People using UAFX AMP SIM. Have you experienced clipping in the effects pedals after the AMP SIM?
I’m having a weird issue with my pedalboard and I’m trying to understand what’s going on.
Current chain:
Guitar
→ PolyTune Mini
→ Compressor
→ Tube Screamer
→ UAFX Lion
→ Boss CE-5
→ Boss Tremolo
→ DL4 MkII
→ Apollo Twin line input
I originally wanted to run modulation/delay/reverb after the amp sim, since it usually sounds more natural to me.
The problem is: if I raise the Lion output enough to hit good levels into my Apollo (around -10 dBFS peaks), something after the Lion starts clipping REALLY badly. Not musical overdrive — ugly harsh cracking.
When I move the Lion to the end of the chain, I can get way more output level cleanly, so it really feels like the Lion is overloading one of the pedals after it.
My guesses are:
- CE-5 input clipping?
- Tremolo clipping?
- maybe even the DL4 input
Also the Lion’s gate makes the delays/reverbs sound pretty bad when the Lion is last in chain. Realy ugly
So now I’m wondering:
- Are the post-Lion pedals getting overloaded because the Lion output is closer to line level?
- Which pedal is the most likely culprit?
- Is everyone basically forced to run modulation/time effects BEFORE amp sims unless they have a real FX loop?
- Am I overthinking signal-to-noise ratio by lowering the Lion output and compensating gain on the Apollo?
Would love to hear how you guys are running UAFX amp pedals with traditional stompboxes after them.