Hi there,

I bought the Silencer and was inteded to hook it up using the 4 cable method like the guy in this video:

1. Guitar -> Silencer INPUT
2. Silencer SEND -> Amp In
3. Amp FX Send -> Silencer RETURN
4. Silencer OUTPUT -> Amp FX return

This way the input receives the clean guitar signal and the Silencer’s loop gates dirt pedals AND preamp.

The gating itself works fine. [strong]The issue I have is that the Silencer produces crackling/clipping noises when hooked up this way[/strong]. The crackling more or less disappears when I roll back the volume and gain on my amp’s dirty channel a bit:

Set volume and gain to 3 o’clock – it’s crackling/clipping
Roll them back to 2 o’clock and downwards – it’s clear and neat

To eliminate other causes, I did the following:
A. Run some effects through the amp’s FX Loop – no issues
B. Run the Silencer straight into the amp (using INPUT and OUTPUT) – no issues
C. Used the FX loop of the Silencer for stompboxes in front of the amp, i.e. Guitar -> Silencer INPUT / Silencer SEND -> stompboxes -> Silencer RETURN / Silencer OUTPUT -> amp – also no issues
D. Checked all my cables for loose connections one by one – no issues

So it seems that the pedal’s loop can’t handle my preamp’s gain/volume properly. I’m not sure whether the Silencer is simply designed this way or it’s a defect. But again, many guys used the Silencer (or Boss Ns-2, or TC Sentry) this way with no issues.