Need help with my pedal order + other general inquiries

[greenmachine69]

Hey guys, I've accrued a few pedals over the past couple months. Here's my list of them in the order they are currently in:
(Polytune 1) > Joyo American Sound > Walrus Audio Deep Six v1 comp > EHX Bass Soul Food > Boss CE-2B > Boss LMB-3
I bought an EHX Battalion on a whim and don't really know where to put it. It's a distortion pedal, so I'm thinking behind the Soul Food so that the drive goes in the light-heavy order, but it's also basically an EQ. But since buying it, I haven't really figured out how to utilize it properly. Does anybody have one and mind sharing their settings?
Also, I know I might be going overboard by having two EQ/preamps as well as a comp AND a limiter. I usually have the Joyo and LMB-3 as my always-on pedals because I like the sound that combo brings me. The LMB-3 has got to be one of my favorites, that enhance knob is always cranked to 100%.
I've been a bit weary if the Deep Six comp as I haven't figured out how to properly utilize it either. It certainly does its job, but the lack of ratio/threshold knobs when it's labeled a compressor really throws me off. Anyone have experience with one? Do you like/dislike it? If you use one, what settings do you use?
I also have a Sansamp Bass Driver DI (v1) that I'm planning to sell. It's practically in mint condition, so I think I can get my $150 back. Since trying it out at a myriad of different settings, I never really understood its appeal. I haven't tried it in my current chain though, so maybe I ought to see if it adds anything special.
If y'all were in my shoes, would you get rid of/replace any of these? I don't have a problem parting with any of my pedals other than the two Bosses. The CE-2B doesn't really fit in well with a lot of the music my band plays, but I LOVE the sound (naturally, as a big Andy Rourke fan), so I try to throw it in when given the chance.
Sorry for the long post, just bored at work so my mind has been wandering. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[el murdoque]

With your American Sound, which is a straight copy of the Sansamp Blonde (except for the mids knob wich is centered at 1kHz on the Sansamp, but much lower on the Joyo), the BDDI and the Battalion, you effectively have three preamps. IIRC, the American Sound does have a baked in speaker sim, so you'll have a treble roll off early in the chain, which might affect later pedals.
So your current chain is
tuner - (dirty) preamp - compressor - dirt pedal - chorus - compressor.

It looks a bit weird to me, but there are no rules. If it sounds nice and works for you, it's good.

 

[Deloofs]

Okay so the Deep Six comp has level, tone, sustain, blend, and attack controls. The "sustain" is most likely the threshold control and the ratio is probably fixed at something like 4:1 however neither the product page nor the manual specifices this. The tone control appears to be a high pass filter which will cut out low end. The slope/order of this filter is likewise not specified but 12db/octave is typical.

As el murdoque said you have a gang of preamps here. I read the product page and manual for the Joyo but couldn't find any info about baked-in speaker sims but many preamp pedals do have cabinet emulation. I do however think it's weird that it doesn't have an XLR output. Usually cabinet emulation is paired with an XLR for going direct out to the mixer/PA.

The enhance feature on the LMB-3 is kind of weird but in my experience it's something like a high shelf boost. The fact that you're using the Joyo towards the beginning and the LMB-3 at the end with the enhance knob engaged would indicate that you're cutting highs with the Joyo cabinet emulation and then adding them back with the LMB-3 which is to say that you might just be adding noise for no reason. I believe the attack and release times on the LMB-3 are fixed and fast or possibly they scale with the ratio. Whatever the case the attack time seems quite fast and the fact that it has limiter in the name supports this assumption. I have this pedal and also love it.

Personally I would try this:

1. LMB-3 (enhace off)
   1. Ratio high/infinite
   2. Threshold set high enough to catch peaks without squashing your tone unless you're into that
   3. level set to unity between on and off
2. Soul Food
3. CE-2B
4. Deep Six
   1. Either slow attack+squashed tone to emphasize transient or
   2. Use it as a low cut for special effects
5. Preamp pedal - I'm actually partial to the BDDI because of the convenient XLR output but choose whatever you want here. You can do multiple preamps to drastically alter your tone quickly by switching between them. I would do BDDI last to take advantage of the XLR out after all your tone shaping is done.

This way the LMB-3 will keep your level consistent but be relatively transparent to your tone with minimal impact on noise, the Soul Food and CE-2B are doing their thing will nice consistent signal level, the Deep Six can either emphasize transient punch or do whatever else you like about it (honestly not super critical imo), and the preamp is at the end to process your signal and do cabinet emulation.

