Most multi-effects pedals solve the same problem the same way: give the player every algorithm ever conceived, bury them in a menu system, and hand them a quick-start guide that runs to forty pages. The Hologram Electronics Chroma Console solves a different problem entirely. It asks what happens when you distill twenty carefully chosen effects into four color-coded modules, make everything controllable by a knob or a button you can find in the dark, and then add a motion-recording engine that lets the pedal remember exactly how you twisted a parameter at the climax of a song. The result is something that looks simple, performs deep, and has found its way onto pedalboards from Muse’s studio in London to the touring rigs of some of the most texturally adventurous guitarists working today.
This guide covers where the Chroma Console came from, exactly what it does (module by module), who is verifiably using it, how to get specific sounds out of it, and whether it belongs on your board or your desktop.
Hologram Electronics: Knoxville’s Weird Idea Factory
Jason Campbell and Ryan Schaefer founded Hologram Electronics in 2015 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Campbell is a musician with an engineering background. Schaefer is a software designer who fronts the band Royal Bangs. Their founding premise — stated plainly on the company’s own about page — was to build pedals “inspired by sounds and features often associated with synthesizers, computers, and racks of unwieldy gear,” and to do it in stomp-box format, designed and assembled by hand in their Knoxville workshop.
Their debut pedal, the Dream Sequence, combined rhythmic delay with octave shifting to generate arpeggiated, hypnotic patterns previously requiring a rack full of gear. It established the Hologram voice: pedals that do something specific and unusual, built around an interface designed to make that unusual thing feel immediate rather than laborious. The Infinite Jets: Resynthesizer followed — a multi-voice synthesizer and glitch engine that could reinterpret a guitar signal as sustained pads, harmonic clouds, or cascading synth stabs. Both pedals built Hologram a cult following in experimental and ambient guitar circles.
The real breakthrough came in 2020 with the Microcosm, a granular looper and glitch pedal that captured attention well outside the boutique effects world. The Microcosm’s combination of deep granular processing with a genuinely accessible interface expanded Hologram’s reach into studio producers, synth players, and guitarists who had never considered boutique pedals before. It remains the company’s highest-profile product by artist count on gear-tracking platforms.
The Chroma Console arrived in early 2024, reviewed by Guitar.com in March at $399/£426. It represents a different design challenge from the Microcosm: rather than building one deep, specialist engine, Hologram attempted to build a complete four-section multi-effects that preserved the company’s character — instability, vintage texture, sonic unpredictability — while being genuinely faster and easier to navigate than any competing multi-effects at any price point. The central question was whether boutique weirdness and multi-effects practicality could occupy the same chassis. The reviews suggest they can.
Specifications
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Price (USD) | $399.00 |
| Price (GBP) | £426 (at launch) |
| Origin | Knoxville, Tennessee, USA (designed and built by hand) |
| Release | Early 2024 |
| Effect Modules | 4 (Character, Movement, Diffusion, Texture) |
| Total Algorithms | 20 (5 per module) |
| Module Routing | Any order (user-configurable) |
| Inputs | Input L, Input R (¼” TS) |
| Outputs | Output L, Output R (¼” TS) |
| Expression | 1× EXP input (¼”) |
| MIDI | 5-pin DIN In/Out, USB-C (MIDI + firmware) |
| Presets | 80 user presets |
| Special Modes | Gesture (motion recording), Drift (instability), Capture (30-second looper/sustainer) |
| Bypass | True Bypass or Buffered with Trails (user selectable); Dual Bypass assignable per preset |
| Calibration | Auto instrument-level calibration (dual footswitch press) |
| Tap Tempo | Yes (syncs time-based and modulation effects) |
| Stereo | Full stereo; mono-to-stereo available |
| Power | 9V DC, 2.1mm centre-negative, 500mA (not included) |
| Availability | Hologram Electronics webstore; select dealers |
The Four Modules: What You Actually Get
The Chroma Console organises its twenty algorithms into four colour-coded sections. Each section has one large knob that controls the primary parameter, three smaller secondary-function knobs (accessible via a button combination), and a push-button LED that cycles through that section’s five modes. The naming deliberately departs from convention — this is part of the design philosophy, not an affectation.
