The appropriate guitar effects order and what guitar effects belong in the FX loop versus in front of the amp
Always begin your guitar effects chain with distortion/overdrive effects.
Adding these types of guitar effects after time based effects (delay, chorus, flange, etc) will only introduce unwanted noise and sound horrible.
Additionally placing a overdrive before distortion is better as the overdrive can be used to push the distortion for additional volume or gain.
Never place an overdrive or distortion effect in the FX loop of an amp.
Time based guitar effects (delay, chorus, flange, etc) are placed after gain effects to keep noise to a minimum.
This also allows the effect to be placed on the signal after gain has been added.
Time based guitar effects are perfect for the FX loop on an amp or between your preamp and power amp in a rack setup.
The last guitar effect is EQ which works both in front of the amp and in the FX loop. EQ also works well before gain stage or after and optimally in both position.
Place volume pedals first in the signal chain while Wahs can go before or after the gain/overdrive pedal depending on how you want to affect the sound.
Noise gates are best at the end of the signal chain and work well in the FX loop.
Suggested Guitar Effects Signal Chains
- Volume –> Overdrive pedal –> Distortion Pedal –> Chorus/Delay/Flange –> Noise Gate
- Volume –> EQ –> Overdrive pedal –> Distortion Pedal –> Chorus/Delay/Flange –> Noise Gate
- Volume –> Overdrive pedal –> EQ –> Distortion Pedal –> Chorus/Delay/Flange –> Noise Gate
Could not agree more.
Some argue the placement of phasers, flange and vibes but after I beat my head against the pedal board trying everything, I always end up putting them where I always have, in the loop.
I just do not think any of them have any bandwidth or great tone in front of gains. You do not get the wide bandwidth sweep range but more a weirded warble. And it is not a really great tone warble. If you like the original Band of Gypsys Hendrix (Hey Baby,New Rising Sun) Univibe put it in the loop if you have one.
Hendrix had no loop so he ran his Wah (a Vox as the Crybaby did not sound good w the Fuzz face), into the Early (germanium diode) Dallas Arbutor Fuzz Face, and that into the Unicord Univibe unit. Just three effects and massive amp vol and push. Our Dist units today were unknown back then much less the quality and high tech tones we can get today. Back then it was often a humming mess of ground loop, 60 cycle hum and Strat hum. He overcame it a lot of times by pure signal to noise ratio volume.
Trower now runs his Vibe first and Satch runs his before a lesser gained VOX JS DS. But honestly as much as I love the guy, Trower’s sound is not as good as it was originally with the Vibe after like Hendrix. And Satch’s vibe, I cannot even tell he has one on.
A Phaser works in front of some gains but again less bandwidth and sweep. Seems to be what the young guys do BUT a gain box is different than an amp in. EVHs pushed Marshall with the Phase 90 in front is not the same as using a gain box. Put that gain box in front of the phaser and push the amp and it is the best of all tones.
I will continue to loop all my modulators, and especially delays and reverbs go in the loop. I had always put phasers, flangers and any modulator last in the chain before I had loops and they always sounded great. I have to keep returning to this premise after a lot of frustration.
OD after Dist completely changes the voice and dynamic of the high gain pedal. If you get a killer voice on the High Gain running it into an OD is going to completely change the tone. As in the general rule of stacking boxes you do not over gain the two boxes into each other it just buzzes out.
I hate that myself. I like the voices of my high gains and the dynamic tone they produce. The OD gains up the high gain but it is not needed just an option. I run my ODs more like a cleaner boost. Some like the Visual Sound Jekyl&Hyde w the OD after the Dist, I had one and just hated the way one had to rig the box to sound right using both or just one. Both the OD and Dist had good tones (except the Dist has no bass knob). I dropped the unit off the board for better boxes and more suitable to my tone desires which hovers between and through Trower, Jeff Beck, Satriani and Gibbons.
VS has some weird ideas on pedal placement as they have their H2O unit with the Delay before the Chorus. All I can figure out is they are trying to modulate the delay but there again you have to adjust the Chorus for the delay and cannot have them individually tweaked AND THAT my friends is the secret of PROPER PLACEMENT, it is NOT about anything goes or what your tastes are. It’s about having each box tweaked and sounding great w or without anything else, interaction and bandwidth musical tonality. In the right place I can turn on everything I have and it functions, it is not a desirable tone I like but everything works.
I love the Vibe sound and I thought I would try that Lovepedal little Vibe unit, I went nuts trying to place it, just did not sound good. I ended up putting it in the loop and it was as good as it will get. BY the way, FYI, do not touch the internal pot adjust it does not do what you think, it has a sweet spot and right or left of that and there is no effect. I am saving up for the Fulltone Deja-Vibe and IT WILL GO IN THE LOOP. And it will sound amazing.
Update:
Using the DejaVibe for a while now. Sounds great on amp in after OD and dirt which allows the option of feeding it into a dirty amp channel. Also works in the loop. I have all my modulation in my loop and I am quit e happy with the tones.