News:

Shipping now! "Classic Keys" book, a celebration of vintage keyboards  More...

Main Menu

Using pedals with Retro Flier Pre

Started by Oaklandjake, January 16, 2022, 09:33:37 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Oaklandjake

Hei,

I just installed my Retro Flier Pre amp, and couldn't be more happy with the tone and, of course, the stereo tremolo.

I'm not to savy on signal path and am wondering how to use pedals (reverb, chorus, etc) when playing stereo Trem?

To my mind, the only answer I see is to run my pedals in between the harp and Retro Flier but wonder if any of the more knowledgable people can educate me on different options that don't involve buying stereo pedals (I understand that most pedals are not stereo)

thank you,

Jake

spave

Hi Jake,

Where exactly do you want these effects in your signal chain? Placing them before or after the preamp/stereo tremolo will have a large effect on how they each sound. Also, most guitar pedals weren't designed for line level output so you could run into issues if you decide to use them after the preamp.

Here are some ideas on how to get pedals before and after the preamp.

1. harp>pedals>preamp: You can either run cables from the side of the harp cover or if you have a late 1973 or later MK1 stage you could take off the faceplate and use the extra existing holes to build an effects loop like the Petersons originally had. Having the effects before the preamp is how most people use them and any standard guitar pedal should work in this configuration.

2. Harp>preamp>pedals: You could use a stereo to mono splitter cable from the preamp so that you would have 2 mono signal paths to add effects to. This was a popular studio technique back in the day but you will have to be careful on which pedals you buy because most weren't designed for line level output. I know there are some Strymon pedals that have a line/instrument switch on them but I'm not sure how many other brands do. If you did this option then you could have separate effects on each channel but you would need a stereo pedal to get the same effect on both.

3. You could return/sell your Retroflyer and buy the RetroFlyer DLX instead. The DLX has an effects loop with a mix knob which would solve both of the issues from options 1 & 2. This option would also require you to buy a power supply box but if you want a clean setup then this is the right option. This will only work if you have a late 1973 MK1 stage or later though. Just like option 1, you would need to use the additional 3 holes that are under the stage faceplate.
https://www.avionstudios.com/rhodes/retroflyer-dlx


Hope this helps  :)

Oaklandjake

Thank you, this is very helpful!

It sounds like option one is the best bet for me for now. About running into problems if I did option two (running the effects after the pre amp) could I expect this to cause damage to anything? Also, I wasn't aware of the DLX model, this looks cool. Forgive my ignorance, but about the four pin connector: is this something that I can connect to a mixer/amp/AI easily?

thanks again

spave

#3
Running effects after the preamp wouldn't hurt the preamp but it might cause distortion in some guitar pedals. I think its only an issue if you crank the volume on the preamp with analog pedals like the script MXR phase 90. Most pedals should be ok as long as you keep the volume down.

For the 4 pin connector you would need to connect it to a power supply box like this https://www.avionstudios.com/rhodes/peterson-preamp-power-supply-output-box?category=Rhodes+Electronics

Once it is connected you can run the two mono outs into your mixer/amp/AI.