Character (Gain and Dynamics)
This is Hologram’s take on a gain section, and it bears almost no resemblance to a standard overdrive/distortion menu. The five modes are Drive, Sweeten, Fuzz, Howl, and Swell. Drive is a “tube-like drive with nothing but sweet spots” — reviewers consistently note that it sounds more like a real amp pushed than a pedal in front of a clean amp. Sweeten is a gentle preamp that adds EQ, compression, and light saturation: the kind of thing you might use all the time without anyone noticing. Fuzz is a vintage-voiced dynamic fuzz that cleans up with guitar volume. Howl is a resonant filter fuzz producing either smooth sustaining tones or synth-like stabs depending on attack. Swell is an envelope-triggered volume swell — the kind of effect that makes a picked note bloom from silence.
The important point about Character is that it exists inside a signal chain that you can reorder. Putting Character after Diffusion’s reverb — processing wet signal through fuzz — produces sounds that don’t exist on any conventional pedalboard.
Movement (Modulation)
The five Movement modes are Doubler, Vibrato, Phaser, Tremolo, and Pitch. Doubler runs from tight double-tracking through to short slap-back delay territory. Vibrato offers classic sine-wave pitch modulation through to tape-like random warble — the unstable end has the organic quality of an old tape machine drifting slightly off-speed. Phaser is a vintage-voiced sweep effect. Tremolo covers classic amp shimmer through hard square-wave chop. Pitch is the standout: ±1 octave pitch shifting with optional lo-fi grit and gliding sweeps, functional enough for faux-baritone live use without requiring a dedicated pitch pedal.
Diffusion (Time-Based Effects)
This is where the Chroma Console moves furthest from convention. The five Diffusion modes are Cascade, Reels, Space, Collage, and Reverse. Cascade is a bucket-brigade analog delay simulation — dark tonality, modulation, and droning oscillation that rewards turning feedback past sensible limits. Reels is a tape echo model emphasising bright evolving repeats, gritty tape degradation, and runaway oscillation. Space is the straightforward reverb option, ranging from tight chamber to “massive clouds of notes” — versatile enough to be the only reverb on a board. Collage is the wild card: a spontaneous delay with pitch bends, granular loops, and syncopated glitches. Reverse is a reverse delay with variable playback speed and pitch from −1 to +1 octave.
The absence of a tap-tempo-synced dotted eighth delay will frustrate some players; Guitar.com’s reviewer noted this. The workaround is MIDI clock synchronisation, but that requires a MIDI source. For players who build their board around rhythmic delay as a primary tool, this is a real limitation and the Chroma Console should be supplemented by a dedicated delay pedal rather than treated as a replacement.
Texture (Special FX)
The Texture section has no equivalent in the standard effects vocabulary. Filter is a multi-mode filter with three selectable types: low-pass, high-pass, and tilt (treble up/bass down, or vice versa). Squash is a heavy-handed compressor/overdrive for “reining in chains of effects, providing subtle polish, or pleasing grit” — it functions as both a sonic glue at low settings and a deliberate saturation tool at high ones. Cassette adds wow, flutter, warble, tape degradation, and pitch artifacts: at low Drift settings it produces a subtle tape-warble seasoning; at high Drift settings it deteriorates into audible analogue collapse. Broken simulates the mangled sounds of motorised audio equipment in need of service — not a metaphor for some other effect, but exactly that. Interference generates disturbance inspired by telecom network glitches and radio static.
Cassette at zero percent is documented by users as one of the best always-on subtle tape-warble treatments available at any price. The fact that it sits in a slot that can be placed anywhere in a four-effect chain makes it genuinely more useful than a standalone cassette-emulation pedal.
Gesture, Drift, and Capture: The Three Features Nobody Else Has
Beyond the four modules, the Chroma Console adds three capabilities that collectively set it apart from every other multi-effects pedal currently available.
Gesture is a motion-recording system. You press a button combination to enter Gesture mode, then twist a knob — any primary knob function — and the pedal records the precise movement you make. Subsequent passes replay that recorded movement as an automatic modulation source. The practical results range from a slowly sweeping filter that tracks exactly how you swept it during a session, to a dramatic pitch dive that repeats at the tempo of a song, to a burst of fuzz saturation that blooms at the same moment every time. No LFO produces these shapes; they are literally your own hands, recorded and played back.
