

Because a compressor compresses the entire signal, it’s not recommended to place one after a boost, overdrive or distortion/ fuzz pedal as those pedals often generate noise that will be boosted by a compressor along with the guitar’s signal.

If you use a compressor, its ideal location is directly after the pitch-shifter/harmonizer, envelope follower/auto-wah and wah pedals. Once you’ve gotten past the touch-or input level–intensive effects, your next primary goal is to refine your tone while at the same time minimizing noise. As with the dynamic filter pedals, placing any other effects that compress the signal in front of these pedals will limit their overall performance. Next in line after pitch shift/harmonizer and envelope follower effects are pedals that directly interact with the pickups’ output levels, such as vintage fuzz, treble booster and Octavia/fuzz octave pedals. Similarly, a standard wah pedal generally sounds best in the very front of the signal chain, but once again I recommend placing pitch shifter/harmonizer effects in front of a wah if you plan on using both together.Īlso, many players prefer the sound of a wah with a distortion pedal placed in front of it as this configuration can produce a more dramatic or more refined sweep depending on the distortion pedal’s tonal character ( See Example 1, below). One notable exception is a pitch shifter or harmonizer, particularly if you plan on using a pitch shift and envelope follower together as the pitch shifter may have greater difficulty accurately tracking an envelope follower-processed signal. Placing most other types of effects in front of them will compress the signal, thereby reducing dynamics and minimizing their performance. If you have an envelope follower, envelope filter, auto-wah or other dynamic touch-sensitive effect, this should go at the very front in most cases, as these effects are almost exclusively dependent upon the dynamics of your playing. directly after the guitar) you should choose effects that react with or depend the most on the dynamics of your playing or the output levels of your pickups to operate at their maximum potential. Invest in one of the best pedalboard power suppliesĪs a general rule of thumb, it’s ideal to place the “broad stroke” effects that have the most dramatic or dominant impact on your sound toward the front of the signal chain while placing the “narrow stroke” effects that refine details toward the end, although there are many exceptions to this concept.įor the very front of the signal chain (i.e.These are the best pedalboards right now.
