Help: Putting together my rig (long Post)

I am going to put together an fx rig to run through the fx loop of my new Bandit 112 transtube. I am in a "Classic Metal Band" that incorporates some new twists and the sound I am going for is a cross between Pantera, Sabbath, and Godsmack. I'm looking for some generic advice like what fx to use, settings, keeping feedback at a minimum. My current setup is an Ibanez (older style) digital delay pedal, A zoom 505II and a digitech Genesis 1. I love the distortion on the Amp by itself but when I go over 60% with the pre gain it feedsback like a banshee. My digitech and Zoom have Noise gates built in and I haven't had much luck really. My humbucker is a Seymour Duncar bridge invader on my main axe and a single space Dimarzio HS-3 on my backup. Any inexpensive suggestions other than what I have?

I know experimenting is the name of the game but I'd like to start in the right direction. I.E. Delay first in the chain, noise gate at the end etc etc.. I use the zoom mostly just for clean tones iow a hint of chorus and flange for clean breaks. Should I just try to put together an inexpensive rack? Is it better than pedals?

Some purchases I'm planning to either add or replace what I have.

Alesis tube EQ mini rack
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Dunlop crybaby wah


Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.

Well back in the days when "Classic" metal was "New" metal...
My rig consisted of:
Alesis 30 band EQ
ART multiverb
ADA MP-1 (a must have for 80 hairband music)
Mesa Boogie Mark VI 1-12 amp (of course you wouldn't have known that from looking at all the snakeskin Soldano stage dressing I had, 3 full fake stacks :))
I had a Peavey Gatekeeper in the rack, but never used it. Matter of fact I never turned it on... I didn't like it much. It cut out my feedback when I went for the "controlled" variety, because every once in a while feedback can be a good thing...

I never really had to turn the Boogie up much since it was always mic'd through the PA and they made a nice sound at low volume, and since I was using the distortion in the MP-1, I just kept the Boogie on clean anyways. Basically unless it was at practice and I didn't feel like lugging the rack, I rarely used the amp at it's full potential.

ART multiverb.......thank god the stopped making those things, ART products were the worst.

Yeah it was a bitch to work, and I really wanted the Alesis, but at the time it was either fake full stacks or the Alesis piece.... you know which one won out.

In the late 80's I purchased an Alesis quadro-verb gt effects processor. The reverb sounded pretty decent but after a year (and one particular hot mid afternoon summer gig) it crapped out on me. I've never purchased another peice if Alesis equipment since.

Here's a quick lesson in fx loops and signal path. All the tone you love from your amp is created in the pre-amp. An fx loop allows you to plug your guitar into the amp...get that nasty tone...then send that signal to the loop before sending it to the speakers. This works great for time-based effects (ie chorus, delays, flangers) etc...

I would put your delay after everything in the loop, it should be last. Try and think in terms of how the signal is processed:

Signal from guitar...to pre-amp...to delay...to zoom (let's say with distortion)...

Now your delay is before your distortion...which means your delay is getting distorted and probably sounding muddy. If you put the delay at the end then you are "delaying the distortion" instead of "distorting the delay."

Time based effects sound a lot more crisp and keep their edge if they are in the end of your chain.

I say loose the zoom and the digitech and get some good ole fashion pedals...I wouldn't use (and this is just me) an effects processor in the same chain as pedals and/or another effects processor...it gets to hard to keep track of the signal process. If you get those pedals your thinking of I would run like this:

Guitar -- Ibanez TS -- Amp -- FX Loop Send --> Wah Wah -- Chorus (I like the Cool Cat by Dano) -- Delay -- Tube EQ (goes last because you want to EQ you the whole signal).

Hope this helps.

I cant figure out my effects loop for the life of me.
I tried putting my Boss metal zone in the loop only to discover that the level control on the Boss effected the volume of my amp...turning it down resulted in total loss of distortion and tone.It seems the pedal relies on the level knob to be cranked to get good distortion...but when cranked,my amp gets cranked too.
Any good Distotion pedals out there that dont have level/volume knobs or relie on them to saturate?Any solution for my existing metal zone?

Later! \m/

Unfortunately, most distortion/ovedrive pedals have some sort of level knob. You have to find a happy medium where the pedal sounds best without a drastic change in volume from when it's off. You also may want to get it out of your fx loop. Distortion pedals (my opinion) sound better outside of the loop.

Guitar -- distortion pedals -- amp -- fx loop send --chorus/delay/flanger,etc -- fx return = bliss.

I have the MT2, too, and I don't use the effects loop, since I found that all my effects sounded weaker. I can turn the level knob anywhere and there's no problem with the distortion or saturation... but then again, perhaps my taste/ear differs from yours, chuck.