Strymon Mobius (anyone try this)

lbcbdr

Well-Known Member
the Mobius has a pre/post feature that, if I read it correctly, use the left and right I/o's as 2 paths that are switchable per preset. Their example is use left I/o for instrument to amp and right input in the effects loop of the amp. If the preset is set to pre then the mobius is in the left path, in front of the amp and the right path feeds from I to O. If set to post then vica versa the left path feeds from I to Oand the mobius is in the right path, the effects loop. If you were to connect it to 2 loops on the PBC say one before the "gain/distortion/fuzz" pedals and one after those you could set say a wah preset to be pre and turn on the early loop so the wah is before the gains. And a chorus preset to post and turn on the later preset to have the chorus near the end of the chain. Does this sound like it would work?
 
I'm pretty sure I've heard of others doing exactly that. I don't see any problem with that arrangement, but I've never tried it myself. Hopefully someone will let us know for sure!
 
I am waiting on my PBC to get shipped and will be using this function on the Mobius. On my other foot controller, a crocodile tail with a disaster area dpc-8d, I always had to leave both my pre and post loops active at all times and then just midi enable/disable the mobius with the doc-8d to avoid a situation where I was flipping through mobius presets on my pre loop and then come across a few post loops and then get no sound. Is there a better way on the PBC to set this up?
 
To avoid the risk of pre/post mismatch between the Mobius preset and the selected loop I don't think there's any way around having both loops on at all times.

Another option is to not have the Mobius in loops at all and bypass it via MIDI. The easiest and less confusing way of doing this is to create an IA button dedicated to exclusively turning the Mobius on/off and then using it like it was a regular loop button when creating presets, rather than bypassing it (or turning it on) with MIDI on each preset. This option will depend on your signal chain of course and whether the insert points on the PBC make sense to you for the placing of the Mobius.
 
I use this feature on an Eventide H9, where I route all Crushstation patches into loop 2, and everything else through loop 9. Really an awesome feature! Might even setup my second H9 that way as well and then I can sort of switch the order :)
 
I just did a board using the pre/post feature and wanted to have both in loops but came up 1 loop short. So I kept the post section in a loop and inserted the pre section in between loop 4 and 5. Worked flawlessly. To engage the pre section, I send the corresponding midi CC as a preset action, and to engage the post section I do that plus turning the loop in question on.
 
I'm new here and I'm in the process of putting a board together around the Mastermind PBC. I'm wanting to set my Mobius up so I can use it in Pre/Post configurations per preset. I haven't made a final decision about where in the order the Pre loop will be (somewhere in the first block 1-4) but the Post loop will be in 7. Experimenting with it today I found all of the Pre preset patches worked fine but I couldn't get the Post settings to work - actually no signal when I hit any preset with the Mobius Post in Loop 7. Not sure what the problem might be - I'll have to dig deeper tomorrow - but I wondered if anyone above had got this function of the Mobius working nicely with the PBC and if you could give any advice re. settings?
 
On the Mobius:
Set the PRE/POST switch to the down position to use Mobius in a pre/post type setup
Change the PRE/POST setting accordingly in the preset menu
 
Thanks for the response - that's what I had set up. I'll have to have another look at other issues - maybe a non-functioning patch cable in the Right I/O of the Mobius? I'll test things again tomorrow.
 
Greetings all ...
I'm about to wire-up my Eventide (H9) and Strymons (Big Sky, TimeLine, Mobius) and I've been reading in some internet forums about the possibility of Ground Loops being created when processing Pre/Post. Now, I'm a little worried that maybe I've designed the potential for this exact problem on my H9 and Mobius ... (the Big Sky and TimeLine are stereo). I've found all sorts of solutions (some seem dangerous too) on the internet to avoid or correct these ground loops.

My board has the Mobius in Loop 1 (pre) and Loop 7 (post) and my H9 is arranged for Loop 5 (pre) and Loop 9 (post). I'm following Ron's cabling rules to a "T" when it comes to Insert, Ring Disconnect, and Mono/Stereo Converter cables.

My question is simply this ... Has anybody using the PBC run into the ground loop problems when wiring-up the Pre/Post scenario? Thanks way in advance for all the expert assistance ...

As always, if there's a thread for this already, please just redirect me and I'll do the reading there.
 
I don't have the H9 but Mobius in Loop 3 (Pre) and Loop 7 (Post) with Deco, TimeLine and BigSky in stereo in Loops 8-10 and it works like a dream - no ground loops or any other unwanted noise. I think I read some of the same internet forums you must have...maybe something that's been worked out? It's all good for me.
 
I don't have the H9 but Mobius in Loop 3 (Pre) and Loop 7 (Post) with Deco, TimeLine and BigSky in stereo in Loops 8-10 and it works like a dream - no ground loops or any other unwanted noise. I think I read some of the same internet forums you must have...maybe something that's been worked out? It's all good for me.

Thanks, appreciate the feedback. I needed to hear that from you ... just in case there was an absolute need to place a couple of isolation transformers under my Trailer Trash board to alleviate any possibility of ground loops.

Also, I heard the ground loop scenario from a Pete Thorn video I just watched and it kind of freaked-me-out ... It can be found on Pete Thorn Q and A #25 at around 3:07, I believe, where he specifically refers to the Mobius and H9 causing ground loop problems.