Combining compressors and dirt pedals is kind of a worst-case scenario for noise. If you do comp into dirt the comp will raise the normally quiet noise floor and give the dirt more noise to amplify. Dirt into comp and the dirt creates noise for the comp to amplify. One way around this which works very well is parallel processing with a pedal such as the KMA Tyler. This pedal lets you put the compressor and dirt in separate loops so that they cannot amplify each other's noise and the Tyler in particular also includes independant high pass filter on one loop and low pass filter on the other loop. That way you can send your lows to the LMB-3 and Deep Six and the highs to the dirt and chorus.

You may also consider a noise gate pedal with loop such as the Boss NS-2 or Ibanez Pentatone noise gate. Place it right after the tuner and put all the pedals inside the loop. Noise gate combined with parallel processing will make your rig whisper quiet even with heavy compression and distortion.

 

[greenmachine69]

Okay so the Deep Six comp has level, tone, sustain, blend, and attack controls. The "sustain" is most likely the threshold control and the ratio is probably fixed at something like 4:1 however neither the product page nor the manual specifices this. The tone control appears to be a high pass filter which will cut out low end. The slope/order of this filter is likewise not specified but 12db/octave is typical.

As el murdoque said you have a gang of preamps here. I read the product page and manual for the Joyo but couldn't find any info about baked-in speaker sims but many preamp pedals do have cabinet emulation. I do however think it's weird that it doesn't have an XLR output. Usually cabinet emulation is paired with an XLR for going direct out to the mixer/PA.

The enhance feature on the LMB-3 is kind of weird but in my experience it's something like a high shelf boost. The fact that you're using the Joyo towards the beginning and the LMB-3 at the end with the enhance knob engaged would indicate that you're cutting highs with the Joyo cabinet emulation and then adding them back with the LMB-3 which is to say that you might just be adding noise for no reason. I believe the attack and release times on the LMB-3 are fixed and fast or possibly they scale with the ratio. Whatever the case the attack time seems quite fast and the fact that it has limiter in the name supports this assumption. I have this pedal and also love it.

Personally I would try this:

1. LMB-3 (enhace off)
   1. Ratio high/infinite
   2. Threshold set high enough to catch peaks without squashing your tone unless you're into that
   3. level set to unity between on and off
2. Soul Food
3. CE-2B
4. Deep Six
   1. Either slow attack+squashed tone to emphasize transient or
   2. Use it as a low cut for special effects
5. Preamp pedal - I'm actually partial to the BDDI because of the convenient XLR output but choose whatever you want here. You can do multiple preamps to drastically alter your tone quickly by switching between them. I would do BDDI last to take advantage of the XLR out after all your tone shaping is done.

This way the LMB-3 will keep your level consistent but be relatively transparent to your tone with minimal impact on noise, the Soul Food and CE-2B are doing their thing will nice consistent signal level, the Deep Six can either emphasize transient punch or do whatever else you like about it (honestly not super critical imo), and the preamp is at the end to process your signal and do cabinet emulation.

Combining compressors and dirt pedals is kind of a worst-case scenario for noise. If you do comp into dirt the comp will raise the normally quiet noise floor and give the dirt more noise to amplify. Dirt into comp and the dirt creates noise for the comp to amplify. One way around this which works very well is parallel processing with a pedal such as the KMA Tyler. This pedal lets you put the compressor and dirt in separate loops so that they cannot amplify each other's noise and the Tyler in particular also includes independant high pass filter on one loop and low pass filter on the other loop. That way you can send your lows to the LMB-3 and Deep Six and the highs to the dirt and chorus.

You may also consider a noise gate pedal with loop such as the Boss NS-2 or Ibanez Pentatone noise gate. Place it right after the tuner and put all the pedals inside the loop. Noise gate combined with parallel processing will make your rig whisper quiet even with heavy compression and distortion.

Thank you for your help here. Here's an explanation of my thought process behind my current setup:
I have the preamp before my comp because I want to feed my preferred levels into the comp if that makes sense. I like what the comp does but only to an extent, a lot of the time it ends up bringing noise up that I'd prefer it didn't. Also, if I'm Raising and lowering levels after a comp, I feel like I'm defeating the purpose of having a comp in my chain to begin with. Maybe my reasoning there is inaccurate, but I'm new to pedals as it is so I'm just learning as I go. Also, XLRs aren't really a priority for me as my amp head (GK Goldline 500) has an XLR out built into the back.
BTW, I have the Deep Six v1 which does not have a tone knob on it, only lvl, sustain, blend, and attack. Still figuring out my preferred settings on it.
The EHX battalion has a noise gate knob on it which I have set to 0 and don't plan on touching because it wasn't my favorite. It feels a bit strange and unnatural, even at low levels, to have my sound cut out
I will certainly look into a parallel processing pedal, but how does that work? Would I need another one on the other side of the chain to feed the signals together into my amp/another pedal?

