9 mono, 1 stereo?

[Piplodocus]

Finally getting around to sorting the new PBC out now I have the board! So, I want to run 9 mono FX and one stereo into the front of 2 amps. So what do I do with loops 7-10?

Do I have to run 7-9 like they're all stereo with "floating ring" cables in the sends (and mono inputs in the mono pedals) with mono->stereo return cables, then the final loop 10 with stereo effect is a "floating ring" cable in the send and an insert jack to return the stereo?

Or am I making this too complicated and I can just use mono jacks in 7-9? Or does that mean I can't get stereo on the 10th, or will always get nothing out one amp if not using the stereo effect, depending on switch positions?

(I'm sure I should be able to work this out, but my brain seems to be confusing me more than usual today after a bit of a long weekend! ).

 

[rjmmusic]

You really do need to follow the recommendations in the manual, otherwise, you're not going to get a stereo signal (or any signal) in some cases. What you wrote above:

run 7-9 like they're all stereo with "floating ring" cables in the sends (and mono inputs in the mono pedals) with mono->stereo return cables, then the final loop 10 with stereo effect is a "floating ring" cable in the send and an insert jack to return the stereo?

Is correct, assuming that the last pedal can accept a mono input.

 

[Piplodocus]

Thanks Ron. Yep, it all makes logical sense now after me scribbling out what I presume is the rough schematic for the stereo section switches and head scratching a bit. I think in the short term I'm going to run mono til I get the proper cables made up some point early next year.

Is it somewhat fair to presume the large majority of mono pedals use tip and the further-back sleeve position for their input jacks, with the "ring area" normally empty and not connected? If so I can probably just use any decent stereo TRS cables instead of "custom" ring disconnect and it'll effectively work as ring disconnect in the large majority of cases? (because the ring is probably floating inside the pedal input?)

Or is that not the case and many mono pedal builders like to use TRS input jacks and do extra or weird grounding stuff where the middle ring connection would be?

 

[rjmmusic]

It's been standard for quite a while (many, many decades) to leave room for the ring conductor, even if the jack is only TS. So, in most cases, you shouldn't have a problem. But, I say most... Your guess above is correct. Some pedals, especially Boss, use the ring conductor area as part of the battery circuit - when a TS plug is plugged in, the battery ground connects to the ground on the TS plug (because the ring area of the plug is ground on a TS). Using a TRS plug will not allow the pedal to power on. I know that the DD-500 and others in that series, probably the DD-200 series as well, will not power on unless a TS plug is in the input jack. It's easy to identify those pedals, though. Power them up with nothing in the input jack and see if it powers up. If it does, it should be ok with a TRS cable.