Re: Phaser pedal placement?
Effect and especially phaser placement is a very personal thing. I can argue to no end that one placement sounds better and another person can argue that their placement sounds better, and to both of us we are right.
I generally like phaser before all drive/distortion. It gives a more subtle and 'chewier' sound that I like. The exception is when I want a very modern, almost synth-like sound trying to emulate an LFO, then I like it after dirt, and even in the effects loop. You have to be careful with effects loop placement of some pedals. they can't handle the high level. Sometimes it gives you a very interesting sound (the Small Stone grits up and grinds nicely in my loop, but that might not be the sound you are looking for)
I also like wah before dirt, so I'll generally go wah, phaser, blah blah.... As far as tremolo goes, it depends on how I'm using the trem. Usually that comes latter in the chain for me, but sometimes I like it before dirt so you get a wave of rising and falling distortion. And finally when I really want to get crazy I'll put the Seek-Trem in the loop with a phaser after it for some awesome arpeggiator type synth sounds.
The best thing to do is experiment with placement and see what worls best for your gear and the tones in your head. For me that kind of experimenting is one of the best parts of playing guitar.