Drift is a secondary parameter available on most algorithms that adds instability, randomness, or vintage warble. The amount is user-controlled. At minimal settings it adds a nearly subliminal breath to otherwise pristine algorithms. At maximum settings it produces convincing vintage equipment deterioration — the kind of imperfection that audio engineers have spent decades both fighting and chasing. Drift is why Hologram describes the Chroma Console as taking “inspiration from the eccentricity, grit, and lively instability of beloved vintage recording technology.”
Capture is an ephemeral sustainer and looper with up to thirty seconds of record time. A single footswitch press captures audio, which then drones or loops while you play over it. Capture can be routed before or after the four effect modules, so you can capture dry guitar and run it through a reverb cloud, or capture a reverb tail and process it through fuzz. It is not a feature-complete looper — no overdub, no undo — but as a compositional tool for creating textural foundations and ambient beds, it is genuinely powerful.
The Interface: Why This Matters More Than the Spec Sheet
The Chroma Console has no screen and no nested menus. Every current state of the pedal is visible from the position of the colour-coded knobs and the lit LEDs on the four module buttons. Guitar.com’s reviewer, Jason Mays, called it “probably the most easy-to-use and idiot-proof effects pedal I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to grips with” — a striking claim from a reviewer who covers the entire effects market.
The input calibration system is particularly well considered. Pressing both footswitches together enters calibration mode, which automatically adjusts the pedal’s input sensitivity to match your instrument’s output level. This solves a real problem: a pedal calibrated for a hot active bass sounds different on a vintage single-coil guitar and vice versa. Users on forums consistently report that setting calibration high and giving the Chroma Console headroom produces noticeably better results than simply plugging in.
The bypass footswitch doubles as a preset navigator, and Dual Bypass mode lets you assign specific modules to the bypass switch while leaving others active — so you could have reverb and tremolo always running while the fuzz and cassette toggle in and out together. That assignment is saved per preset. It is the kind of considered design decision that separates a pedal built by people who play from one built to a feature checklist.
Famous Players: What the Evidence Actually Shows
Rhett Shull is the cleanest confirmed user. Guitar.com’s Rig Rundown feature, authored by Chris Kies and covering Shull’s live rig during the promotion of his debut album, places the Chroma Console directly on his board. Shull is a guitarist and YouTube educator with a documented focus on tonal experimentation and pedalboard curation; his use of the Chroma Console is consistent with his publicly stated aesthetic. This is a primary-source confirmation, not a fan forum inference.
Matthew Bellamy (Muse) is confirmed in a studio context. Equipboard documents the Chroma Console as “visible in the background of their studio in a behind-the-scenes post by co-producer Aleks Von Korff for the track ‘Cryogen.'” This is photo evidence of studio presence — not a touring rig confirmation, but a genuine sighting by a credible secondary source with a documented primary source. Bellamy’s history of incorporating unusual signal processing into Muse’s studio work makes it a plausible working tool rather than a decoration.
Ed O’Brien (Radiohead/EOB) appears on Equipboard’s listing. O’Brien’s long-documented interest in unusual effects processing — he is a known user of the Hologram Microcosm and the Chase Bliss Tonal Recall RKM — makes his adoption of the Chroma Console consistent with his established practice. The Equipboard citation is secondary-source level; no rig rundown or interview quote specifically naming the Chroma Console has been located.
St. Vincent (Annie Clark) appears on Equipboard. Clark’s published gear history includes a consistent appetite for unusual signal processing, and the Chroma Console sits comfortably in the territory of devices she has publicly used or discussed. Again, Equipboard is the source; treat it as a credible secondary citation rather than confirmed primary evidence.
Matthew Followill (Kings of Leon) appears on Equipboard. His role in Kings of Leon — primarily textural lead and rhythm guitar support — aligns with what the Chroma Console does well in a band context.
Regarding Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos): the previous entry in this project (Rank 607, Empress Zoia) documented that Reinhart’s 2019 Premier Guitar Rig Rundown for the Treasures and Trolls tour was comprehensive and accounted for every pedal on both his boards without a single Empress or Hologram Electronics unit. The Chroma Console did not exist until 2024, so a separate post-2024 check is warranted. No rig rundown, no interview quote, and no verified pedalboard photo placing Reinhart specifically on a Chroma Console has been located. He is listed on Equipboard’s second artist page for the pedal but without sourced evidence accessible from this research environment. He is mentioned here honestly rather than presented as a confirmed user.
