Summed mono question/issue

[dsky]

Hey everyone! New PBC10 owner here and loving it so far! Having an issue that I’ve been in touch with Ron & crew about who have all been super responsive & helpful. Wanted to see if anyone else had any insight as I work through this.

So I have a stereo rig and a mono rig, and while it’s a lot to ask for, am hoping to be able to simply switch my 4 cable method from rig to rig, and switch from stereo to mono as easily as possible. RJM originally had recommended a Goodwood Output TX to go to summed mono. However I discovered that the last pedal in my chain, a Neunaber Immerse MkII, does summed mono when stereo in and only L out. My current setup is:

Loop 7: Strymon Mobius. TS/TS In, TRS Insert cable out. Series. Mono in, stereo out.

Loop 8: Boss DD-500. TRS Insert cables in & out. Parallel & kill dry. Stereo in/out.

Loop 9: Strymon Flint. TRS/TRS in, TRS Insert cable out. Series. Stereo in/out.

Loop 10: Neunaber Immerse MkII. TRS Insert cables in & out. Series. Stereo in/out, or remove R out plug for summed mono.

So that all works great with my stereo amp setup. But with a mono setup, removing the R out from the Neunaber to net summed mono, I only get the L repeats from the DD-500 unless I put that Loop (8) in series and turn off kill dry.

So, is this a Line Mixer->outputs issue with having the delay in parallel/kill dry? Is there a setting somewhere I’m missing? Is it because the Neunaber is in loop 10 and not after Outputs A/B out of the PBC for summed mono?

Nothing wrong with the DD-500 and tried with an Eventide Timefactor as well with same results. Checked all cables with a multimeter this morning. Will isolate and check the Neunaber is functioning with summed mono properly tonight.

Greatly appreciate any ideas, advice or expertise. This forum has been super helpful in my learning phase of the PBC through the search function. You’re all awesome!

Thanks so much!

 

[Josh Demolar]

You mentioned that you’ve worked with Ron on this, what did he say? I ask because the issue sounds like straightforward, “as-designed” behavior, but maybe there’s something I’m missing.

When you have the delay in parallel, you have a separate left and right stereo signal, so the Immerse can’t sum it to mono. But when you put the delay in series, the signal does come through the Immerse, so the stereo-mono summing in the immerse includes both left and right delay signals.

The PBC has its own stereo->mono summing with the gray button on the back. I would recommend using that to toggle between stereo to mono. If that’s not easily accessible on your board, or if you just prefer to have it on a footswitch, then using a utility box (like one from Goodwood, but there are others) is probably the way to go. One nice thing about Goodwood is that they often include a remote jack that you can connect to a FnSw jack on the PBC and then you can control summing from the PBC (and even program it to a button or preset). There are other options though, like JHS Summing Amp, which is cheaper but doesn’t include a footswitch or remote jack - you just plug in your L/R out from the board and a mono cable on the output and it’s “always on.” Any summing pedal will require power, so if it’s an “always on” thing like the JHS unit, it may be cumbersome to have to power something not integrated into your pedalboard. By contrast, the Goodwood units usually sit on your board, always wired in and you just toggle stereo/mono as needed with the footswitch.

All that to say that the PBC can already do what you probably need, but another device may help make it a bit easier.

 

[dsky]

Thanks for reply Josh! So Ron confirmed a few moments ago that this is normal; the parallel effect earlier in the chain is going straight to Output A/B, so the mono summing in Loop 10 isn't seeing the L & R signal from the delay to sum. I initially thought that was the case, but wasn't sure of all the intricacies of the PBC. Anyway, there's the answer!

The Mono Output button just sends to L (mono) signal to both the L and R output jacks, so it's only useful as is for switching a mono signal between two amps, using the A and B output switches. It doesn't sum to mono as is. Ron did say in his last email however that it's possible to modify the Mono Output button to sum to mono, which I of course inquired about and will hear back in his next email.

If that's a simple enough mod, that would be incredible to sum to mono just at the push of the Mono Output button on the PBC for my case/usage. But if that mod is too entailed or anything, I think my options will either be to simply run the delay in series, or purchase the Goodwood TX and have that be the very last thing in the chain, after the Output out of the PBC.