Drive pedals on the board

[BloodRose]

I think I need to redo my board. Should the drive pedals be before or after the effects. Seems to me that having them near the end of my chain is causing the effects tones to be over pronounced when I kick on the gain pedals.. Are they best when set before?? Seems like there have been mixed opinions of this. thanks

[ErikH]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

The only one I have to have after any drive is delay and/or reverb. Everything else wherever. On my board, I have phaser > overdrive > flanger > tuner. I like the phaser out front of the OD but prefer the flanger after it.

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

Place your drive pedals before your delays and reverbs.

Placing them before modulation pedals like chorus, flange and phase are to taste.

Assuming they are not permanently nailed or screwed to your board, please please PLEASE just take some time and experiment with each pedal EVERYWHERE.

Enjoy in good health.

[devastone]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

Erik's suggestion is a good place to start, I like phase and flange before drive (although works either place), but everything else after.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

I'm kind of wonky... I do:

Wah
Univibe
Phaser (1)
Flanger (1)
Fuzz
Overdrive
Phaser (2)
Flanger (2)
Chorus
Distortion
Delay
Reverb
Flanger (3)

I only have one Flanger and Phaser, but I put them in different locations based on what sound I want. Generally I like my "filter based" effect like Wah, Univibe and Phaser before all gain, but sometimes after OD makes it jump out. For Flanger, Eddie ran it into gain, many run it after gain, and if you put it at the end of the chain it kind of simulates Flanging on the whole track, very extreme. For chorus, I usually use it like a rotary sim, between OD and Distortion is a compromise.

Even think about Eddie's use of delay, Echoplex into amp gain!

So the truth for you really is that you need to experiment and see what you like the best! The thing I always suggest is to start with base drive pedals, then add additional drive flavors like boost, fuzz and specialty drives, then delay/reverb/mod pedals based on how often you use them to find the perfect place for every pedal.

LD is right... Try to enjoy the process.

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

Wah/Phaser > Dirt(s) > Mod > Delay/Rev for me...

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

I prefer dirt first, but the only rule is experiment and go with what gets you closest to the sound you like.

[80's_Metal]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

I go wah, dirt, effects, delay, noise gate.

The way had to go in front of dirt, or its just bizarre, and the delay gets really dimished near the end, it needs to be turned up quite a bit.

That's how I roll .

[Demanic]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

Do you have an effects loop? If so, put any modulation and delay through the loop. Then run dirt pedals through the front. Eq would be to taste and I would put wah in front of dirt.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

[Matt42]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

I tend to put my OD/Dist pedals first in the chain. I've been experimenting with the location of my Phase 90 a bit, but find I'm liking it a bit more after my dirt, but I don't notice a huge difference because I don't generally use my heavier OD pedal with the Phaser, just my Archer.

[Gainstage]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

uh, 15,873 posts and where do drives go???

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Drive pedals on the board

uh, 15,873 posts and where do drives go???

Come now, be nice... ��

There is really no right answer, just whatever works best for you???

I typically run my tuner first, 2-4 "Dirt" pedals (O.D., FUZZ, DISTORTION, BOOST, Exc.) depending on the amp & then my E.Q. pedal. A lot of people like their E.Q. before their dirt pedals, I do not??? Anyway, if possible I normally will run all my modulation through the loop (Chorus, Phase, Delay, & Reverb) but with some of my amps I'll just run the reverb through the loop and everything else out front. With other heads that already have decent onboard reverb I'll pull my Grail out of the chain completely, but run any other modulation pedals through their effects loop?

Just Bill Nye The Science Guy it & experiment with them in different positions until you come up with something that works well for you. You'll also probably find that for certain things they sound better in different places while you're at it? It's kinda a painstaking process but in the end definitely well worth the time....