Regarding Andy Othling (Lowercase Noises): Othling is frequently named in ambient guitar communities as a Hologram Electronics user, and the aesthetic match with his project is obvious. His name appears in community discussions of the Chroma Console regularly. No rig rundown, no interview quote, and no pedalboard photo specifically documenting the Chroma Console has been located. As with the Empress Zoia entry before it, his association with Hologram Electronics broadly is a reasonable inference from his documented aesthetic; his use of this specific model remains unconfirmed by primary sources.
The honest summary: the Chroma Console has 36 confirmed pro users on Equipboard as of mid-2026, spans rock, electronic, pop, and alternative genres, and does not have a single iconic “that’s [X player’s] pedal” association in the way that certain signature instruments do. This is a feature, not a bug. It reflects the pedal’s tonal range and its position as a creative tool rather than a genre-defining sound.
Five Tone Recipes
1. Textural Ambient Bed (Session and Home Studio)
Signal chain order: Texture → Diffusion → Movement → Character. Set Texture to Cassette with Drift at 30% for a subtle tape warble layer. Set Diffusion to Space with a long decay and high Mix. Set Movement to Vibrato at a very slow rate. Character bypassed. Press Capture and hold a sustained chord for four to six seconds — the reverb tail drones. Play melodic lines over it. Use Gesture to record a slow filter sweep from the secondary functions of the Space algorithm for evolving movement. Works over acoustic or electric guitar; particularly effective for session parts that need to sit behind a lead vocal without competing with it.
2. Faux Baritone Lead (Live, Single-Coil Guitar)
Signal chain order: Movement → Character → Diffusion → Texture. Set Movement to Pitch at −1 octave, Mix around 40% (blended with dry signal). Set Character to Drive, Sensitivity medium. Set Diffusion to Cascade with moderate feedback and Mix around 25%. Texture to Squash for light glue compression. The pitch-shifted low end gives the impression of a baritone without retuning; the Cascade delay adds depth. Use for lead lines where the guitar needs to sound larger in the mix without adding distortion that competes with another player’s rhythm part.
3. Broken Tape Machine (Experimental / Recording)
Signal chain order: Diffusion → Texture → Character → Movement. Set Diffusion to Reels with Drift at 70% and feedback high enough for audible oscillation but not runaway. Set Texture to Broken with Amount at 40%. Character to Sweeten for slight saturation. Movement to Doubler for stereo width. The combination produces the sound of a tape machine that has been left in a warm room for too long — pitch unstable, degraded, beautiful. Record in stereo and use as the textural foundation of a track rather than as a foreground guitar part. This is the recipe that Guitar.com’s reviewer described as something “Kevin Shields would surely enjoy.”
4. Clean Pedalboard Glue (Live Utility)
Signal chain order: Character → Texture → Movement → Diffusion. Set Character to Sweeten, Amount minimal, essentially acting as a studio-quality preamp stage. Texture to Filter in Tilt mode with slight treble boost. Movement to Doubler tight (double-tracking effect, not delay) for subtle stereo width. Diffusion to Space with a short, dark room reverb. This configuration adds air, width, and light saturation without obviously doing any of those things. Use it as the foundation of a board where other pedals handle the obvious effects, and the Chroma Console provides the acoustic chain of the rig — the part that makes the raw signal sound less like a DI’d electric guitar and more like something that has been to a room.
5. Synth-Like Gated Stabs (Electronic / Crossover)
Signal chain order: Character → Movement → Texture → Diffusion. Set Character to Howl — resonant filter fuzz — with Sensitivity responsive to picking attack. Set Movement to Tremolo in square-wave mode, Rate synced to tap tempo. Texture to Interference at low Mix for electronic texture under the signal. Diffusion to Collage with Drift at 50% for granular spatter on the tail of each note. Used with short, percussive picking attack on a bridge pickup, this produces stabs that read as synth rather than guitar in a dense mix. Works particularly well feeding a looper or DAW for electronic production contexts.
Comparisons and Alternatives
The most commonly cited alternative to the Chroma Console is the Line 6 Helix Floor — not because they occupy the same territory, but because they are the two ends of the multi-effects spectrum in 2024. The Helix Floor offers over 300 amp and effect models with deep parameter control and an industry-standard workflow; it is a comprehensive professional tool for players who need to model an entire rig. The Chroma Console offers twenty carefully chosen algorithms with a philosophy of musical instability and creative experimentation. They are not competing for the same player.