Here's the link:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...2413746C62F9A4C616772413746C62F9A4C&FORM=VIRE


Again, thanks for the feedback.
 
I haven't had problems with ground loops using the Mobius in pre-post but when I hooked it up from the get go I used a cable with the ground lifted for the FX return connection (post) so that might have prevented something. I did it just in case I had to use an unknown backline amp, to avoid me the hassle of having to fix it while on a gig or rehearsal.

However, yesterday I decided to use my Fryette Power Station's effects loop instead of my amp's and I definitely got a bad ground loop or some sort of oscillation when I kicked in the overdrive channel. I need to do more testing but it seems like the Mobius in pre-post might not actually be the culprit but something else in the rig. Anyway, the only way I could immediately get rid of it was to place an isolation transformer as the last thing in the signal chain before hitting the front of the amp. I had a Suhr ISO boost on hand so I used that, I was using a Koko Boost Reloaded in that same position so the change was easy enough. If I flipped the switch to disengage the iso transformer on the pedal, the ground loop / oscillation appeared again.
 
Probably a good idea to just clip the braided ground at the H9 and Mobius post-returns for the same reason as you did (I already have the PBC wired and the bare-ends just dangling for the H9 and Mobius) ... that'll keep me from having to do it later.

I guess what Pete Thorn was inferring when he stated having only "one path to ground" would be solved by doing this. Meaning, the "Pre" path already has a path to ground and the "Post" will not. Therefore, only having a single path (the Pre) to the ground for each pedal ... if I understand him correctly. And, the worst case scenario would be that I have to make 2 more cables down the road ... with as many as I've made thus far, 2 more is not much work.

Right now, I'm only going to run in Mono using my Mesa Boogie Lone Star Special and in the near future, I'll be purchasing a second amp for stereo. I'm with the understanding that using the same manufacturer as a stereo amp eliminates a lot of issues, with regard to ground loops ... but, I'd sure like to get a different amp with an FX loop simply for options, with regard to tone ... and, I will if I can reassure myself the ground loop issues won't be escalated by doing so. My idea is to have the option to switch-out the A amp to the B amp and visa versa for tonal variation.

Thanks ... its good to hear what others have done
 
In the interest of being "ground-loop-cautious", with regard to the 2 POST Output-2's (the H9 and Mobius), I've decided to build this little box today. I ordered a Hammond (unpainted 1590A and 4 Switchcraft 1/4" jacks) ... which I received yesterday. My idea is this;

Instead of "Clipping" the braided ground wires to lift the ground, I'm adding this little 4-jack box on the bottom of my Trailer Trash pedal board. Inside the box, I simply will not "jump" the grounds. Therefore, there's no need to "Clip" any ground wires. All cables will still have their respective grounds intact ... the ground signal will simply be "Lifted" at the box. I'll try to upload my "Paint" design image in this post. But, if it shouldn't work, I'll digitally photograph the box's internal wiring when I'm complete with the build today ... the cost ... $12 ... which beats the minimum $70 alternative of purchasing a ground lift box.

Should anybody reading this post find fault with this concept, please, please, please (I sound like James Brown) ... let me know. I don't want to screw-up my board or pedals. Honestly, I won't take offense. If this works, like I think it will, I entertaining adding 2 toggle switches to the box (1 for each "Output 2") to add the option of "grounding or lifting" by the flip of the switch.
 

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Alright, I've built this thing and I've got some questions for you folks out there. I'm no electrician by any sense of the word ... so my questions are these; is this concept going to work? how do I test it without the building of my pedal board? and, do I need to use rubber washers to avoid contact with the aluminum box to avoid grounding?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. I'm prepared to purchase a "Stagebug SB-6" to solve this issue, if necessary. Anyhow, please view the photo and give me a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Appreciate it!
 

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In the interest of being pedal board safe (way too much money tied-up into the board to start getting cheap now ... I'm going to buy the Stagebug SB-6 ... mostly because the more I look at the box I've built, the more it just looks like a mini-patch bay. So, not a total wast of time! It'll get used.
 
In the interest of being "ground-loop-cautious", with regard to the 2 POST Output-2's (the H9 and Mobius), I've decided to build this little box today. I ordered a Hammond (unpainted 1590A and 4 Switchcraft 1/4" jacks) ... which I received yesterday. My idea is this;

Instead of "Clipping" the braided ground wires to lift the ground, I'm adding this little 4-jack box on the bottom of my Trailer Trash pedal board. Inside the box, I simply will not "jump" the grounds. Therefore, there's no need to "Clip" any ground wires. All cables will still have their respective grounds intact ... the ground signal will simply be "Lifted" at the box. I'll try to upload my "Paint" design image in this post. But, if it shouldn't work, I'll digitally photograph the box's internal wiring when I'm complete with the build today ... the cost ... $12 ... which beats the minimum $70 alternative of purchasing a ground lift box.

Should anybody reading this post find fault with this concept, please, please, please (I sound like James Brown) ... let me know. I don't want to screw-up my board or pedals. Honestly, I won't take offense. If this works, like I think it will, I entertaining adding 2 toggle switches to the box (1 for each "Output 2") to add the option of "grounding or lifting" by the flip of the switch.
Hey Tim,
Have you actually experienced ground loops with your set up? I run my mobius pre/post, I have an h9 but I don't use it pre/post. But i haven't had any issues with any ground loops.
 
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