Q: I was checking out the manual for the RJM Music Effect Gizmo loop switcher, and it seems that the last four loops on the box are not only stereo-capable, but that each is independent, meaning you need to run a physical cable to route signal from one loop to the next. What I don’t understand is how it works when you’re not returning effects into the switcher. For example, I want to run the sends from the loops into my rack reverb, delay, and pitch shifter, but I want the outputs from those effects to go into a mixer. My question is what happens when I select a loop where the effect isn’t returning. How does the signal get to the next loop? Do I need a “Y” cable? There’s a diagram like this in the manual, but I don’t see how the signal is getting from one loop to the next.
A: In the scenario you describe, you’ll need to run regular cables between the loops (say, between the output of loop 9 and the input of loop 10) even though your effects aren’t coming back into the returns for those loops. In this example the signal will route from loop 9 to loop 10 even when you’re selecting loop 9, because the Effect Gizmo has what can be thought of as “half-normalled” connections on its last four independent stereo loops.