Advice on effects order

[cetera]

I'm moving away from my Multi FX unit and back to good old pedals. Could you lovely people please advise as to the correct order for the following (which will be making up my new pedal board)?

Line 6 G30 Wireless Receiver
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Tuner
Boss OC2 Octave
Boss CE2 Chorus
Boss DD20 Digital Delay
Hartke Bass Attack
Darkglass B3K Microtubes Overdrive
BBE Sonic Maximiser

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

[juliusmonk]

Tuner needs a clean signal. Octaver it depends on how it tracks, but typically towards the beginning otherwise it will go crazy. Delay at the end, chorus a matter of taste but I'd put it before the delay. Bass attack is a pre/eq so towards the beginning, same with overdrive. Maximizer I've never used.

You'll need to try a few configurations. I would start with

L6 - tuner - octave - hartke - overdrive - chorus - delay and experiment with where the maximizer fits best. Then re-arrange according to what sounds best.

This would be a 'classic' configuration of course. You may want to experiment, just be aware of the signal path, i.e. if you put the delay upfront and have it on, any other effect that follows will affect the main signal and the repeats too.

Edited July 19, 2015 by juliusmonk

[elephantgrey]

There is no 'best' order. Part of the fun of pedals is playing about and finding the order that works for you and your band.

Effects affect each other differently in different orders. (now thats a weird sentence) So try out the pedals in different combinations to see how they (and there controls) affect your overall sound. This will also help give you more of a feel for each control, which helps if a knob gets knocked and you need to fix mid set.

[paul_5]

The only rule you have to follows that the Line 6 receiver needs to go at the start.

One thing to bear in mind, if you're using the Bass Attack as a DI to front of house/PA then anything after that won't go through it, and with the Darkglass stuff being as good as it is, that would be a real shame.

I've got a similar setup (minus the delay) and it goes Bass - Tuner - Octaver - Envelope filter (these 2 are as early in the chain as possible to give them cleanest signal possible) - Fuzz pedal - Chorus - DI pedal.
Whenever I've played with delay pedals I find they work best at the end, as they can still be making filthy noises even after you've knocked the dirt box off and it can cover the interim gap while you set up your next sound, be it clean or FX-laden.

[The Badderer]

as above, experiment with the order.

Definite positions for me would be, delay at the end (unless you're using a DI which obviously needs to come at the end), Chorus before that.

At the beginning of the chain you'll probably want Wireless receiver - Tuner - Octaver (assuming it needs to be at the front of the chain to track) - Darkglass

Then it's up to you to figure out what you're doing with Hartke and the BBE. Experiment with most things as crazy sounds are found that way!!

[cetera]

Thanks all! Very helpful

[iiipopes]

Keep in mind the noise floor. One reason delays and choruses are towards the end of the chain is because they inherently have more noise than buffers, preamps, some overdrives, and other eq oriented rather than character changing effects. If you put a rather noisy box more towards the front of the chain, you are going to end up amplifying that noise as subsequent effects see it as signal.

[elephantgrey]

Careful with phrases like noise floor, youll make me want to start talking about gain structure. =P
Id still suggest trying ordering your pedals in these 'unadvised' orders. The more you play about, the better an understanding youll get for how each of your pedals acts.

And Id defiantly suggest chorus before dirt pedals. A slow deep chorus before an OD then fuzz can get you a great grunge sound.

[Ghost_Bass]

My first try would be:

Bass
Line 6 G30 Wireless Receiver
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Tuner
Boss OC2 Octave
Darkglass B3K Microtubes Overdrive
BBE Sonic Maximiser
Hartke Bass Attack
Boss CE2 Chorus
Boss DD20 Digital Delay
Amp

But i've never tried the maximizer or the bass attack, only know them from tube reviews so i would have to fiddle a bit with them and B3K to find the best order.

Also, if you want to use the DI on the bass attack, you'll have to move it to the end of the chain but it won't, probably, sound as good with chorus and delay before it.

[Sibob]

I would always have the Octave last, so that you don't compress out any of it's sub by having driver after it in the chain. You may sacrifice a bit of tracking, but if you're feeding the octave a really gnarly tone enough to cause tracking issues, you're probably not fussed about a smooth octave sound.
However, it really is about what sounds best to your ears.
For example I'll have a delay before an envelope filter so you get cascading resonance (each tail triggers a different degree of envelope).

Si

[LewisK1975]

The best advice for this is really to try different orders and see what YOU like.

