Effects order?

[jason_]

Fairly new to using an effects pedal and there are varying opinions of the proper order for the pedals I have. What does everyone recommend as far as order is concerned for these pedals? This is for playing live only:

Compression
Pre amp
envelope
reverb
octave
distortion

 

[sloppy_phil]

Well, welcome to TB. But don't be prepared for any kind of popular consensus! Nobody seems to agree on anything. For every person who will tell you to put your compression first, there will be folks like me who says it should only go right at the very end of the chain. So, like, don't hold your breath!

But, I suppose to open this can of worms, here's what I'd do. Keep in mind, this is without knowing which specific boxes you have. That info may well influence my suggestions. But, failing that:

octave > distortion > envelope > preamp > reverb > compression

Some people claim you need to put compression before octave effects, to help prevent it from 'glitching' but I think that's only true if you aren't a very clean/precise player. But you also have to learn to "play" each octave pedal to get the best out of them. Also, some people put compression before distortion, to send a more consistent tone to the pedal. But, to me, that totally destroys the nuance of playing dynamics; I like touch-sensitive drive and distortion that breaks up more or less depending on how hard I play.

And, finally, to avoid big volume spikes/peaks which could damage one's hearing and/or speakers, I think having the compressor after an envelope filter is pretty crucial.

But again, prepare for five people to tell you I have it ass-backwards, and their way is better. There is no "right" or "wrong", only what sounds good to you!

 

[Killing Floor]

Personally

comp pre dirt synth(octave) filter, reverb

but there isn’t a right or wrong so experiment. Ymmv. If you like it then it’s good.

 

[Jebberz]

There is no universa solution, you will need to experiment with what works best for you.

For me it is

octave > envelope > distortion > compression > preamp > reverb

- Cleanest signal to the octave to minimize glitch
- Envelope first, so I can really control it with playing dynamics
- Comp after Enveloppe/distortion do even out the sound and spikes created by those 2 pedals, and to feed a constant sound to the preamp
- I don't use reverb, but I would put it at the end if I'd did so it would be the most natural possible.

 

[jason_]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate it. It looks like pedal order is as much personal preference as the bass you're playing! Im a seasoned player, but getting older and choosing more mellow music to play live. Prior to this, all I needed was my darkglass head and the pedal that came along with it for distortion.

Sloppy_phil, if it helps at all, this is what I have:

empress compressor
aguilar tone hammer pre
electro harmonix micro POG
source audio after shock
tc electronics hall of fame 2
MXR envelope

 

[Snaxster]

Fairly new to using an effects pedal and there are varying opinions of the proper order for the pedals I have. What does everyone recommend as far as order is concerned for these pedals?...

Hello, and welcome to TalkBass.

The quest(ion) is timeless. Opinions are myriad.

Many are here: https://www.talkbass.com/search/38840825/?q=order&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=36+225

Mine is here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/how-to-order-your-pedals-a-guide-to-a-definitive-approach.1552330/

 

[Jumbotron]

When in doubt, I just pick two pedals only, and switch the order around seeing which I like the best. Then I grab another pedal and add it in, figuring out where I like to hear it in the chain.

 

[Zbysek]

My pedalboard is in the following order:

1. Wireless
2. Compressor
3. Octaver
4. Dirt 1
5. Dirt 2
6. Envelope filter
7. EQ/hpf/lpf
8. Tube preamp
9. Passive DI

So I would your pedals in the following order:

1. Compressor
2. Octaver
3. Distortion
4. Envelope filter
5. Reverb
6. Preamp

 

[Krisfield]

octave > envelope > distortion > preamp > compression > reverb

The compressor can be pre or post preamp. I usually like it after the preamp.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

pre amp
octave
dist
envelope
comp
reverb

 

[Chrisk-K]

octave > comp > distortion > envelope > preamp > reverb

 

[HelpImaRock]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate it. It looks like pedal order is as much personal preference as the bass you're playing! Im a seasoned player, but getting older and choosing more mellow music to play live. Prior to this, all I needed was my darkglass head and the pedal that came along with it for distortion.

