Logical Order of Effects

Setting up your effects can be difficult if you don't know what order they should be in. With this logical walkthrough you'll know the best placement for each type of pedal.

#pedalboard #guitareffects #csguitars

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[ScienceofLoud]

Setting up your effects can be difficult if you don't know what order they should be in. With this logical walkthrough you'll know the best placement for each type of pedal.

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[tsvtsvtsv]

watch the video in reverse to see how tom morello builds a pedalboard

[NealB]

After spending an hour watching Dan and Mick on That Pedal Show discussing pedal order, I recently rebuilt my board in the following order: guitar > wah > fuzz > tuner > boost > distortion > overdrive > phaser > flanger > chorus > comp > volume > EQ > delay > reverb > amp. Fuzz before any buffers and compression after all dirt and modulation have been added to the signal. Very happy with it so far.

[johnnycondor]

This is the beginner's instructional video I've needed on the order-of-pedal-effects. You've made everything very clear and understandable. Thank you, Colin!

[ChristianIce]

Everything right, but I don't agree on the volume pedal.
In front of the distortion it's the same as lowering the volume of your guitar...from the guitar itself.
If you use the volume after the distortion, and before the clean channel of the amp, it makes sense as a boost for solos.
Before the distortion it won't lower the volume, just the gain.
Of course it's ok to put it there if that's what you use it for.

[EOS]

Hahahaha we need a shirt that says ".... And then there's Fuzz"

[NukeAllNoobs]

Where in my signal chain should I put my wah?

Correct answer: as far away from Kirk Hammett as possible

[stevestv]

Without doubt the best 8mins I've spent listening to pedal effects order and associated variables.

[tymime]

An exception for placing reverb _before_ distortion is a surf sound. Back in the day, surf guitarists had Fender reverb tanks placed before an overdriven amp.

[pertinaxhaszard]

I have my fuzzes right after my flanger and wah, right before the ODs. I love hitting an overdrive with fuzz, greatest distortion ton ive heard.

[ehowie]

A good example of wah after dirt is Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Eddie Hazel was a genius.

[jasondelong]

Hey there Colin,

This is by far my favorite video on this channel. So much so in fact that I recommend it to my Sonic Development students as a handy go-to guide for pedal placement. Just as well after a brief argument with a studio engineer one day about my preferred pedal order (fuzz of course was in question) I referred the engineer to this video. By this- I mean I refused to carry forth the session before he watched this... after a quick cigarette his mind was totally changed and said that this video changed his whole outlook on PP and he has since used the logical order as a guide. This order is why most multi-effects pedals also utilize this order for their preset programming- no-brainer there!

The one glaring omission in this video that I can see in this video is the use of compression, and to a lesser extent amp modeling pedals and pre-amps. Thusly to add to your content listed (from my experience):

Compression should be added early in the chain after utility. Of course in the case of fuzz, this can vary with placement before or after the effect, just as well with any distortion/overdrive. A compressor is meant smooth and often boost a signal to add more clarity and differentiation to the notes being played by unifying their amplitude and cutting down transient peaks in the signal, as well as modifying the charicteristics of their attack and release/sustain. In cases where you want a clean and level signal sent into a chain to maximize the benifits of having an even and clear signal, it needs an early placement, either after utility or after the wah/volume. If you want to preserve the frequency boosts and dynamics of your distortion/overdrive/fuzz, as well as potentially modifying there attack and release, they are best placed after these effects. Limiters, which function somwhere in between a noise gate and a compressor should be treated much the same way as the latter example, allowing the limiter to work with the overall output of the signal in question. Placement of a limiter can change depending on noise floor and what frequencies need to be cut, and as they are fairly transparent, can be an anomaly, used in many places in the chain. Rule of thumb here is the last cited example however.

Pre-amps and amp modling pedals are another paradigm. As these pedals/units seek to warm up a signal going into an amplifier (pre-amp) or simulate the output characteristics of a particular kind of amplifier when being fed into a device like a PA or a flat-response solid-state amp. The placement of these is variable as well, but is often at the very end of the chain, or before timed effects. In some cases, a pre can be used very early on the chain, around the same place as a compressor to feed boost and warmth to the overall effects chain, much like using an EQ or a compressor, or to emulate the effects loop of an amplifier. An amp modeling pedal or effect should often be used last in the chain or potentially before timed effects, as it is made to color the sound in such a way that it is changing the tone of the signal chain to cause it to sound as its output is coming from a particular style of amplifier. This can be anomalous as well, and these boxes can often as well be used much like a distortion or overdrive pedal- depending on the model, and may be best placed in a manner that again emulated the afformention use as a replacememt for an effects loop in an amp.

