Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

[leevc5]

I have SD pickup booster, tube distortion, EQ and amp simulator pedals. Is there a specific order the should be arranged in a chain to optimize effects?

[Mincer]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

The Pickup Booster should always be first, after the guitar. The distortion next. The Amp Sim next. The EQ can go anywhere between the distortion and the end (use your ears). This is how I would do it.

[Securb]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

I have SD pickup booster, tube distortion, EQ and amp simulator pedals. Is there a specific order the should be arranged in a chain to optimize effects?

Nope. It is all preference. Mincer describes the logical/traditional order, it is also the way I would do it. However, move stuff around and experiment. Thinking outside of the box and innovating is the most fun and rewarding part of playing the instrument.

[leevc5]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

I've been playing guitar for over 30 years and have always been sort of an all you need is an good amp and a good selection of guitars and you play. In the past few months I hooked up with a few guys that are into more that just basic blues, rock and jazz stuff. This has sort of forced me to try and expand the sounds I need to get out of my rig. This is a whole new and very confusing world for me. Thanks for the advice, I will try moving things around and fooling with the zillion different options that even my few pedals offer. Although, I would rather just play my guitar and go back to not worrying so much about all this fancy sound stuff.

[VinceT]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Head out to YouTube and look up That Pedal Show - they've got some great vids with valuable insights.


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[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Pedal order follows the exact sames steps as the Pirate Code.

They are guidelines...not rules. It can get very involved but if you want to start breaking rules think of the links and not the chain:

A boost pedal boosts "signal" - If you want to boost your guitar's signal, place it after your guitar (or first in the chain).
You can also use a boost pedal at the END of the whole chain to boost the entire effected signal.
You can also use a boost pedal after a weaker pedal (like an analog flange with volume drop) to boost it back to unity gain.

A distortion pedal will distort any signal that it put in front of it.
Traditionally, we like to distort a clean signal and then put effects on it (i.e. after the distortion)
You can also say..."Ok...I like this, this and this and now I want it distorted." So you can see what a cluster of your favorite sounds are like if you put the distortion after them.

A Wah is a filter. It filters your "signal"
Like distortion, a lot of players like to filter a clean signal and then go from there.
You can how ever choose to distort your clean signal and then "wah" that.

This can go on all day. Just think of each pedal as effecting what is already effected down the line. Your first pedal effects your guitar directly. Your second pedal effects THAT...and so on down the line.


Try it all.

Make mistakes.

Rip it a fresh one.

Make it yours.

Just play on and never stop.

Enjoy in good health,

~LD

[leevc5]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

What he heck is a phaser and why would these guys think I need one for the bridge in Badge?

[PFDarkside]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

What he heck is a phaser and why would these guys think I need one for the bridge in Badge?

Surely you've heard the bridge in Badge and were immediately struck by how it doesn't sound like a typical electric guitar?

For the record, I think it was a rotary speaker. Manufacturers have been trying to recreate that sound for years, Uni-Vibe, Phase Shifter (which the Uni-Vibe is a phase shifter), chorus, various rotating speaker simulators, etc.

Sure you can play the song without it, it's up to you to determine how accurate you want to be. Heck, you could drag a Leslie along....

[PFDarkside]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Regarding the usage of these pedals, I'd strongly recommend you build the signal chain, pedal by pedal.

Start with Guitar -> Booster -> Amp. Play with the Amp, then see what other colors you can achieve with the booster. Once you've got you tones from that combo, add in the distortion. Do the same thing with the guitar, amp and 2 pedals to really learn what tones you can create. Next add in the amp simulator. Finally experiment with the EQ, and how you can change the way each pedal sounds with the EQ. (Remember that a little EQ can go a long way, extreme settings will sound unnatural)

You may find the Booster or EQ make great boosts for leads. Or maybe they'll help you even out differences between guitars.

How did you go from 0 pedals to these specific pedals?

[leevc5]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Regarding the usage of these pedals, I'd strongly recommend you build the signal chain, pedal by pedal.