The Eventide H90 Harmonizer is a closer comparison. At $899 it is more than twice the price, runs two algorithms simultaneously (versus the Chroma Console’s four), and offers deeper parameter control per algorithm. The H90’s algorithms are more precisely modelled from specific vintage hardware. The Chroma Console’s interface is significantly faster in live performance contexts where menu diving is a liability. Guitar Pedal X described the two as “quite different beasts” — the H90 offers greater granularity per effect, the Chroma Console offers greater breadth of simultaneous effect combination.
The Empress Effects Zoia is the Chroma Console’s modular-thinking opposite: a blank canvas where every signal path and algorithm combination is user-defined, at the cost of a learning curve measured in weeks. The Zoia can theoretically replicate any patch the Chroma Console produces and many it cannot. The Chroma Console can be operational in five minutes and produce usable sounds in thirty seconds. They attract different players even within the experimental music community.
The Neural DSP Quad Cortex and Kemper Profiler Head and Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III Mark II are all in the professional amp modelling category — tools for players whose primary need is amp simulation for live and studio contexts. The Chroma Console does not model amplifiers; it is an effects processor designed to be used with amplifiers (or amp modellers). Many players who own a Quad Cortex or Axe-Fx also use the Chroma Console on top of that chain for textural duties the modellers don’t cover.
The Hologram Electronics Microcosm is the closest sibling within the company’s own range: a granular looper and glitch engine that goes deeper into granular processing than anything the Chroma Console’s Collage or Capture modes offer, but does not cover the Chroma Console’s drive, modulation, or tape emulation territory. Players who work extensively with granular effects would consider both; they complement rather than duplicate each other.
For players whose existing board already covers standard effects and who need a creative processing layer, the Chase Bliss Audio Automatone Preamp MKII covers similar “boutique preamp + experimental processing” territory, though its discontinued status means the used market is the only option. The Chroma Console is in active production and available new.
Buying Guide
The Chroma Console is available directly from Hologram Electronics’ own webstore at $399. This is the primary and most reliable source, and the company ships internationally. A handful of authorised dealers stock it, but availability varies — Hologram’s webstore is the surest route to a confirmed unit.
The used market exists but is thin. Players who buy Chroma Consoles rarely sell them quickly; the learning curve means most owners are still discovering capabilities months in. When used units do appear on Reverb, prices typically run $320–360 for excellent condition, $270–310 for good. The pedal has no known reliability issues beyond the power draw (500mA — see Ownership below), so used examples in good condition are safe buys.
There are no variants, limited editions, or significant hardware revisions to the Chroma Console as of mid-2026. Any unit you buy is the same hardware; firmware updates have been released via USB-C and are installed through the Hologram Electronics support page. Confirm your firmware is current before gigging.
This pedal is sold exclusively direct and through authorised dealers. No cheaper alternatives exist under the Hologram Electronics name. The Chroma Console is not manufactured offshore under a sub-brand; it is the Knoxville-built production unit or nothing. At $399 for a hand-built, US-made unit with this depth of functionality, the price is competitive against any comparable boutique multi-effects — which, arguably, don’t exist at this level of interface clarity.
Ownership Notes
Power draw is the first thing to check. The Chroma Console requires 500mA at 9V. This is not unusual for DSP-intensive pedals, but it will exceed the available current on isolated outputs of most standard supplies. Verify that your supply has at least one 500mA-capable isolated output. Daisy-chaining will not handle it reliably. If your board runs off a standard eight-output supply with 100–200mA per output, you need either a new supply or a dedicated outlet for the Chroma Console. This is not a complaint about the pedal — it is a planning requirement for any prospective buyer.
The calibration step is not optional. Run calibration with every guitar you use. The calibration is stored in the pedal but does not switch automatically when you plug in a different instrument. Players who use both active and passive pickups on the same board should make a habit of running calibration when they switch. Forum users report that high-headroom calibration settings produce noticeably less unwanted saturation from the drive algorithms at moderate input levels.
True Bypass versus Buffered with Trails is a setup decision, not a default. In True Bypass mode, the pedal’s effects cut instantly on bypass with no tails — appropriate for most analog-style effects. In Buffered mode with Trails, reverb and delay tails continue to decay after bypass — appropriate when the Chroma Console is the last effect in a chain feeding an amp or modeller. Decide which you need before gigging; the setting is configurable per preset.
