Issue with Loop Engaging

N

Natty84

Member
Over the last couple of weeks, I've noticed some strange behaviour with Loop 6 on my PBC10.

I have the J Rockett Dude in Loop 6 and when I hit a preset that includes that loop often the pedal effect will not be there. The guitar signal will still come through but it'll be clean - like the pedal is bypassed (it's not).

I've tried a different pedal in there with similar gain level and different patch cables which are known to be fine and the issue persists. I can turn the pedal in loop 6 on/off and don't get any change in sound. The only thing I've noticed which kind of fixed the issue is when I unplug the patch cable from send or receive on the PBC and reinsert it - then the pedal effect returns. If I cycle away from that preset and back again later on however I'll have the same issue ... a clean signal.

At a lost what's going on here. Perhaps it's a connection in the PBC?
 
What kind of cables are you using? Some 1/4-inch plugs, mostly solderless ones, don't seem to work well with the PBC/10's jacks.
 
That's interesting. It's the Evidence Audio SIS cables which are solderless.

What's your reasoning for them to be causing an issue? What's the potential fix? Ideally, it would not include spending a bunch more money on cables/jacks (because the SIS cables are premium) and an entire weekend soldering... :D
 
It's a really weird issue, but I've seen it with my own eyes. In any 1/4-inch jack, there's a connection that's made internally when nothing is plugged into it. It's what we use to keep the signal flowing when there's nothing plugged into the loop. Without it, if you turned on a loop and nothing was plugged into it, the signal would mute.

When you plug a connector into the jack, the contact is lifted, breaking that connection from send to return, and allowing the signal to flow through your pedal.

However, with certain jacks and certain plugs, the diameter of the plug at its narrowest part isn't large enough to break that connection, so the connection from send to return remains. I'm guessing that that's what's happening. Re-seating the connector might be enough to break that connection.

This never happens with name brand soldered plugs (Neutrik, Switchcraft, etc.) and it doesn't happen with every jack. It seems like it happens with maybe 1 out of 40 or 50 jacks. It's very puzzling - these are Neutrik jacks, but the problem only affects this particular model. If/when I ever do an update to the PBC/10, I would replace them, but I can't do that without a fairly major redesign. It's equally puzzling that every solderless connector has the same issue, where it's narrower than typical soldered connectors. I have to wonder if all of these solderless connectors are made in the same factory.

I'm not certain this is the problem you're seeing, but it does fit the pattern. I would recommend getting two cables with soldered connectors, just off the shelf ones, and temporarily use them to connect the pedal. See if the problem goes away. Or, if it happens again, try pulling out the plugs from the send and return jacks just a little - a millimeter or two - and see if the pedal starts working.

Once we have those results, we can figure out the best course of action.
 
I believe I am running into the exact same issue with my PBC 6x on loop 6. I have a POG2 plugged into loop 6 (audition): button type: IA, Off Value: OFF, On Value: ON. But the pedal will not disengage through the PBC. The POG2 will however work by turning off and on the pedal locally while it's connected to the PBC.

I'm running the latest 4.5.0 software. Could this be a software bug?

Thanks!
TJ
 
Last edited:
trinity said:
I believe I am running into the exact same issue with my PBC 6x on loop 6. I have a POG2 plugged into loop 6 (audition): button type: IA, Off Value: OFF, On Value: ON. But the pedal will not engage through the PBC. The POG2 will however work by turning off and on the pedal locally while it's connected to the PBC.

I'm running the latest 4.5.0 software. Could this be a software bug?

Thanks!
TJ
Click to expand...
If turning the pedal on and off locally is enough to get it started, it's something in the pedal itself - you aren't changing anything in the PBC but it starts working anyway.

You can test this by removing the plug from the pedal's output. If it kills your signal, then the PBC is working correctly, but the pedal is bypassed internally.
 
Thanks for the reply. To test, I swapped out the POG2 using two different pedals, and those two different pedals gave the same result.
It seems the PBC is routing to loop 6 when I am trying to disengage the loop from the PBC. I also reseated the Loop 6 send and receive physical connections to the PBC (same result) :S
 
When you say you turned off the pedal locally, did "locally" mean on the pedal or on the PBC?
 
It looks like you originally said the pedal wouldn't engage, but have now edited the post to say that it won't disengage. Now I understand!

Does the "6" icon on the PBC screen stay on, or are you able to turn it on and off?
 
Thanks for hanging on with this with me. Turns out loop6 was routed to a junction box for "audition loop" functionality which was really confusing me! PBC loop 6 is not going to the POG2 like I thought it was. Sorry about that, just part of understanding the setup that I just got.

Thanks!
TJ
 
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