Re: pedal chaining question
It totally depends on the way you want to go, and the stuff you play with . . . you already have an OD pedal which is usually the first pedal that anyone will get.
Delay - Great for a little extra space in a solo, can also do some cool time delay things (the Police - Every Breath You Take)
Chorus - Everyone seems to use these on their clean channel to get some shimmer, I usually use mine only for the occasional jazz song.
Wah - You probably need this if you play funk/reggae.
Phaser - Depending on the phaser you get you can get a similar effect to a wah, but there's no foot control . . . good for older Pink Floyd type sounds. . .
Compressor - Smooth out your playing, get Santanaish sounds out of your OD, also great for funk.
Vibrato/Tremolo Pedal - Good for old surf stuff, old bluesy stuff, some CCR . . . probably my least used pedal.
Flanger - I don't really like the sounds of most flangers . . . can be used in a similar manner as a phaser or chorus.
Octave Pedal - Can make some cool sounds, but you don't want to use it all the time. ALSO - WILL NOT MAKE YOUR GUITAR SOUND LIKE A BASS . . . that's what I was originally hoping for, and I was disappointed.
Noise Supressor - Clean up the signal if you have noisey pedals or a noisy guitar.
Fuzz - Harder distortion for some different flavour.
I like to put my effects in the following order:
Phaser -> Overdrive-> Wah -> Distortion -> Compressor -> Vibrato -> Flanger/Chorus -> Delay
As for what effect to get next, it's totally dependant on what you want to play/how you want to sound (I got an OD, then delay, then wah, then compressor, then vibrato, then phaser, then chorus . . . ) My rule of thumb is, learn to play at least 5 songs that you will use the effect on before you buy it. That way, you know that you'll have an effect that you can use and that fits with the things that you play.