MIDI expands the pedal substantially. Tap-tempo BPM sync is the obvious use case, but the Chroma Console accepts full CC control of every primary knob parameter over MIDI, which means a MIDI controller can automate Gesture playback, control Mix levels per module, and recall any of the 80 presets by program change. Players in live contexts who run MIDI-clocked boards will find the Chroma Console significantly more capable in that environment than its face-value description suggests.
30-second Capture loops do not survive power cycling. The Capture feature is designed as an ephemeral compositional tool, not a setlist element. Anything you want to keep from a Capture session needs to be recorded externally — into a DAW, an interface, or a looper pedal in the chain. This is stated in the design philosophy, not a bug, but it will surprise players expecting a conventional looper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Hologram Electronics Chroma Console available in the UK?
Yes. Hologram Electronics ships internationally from their US webstore, and the Chroma Console launched at £426 GBP. Select UK dealers have also stocked it. Check the Hologram Electronics webstore for current UK pricing and shipping options, as currency fluctuations affect the GBP price periodically.
Can you use the Chroma Console with bass guitar, keyboards, or synthesisers?
Yes. The pedal accepts standard quarter-inch TS input and is designed for both instrument-level and line-level sources. The input calibration system adapts to different output levels, which makes it genuinely usable with bass guitars (typically hotter than electric guitars), synthesisers, and keyboard workstations. Several Equipboard-documented users are producers and multi-instrumentalists rather than guitarists exclusively.
Does the Chroma Console require the Hologram Electronics app to operate?
No. The pedal is fully operable with no app, no software, and no external device. Everything is controlled from the hardware interface. The USB-C port is used for firmware updates, which are delivered directly to the pedal without requiring a proprietary app — a standard firmware file loaded via the support page process.
Can I use only one or two modules at a time instead of all four?
Yes. Each of the four modules can be independently bypassed. You can run the pedal with only Diffusion active, or with Character and Texture running while Movement and Diffusion are bypassed. This is a standard use case for players who want the Chroma Console to function as a reverb-and-drive unit without engaging the modulation or special FX sections. You can save these configurations as presets.
What does the Drift control actually do to the algorithms?
Drift introduces controlled randomness and instability to whichever algorithm it applies to. On Movement’s Vibrato, Drift introduces pitch modulation that wanders slightly off the LFO’s regular sweep, like a vintage tape machine. On Diffusion’s Reels, Drift degrades the tape echo’s fidelity — more Drift, more deterioration. On Texture’s Cassette, Drift increases the wow-and-flutter and pitch instability. The key point is that Drift is always musical and controllable; at low settings it is a seasoning, at high settings it is a primary sound design tool.
Is the Chroma Console replacing the Hologram Electronics Microcosm, or are they different things?
They are genuinely different tools. The Microcosm is a specialist granular looper and glitch pedal with eleven granular algorithms, deep looping functionality, and the kind of sound-mangling capability that the Chroma Console’s Collage mode approaches but does not fully replicate. The Chroma Console is a four-section multi-effects with drive, modulation, reverb/delay, and special FX in a single configurable chain. Many players in experimental and ambient genres use both. The Microcosm goes deeper into granular territory; the Chroma Console covers broader ground.
The Chroma Console has no screen. How do you recall and edit presets?
Presets are saved and recalled using the footswitches — specifically, long-pressing the Bypass footswitch enters preset navigation mode, and the tap-tempo footswitch steps through banks. Editing works by the current knob positions at save time: set your effects, press the two middle buttons (B+C combination) to copy/save. There is no display of parameter values; the knob positions are the display. This sounds like a limitation until you realise that it means you can always reproduce any preset by eyeballing the knob positions — which is why the colour-coded knobs are colour-coded.
Does the Chroma Console work well in an effects loop?
Yes, and the line-level calibration makes this straightforward. Running the Chroma Console in a Fender Deluxe Reverb‘s effects loop (or any amp with a series effects loop) after the preamp stage reduces the interaction between the Character module’s drive and the amp’s own preamp. Players who want the Chroma Console’s modulation, reverb, and texture effects to be clean and parallel to the amp’s voice should put it in the loop; players who want the Hologram to process the entire amp signal (including the amp’s preamp character) should run it front-of-amp.