# How to stack 3 drives



## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

So, I've got a Soul Food (Klon) for Low Gain, a LovePedal Eternity (TS 808) for Medium and a LovePedal OD11 (Timmy) with the gain set a little higher.
I love running the Eternity and OD11together. They stack really well.
Don't have a dedicated pedal for solos.
I'm interested in what others would do with this arrangement.
Full disclosure:
I play in a ZZTop cover band, Strat (hb bridge) and LP variant into a Traynor CS90 channel 2 set for slight breakup.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Line them up from least to most in whatever order is most comfortable, and then stack them as you see fit in your set. If you find you stack two a lot, put those two side by side so you can get at them easier. I have a delay under a reverb and can hit both at once, it's quite useful.


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## exhausted (Feb 10, 2006)

Eternity -> OD11 -> Soul Food

When the Soul Food is on for low gain, one of the others is the solo pedal. When any combination of the others is on, the soul food is going to give you a volume boost if it's set for lower gain there's your solo boost.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

I'm in the "lowest to highest" gain camp.

My relatively basic set-up is...

Soul Food > OD Glove > Big Muff


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## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

Yeah, I get the lowest to highest gain method and that's what I do myself. Where do you guys put boosts for solos? Before the other drives or after?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

There's a recent EP booster thread...http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?71353-EP-Booster-how-do-you-use-it

I use my boost post dirt, but setup my dirt from low to higher gain.

The lower gain into the mid-gain will thicken it up, 
the boost after will give more of a lift in volume level for solos.


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## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

I'm gonna try runningthe Soul Food first and stack it with the OD11 for high gain then the Eternity for a solo boost.
I'll try this at the next rehearsal


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Exactly what I do, with the exception that my fuzz pedal is always first after my wah, followed by 2 or 3 OD's, low to high gain, then an EP booster, then Chorus, delays, reverb etc. All of these I handle with a single MS-70 CDR which is quite compact and useful.



sulphur said:


> There's a recent EP booster thread...http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?71353-EP-Booster-how-do-you-use-it
> 
> I use my boost post dirt, but setup my dirt from low to higher gain.
> 
> ...


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I run my fuzz before the wah, which is before the dirt. 8D


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

I use the soul food as a clean(ish) boost. I've been using it 1st in chain, but just got it and haven't tried it later in the chain yet.


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

+1 on low gain to high gain with a clean boost at the end. 

A low gain pedal in to a high gain will thicken up the sound, but I usually find that if you try it the other way around you'll get a jump in volume. That can work for some set ups, but if you already have a different pedal to use as a solo boost then it might not be the best option. Overall I prefer to have a pedal set fairly clean if I'm using it as a solo boost, so that I can use it with clean and dirtier sounds and still get a consistent boost in volume.

FWIW, I have an OD 11 and a Retro Sonic 808 and I run the OD 11 before the 808. I have the OD 11 set fairly clean though (9:00 -10:00 on the drive), with the gain on the 808 fairly high (2:00).


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Hmmm......interesting, I'm relatively new to pedals & will have to play around with the order. 

Pagey plugged into an Echoplex before his amp, so I was trying to replicate that chain with pedals & have been running an EP (little to no gain) into an OCD, or RAH (on a high gain setting) into a BF Vibrolux.

The Marshall In A Box pedal is used as a "foundation overdrive" & set to unity gain so that I can either work the volume pots or turn off the MIAB to clean things up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

"Stacking" to me means running two or more pedals simultaneously but by reading this thread I'm not sure if that is what is being discussed here or not. 

For stacking drive pedals I don't necessarily go with the normal low gain to high gain order. I'll try each unit as a a light gain rhythm box, a chunky rhythm box and a light gain solo box as well as a searing gain solo box. Whichever one sounds the best for light gain, regardless of the box's intended nature, might go first in my chain but it might not. It depends on whether I intend to push one with another. I frequently put a Dist box ahead of an OD box even thought the OD may have less gain. Whichever one sounds best for leads will go last. 

The thing I always try to impress upon people is when using gain pedals simultaneously the last one in the chain is the one you will hear most so if you like the sound of one pedal but it needs more kick, try pushing it with a higher gain pedal. I say experimentation is the best way to decide. 

That my two cents anyway.


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## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

My original question was to get general ideas about how dudes use their od/distortion pedals. Having been a gain from amp guy for many years, I've decided to try pedals for a change. 
I'm gonna try your approach, BMW. It will be OD11>>Soul Food>>Eternity. We'll see how that sounds.



BMW-KTM said:


> "Stacking" to me means running two or more pedals simultaneously but by reading this thread I'm not sure if that is what is being discussed here or not.
> 
> For stacking drive pedals I don't necessarily go with the normal low gain to high gain order. I'll try each unit as a a light gain rhythm box, a chunky rhythm box and a light gain solo box as well as a searing gain solo box. Whichever one sounds the best for light gain, regardless of the box's intended nature, might go first in my chain but it might not. It depends on whether I intend to push one with another. I frequently put a Dist box ahead of an OD box even thought the OD may have less gain. Whichever one sounds best for leads will go last.
> 
> ...


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