I see no other glaring ommisions to this list, but for informational purposes will mention a couple to any eager seekers of advice that may stumble upon this comment.

Tremolo: this is an effect that modulates amplitude (volume) and not frequency (tonality), and is often placed after either volume/wah, or in the same placement before one or the other, or after everything besides pre-amps, amp modeling, and timed effects, depending on its desired purpose- as it is modulating the volume/amplitude of a signal and not its overall tone/frequencies.

A last example of a somewhat rarely used effect is ring modulation and oscillators. These tend to produce colorful and often wild sonic effects especially depending on placement. Ring modulation produces counter frequencies and overtones to the notes being played, making metallic and oft-described 'bit crushing' tones to the signal in question. Most bit-crushers/ring modulators allow you to control the dry-to-wet ratio/blend of the signal being fed out of them.

Oscillators are rare as stand-alone devices, and are often incorporated to the pallet of some ring-mods and often more fuzz pedals, generating a constant set tone that is blended with the signal of the guitar, and sometimes controlable via the guitars built-in volume and tone controls.

Oscillators of this type need to be placed first in the chain to function properly as any effects running into them will modulate their bias/pitch instead of the guitar. Ring modulators usually as well should find their placement early in the chain, but are much more variable in coloring the sound, so experimentation may be necessary. Even some examples of fuzz like the octavia and tone machine ring modulate the signal in certain ranges of pitch and tonal charicter.

In the case of fuzz, ring modulation, and oscillators, as well as emulator pedals we have not yet mentioned (that are meant to modify the guitars signal to sound like another instrument), these pedals should be placed almost always after utility or volume/wah/tremolo. This is because these pedals in all actuality change the signal in such a way that it is no longer truly even the sound of a guitar. Even the earlist of fuzz boxes were meant or marketed to change to tone so drastically as to be more emulative of horns or bowed string instruments. Overdrive and distortion are meant to carry and boost the sound of an amps pre and power section, and all other effects to modify a guitar signal or output, so logically come later in the chain. Anything that fundamentally is changing the amplified acoustic signal into something that sounds unlike a guitar, or produces a particular fundamental waveform (I.E. square, sawtooth) like a fuzz will need to come very early in the chain, and almost always first after either utility or volume/compression.

Oh, and loopers...
Either last in the chain or it's a whole new can of worms!

Pardon the diatribes, but I hope the someone can find them helpfull!

Thank you again to CS Guitars for making this vid. Any commentary or correspondence to this comment is most welcome.

Cheers- Jbird

[theize]

I know I'm a little late, but I think it's important to mention a looper pedal. For those wondering, it's best to put a looper pedal last. That way if you're trying to layer multiple guitar parts with different effects you can do so. Placing the looper first will then cause every guitar part to have the same effect, meaning any pedals you have turned on. So if you want only certain loops to have distortion, or be clean and so on, place the looper last. Thanks to anyone and everyone who reads this to its entirety.

[lukas]

Colin! I bought the MxR carbon copy and im loving it. This video is exactly what i need now thx

[TheEarCandy]

Love this guy and channel, knows his stuff, has a good sense of humor about himself and has great vid content. 3 hard quality's to run across all at 1 time.

[cliffyg]

One of the best explanations. Oh and I was supposed to set up my board at lunch. Perfect timing. Thanks.

[axelbergstrom]

"Reverb after distortion"

Shoegaze begs to differ

[sanatprasad]

This is excellent way of explaining in a concise way and getting across the main points. Explains enough get a decent understanding and covers all the basics, leaves scope for experimentation, and people can explore more sourcws if they want more detial/depth

[rustygill]

I've always put my Volume pedal at the end of the chain. I want to control the volume of my finished sound, not change the gain or level hitting the front of the amp.

[sbargs]

Hello Colin,
You didn't mention compressors and where they should be on the pedalboard. Any suggestions? Thanks!