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The Order of Effects

As a general practice, the arrangement of guitar effects is shown in the diagram below. Signal and gain devices (compressors, preamps, distortion) should be put first in the chain followed by coloring effects (chorus, flanging, delays, etc). The rationale being that the coloring effects are best at consistent levels. But always remember, "If it sounds good, do it!" Multi-Effects Pedals are growing in popularity and they allow you to select the types of effects you want to use, set them up in order and then store your settings.


Guitar ---> Compressor ---> Distortion ---> Delay ---> Noise Gate ---> WAH ---> Equalizer ---> Amplifier


Compressor

Guyatone ST2 Comp
Make notes sound smoother. The compressor levels out signals, quiet notes are boosted and heavy struck chords are reduced in level.

Distortion

Boss DS-1 Distotion Pedal
Takes a clean incoming sound and outputs a distorted, sustaining sound. Typically used when distortion is needed above and beyond what the amplifier can achieve. Experiment to get the sound right.

Delay

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Repilcates a reflected sound off a distant surface. A delayed verison of the original sound is heard later. Echo units can be digital or analog.

Noise Gate

MXR M135 Smart Gate
Opposite effect of the compressor. Some effects may be placed after the noise gate so that they will trail off naturally instead of abruptly.

WAH

Dunlop Crybaby Wah
The wah produces a talking guitar or funk chop effect sound by rocking the pedal between a treble and bass sound. The pedal setting can produce many tones in between.

Equalizer

Boss GE-7 7-Band Equalizer Controls tone level by dividing the sound into frequency bands, allowing each band to be adjusted separately. Graphic refers to a shape of the bands levels.


More Effects

Effects Setups of Famous Guitarists


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