Hello

I am setting up a pedal board for a friend and this got me wondering, what is your preferred order of pedals. I know we all have our own preferred choice...but I'd like to hear yours

 

Personally, it is always:

1. Tuner (to get clean pure tone into it and to use as a mute switch if necessary
2. Wah
3. Compressor
4. Overdrive(s)/Distorion(s) - I normally stack 2-4, depending on what I'm wanting
5. Boost (I have it post overdrive/distorion so that is doesn't boost into the drive, but rather boost the drive into the amp's tubes/gain)
6. Noise Gate
7. Amp
8. Speaker Cabinet

I then run an FX loop into the back of my amp for my modulation effects, that include these in this order:

1. EQ
2. Delay/Echo
3. Reverb

The above is when using individual pedals. If using an amp modelling multi effects unit, I don't use the FX loop and just run in sequence, and also put the noise gate between the amp and cab.

Despite what people may say too, there actually is a 'optimised' order, which you can read below:

The Ultimate Guide to Guitar Effects Pedal Order and Signal Chain - BOSS Articles

And here is Boss' graphic summary of the above article:



However, there are no rules in music, so if something different works for you, then crack on and break the mould!

 

I think usually the big question is where do you put your modulation stuff, i.e. chorus and flanging. And I would generally say after everything except delay. I've never put reverb in front of an amp...
But, whatever works!

 

For me, it's exactly like @Bunford, but with the noise gate just after the tuner, so that whatever setting you change in your pedalboard, you won't have to change adjust the threshold of the gate again.

I also like to sometimes put the compressor after the distortion when I want the distortion to be more dynamic with my playing, while still being able to shape the attack of the notes with the compressor.

 

i use different setups for studio use vs. live, especially if i need to be flying with my board. that boss chart above is a good guideline

my typical live board (if the amp has no effects loop) will be something like:

• tuner
• 1 to 4 overdrive, boost, and fuzz pedals (order dependent on the material and what i'm trying to achieve)
• EQ pedal
• modulation
• delay and reverb (order again dependent on material / goals)
• noise gate (out to DI / amps)

if i'm using a wah or compressor they go up front after my tuner

 

I see something interesting here. With real guitar gear of course everything goes before the amp.
But reamping/using plugins I see many of them put delay/reverb after the amp.
I wonder what's the difference in sound

 

Not everything goes before the amp, per se. You normally run modulation stuff through the effects loop of an amp (if you have one, otherwise no option but to go into the amp input), and the effects loop is normally wired into the amp to come in after the preamp stage, but before the power amp. Therefore, the only amp that really affects is is the power amp that provides the volume in the main, so it doesn't go before the 'main' amp, being the preamp.

 

Last edited: Sep 3, 2023

Anyone knows the only proper pedal layout is
Gtr -> cable -> wah pedal -> another cable -> amp

Anything else, let the engineer figure it out

 

mostly like every other guitar player, but I put the Taiwan made Boss DD-3 (not the famous Japanese made) after the Tuner. It's doing super fast slap (40ms, 0 feedback) that just add a little glow and make the guitar tone bigger, then I add compressor after to compress them together and make it feel like one sound. The slap is unnoticeable but at high volume, when turn off the delay can hear guitar sound getting smaller. JHS Morning Glory after. It goes direct to amp, or Helix or my main pedalboard (didnt use anymore, pedaltrain XL is too big) or whatever setup I feel like and it changes with the band I play. Been like that for the past 10 years, I think more, can't tell. It's the main basic setup to get the right clean tone at the right volume and enough headroom for me so the signal is buffered (the Boss pedal, no true bypass) and strong enough to handle whatever it is thrown in between it and the amp without losing high-end details of my guitar, especially if long cables are involved. I don't like active pickups except for bass. The chain is :

89' LP Custom/77' Jazzmaster -> Sonic Research Turbo Tuner -> Boss DD-3 Taiwan -> Origin Cali76 (for LP) / Boss CP1X (for JM) -> JHS Morning Glory V3 -> pedalboard or Helix or Amps

It's the same setup to Radial DI Box or Audio Interface if I play with Amp Sim.

 

Last edited: Sep 3, 2023

This is an odd take with regard to the noise gate. Noise gates kill the noise coming into the and have no effect on anything after them. By using the way you do, I doubt your guitar pickups or tuner pedal, unless faulty, are generating significant noise. The noise gates are normally used after the overdrive and distortion pedals to kill any noise introduced from the gains introduced by these pedals. With your setup, any noise introduced by any drive pedals wouldn't be caught by the noise gate and killed as it doesn't go through it, so your signal would become super noisy if applying dive and distortion, wouldn't it?

There are alternatives to the above obviously, like if using the Boss NS-2, which I believe has its own FX loop type of deal to run the noisy effects through.

 

Last edited: Sep 3, 2023

Depending what's your friend situation, that may change a lot.
Which pedals does he have?
Which amp if any?
Is he preparing to play live? Or only at home with friends?

Also, it would be good to know what king of sound is your friend looking for, what genres does he want to play?

 

Last edited: Sep 3, 2023