BUILD YOUR PEDALBOARD

The golden rules of effect order on your ’board… and when it’s okay to break them

01 VOLUME

Where to put it: At the start of your chain. Placed here, it’s like having your guitar’s volume knob in pedal form.

ALTERNATIVELY

If you don’t want trails from delays and reverbs, and want the signal’s decay, place it at the end. It can be quite dramatic to gradually roll off large, heavy guitar parts in a studio-like fade while playing live.

02 COMPRESSOR

Where to put it: Ideally, any compression should happen before the rest of the signal chain, so as to tame peaks, while still allowing for a jump in volume. Since compressors work by evening out the signal and adding gain, pedals after them, especially drives, might need their output level tweaking. Once they’re dialled in you’re set. Placed in front of drives, compressors can smooth their response while delivering a hotter signal to their input and a ‘fatter’ sound.

ALTERNATIVELY

Put the compressor at the end of your chain. This will lessen the difference in amplitude between different potential signal paths within your board and result in a more consistent signal level. After all, when you record in a studio, there will almost certainly be compression put on your guitar post-amp and post-mic.

03 WHAMMY