Unconvention parallel use - will this work?

[Winspear]

Hey everyone I'm setting up a complex rig for the first time in a while (coming back from digital). Had my eye on the Octa Switch but if you guys can answer this question positively, the RJM will be worth the extra investment for me!

The basic idea of this rig is that the switcher will be used to control a bunch of OD pedals + preamp pedals to run into the front OR fx return/poweramp in of a single channel amp head, effectively turning it into an extensive multichannel amp.

My question is essentially - can the parallel loop sends and returns be used independently from another and in mixed up ways, to 'hack' their basic intended function? Logic says yes, but I need to check.

Could I have a preset with loops 8 and 9 enabled, where the return jack on 8 is disconnected and the send jack on 9 is disconnected, running send 8 > thing > return 9? The Line mixer would then be used to blend 1-7 'dry', 8 (muted*), and 9.
*Would turning off the 8 return in the mixer disable the 8 send? I suppose I can leave 8 turned up in the mixer as it would be silent anyway. I'm quite interested in this question in general, does muting a loop disengage the send or just the return?

I've attached one basic drawing of what I might do. The mixer would be used to blend between preamp presets in 1-7 and the actual amp head in return 9. The amp head from send 8 would be receiving preamps 1-7 OR the direct guitar signal (via the blend pedal- not controllable via RJM).

The reason I am not returning the amp head on loop 8, is so that I can make a preset where loop 8 is muted but I can still use the line mixer to balance preamps in loops 1-7 against the direct guitar>amp head signal on loop 9 return. This means I can disable 1-7 pres running to the amp head input via presets, rather than the blend pedal.

Hope this mess makes some sense!
Thanks very much

 

[Winspear]

Heck, I could even put the splitter in loop 1 to then have control of both signals going to the blender>amp input via presets.

But yeah. Thought I'd explain a bit about the rig but perhaps I should just ask the basic questions again for clarity:
-Does turning down a parallel return in the Line Mixer disable its send?
-Can I run loop 8 send > loop 9 return with the other jacks empty?

 

[rjmmusic]

Heck, I could even put the splitter in loop 1 to then have control of both signals going to the blender>amp input via presets.

But yeah. Thought I'd explain a bit about the rig but perhaps I should just ask the basic questions again for clarity:
-Does turning down a parallel return in the Line Mixer disable its send?
-Can I run loop 8 send > loop 9 return with the other jacks empty?

A couple of issues to contend with:
- You can use loops 1-6 as a group separate from the other loops, but you can't use loops 1-7 that way. There's an insert point between loops 6 and 7, but not between loops 7 and 8
- The line mixer has no volume adjustment ability, it's all unity gain. It seems like your plan relies on being able to adjust levels, if that's the case, the PBC will not work for you.
- The mixer's output always comes out at Out A / Out B, if the other issues aren't a deal breaker, there will need to be some rewiring to make use of the actual mixer output.

 

[Winspear]

Thanks for the quick reply!
-Shouldn't be a problem, maybe confusion there. I'm not intending to use any insert points, just 7 separate pedals on loops 1-7 to be combined in various presets. I am not looking to use an insert point as the send, but an actual loop output itself (without using its return).
-Wasn't aware of that - thanks for the info. Perhaps not a huge dealbreaker as I expect the balance of the chains would be fairly set and forget if I do it right.
-Absolutely, I didn't bother to draw the end of the chain - mixer output > amp fx return

With your first point clarified, would you be able to confirm my plan is suitable?
Thanks!

 

[rjmmusic]

I see what you mean now. With loops 7-9 set to parallel, then it should work almost as you suggest. You will need to plug a 1/4-inch plug into return 8 to break the connection between send and return. Otherwise, the signal coming out of send 8 will also be sent to the mixer.

 

[Winspear]

Great, incredibly helpful - thank you ! I'll have a think on if per-preset mixer volume control would be necessary but I don't think so, should be good to go