So I bought an Erica Matrix mixer so I can hook up my 4 pedals to it and my 2 synths and then can route anything to the outputs.
But I was thinking if I just daisy chain all the pedals I really won’t need the mixer. I usually only use the pedals with my one synth that has limited FX.
So my question is if daisy chaining pedals affects or degrades the audio signal with so many cables and electronics the signal has to go through in off mode. If it does I will keep using the mixer. Just want the best quality I can get. Thanks.
Sounds like you’re talking about chaining audio, not power, yeah?
I think it depends. Some can be noisy, so they can affect others in the chain with their noise, of course. Also, if they don’t have true bypass, even when bypassed, the signal can be affected. I usually only cable up whichever pedals I’m using for the session – typically one or two.
I don’t think this is what you’re asking, but just in case: daisychaining power can introduce noise. Some people who are really into pedals get power supplies that isolate each pedal to prevent this. Personally I don’t, but I always ensure the power supply has enough juice for all the pedals connected to it, and I never plug too many into the same power supply… I never chain more than 2-3, but it all comes down to how many amps/milliamps they draw.
this is the truth. even not daisychaining power, some pedals will be noisy without a specific kind of isolated power supply that cuts off the power which comes out of the wall before it goes back through the cable to complete the power circuit.
Chaining effects pedals for audio and getting an optimal result is about the order in which the effects are chained - usually high gain effects, pre amp, compression, stuff like that comes right after the source - where modulation or space inducing effects like reverb or delay would come near the end. there is a lot of info on youtube etc about the “best” order to chain pedals but honestly your ears are the best judge of that. also with synths, pedal behavior is inconsistent so what works with one, might not work with the next. pedal audio will not degrade just because you chain it, but putting a high gain effect at the end of the signal chain or something like that might, so theres more to consider. the mixer is helpful if you want like, the same reverb on more than one channel and you have several inputs and you want to run it through an insert and back in the same way to use it on the aux channel. but you’re talking about one synth, just play around until you’re happy but if you use any fuzz or overdrive, put it first in line after the synth.
I suppose the other helpful thing about using an aux send on a mixer is if you want a dry signal, you don’t have to tap off all the pedals, just turn down the channel volume. If you run the pedals direct in line and want a dry signal, have to turn them all off. but this is just nitpicking.
Not much more to add here but I will say that it does depend on what kind of pedals and what kind of power supply you’re using. If the pedals are struggling for power it WILL noticeably affect audio quality.