. I wish there was a video tutorial. But I think I can muddle around and experiment with it before I ask any questions.