Topmusicanswers
A guitar tube amp effects loop is an input and output section between the preamp stage and power amp section in your amplifier. It normally appears on your amp as the send and return.
Do tube amps have effects loops?
Nowadays, an effects loop is an integral part of almost any musical amplifier. Although it just looks like it's no more than just two jack inputs, a “Send” and a “Return”, there is so much more behind it! Tube amps made in the 50s and 60s have no effect loops simply because there were no effect units.
What is the effects loop on an amp?
An effects loop is an input/output that allows you to place effects between the pre-amp section of the guitar - where it gets its tone and the power section of the amplifier - where it amplifies the sound. This means that your pre-amp can go anywhere in the signal chain rather than having to be the last stop.
What effects go in effects loop?
The most common types of pedals to run into an effects loop are modulation or time based effects. This includes things like chorus, tremolo, delay and reverb. You wouldn't tend to run boosts or drive based effects into the loop as this can overload the power amp section.
