Pedal board chain opinions

R

rooted in the blues

New member
I am setting up my first pedal board. I have been reading a lot of information on placement of pedals. I also get that I will most likely need to play around with the order to find the sound(s) I am after.
However, I would like a base line, a starting point from others that have done this, so I thought of here.
Here is what I am setting up, tried to get order right, but asking for suggestions

Tuner > Wah > Compressor > TS > Dist > Fuzz > Phaser > Delay > Reverb

Or would Fuzz > Dist > TS be better?
Compressor in front of Wah?

Keep reading all kinds of conflicting information

Just looking for the best chain ideas to start

Thanks for the help
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

I feel like your order is pretty darn good. That's how I would set it up.

However, how do you intend to use the TS, Dist & Fuzz? Are you planning on running only one at a time or a mixture? I'd probably go TS > Fuzz > Distortion. I like going from least gain to highest.
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Me:

Wah -> Fuzz -> Tuner -> Compressor -> Phase -> TS -> Dist -> Delay -> Reverb

My "fuzz" is a fuzz face, so I need it early, Wah is True Bypass with Fuzz Friendly Buffer. Also, I like Phaser into gain. Delay into Reverb is pretty standard. Tuner could be anywhere, as long as its after the fuzz.

If your fuzz is a Muff or other pedal that plays well later in the chain, then your approach is equally valid. It's all just preferences, I built it up one pedal at a time to see if I liked it.
 
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Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Here's how I run:
Tuner -> Compressor -> Wah -> OD -> Distortion -> Chorus -> Flanger/Phaser -> Delay
It's what sounds the best to my ears...
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Put your compressor at the head of your chain, or at the very end.
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

I'd probably set it up in a similar way to you except I'd put the fuzz in front of the TS. For me, that means I can smooth out the fuzz using the TS, while the TS will also give the distortion a boost.
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Usually fuzzes before any buffered pedals, modulation effects before distortion/od and reverb last. Delay placement is style dependant for me, but usually before od (unless I'm playing metal).
 
Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Boost/overdrive first, unless you have a germanium fuzz, or other sensitive fuzz pedal, then fuzz or more powerful distortion, then mod pedals like chorus, flanger, trem, wah, then reverb & delay. Lots of people prefer to put wah and vibe before the dirt, but I prefer to squeeze all the mayhem through the wah to accentuate it.

But most effects other than dirt & fuzz are "special" effects to me. I use them sparingly and I really want them to pop out.
 
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Re: Pedal board chain opinions

Try putting your Compressor first, before the Tuner. That gives the tuner a more stable signal. I have my Clean Boost pedal first in my chain, followed by my Boss CS-3 Compressor and then the TU-3 Tuner. Tuners really like a strong, steady signal.

At the end of the chain, I think the order of Phasor, Delay, Reverb is correct. If you get a Chorus, place it before the Phasor. I use my amps' reverb. I run Chorus and Phasor into my amp input. My two delays and a Boss PS-6 Harmonizer run in the effect loop.

The biggest area of controversy for me is the placement of the Wah and the dirt boxes. Some like dirt before the Wah, some prefer it after. I use mostly amp distortion (Mesa Boogie) so the lone dirt box on my pedalboard (a vintage Real Tube 901) is before my Thomas Organ Crybaby. You should do some experimenting; you may find that you'll want your Wah in the middle of the dirt boxes.

This is what I've done for the last 25 years or so, and it's worked pretty well for me.

I currently use a Furman SPB-8 Pedal Board, that I've had for the last 12 years or so. So my chain is :

DOD FX-10 Preamp
Boss CS-3 Compressor
Boss TU-3 Tuner
Real Tube 901 OD
Crybaby Way
Boss CE-3 Chorus
Boss PH-1r Phasor

EFX Loop:

Boss PS-5 Harmonizer
Rocktron Short-Timer Delay
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay


For ease of setup, I patch these into my amp using the Furman's patch bay. It's a really nice feature of this board.

I'm going to be doing some experimenting with some new pedals I've picked up. The pedals will change but I doubt the order will change much, if at all.

Good luck! (And don't forget to have fun!)

Bill
 
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