Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

wickenspoet

New member
I just bought that new MXR Submachine Fuzz pedals. It is a fuzz, clean octave down, and octavia up sound all in one pedal. It sounds great. Reminds me of the Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" sound.

But where would you put a pedal like this in a chain with a Pitchblack tuner pedal, a DOD 440 Envelope Filter, a crybaby 95Q Wah, and a couple of other distortions? The Wah, Envelope Filter, Submachine Fuzz, and Tuner all want to be as close to the front of the chain as possible, so who wins?

It's weird, because the pedal does 3 things.
 
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Re: Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

Tuner - doesn't matter, just turn the other pedals off when you're tuning
Wah/Envelope Filter - To taste. If you like the effect into distortion, stick 'em first. If you like the effect after dirt, stick 'em last.
Fuzz/octave - I'd stick it before your other distortions. Octave down usually sounds better into dirt than after in my experience.
 
Re: Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

If your Wah has a buffer AND your fuzz is old school. Tuner -> Wah -> Fuzz -> (vibe) -> ODs -> disto -> modulation -> time effects
If your Wah hasn't a buffer AND your fuzz is old school. Tuner -> Fuzz -> Wah -> (vibe) -> ODs -> disto -> modulation -> time effects
If your Wah has a buffer AND your fuzz is modern, you can put it anywhere but, I also prefer it before ODs and disto.
If your Wah hasn't a buffer AND your fuzz is modern, same thing.

In any case, rules are there to be broken and, there is no short path.
Try to build your chain pedal by pedal, trying each new before, between and after the rest, to be sure you achieve the tones you like the most.
 
Re: Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

Move it around and see where YOU like it.
 
Re: Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

Personally, I'd try it up front (or just after the tuner if you run your tuner first) as analog octave effects usually want to see the guitar with nothing in between, much like a fuzz face.
 
Re: Where do you put a pedal in a chain, if it does more than one thing?

Pitch effects prefer a clean signal, as dirt can introduce artifacts that may not be desired, so guitar>tuner>MXR would be my suggestion.
 
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