How to Set Up the NUX MG-400 With Your Amp (FX Loop)

NUX gave me the MG-400 and the Trident to test out so I figured I would make some tutorials on how to use them as well. The process isn’t much different from the Trident which I showed earlier.

To set up the NUX MG-400 with your amplifier, run a cable from the Return of your amplifier’s FX Loop into Output (R) of the MG-400. Connect your guitar to the MG-400’s Input and then power the MG-400 with the included 9VDC power supply. Turn down the MG-400’s master volume before turning it on.

How to Connect the NUX MG-400 To Your Amplifier (FX Loop)

This will effectively bypass the pre-amplifier of your guitar amplifier, rendering its EQ and volume controls useless.

Once you’ve set it up in this way, you can crank up the volume to 10 if you wanted and it won’t do anything (I strongly suggest NOT doing this though).

The result of that is that the primary volume controls will be with your MG-400 going forward, and not the volume on your amp. This is why the volume is the 1st step:

1) Turn Down the Master Volume On the MG-400

This is a good move because you don’t want the MG-400 to be incredibly loud when you first start using it.

Like with the Trident, I found the MG-400 to be too loud by default. Obviously, not that big of a deal, but it’s something to know about before using it.

The same problem exists with the drum kits on the BOSS RC-5.

2) Run A Cable From the Amp’s Return (FX Loop) to the Output (R)

It isn’t clear to me why the Mono port didn’t work, because the Mono ports are usually what work when you use a BOSS pedal, or any other for that matter.

It’s possible I had something set up wrong, or maybe the L/Mono port is supposed to do something different in this case.

3) Connect A Cable from the Input of the Pedal to the Guitar

Once you’re at this stage, you’re almost done.

4) Connect the 9VDC Power Supply to Your MG-400

The MG-400 has a current draw of 280mA approximately, according to the Easy Music Centre.

5) Turn On the MG-400 First & Then Your Amp

This is how you avoid that annoying popping sound whenever turn on all of your pedals with the amplifier turned on.

I find it’s especially loud when you’re using the Return/FX Loop method for connecting modellers like the Trident and the MG-400.

I’ve talked about this before in my guide on how I’ve optimized my setup with a one-click power-up.

6) Dial In Your Preferred Master & LEVEL Volume

I would go ahead and set your master volume fairly low to start. After, go through the various presets and find out the average volume.

The volume levels may vary between presets, with clean tones often being quieter than overdriven or high-gain settings. Adjust the master volume accordingly.

I found myself repeatedly reaching down and turning down the master volume whenever I would switch to a high-gain preset. This annoyed me a bit, but it’s not a huge deal.

1 Tip for Setting Up the MG-400

Rock the Expression Pedal Forward to Increase the Volume

I found that I also had to move the expression pedal up and down at least one time for the pedal to begin making sound through the amp.

In other words, if you’ve connected everything to your amp and the pedal still isn’t making a sound, it could be because you’ve rocked the expression pedal all the way backward.

When you haven’t decided what effect for it to control, the MG-400’s expression pedal acts as a volume pedal by default, which is really cool.

You can set it up it to control other effects. For example, when you engage it by clicking the “Pedal” button on the MG-400, it’ll activate Wah-Wah within some presets.

Do you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Other Articles You May Be Interested In

• Guitar Effects Loop Vs Direct Input – Which One’s Better?
• How to Connect FX Pedals to Your Guitar & Amp (EASY Guide)
• Where to Put the Line 6 M5 In Your Signal Chain [ANSWERED]