Owner`s manual

True to the Music
Radial Engineering Loopbone Owner’s Manual
11
The advantage of being able to bring in noisy effects when needed and
take them out when not in use cannot be overstated. The same concept
applies to tone-robbing pedals that inflict a load on your guitar pickups,
causing the tone to change. By taking the time to listen to all of your
pedals and familiarizing yourself with how each one reacts in the signal
path, you will surely make important decisions that will yield better re-
sults.
FAQs
Q: How many effects can I drive on one effects loop?
A: The number of pedals in a chain is usually limited by how these will
load down the guitar pickups. Since the Loopbone employs a buffer to
drive the pedals, you can use as many as you like. The only issue is
noise. The more devices you put in a chain, the more susceptible to
noise your pedal chain will be.
Q: Can I drive long cables off the Loopbone to my amp?
A: Yes. Because the Loopbone incorporates a Class-A buffering circuit,
you can drive much longer cables with less noise. We recommend a
maximum distance of 50 feet. Short cables will work just fine too.
Q: Is the Loopbone active?
A: Yes, the Loopbone employs buffering circuits. The buffering allows
the Loopbone to drive pedals without loading and allows more than one
loop to be used at once without affecting the guitar’s output level.
Q: What is Drag Control?
A: When a guitar is connected directly to an amplifier, the guitar pickup
and the amplifier form a circuit. It is the relationship between the amp
and the way that it loads down the pickup that creates its distinct sound.
In buffered circuits, a pre-amplifier is introduced in between the pickup
and the amp and this eliminates the load on the pickup. Drag Control
allows the guitarist to reintroduce a corrective load into the signal path
and bring back the natural relationship that would otherwise be lost.
Q: Why does the Loopbone use opto-coupler switching?
A: Some manufacturers claim relays are the best way to switch effects.
Relays work because they are, in fact, remotely controlled mechanical
switches. The problem, however, with a mechanical switch is transient
switch noise caused by the contact. We use relays in several Radial
products, but relegate these to applications where the signal will no longer
be amplified, such as when switching speakers. For devices that pass
audio before a guitar amplifier, we prefer to use opto-couplers. Opto-
couplers can be used to perform various functions and in this case, we
use them like a switch with a set ramp-up and ramp-down time. This
means that the signal does not ‘click’ on but actually rises to an ‘on’
status, eliminating the transient.