Saturday, June 22, 2013

What Order Do Effect Pedals Go In?

I've asked myself this question so many times, and over the years I'm become inclined to set up a pedal board in certain ways to create particular sounds. There are some general rules to follow or completely ignore, whatever your case may be.

1. Volume.

Volume pedals are very handy tool in a guitarist's bag. It allows you to adjust your volume on the fly, mute your signal for tuning or guitar changes, boost you signal (provided that you running less than full volume) and create swell effects. Personally I like my volume pedals first. Why? Because it create to same effect as the volume knob on your guitar. If your volume runs into you overdrive/distortion then you can manipulate to distortion by changing your volume (ie you'll have a cleaner sound with lower volumes). If this is not the effect you desire then I suggest running the volume after the distortion. This will allow you to change the volume of your signal without changing the distortion level.

2. Wha

I know that this is not typically the wha pedal would fall, but Its where I put it. A wha will manipulate certain frequencies in your signal, mostly the lower-mids to the upper-mids. Your main concern with wha pedals is the voicing and pronunciation of the effect. I've played enough in bedrooms and stages to know that there are huge differences in how the sound is received. I've sat in a bedroom and thought that my digitech rp100 muti-effect pedal sounds great, but when I used it live it sounded like I was playing out of a tin can. ( by the way, never mess with multi-effects. just say no kids. Learn from my mistakes) What you will notice between have your wah before and after your dirt boxes is the presence of the effect. For the most part, the OD and Distortion will want to change your signal frequencies just like the knobs on your amp. The "tone" knob of your Overdrive with play with how your wah opperates. (given that it is on while your using your wha) A wha before the dirt will be less noticeable (more organic sounding). While a wha post dirt will take your whole signal for a ride. This may be what you want. I like a mellow wha, but sometimes you need to be out in front of the sound and make that effect stand out.

3. Dirt

There are many different ways to get your dirty signal, but if your using a stomp box, this is where I put it. Having your Volume and Wha before these pedal gives you more control over the entire sound. I like control. Maybe thats why I have so many choices when it comes to my Dirt Boxes. I have a lot to say about OD/Distortion but you can catch most of it if your follow that link there.

4. EQ  (and other signal processors)

Again, this isn't exactly would you should do, but this is how I like it. Remember how I said I like to control my tone? Well, this is a little part of that. I use my EQ as more of a boost. I set it up to give me a little mid-hump action and maybe a overall volume boost. Some people like to set their EQ and forget it, just let it do its thing for your tone. That's fine, but everything is trying to change your frequencies. If you run a Compressor or Noise Gate of some sort, here is where I would put them as well. Be aware that your Compressor and Volume pedal are not going to play well with each other. Basically, they are doing the exact opposite of each other. If you want comp on your signal and swells. then you have to run your volume after the comp.

5. Delay

I had a Boss DD-3 that absolutely hated be overwhelmed by a distortion. Other than that particular Combo, delay is best left near the end of the chain. I'm not a big delay user. I will use it from time to time to fatten up my sound, but for the most part I like a nice straight sound.

6. Filters

I don't mess with delay much, and I use filters less. In theory, filters behave better at the end of the chain. That way they can have their way with your sound and change it as they see fit. If you are a fan of these then have at it.


So there you have it. I encourage anyone interested in effect to play with them as much as your can. There really is no wrong way to set your rig up and I may be doing it all wrong as far as you are concerned. If you disagree with any of this then leave me a comment below. If you want to see what else I have to say about all things musical then subscribe. Let me know someone reads this mess!

Friday, June 14, 2013

5 Overdrive and Distortion Effect Pedals that I Can't Live Without

Let's pretend that the last couple years didn't happen, OK? ...OK! Here is a little bit of what I've learned: Children will change your life in every way, people won't pay me to be awesome (yet) and there are somethings that I can not live without. If you are a guitar player then chances are that you at least own some type of pedal or effect. Maybe you can't decide. The truth is, neither can I. That is why I have 5 dirt boxes that I will always have around.

5. Boss DS-1.



The Orange Box! I know what you are thinking, but don't right me off yet. I agree, this is a total noob pedal. (people still say "noob" right?) I agree. It is the obvious choice for those who have no idea what they are doing. They are cheap, $50 or so, and they are part of the most recognized line of guitar effects ever. I actually never owned one of these until I did some gear swapping and ended up get one of these thrown into a deal to "sweeten the pot". I've done some looking around and there are some pretty interesting mods out there for these. One of which is the "vintage mod" I worked on mine myself and the result was great. Sound very little like the original pedal. Much clearer. I play through this pedal just as much as the others on the list. The next one being:

4. Boss SD-1



Ok, another cheap stomp box. I don't even have a good reason to like this pedal as much as I do. Its not the best pedal on my list, and not the cheapest either. It does tie for the cheapest, but that is no reason to keep it around. What makes this pedal a keeper is that it feels the void. Not getting the grit from your rig that your looking for? This pedal steps up to offer a little different OD than the rest. Super simple knobs make it easy to tweak and the Boss compact sized doesn't hurt. There are tons of mods for this pedal too... I run one with just the C6 removed. Adds a little presents to the tone but doesn't change the overall tone much.

3. Ibanez TS-9 DX



So far Pretty Standard, Boss and Ibanez Tube Screamer. Kinda predictable. There is a reason that these pedals have been around as long as they have. They make good sounds, they are affordable, and they are available. You don't have to shell out big bucks to have a handmade box (that probably is a clone of a TS anyways) to have that great tone that you can hear in half the songs on the radio. They do still play songs with real instruments in them, right? Anyways, the DX is a great TS because of all the different sounds that your can make with addition of the mode switch. The "Turbo" setting is not all that usable with my rig, but you might disagree... I dig my Boss pedals, but Tube Screamers have a great sound that is very unique. Speaking of Boss pedals

2. Boss BD-2



Surprise! Its a Boss Pedal... My relationship with the humble Blues Driver is complicated. At first I hated it. Nothing I did seamed to get me what I wanted. I would later come back to it years later in a drunken attempt to rekindle a flame that never was. Then something magical happened. With a little help from guys at Monte Allums, my Blues Driver and shared a blissful reunion of some pretty great tone. After my pedal went under the knife, it was true love. And then disaster. The pedal died and my love was lost. It would over a year before I could replace her. Sure there were other pedals, but nothing I was committed to. Wistful affairs with dirty little boxes that always ended in regret... except

1. Velvet Umble



Handmade in Greece, its almost like you're sending a bailout to their economy. But really there aren't that expensive. $160. They are based on a circuit from the guys at Runoffgrooves. After studying the magical and mystical Dumble Amplifier, the pedal was designed to emulate the tone stack used in the actually amp. The dirt is obtained by actually overdriving the circuit. (turning up the Level and adjusting the Master) It basically acts like a preamp you can overdrive. The guys at Velvet go on to add a boost feature that make this pedal really hard to beat. Really great stuff!