Sloppy_phil, if it helps at all, this is what I have:

empress compressor
aguilar tone hammer pre
electro harmonix micro POG
source audio after shock
tc electronics hall of fame 2
MXR envelope

POG
Envelope
Comp
Aftershock
HOF
TOAN HAMMAH

 

[sloppy_phil]

@jason_ So, I believe, to reinforce my point, you've now got a proper cross section of responses, and if I've read them right... no two people have suggested the same thing! Everybody prefers doing it differently.

One practical question is, do you run a XLR out from your preamp, or just use it for tone shaping? Because if you use it to send an XLR feed to a PA/FOH, then it really ought to be last in your chain.

 

[Gearhead17]

Unpopular answer: Try each pedal by itself, learn it, read the manual for it, try it again, and repeat. Create YOUR OWN order. Otherwise, you will be stuck in "decision paralysis" with that many pedals.

For me, I only use what I need in a live setting. Pedals that are not needed for the show get disconnected. It allows me to focus on what I am doing, the settings, and is one less item to cause issues.

 

[40Hz]

Hey there! Welcome to Talkbass. Glad to have you join us.

There is no universa solution, you will need to experiment with what works best for you.

For me it is

octave > envelope > distortion > compression > preamp > reverb

- Cleanest signal to the octave to minimize glitch
- Envelope first, so I can really control it with playing dynamics
- Comp after Enveloppe/distortion do even out the sound and spikes created by those 2 pedals, and to feed a constant sound to the preamp
- I don't use reverb, but I would put it at the end if I'd did so it would be the most natural possible.

I was going to post my own recommendations and reasons for them. But @Jebberz post above saved me from typing since I’m on the exact same page with him.

FWIW I have a large collection of outboard effects and pedals. But I’m a firm believer in the “less is more” school when it comes to gear. And for bass I don’t use many pedals. Some boost/OD, some additional EQ, and a touch of compression are pretty much all I ever need. Once in a while a phaser or delay might also make an appearance in my signal chain. But that’s pretty rare for me with what I’m doing these days.

Bottom line: A lot depends on:

• what you’re looking to accomplish and your budget to accomplish it
• your instrument since not every bass plays nicely with every pedal - or every pedal with each others - which can be a problem when using vintage pedals
• your amp - arguably the most important yet most often overlooked weak link in the signal chain
• the type of music you’re playing

As others have already said, there’s no one correct pedal order for every situation although some will work much better than others.

 

[Shenron]

Compression
Pre amp
envelope
reverb
octave
distortion

I am not really sure but I'll try my chances... it's a very good question anyway!

Instinctively I would put the preamp first, as active basses have a preamp already on board, before the signal exits the instrument.

Then, as far I understand, compression works on envelope, while distortion works on instantaneous amplitude. So I would put compression before distortion so that notes which have been balanced in envelope by compression will receive the same amount of distortion. It probably makes little difference in practice but I think theoretically if you distort first, the compressing later might result in notes that are balanced in envelope but may have different degree of distortion.

The octaver adds a (sub)harmonic (another frequency) to each note. Distortion creates harmonics but effectively acts on the signal's instantaneous amplitude. With the octave first, the instantaneous amplitude is not obvious. In order to preserve the (presumably wanted) shape obtained by distortion, I would put the octave after the distortion, where it would add the subharmonic to each harmonic created by the distortion.

Reverb works in the time domain but equivalently emphasizes or deemphasises frequency at specific intervals. In any case its purpose is to recreate the psychoacoustic effect of being in a (typically large) room. So I would put it last in order to work on the already previously created sound.

I am not yet family with how the envelope effect works so I have to skip it, so my choice would be:

Preamp -> compressor -> distortion -> octaver -> reverb

Of course this is only my reasoning as an engineer rather than a musician so in practice it might be completely wrong