PBC 6X No longer stereo

A

ataglianetti

Well-Known Member
I tried running my rig in stereo today and the stereo pedals in my insert loop are coming out mono.

I've got a Strymon Volante setup with ping ponging delays going into a Big Sky. Mono send from the PBC 6X into the Left input of the Volante. Left and Right outputs of the Volante going into the Big Sky's inputs. Big Sky Left and Right outputs going into the Insert Return of the PBC 6X.

I believe everything is setup correctly in the settings, cables are good too!
 

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With the insert loop turned off, are you getting signal out of both amps? And, what happens if you turn the insert loop on but manually bypass the pedals?
 
I'm plugging directly into an audio interface. When the insert loop is bypassed, both Left and Right channels have signal. Same thing if the loop is active but the pedals are bypassed. I plugged into each pedal individually to make sure there wasn't any summing going on internally.
 
When you say the pedals are mono, do you mean that all sound is coming out of one side, the effect is coming out of one side, or the same effect signal is coming out of both sides?

In any case, another test to try is to unplug one output of the Big Sky and see if signal drops out on one side. Plug it back in and unplug the other Big Sky output and see if the signal drops out on the other side. If the signal continues, there's a short somewhere, most likely the insert cable leading back to the insert loop return.
 
So it sounds like it's missing the right side, or the right side is very low in volume. If I pull the cable from the Left output, the right signal sounds very weak. If I pull the Right Output, it sounds the same as if both are plugged in.

The sound is even in level, but sounds like it's been mono summed.
 
I definitely recommend checking the insert cable to make sure that it's working correctly, with an ohmmeter preferably. Both the one in the insert loop and the one that you're using to split the output should be checked.

So, is the right side always low in volume? If you unplug from the left side of the interface, is the signal weak? With the insert loop on and with the insert loop off?
 
I've checked three of the insert cables I have and made a new one as well this weekend. I'm still seeing the same issue. I can remove either the left or right signal from the output and the sound is exactly the same. It's like the PBC 6X is summing the output even though that setting is off.

Not a huge deal for me as I don't often run stereo, but it's a bit concerning. Could this be a firmware issue?
 
Very unlikely to be firmware. If it was, others would have seen this problem.

Please clarify something for me - in one message you say that pulling the left cable results in the right side sounding weak, but in the most recent one you say that pulling either one results in the same sound. Which one is correct?
 
Apologies for the confusion.

I have it setup in a test configuration at the moment. Current signal flow is:

Guitar > PBC6X Guitar In > ALL LOOPS BYPASSED > Insert ON > TS to TS cable to Big Sky left input. TRS to dual TS to BigSky Left/Right Output. BigSky's Left output is on the tip, Right is on the ring.

TRS to dual TS to a Temple Audio 4 way patch > two TS cables from the 4 way patch to my interface.

As is, the sound is identical on the left and right channels. Both channels show the same signal level (-12dBFS).

Now, if I pull the cable from the left output of the BigSky (tip), I lose a lot of signal, but there is still signal present on both channels (-36dB).

If I pull the cable from the right output of the BigSky (ring), there is no discern-able loss in signal - it sounds identical to as if both outputs are connected.

It seems like the PBC 6X isn't doing anything with the Ring on the insert return, or that it's very low in level, but still getting summed as it's appearing on both channels.

Hope that helps!
 
Ok, if you want to do some more digging, this is what I'd recommend:

- Move the Big Sky to another loop, making sure to set the loop to mono send, stereo return. See if it behaves the same way.
- Plug your guitar into the insert loop return, like this: guitar -> some pedal (bypassed) -> left side of 2xTS to TRS cable -> insert return. Do you get signal? On one side? Both?
- Plug your guitar into the insert loop return, like this: guitar -> some pedal (bypassed) -> right side of 2xTS to TRS cable -> insert return. Do you get signal? On one side? Both?
 
Reporting back
  • I moved the big sky and volante over to Loop 6, set it for mono send, stereo return and now I'm bathing in glorious stereophonic sound :)
  • I get signal on both sides - both sides healthy level
  • I get signal on both sides - both sides very weak.
So definitely seems like something to do with the insert loop.
 
same situation is going on with me! could you share a screenshot of your audio page on the RJM editor on how you fixed the problem? thanks!!
 
I had a look at the history on this one, and it was a firmware bug. If you don't have the latest firmware (4.7.0), try updating it and see if that helps.
 
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