Effects Loop & Mix Control - Mesa/Boogie Formula Pre Owner's Manual

REAR PANEL:
EFFECTS LOOP & MIX CONTROL:
engineers do in a pro studio environment. A dry signal (track) is the main source and a second signal is created in parallel, sent
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the amount of the wet (effects) signal that gets mixed with the dry (un-effected) signal. In this way you can choose to run your signal
very wet or keep the signal virtually untouched by the effects, thereby retaining the most articulate and urgent sound and feel.
The MIX control has a range that roams between 10% and 100% of the wet blend. It is not possible to completely remove the parallel
signal from the EFFECTS LOOP path with the FX MIX control (this is due to a decision made by us to preserve the maximum tonal
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performance while the LOOP is in use). Connect your processors in the following manner as illustrated above: If your processor is a
mono device or, you simply wish to process only one side of a stereo harness - you may choose either of the Formulas' EFFECTS
LOOP RETURN jacks (LEFT or RIGHT) as they both process the same sound. Just be sure to keep your channels straight as you
continue on down the signal chain to the power amp. Once a signal has been fed to the EFFECTS LOOP SEND jack, the unused
RETURN jack will not produce a signal at its corresponding MAIN or RECORD OUTPUT jack.
NOTE: When the PARALLEL EFFECTS LOOP is not in use and nothing is connected to the SEND and RETURN jacks, make sure
the EFFECTS MIX control is set to 10% (counter-clockwise to stop). This setting ensures the best tone and output gain is possible at
all times. If you use your Formula hardwired into the same system all the time, this will not become an issue. However, if you carry the
Formula to different studios separately or take it in and out of your rig frequently, it is a good practice to mark your EFFECTS MIX
control setting with a grease pencil and "zero-out" this control every time you disconnect your processors. Although the Formula
will still produce great sound even if this advice is not followed, attack response characteristics and output levels will be compromised.
Though the Formula Pre - amps' EFFECTS LOOP is the best type for a guitar product to preserve the inherent attack characteristic
and overall sound quality and no expense was spared in its development, our tests have resulted in some interesting findings. We
have had the best sonic and tactile results by actually bypassing the EFFECTS LOOP altogether and patching outboard gear directly
between the pre-amp and the power amp with short, good quality cables. (See Illustration on page 3)
Though this may seem in many ways contradictory to the very concept of - and reason behind - a parallel effects loop...in repeated
test situations we found the sound to be more three dimensional and full of punch, body and life than that of the same processing used
in the EFFECTS LOOP with equivalent cable lengths. Theoretically (and electronically) this does not make good sense - and in fact
should actually cause greater degradation of tone due to the more sensitive impedances present at the MAIN outputs. Nonetheless,
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The Formula handles external signal processing in the same way that most recording
FX SEND RETURN - L RETURN - R
RHY - LD LD1 - LD2 EQ
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FX SEND
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FX MIX
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through the desired processing and then mixed back in on a separate fader to
insure the articulation and clarity of the original signal or track. The Formula's
LOOP consists of a mono 1/4" SEND and a pair of 1/4" RETURNS which are
labeled LEFT and RIGHT and a rotary FX MIX control. The SEND is the source
and the RETURNS become the patch point for the parallel wet (effected) sig-
nal. The rotary control (like the second signal faders in the studio) determines
REC
OUT
TIP
RING
SLEEVE
RETURN - R
LEFT RIGHT
EQ
MAIN
OUT
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OUTPUT R L INPUT
PAGE 10
STEREO (MONO) EFFECTS
R INPUT (MON0)