Start with Guitar -> Booster -> Amp. Play with the Amp, then see what other colors you can achieve with the booster. Once you've got you tones from that combo, add in the distortion. Do the same thing with the guitar, amp and 2 pedals to really learn what tones you can create. Next add in the amp simulator. Finally experiment with the EQ, and how you can change the way each pedal sounds with the EQ. (Remember that a little EQ can go a long way, extreme settings will sound unnatural)

You may find the Booster or EQ make great boosts for leads. Or maybe they'll help you even out differences between guitars.

How did you go from 0 pedals to these specific pedals?

I always heard George Harrison did the bridge in Badge and I figured he just used a bunch of Beatles studio magic equipment.

I came by the pedals haphazardly: a guy in the group gave me the EQ as he had a newer one; I found the SD Pickup Booster on Craig's list and traded a guy an old router and some bits for it; I built the tube distortion box partly for the fun of it and partly because I like tube overdrive and can't crank my old Champ up loud enough to get it without having the neighbors all over me; the amp simulator is a NUX thing that I bought for cheap on ebay because I was curious. All this in an attempt to "get with the program" my gig buddies keep telling me.

I'll give this electronic gizmo experimentation about six months and if it gets me nowhere I'll go back to just playing the guitar straight through my amp, although I will keep using the SD Pickup Booster it really puts out some really rich tones on my strat and tele.

I don't think BB King was talking about electronic effects when he said he was searching for a sound.

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Some very good advice here. The first comment is a good starting point but definitely try every possible combination to see if an unconventional placement is really your preference. Who knows, you might stumble upon something that turns pedals into an obsession. If your buddies have other pedals you don't own, don't be afraid to ask them if you can try them out and experiment. If you like it buy it, if not, move on.

If you're a player who likes medium to high gain tones, experiment with stacking different kinds of dirty sounds together. For example, your amps natural grit when cranked paired with your pickup booster or tube distortion box; clean amp, tube distortion and pickup booster. Maybe a fuzz pedal into a dirty amp or stacked with an overdrive. Certain pedals will balance each other out... A dark sounding pedal paired with a brighter one can result in massive tones ... Keep in mind with all this talk of stacking dirty sounds, I'm talking low to moderate gain settings. You can also use some pedals like overdrives to boost your amp or another dirt box so it distorts more by turning down the gain and cranking the level or volume knob of the boosting pedal above unity. If boosting another dirt pedal, make sure to put the booster before the other pedal. (I've been experimenting with this for a long time the possibilities are endless. Sometimes you'll find pedals virtually useless by themselves sound magical when stacked together

[Securb]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

A Wah is a filter. It filters your "signal"
Like distortion, a lot of players like to filter a clean signal and then go from there.
You can how ever choose to distort your clean signal and then "wah" that.

I "wah" that

[leevc5]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Some very good advice here. The first comment is a good starting point but definitely try every possible combination to see if an unconventional placement is really your preference. Who knows, you might stumble upon something that turns pedals into an obsession. If your buddies have other pedals you don't own, don't be afraid to ask them if you can try them out and experiment. If you like it buy it, if not, move on.

If you're a player who likes medium to high gain tones, experiment with stacking different kinds of dirty sounds together. For example, your amps natural grit when cranked paired with your pickup booster or tube distortion box; clean amp, tube distortion and pickup booster. Maybe a fuzz pedal into a dirty amp or stacked with an overdrive. Certain pedals will balance each other out... A dark sounding pedal paired with a brighter one can result in massive tones ... Keep in mind with all this talk of stacking dirty sounds, I'm talking low to moderate gain settings. You can also use some pedals like overdrives to boost your amp or another dirt box so it distorts more by turning down the gain and cranking the level or volume knob of the boosting pedal above unity. If boosting another dirt pedal, make sure to put the booster before the other pedal. (I've been experimenting with this for a long time the possibilities are endless. Sometimes you'll find pedals virtually useless by themselves sound magical when stacked together

I think I finally figured out what your saying. It could be represented mathematically as follows:

[Demanic]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

I would definitely put the pickup booster in front of the tube distortion, you could put the eq anywhere in the chain depending on what sort of sound you're looking for, even after the amp simulator.

[Mincer]

Re: Pedal chain - is there a prefered order

Well the manual for the Pickup Booster strongly suggests putting it first to make the most of the resonance switches. Of course you can plug it in somewhere else. But I tend to start with the intended design before I start breaking the rules.