# Pedalboard signal chain



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Seen this one, it's all Boss but gives an idea of the chain and order










So, where does each pedal go in the signal path? Here are some tips to keep in mind before you start plugging pedals together:

Rule 1—There are no rules. The sound you’re after might not be made by what we could call the appropriate or logical signal path, but that’s not always the issue. The issue is this: what does it sound like? If it makes the sound you’re after, then it’s right…although, you may have to do something about the noise. Traditional pedalboard arrangements were designed for certain reasons, and keeping the noise down is one biggie. Following the principles of how sound is made in physical space is another (see Rule 4 coming up). But the final choice is yours. As a very wise man said: if it works, don’t fix it.

Rule 2—Some pedal types work better in certain parts of the signal path than in others. Octave pedals or tuners, for example, don’t work as well with a distorted signal as with an undistorted signal, so they should be placed before the distortion.

Rule 3—Noise can be a problem, particularly with high-gain distortion sounds. Pedals that can add volume—such as compressors, wahs, EQs, and overdrive/distortions—will also amplify any noise created by the effects placed before them.

Rule 4—Taking sound-making devices like stompbox pedals out of the equation, there’s an order to the way sounds naturally occur in physical space. For example, guitar amp distortion is made in physical space by turning an amp up enough to cause its circuits to overload, and any echo you might hear happens after the distorted sound hits walls or ceilings and bounces back to your ears. Therefore, logic says that your reverb and/or delay pedals should be last in the signal path, since that is how the sounds they produce actually occur in three-dimensional space.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Another source here


----------



## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

wow...mines messed then!

i go wah>dirt>boost>tuner(for the buffer and to kill all noise when on)>amp
then
Loop>fx router>delay>trem>chorus>fx router>volume pedal>loop

i have an amp with a loop and one with out...so...i made a box that the loop plugs into as well as the line to the amp...so when i'm using the amp with out the loop, i flip a switch, and the tuner then goes into the fx router, and the volume pedal at the end of the line then feeds the front of the amp...


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

ezcomes said:


> wow...mines messed then!
> 
> i go wah>dirt>boost>tuner(for the buffer and to kill all noise when on)>amp
> then
> ...


Most everything I have ever seen has the tuners up front


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Most everything I have ever seen has the tuners up front


I like it at the back end too, if for no other reason than it allows me to mess with all pedals between it and the guitar (taking in and out for instance, without needing to put the amp on standby or turn it of. The general rule is that the tuner needs to see the purest signal possible, hence first in line, I've had no issues running it further back.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

ezcomes said:


> wow...mines messed then!
> 
> i go wah>dirt>boost>tuner(for the buffer and to kill all noise when on)>amp
> then
> ...


Pretty much exactly how I do it.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

davetcan said:


> I like it at the back end too, if for no other reason than it allows me to mess with all pedals between it and the guitar (taking in and out for instance, without needing to put the amp on standby or turn it of. The general rule is that the tuner needs to see the purest signal possible, hence first in line, I've had no issues running it further back.


Yes, I would tend t agree that the tuner can be pushed back a bit. unlike the Wah which I think always needs to go first or right after the tuner. Right now I have mine set up this way and it seem to produce the best sound for me

tuner>wah>overdrive>fuzz>reverb>looper


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Yes, I would tend t agree that the tuner can be pushed back a bit. unlike the Wah which I think always needs to go first or right after the tuner. Right now I have mine set up this way and it seem to produce the best sound for me
> 
> tuner>wah>overdrive>fuzz>reverb>looper


Yep, my "normal" set up, without an fx loop and without wanting to switch OD's in and out, would be

wah>tuner>Fuzz>OD>MS-70 CDR>amp

I've dumbed it down to the point that my Zoom MS-70 CDR takes care of everything time and modulation based, so it's either in the fx loop or at the end of my chain. It also has a built in tuner so can be used to mute everything before it.


----------



## Gearhead88 (Nov 7, 2013)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Seen this one, it's all Boss but gives an idea of the chain and order
> 
> View attachment 17249
> 
> ...


That picture shows the Boss noise suppressor (NS2 ) , incorrectly placed in the middle of the signal chain .

The instruction sheet that comes with an NS2 shows the correct way to connect that pedal .

How it should be connected is , the instrument connects to the input of the NS2 , the other effects pedals are in the send / return loop , the NS2 output then connects to the delay pedal in , and out to the amplifier


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Tuner location: I hope folks realize that all the other things can be turned off when using the tuner. As long as they are off, you can stick your tuner at the end of 100 pedals. And if the idea is to keep track of pitch while your effects are on, maybe other folks are not enjoying your tone quite as much as you are.

Order: Many pedal combinations produce equally desirable, but different sounding, tones when their order is flipped. Usually this will involve a distortion or overdrive of some kind, before OR after another pedal. Good to have an order-flipping loop selector in such instances.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Gearhead88 said:


> That picture shows the Boss noise suppressor (NS2 ) , incorrectly placed in the middle of the signal chain .
> 
> The instruction sheet that comes with an NS2 shows the correct way to connect that pedal .
> 
> How it should be connected is , the instrument connects to the input of the NS2 , the other effects pedals are in the send / return loop , the NS2 output then connects to the delay pedal in , and out to the amplifier


Interesting since I got that picture from the Boss site I think


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I like distortion > wah > distortion so I can distort the wah, wah the distortion, or both.

But that falls under rule 1 above.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I made a couple of order-flipping dual loop-selectors ( select A / B / Both, A->B / B->A). I wasn't trying to sell them, but they're easy to make again, and nobody seems to be selling them, so if you feel an emptiness in your life without one, drop me a PM.

And if this is an inappropriate place for this post, let me know.


----------



## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

In terms of post #2, I much prefer phaser before dirt. The others (chorus/flanger) I prefer after dirt, as the image suggests.


----------

