New pedals - where in the chain?

[Delmont]

Hi!

 

For a while now, my pedal chain has been guitar > tuner > overdrives > reverb > trem > amp. I'm adding a delay and chorus. Where would you put them in your pedal chain?

 

Thanks!

 

Del

http://www.thefullertons.net

[Phil O'Keefe]

I'd probably go with something along the lines of:

 

Guitar -> tuner -> overdrives -> chorus -> delay -> reverb -> tremolo -> amp

 

The tremolo at the very end of the chain is a rather interesting idea. It's what you'd have with an amp providing the tremolo, but normally I'd tend to place it a bit earlier in the chain - definitely pre-reverb, and possibly pre-delay too.

 

Guitar -> tuner -> overdrives -> chorus -> tremolo -> delay -> reverb -> amp

 

Try it both ways and see what you prefer... but the sound of a reverb drenched tremolo makes more sense to me than the other way around, with the reverb feeding a wet signal into the tremolo. It's the same with the delay - I prefer running it before the reverb, not after it. YMMV

[Midlife Rocker]

Here's my lineup. I may do some experimenting and see if there's a noticeable difference. I have taken the tuner out of the chain, as I found it was much more quiet this way.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

^^^ Nice setup. I noticed you have the delay after the reverb. Is there any particular reason for that?

[Delmont]

Thanks! I'll try all the above.

 

In my playing, I tend to use heaping servings of reverb and trem, and just use chorus and delay sparingly, as a garnish.

 

For quite a while I'd had the reverb after the trem. Then I read in a couple of places that the effect is more dramatic with the trem after the 'verb. All I can say for sure is that it sounds good that way. The reverb doesn't seem to fade out when the trem comes after it, even though that's what I expected would happen.

 

When I got the delay, just to try it out quickly, I put the delay on the floor at the end of my pedal board, just to try it out, so it was after the trem and 'verb. It sounded good there. It's a pretty warm-sounding analog delay, so even at the end of the chain its attack isn't overly crisp. Good for a laid-back, steady-rolling rockabilly slap.

 

Then at a jam I tried guit > tuner > delay > 'verb > amp. It also sounded good. Maybe less deliberate and more atmospheric. I'll have to fool with it more before I really have an opinion.

 

The chorus does sound good before the others. I don't use it much and only have the knobs at around eight or nine o'clock, for a slight shimmer, not a full-tilt jangle.

 

Del

http://www.thefullertons.net

[Delmont]

PS - When I play electric, I mostly play blues. This is my fourth delay and the best for my style - a Way Huge Aqua-Puss. My other delays have been, respectively, too mechanical, too erratic, and too bright. It's prone to unexpected escalating swells, but with some practice it's tamable and is well worth the extra effort. In all, it seems like a good fit for a more low-tech player. Not a new wave or techno pedal.

[Midlife Rocker]

^^^ Nice setup. I noticed you have the delay after the reverb. Is there any particular reason for that?

 

That's where I had room to put the pedal . I never really thought the position in the chain made a difference. But, after reading this thread, I'm going to try moving the pedals and see how it sounds.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Cool - please let us know what you think once you've had a chance to play around with it a bit.

[Delmont]

Been playing around a little. So far, I'm not noticing a difference between putting the delay before or after any of the others. Not that I have the world's most sensitive ears. I once read that Eric Johnson prefers the sound of batteries to AC in his overdrives - and can tell what brand of battery is being used.

 

Not on a freaking bet!

 

I'll fool around some more and report back.