Effects pedal order

[Dominic79]

Hi guys!

It's probably been asked a million times but I'm in the process of buying some effect pedals and I was wondering what order to place them.

I was thinking: compressor first, then octaver, and after that all modulations such as chorus/delay/flanger/phaser.

Am I on the right path here?

Thanks for your advice guys!

[DeadPoet]

Experiment and put them in the order YOU like. There is no right or wrong and it all depends on how you use your gear.


For me personally I put my comp as the last pedal (and its not an always-on situation). I know my playing is even but some of my FX do crazy things with volume so I have it last to be able to get those sounds under control - if needed.


My octaver is one of the first in line (but I do have one synth and a fuzz in front of it, just for the sound of that particular chain).





Current setup:
bass -> fuzz -> synth -> octaver -> synth -> fuzz -> dist -> env filter -> wah -> OD -> freeze -> multifx (mostly for delays, reverb, whammy and phaser) -> chorus -> comp -> amp.


Is this a scientific made up list? No, it's just the way my pedalboard grew up to be...



Enjoy,
Herwig

[blastjv]

Lots of threads on this. There are some 'guidelines' but no 'rules'.

Mine currently is:

Bass > Xotic Bass BB Pre > Boss OC-2 Octaver > Morley Vintage Power Wah Boost > Aguilar Agro Distortion > Way Huge Swollen Pickle Fuzz > DOD Bass Stereo Flanger > Korg Pitchblack Tuner > BBE Opto Stomp Compressor

I have been thinking about some re-arranging of a few things. I just bought a Digitech Bass Synth Wah and if I like it enough (or another filter) I expect to place it after the OC-2 (but we'll see where it works best. I have thought about moving the Fuzz before the wah for a more synthy sound...maybe in front of the BSW, too...

Always an adventure...

-JV

[NineSpine]

The baseline I would start with is Keeley's advice:

Robert Keeley Electronics: Frequently Asked Questions

From there, experiment and see if anything different works better for you.

[warwick.hoy]

The only "guideline" I subscribe to is not putting compressors in front of envelope filters.

[RickenBoogie]

...and yet, some people do exactly that^. It depends alot on how you use a compressor, so that's up in the air as well.