Alembic F2B directly into guitar effects pedals?

[F2B Bill]

Hello, This might be a really stupid question, I apologize if so.

I just wanted to know is it okay to plug the A or B outputs on the Alembic F2B directly into guitar effects pedals?

Thanks.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Bill, welcome.

There are no stupid questions.

I think it would depend on the pedals and how much input they're designed to handle.  The F2B is a preamp, essentially meant to drive the input of a power amp, so the level of the output signal is several times stronger than the output of a standard guitar. 

Pedals and pedal boards are usually designed to go between the guitar and the input of the preamp. That said, I assume there are some pedals that can handle that kind of signal - and you might even get some unexpected cool results from pedals that aren't designed for that.  If you have the opportunity just try a couple different configurations and see what happens.   

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

I would think it would be the same as placing the pedals in the amp’s effects loop which puts them between the pre and power amps, just like you would be doing running the F-2B > pedals > power amp.   As with a combo amp with an effects loop, some pedals, like modulation, tend to do better in the effects loop while others, like gain and overdrive, often sound better between guitar and amp.   Go ahead and experiment, you aren’t going to blow anything up.

Bill, the guitar one.

[KR]

I was just playing my Series 1 through a stereo tube preamp plugged into a splitter, and from there into an amp. I had to be careful to set the output of the first stage (stereo tube preamp) at a lower level because the system would start quacking if I thumped hard with the first stage output set too hot. I have been guilty of using multiple pre's in my rig, and have to really be careful about gain staging and added noise. But it can sound great if set properly.

[hieronymous]

I have used pedals for about 20 years and have had an F-2B for almost that amount of time, but I've never gone from the F-2B into any pedals! If I did, I would start with gain set really low. Also remember that flat is 2-10-2 - the F-2B can pump out lots of bass, and that's where I might be concerned of overloading the input on a pedal - probably wouldn't damage it, but could result in some overloaded sounds - not that that's a bad thing, I love overdrive and distortion!

What pedals were you thinking of?

[F2B Bill]

Thanks for the replies.
I was able to work out my signal chain some, research, and test a few things.
I posted a more clear and detailed question here:
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=27578.0