Advice on Order of Pedals

ShriekingSheet

To my ear, there isn't massive difference between the different orders, but I understand there is a right way and a wrong way. Below is what I have. Any advice on what/why I might change would be most welcome.

OUT <--Tuner <-- Overdrive <-- SL-20 Slicer <-- DD-20 Delay <-- IN

reniwren

I always have tuner first uneffected tuning signal and such

Grolschevik

I'd reverse your chain entirely, with the tuner the first thing the signal hits and the delay the last thing before the amp...

Ravelleman

I agree with the above. I'd put distorion and modulation before the delay.

ShriekingSheet

Thanks guys. I'll try it out.

Sergio

Have you got an fx loop on your amp?

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

I put the tuner after the OD, as my OD pedals but the tuner can go anywhere in the chain. I would put the delay and reverb pedals after all the OD pedals, as your delay and reverb will be different when the OD pedals are on or off.

zafo

Another vote for reversing the order entirely.

groovie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29YMpQtXbrw

God knows he's not easy to listen to, but what he says illustrates most of the concepts already mentioned here.

-=al=-

Delay last anyways... but yep reverse it all

MrECameraman

While I agree with the posts here, I'm going to be controversial and say that pedal order is a HUGELY subjective thing. The only one I'd say is a hard and fast rule is clean signal to tuner. I think starting by reversing them is a good idea, but I'd definitely experiment to see what order works best for you. For example, a chap I used to jam with used to run a metalzone into a wah into a chorus and into into a clean amp. He used to get crazy effects in his solos which sounded cool

So my €0.02 is to start by reversing, but never ever be afraid to do what sounds best to you!

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

MrECameraman wrote: »

While I agree with the posts here, I'm going to be controversial and say that pedal order is a HUGELY subjective thing. The only one I'd say is a hard and fast rule is clean signal to tuner. I think starting by reversing them is a good idea, but I'd definitely experiment to see what order works best for you. For example, a chap I used to jam with used to run a metalzone into a wah into a chorus and into into a clean amp. He used to get crazy effects in his solos which sounded cool

So my €0.02 is to start by reversing, but never ever be afraid to do what sounds best to you!

yep, its totally subjective. thats what makes music so interesting

as for the tuner, I used to have it at the start of the chain, but I changed it to the middle, after my overdrives. The way I look at it, if a string is a bit flat or sharp before the OD pedals, its going to be flat or sharp after them too.

ShriekingSheet

Two practical issues with the suggestions so far below. Also, what's not clear from the posts is what benefits there are in the different order. Is there "better" ways, or as MrECamerman suggests, is it just subjective?

I use the Tu2 to completely kill the delay in certain songs that go from loud, delayed guitar, straight into a sudden stop. If the tuner goes first, it won't do this. I think the DD-20 can be adjusted to kill it's delay when the effect is switched off, but I don't want that, as the trail off is useful more often than not. In terms of tuning, I've never had a problem with the signal, even with the Tu2 late in the loop.

The SL-20 Slicer spits out a very specific rhythm pattern. Delaying this pattern (having the DD-20 last) muddles it somewhat. Having the delay before it, makes the pattern flow better, given the notes are sustained and fill the tiny spaces as I change up and down frets.

The Overdrive pedal makes things sound different when you change it's position, it's fuzzier the later in the loop it goes. I have no realy preference between these slightly different sounds.

So where I'm at is...

AMP <-- Overdrive -- Tuner -- Slicer -- Delay <-- GUITAR

Grolschevik

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Two practical issues with the suggestions so far below. Also, what's not clear from the posts is what benefits there are in the different order. Is there "better" ways, or as MrECamerman suggests, is it just subjective?

I use the Tu2 to completely kill the delay in certain songs that go from loud, delayed guitar, straight into a sudden stop. If the tuner goes first, it won't do this. I think the DD-20 can be adjusted to kill it's delay when the effect is switched off, but I don't want that, as the trail off is useful more often than not. In terms of tuning, I've never had a problem with the signal, even with the Tu2 late in the loop.

The SL-20 Slicer spits out a very specific rhythm pattern. Delaying this pattern (having the DD-20 last) muddles it somewhat. Having the delay before it, makes the pattern flow better, given the notes are sustained and fill the tiny spaces as I change up and down frets.

The Overdrive pedal makes things sound different when you change it's position, it's fuzzier the later in the loop it goes. I have no realy preference between these slightly different sounds.

So where I'm at is...

AMP <-- Overdrive -- Tuner -- Slicer -- Delay <-- GUITAR

Sounds like you're after a specific effect, rather than the classic setup. If you like the sound and it's giving you no problems, arrange them as you prefer. There's no right and wrong; depends on what you're after. I personally prefer to delay my distortion rather than distort my delays, but that's just me...

demanufactured

Why would you put a delay before an od/dist....makes no sense

68 lost souls

While each to their own is true in many cases if you are looking for certain sounds things should work in certain ways. I think OD/dist after delay is not great as you often loose some of the subtelties of the delay. I run a very mixed setup that basicly gives me the conventional tuner-> dis/OD -> Modulation -> delay setup but adds in a bit to the mix that allows me to pitch shift after delay to go out to a bass setup and add bass effects on one half and onto a guitar rig with specific guitar effects on that loop and allows me to blend in both into one mix if required. You pedal setup allows you to really create your own sound. I think Gerry Leonard is one of the greatest people to take inspiration from with regards to all of this, if you have ever heard a talk from him he does wonders with his setup. I had the honour of spending an evening with him and went over a lot of stuff. John Wesley is also a good guitarist to look at for pedals and setup inspiration. Have a look at some of the things that they do.

ShriekingSheet

demanufactured wrote: »

Why would you put a delay before an od/dist....makes no sense

Why doesn't it make sense?

68 lost souls wrote: »

While each to their own is true in many cases if you are looking for certain sounds things should work in certain ways. I think OD/dist after delay is not great as you often loose some of the subtelties of the delay. I run a very mixed setup that basicly gives me the conventional tuner-> dis/OD -> Modulation -> delay setup but adds in a bit to the mix that allows me to pitch shift after delay to go out to a bass setup and add bass effects on one half and onto a guitar rig with specific guitar effects on that loop and allows me to blend in both into one mix if required. You pedal setup allows you to really create your own sound. I think Gerry Leonard is one of the greatest people to take inspiration from with regards to all of this, if you have ever heard a talk from him he does wonders with his setup. I had the honour of spending an evening with him and went over a lot of stuff. John Wesley is also a good guitarist to look at for pedals and setup inspiration. Have a look at some of the things that they do.

Very interesting, cheers.

I see what you mean re: losing subtleties of the delay when the Overdrive goes after. It seems to fit my ear a bit better though. Could be down to the fact that I use very little overdrive. On the Boss SD1, I have drive set to 2 or 3 (9 o'clock), and Level just past midnight, so it's just a slight, but noticeable boost in power and volume. If I was using heavier distortion, it's likely going to be more a case of delay after distortion.

The Boss DD 20 delay wouldn't be as detailed as say, the Line 6. When I do use the more the intricate modulate or tape delays, they would be played clean mostly. I'm not overly pernickety about the "feel" of my delay. I use the DD20 because it has a dial-in BPM function, and it has handy memory functionality, so it's great for gigs.

I'll look up Gerry Leonard and John Wesley - cheers for the tip.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Why doesn't it make sense?

delay will sound different when the OD pedals are turned on and off. unless thats what your after