 

[Deloofs]

I have the preamp before my comp because I want to feed my preferred levels into the comp if that makes sense.

This does not make sense at least not to me. The purpose of a compressor is to make inconsistent signal levels more consistent. They can do other things too like emphasize attack but their most core job is to make signal levels more consistent. "feeding preferred levels" to a compressor to me feels like you're defeating the purpose of having a compressor. If the signal is already at the "preferred" level before hitting the compressor then there's not a lot of reason to have a compressor unless you want some of the other ancillary effects like they offer like emphasizing attack (and amplyfing noise ).

a lot of the time it ends up bringing noise up that I'd prefer it didn't.

Yes that is a key problem with compression that you'll have to contend with. We can go more in depth with solutions after I reply to you here.

Also, if I'm Raising and lowering levels after a comp, I feel like I'm defeating the purpose of having a comp in my chain to begin with. Maybe my reasoning there is inaccurate, but I'm new to pedals as it is so I'm just learning as I go.

The purpose of compressors as I said is to make levels more consistent, not necessarily signal level setting or matching. That being said I don't know why you'd be raising or lowering level on the pedal board. The only reason to change your signal level on the pedal board is if it's so low or so high that it's causing things to clip or not work properly or you have a gain-dependant component like a tube overdrive and you want to feed it a hotter signal to make the tubes break up but those controls are usually built into said overdrive pedal.

Also, XLRs aren't really a priority for me as my amp head (GK Goldline 500) has an XLR out built into the back.

Just wanted to point out that this appears to be an integrated amp with built-in preamp which means you have multiple preamps stacked. This is probably also adding quite a bit of noise. It seems strange to me to place a preamp at the beginning of your signal path. That would be like putting your entire pedal board in the effects loop of your GK integrated amp. I would usually place it at the end but there are no rules here. It does however sounds like you're struggling with noise and that is likely part of the reason why.

I'll respond back with parallel processing tips in a bit.

 

[Deloofs]

For parallel processing what you want is a mixer pedal and ideally one with some kind of crossover so you can send low signals to one channel and high signals to the other channel. For me the KMA Tyler does this perfectly but there are other options such as the Great Eastern FX company XO Variable Crossover. I"ll describe my use of the Tyler here.

The Tyler is a two-channel mixer with independant high pass and low pass filters - one on each channel. That means that one channel can filter out highs and send just lows and the other can filter out lows and send just highs. Each channel has send and return jacks. The Tyler uses 12db/octave filter circuits. One Tyler pedal is all that's needed. Here's how I have my pedal board set up:

1. Tuner
2. Boss NS-2 noise gate input
3. Boss NS-2 noise gate send
4. KMA Tyler non-deluxe
5. Low channel send -> Boss LMB-3 Limiter -> low channel return
   1. Frequencies 100hz and above are filtered out and 100hz and below go to the limiter
6. High channel send -> Boss OBD-3 Bass Overdrive ->Boss CH-1 Super Chorus -> high channel return
   1. Frequencies 750hz and below are filtered out and 750hz and above go to the OD and chorus
7. Boss NS-2 noise gate return
8. Boss NS-2 noise gate output
9. Sansamp RBI
10. Power amp
11. Cabinet

I set my Tyler up this way because I like the mid scoop for my metallic hardcore band. It sounds like puke (positive) and makes a perfect pocket for the guitar. By sending only the lows to the limiter I can lock in the low fundamentals but all of the high frequency noise is filtered out BEFORE the limiter. Noise from the OD never even sees the limiter or vise versa because they're on different channels. Filtering the signal before sending to the OD creates all kinds of exciting new OD textures. I find that by changing the filter frequency the tone goes from fuzzy at low filter frequencies to more "zingy" at high frequencies. Personally I like the zingy sound.

 

[Deloofs]

One word of caution: you may run into phase issues. The new Tyler Deluxe has phase switch options which help however if you're running lots of pedals in the loops and especially pedals with inductors like some EQ pedals you can still have phase shift problems between 0* and 180* which a phase flip switch can't fix. I haven't experienced this probably becasue I'm only running one or two pedals in the loops and also I don't think any phase misalignment would cause problems for me anyway because of the wicked mid scoop I'm creating with the Tyler. If you keep the loops simple you should be fine.