It's actually great fun if you've got the time and you'll almost certainly learn a few things on the way..

[elephantgrey]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1437652038' post='2827850']
I would always have the Octave last, so that you don't compress out any of it's sub by having driver after it in the chain. You may sacrifice a bit of tracking, but if you're feeding the octave a really gnarly tone enough to cause tracking issues, you're probably not fussed about a smooth octave sound.
[/quote]
You can get around the tracking by splitting the signal at the start of the chain (preferably after a compressor), sending one half to the octave and the other to the rest, and blend near the end of chain.

Edited July 23, 2015 by elephantgrey

[xgsjx]

If anyone says "it should be this order", report them.
It's really down to personal preference. I like octave first, then splitting the signal so you get some clean lows & then add effects to the othe channel. Me, I liked the dirt before the filter so I could blend it in with my foot & get great synth like sounds, but that might not be your cuppa.
Paying about with fx is half the fun.

[LewisK1975]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1437667583' post='2828065']
If anyone says "it should be this order", report them.

Paying about with fx is half the fun.
[/quote]

THIS!!

[nash]

Similar question here, has anyone run a fuzz (swollen pickle) into a preamp/D.I pedal (MXR M80). Does it work?

[Sibob]

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1437728266' post='2828500']
Similar question here, has anyone run a fuzz (swollen pickle) into a preamp/D.I pedal (MXR M80). Does it work?
[/quote]

Will certainly work, and it's commonly considered 'normal' to run the DI/Preamp pedal last in the chain.
But again, does it sound good to you? If so, it's right!

Si

[juliusmonk]

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1437722607' post='2828427']


THIS!!
[/quote]

This is all very true, however if someone posts asking for an order of 7 pedals (so quite a few thousand combinations possible) I think saying 'whatever sounds good' is somewhat misleading and a bit lazy. In most situations, some effects typically work better in a certain order, unless your style is experimental noise (in which case you probably wouldn't need any help from a forum).

Just my 2p.

[BigBassBob]

Personally I would go down this route:

[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Receivers/input > Tuner > Octave > Fuzz > Envelope/Wah > Compression > Overdrive > Chorus > Delay/Reverb[/color][/font]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]But... [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Experiment! Like others have said, mess around with the order, see what sounds you can get and what YOU like.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If it works for you, then go with the flow, baby!

[/font][/color]

[LewisK1975]

[quote name='juliusmonk' timestamp='1438003544' post='2830708']
This is all very true, however if someone posts asking for an order of 7 pedals (so quite a few thousand combinations possible) I think saying 'whatever sounds good' is somewhat misleading and a bit lazy. In most situations, some effects typically work better in a certain order, unless your style is experimental noise (in which case you probably wouldn't need any help from a forum).

Just my 2p.
[/quote]

I don't think its lazy or misleading to suggest that someone has a go to see what works for them, my point is that by trying different orders you can see what you like and what you don't, and in doing so, you will definitely have a bit of fun and most likely learn something..

It depends heavily on whether you are going to combine effects, i.e., have more than one pedal on at a time. If only one pedal is ever going to be on at a time, then it makes no real difference how you order them.

But yes - if you are combining effects, they can sound different depending on how you order them..as an example there are [b]many [/b]threads on here where people argue black and blue over where an 'always on' compressor goes in the chain.

[BigBassBob]

I forgot to mention that I like to put my preamps near the end of the chain (if using them to sculpt the sound before going to an amp) or near the start of the chain if using it to sculpt the sound of a bass.

I'd probably run the BBE and Hartke near the end of the chain.

[paul_5]

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1437728266' post='2828500']
Similar question here, has anyone run a fuzz (swollen pickle) into a preamp/D.I pedal (MXR M80). Does it work?
[/quote]

Yes, all the time. my Coloursound Bass Fuzz into the Dave Hall VT1 EQ sounds awesome.

[elephantgrey]

i think that the point it, you could get on fine following one of the pre-tried orders (like receiver>buffer>compressor>EQ>tuner>octave>synth>OD>Bitcrusher>Fuzz>distortion>Filter>Preamp>Chorus>Phaser>Flanger>Ring mod>Compressor>verb>dellay>phrase looper>buffer>out) but then youll never really know why your pedals sound like they do. if someone comes and messes up your settings, youll have to use marked positions instead of just knowing what the settings should be.

The more you play around with the order/settings/etc of your pedals, the more you understand them. If you end up with the first order your tried/where suggested then thats fine, but by then youll know why that sounds good.