Best way to connect distortion pedal to sound board/problem with distortion pedal

[echnaret]

Here is the background to my dilemma: I am running sound for a small, four actor show that performs at two middle schools a day for around two and a half months. There are four instruments in the show: an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a bass (all mic'd with wireless Shure SLX beltpacks) and a keyboard. There is one song that we want to add some distortion to the electric guitar. Last year, a Danelectro FAB Distortion pedal was donated to the company. I went and patched the distortion pedal in to the channel insert of the electric guitar. Last year, that worked just fine.

Fast-forward to this year. I have the same set up as listed above. This year, however, we're having some problems with the distortion pedal. The electric guitar is getting played more frequently, and the actor is playing louder than he did last year. A couple days after the show went on tour, we started having problems. If he played to loudly on the electric guitar, the sound would become very faint, and what was still audible would sound very distorted. At first, I thought it was a problem with the mic pack. However, whenever I plugged a wireless mic element into the mic pack, everything sounded fine. Anyways, a week later, I discovered that the problem was with the distortion pedal, not the mic pack (now a Shure UR1). One time when the symptoms appeared, I unplugged the distortion pedal insert, and the guitar sounded fine. I have not used the distortion pedal since. I should add that the distortion pedal was not "enabled" when I was having this problem.

Anyways, I'm wondering if there is another way I should be hooking up the distortion pedal. Again, the electric guitar is hooked directly to an SLX wireless pack. We also want to keep the number of cables down to an absolute minimum. So, the distortion pedal needs to get hooked up somewhere in my rack.

For anyone that's interested:
- The electric guitar (don't know the make/model) is set to a volume of 6 or 7 (out of 10)
- The electric guitar is connected to a Shure UR1 mic pack using Shure's 1/4"/wireless belt pack cable
- The UR4D receiver is plugged directly into the console (Soundcraft GB R2-16).
- The beltpack gain and sensitivity are set at -10dB
- The receiver output level is set at -10dB
- Not sure what the board gain is set at, but the fader usually rests around -5.

Any suggestions on how to solve my problem would be appreciated. Also, if you need any more information on anything, please let me know.

 

[Footer]

The pedal should be right after the wirless pack. You are hitting a pre-amp then hitting the pedal. It should be the other way around. 1/4" out of the receiver, hit the pedal, then then into the console. Now, in reality, you should be running an amp with that guitar and mic the amp... you would get a much better sound but to each their own. Odds are your pedal is trashed so it might be time to replace. A new one is 50 bucks: Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal | Musician's Friend.

 

[echnaret]

The pedal should be right after the wirless pack. You are hitting a pre-amp then hitting the pedal. It should be the other way around. 1/4" out of the receiver, hit the pedal, then then into the console.

Thanks, I'll try that. I'm crossing my fingers that the pedal isn't toast. It was only $20 new, so it's hardly something to cry over if lost.

Now, in reality, you should be running an amp with that guitar and mic the amp... you would get a much better sound but to each their own.

True, though restrictions in time (one hour to load in/set up/sound check, assuming we're on schedule), space and manpower (I am the only tech person) means I try to keep everything as light and simple as possible.