Can I place the Aeros AFTER an amplifier?

Don’t have the Aeros yet but I have a question about it: I’m a guitarist. I’d like to go guitar into pedalboard into amp. I want to use the Aeros and songs with several tracks etc. But how do I go through the amp? I don’t want to miss the sound of the amp. If I move the tracks from the SD card in the Aeros to the computer, and the Aeros is the last part of the signal chain on my pedalboard, then I’d have to use some sort of amp-in-a-box-pedal before the Aeros, would I not? Would I be able to somehow place the Aeros after my amp and then transfer the tracks to my daw? Or am I just not getting something obvious here?

Hey there, unfortunately, no you cannot have the Aeros after the amp, this would be too hot a signal for the Aeros to record well.

You essentially would need an amp-in-a-box solution to handle this in the way you are describing, or you could Mic your amp output, but you would need a way to connect Mic to Aeros (like a small pre-amp) and there is the issue of progressively louder noise floor depending on the room noise when recording.

Thanks for the question!

12:14 into that video he says the Aeros can be used after the amp and it’s his favorite way to use the Aeros. Conflicting answers here :smiley:

The person in the video is describing putting the Aeros after the guitar amplifier’s “pre-amplifier” but before the guitar amplifier’s “power amplifier.” Placing the Aeros after the power amplifier would not work.

He says to put it either in the amplifier’s effects loop or after the headphone or record output. All of those outputs are after the guitar amplifier’s pre-amp but before power amp.

If your amp doesn’t have an effects loop output or headphone output or record output then you can’t use your amp as he describes.

Effects loops are not recommended for anything other than for time-based effects, the best place to have it for audio fidelity will be before the Amps input

If it sounds fine to you it’s not likely an issue to use it, it may mess with the sound and distort it slightly but in the end if it sounds good it works.

Could I somehow record from a preamp-pedal in stereo to the Aeros in stereo and in stereo to the interface, while splitting off into an amp somehow?

Here’s what I do. This is my acoustic/electric pedalboard.


The highlighted section is for electric only. Starts with compression then distortion, then the preamp (which has a clean and dirty option). Rather than using the built in amp sim in it, I use the Radar IR box. After that there is the little aluminum box that is an inline potentiometer which allows me to balance between acoustic and electric volume. Then on to the A/B box (this is where my acoustic is inserted. After that the boost, Freeze, trem and into the Zoom. This is where my signal becomes stereo. On to the Collider and iStomp (Lexicon reverb) and to the Aeros. From the Aeros I have a stereo DI underneath which is where I send a stereo XLR to house PA. Don’t need an amp with IR’s. I get compliments all the time on my tone.

You would have to mind the input levels on the Aeros, but it’s possible it could work. I would not however recommend this, all gain (not counting boost pedals) should be placed after Aeros to be boosted after it is recorded into it, this will ensure you don’t distort the input.

Depends on the pedal maybe! where does this pedal usually go on your board?

Shure SM57 (or other mic of your choosing) into a mic preamp then onwards into the Aeros??? This would capture the sound of the amp and the amps speaker. A bit more to setup than just cables, but you’ll get the sound you hear from the amp :guitar:.

This preamp has been suggested at one time by Singular for use with the Aeros, but if you have a mixer or other mic preamp, that would work also. The mic pre output will connect to the Aeros with an ‘unbalanced’ 1/4" TS type cable.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/155445-REG/Rolls_MP13_MP13_Mini_Microphone_Preamp.html

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Using a preamp pedal doesn’t mean your signal is going to be too much for the input to the Aeros. Use common sense, your ears and have fun!

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Why not use the amps line out? That’s what I do.

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That works fine, just effects loops are not recommended for loopers

Help me out here Brennan. I don’t know what to do :slight_smile:

I was thinking of getting the Fender Super Reverb Tone Master. It has a Balanced line output: XLR. Would that be good for the Aeros? I’d be willing to go a different route though. How much would I lose sound wise if I go pedalboard into Super Reverb Tone Master into the Aeros into my interface, compared to going pedalboard into aeros into interface?

Ideally, if you’re in love with the sounds of your amp, you should have a mic and a mixer and go into the Aeros from the mixer.

Yes but I only do DI stuff.

I’m sorry but I’m not following you. You only do DI stuff but you’re talking about an amp? And then you’re mentioning an interface. Is this live looping to a DAW or for podcasting? What is the purpose of an amp if you’re going into an interface if not for a specific sound? ( You can capture said sound via a mic and mixer to the Aeros and out to your interface.)

The Aeros does not have an XLR input, but the line out could work yes

Why would you need to go from the Amp to the Aeros? Does the amp have sounds you want on specific tracks on the Aeros? If yes, you could try a balanced female XLR to 1/4” TS Unbalanced cable, it’s not the optimal cable since it is technically not balanced, but it will work.

It’s not as question of “losing sound” it’s more a question of increased noise levels, possible changes in level due to impedance mismatches, and higher risk of distortion. In the end like is being said many times here, as long as you don’t clip and it sounds good to you, you should be fine.

If you go from pedals to Aeros to amp you will lose the ability to use the sound of the amp to affect specific tracks, all tracks on Aeros will be effected when passing into amp.

Keep in mind, without a mixer, interface, PA, or second amp/speaker, you will not be able to hear the signal going into Aeros from the line out, you need to connect Aeros to something else to hear it

Thanks for the question

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If I use areamp pedal with a cab sim/ir box, where would I place it?

preamp pedal → cab sim → aeros → interface?

OR

preamp pedal → aeros → cab sim → interface?

Here’s other users users’ thoughts on looper placement in the signal chain https://travelingguitarist.com/where-to-put-looper-pedal-signal-chain/

User Quad has an interesting thread on signal routing Aeros settings to change location of looper in my signal chain

My takeaways from the answers given here are that

  1. Conventional wisdom from vendors like Singular Sound and Roland is that loopers should be placed at the end of the signal chain.
  2. Looper users suggest not being afraid of placing your looper in the effects loop and within other configurations of your signal chain.

There’s enough experience from both camps to provide you with the logic to support whatever placement decision best suits your needs.

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TLDR;

  • Put the looper last in your signal chain for general use.

    • That means the FX loop if you’re using an amp that has one or after your unamplified modeler.
    • Worst case it’s your last pedal.
    • Anything after the looper that you tweak will affect both live sound and recorded loops.
  • Put it at the front of your signal chain (first pedal) for specific uses where you want to change how a recorded loop sounds after you record it

    • More esoteric or ambient styles where the changing the loop textures is part of the performance
    • Dialing the settings/level on pedals, modeler, andor amp while repeating a loop that contains just the raw guitar sound.
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