 

[Deloofs]

The EHX battalion has a noise gate knob on it which I have set to 0 and don't plan on touching because it wasn't my favorite. It feels a bit strange and unnatural, even at low levels, to have my sound cut out

In terms of noise gates I very much prefer those with loops and I prefer to place them very close to the front of the signal path usually right after the tuner. Placing the noise gate early in the path gives the detection circuit the best signal/noise ratio. Using the loop puts all the noise sources under the effect of the gate. You could even put your GK preamp section in the noise gate loop if that's creating any noise. That way you get both optimal detection and optimal noise reduction. It's the best of both worlds. I'm running nasty distortion and slammed limiter and my rig is dead silent with 600 watts on tap through the Sansamp RBI and Crown Macro Tech 36x12.

 

[greenmachine69]

I guess I probably should've clarified earlier, but my band isn't that heavy, we do rock and things of that sort but my dirt pedals are there to add a bit of stank to my tone rather than taking over it. I'm not a big mid-scoop guy either, I like how it sounds but it wouldn't be applicable in my band's setting. I rarely have much extra noise as-is unless I've got my bridge pickup cranked to 100%

 

[Deloofs]

Right on! In that case you might be fine with something like the Boss LS-2 Line Selector if you don't think you want or need a crossover or the Great Eastern Effects XO if you do want the crossover. If you're only using the OD occasionally then the parallel route might not be worth it at all.

 

[Dantzer8001]

For parallel processing what you want is a mixer pedal and ideally one with some kind of crossover so you can send low signals to one channel and high signals to the other channel. For me the KMA Tyler does this perfectly but there are other options such as the Great Eastern FX company XO Variable Crossover. I"ll describe my use of the Tyler here.

The Tyler is a two-channel mixer with independant high pass and low pass filters - one on each channel. That means that one channel can filter out highs and send just lows and the other can filter out lows and send just highs. Each channel has send and return jacks. The Tyler uses 12db/octave filter circuits. One Tyler pedal is all that's needed. Here's how I have my pedal board set up:

1. Tuner
2. Boss NS-2 noise gate input
3. Boss NS-2 noise gate send
4. KMA Tyler non-deluxe
5. Low channel send -> Boss LMB-3 Limiter -> low channel return
   1. Frequencies 100hz and above are filtered out and 100hz and below go to the limiter
6. High channel send -> Boss OBD-3 Bass Overdrive ->Boss CH-1 Super Chorus -> high channel return
   1. Frequencies 750hz and below are filtered out and 750hz and above go to the OD and chorus
7. Boss NS-2 noise gate return
8. Boss NS-2 noise gate output
9. Sansamp RBI
10. Power amp
11. Cabinet

I set my Tyler up this way because I like the mid scoop for my metallic hardcore band. It sounds like puke (positive) and makes a perfect pocket for the guitar. By sending only the lows to the limiter I can lock in the low fundamentals but all of the high frequency noise is filtered out BEFORE the limiter. Noise from the OD never even sees the limiter or vise versa because they're on different channels. Filtering the signal before sending to the OD creates all kinds of exciting new OD textures. I find that by changing the filter frequency the tone goes from fuzzy at low filter frequencies to more "zingy" at high frequencies. Personally I like the zingy sound.

Great explanation! I appreciate the detail you went into. I've been playing with Tyler deluxe for almost two years now and I can hardly find much user details about how seasoned players are using it.
Tyler is an incredible pedal! Thank you.

 

[Deloofs]

Here's my thread with some more info about it:

D

Thread 'KMA Tyler for Parallel Processing'

Jun 15, 2025

I recently picked up a used original/non-deluxe KMA Tyler and it rules. I wanted to come here and write a review and description of how I’m using it.

I’ve been looking for an analog way to do parallel processing (nothing wrong with digital I just wanted to go the analog route). I’m able to get the tone I want in my DAW by splitting the signal, low passing at 100hz and slamming with limiting, and high passing the other at 1000hz and running it through distortion. I had been using an EHX Tri Parallel Mixer and was able to get close using the onboard tone controls but it wasn’t quite there...

• Deloofs
• boss compression distortion kma limiter parallel tyler
• Replies: 31
• Forum: Effects [BG]

• 

There are a few posts on here about it and Trey Xavier made this nice video as well: