How to Arrange Guitar Pedals
Arranging multiple guitar effects pedals to achieve desired effects is a matter of trial and error. Each pedal in the chain, beginning from the guitar (which supplies the "dry" signal) to the amplifier, is affected by the pedal placed before it. Make sure to place tuners at the start of the guitar to amp chain, as phasers, flangers and choruses placed before it will affect the tuning signal. A bit of experimentation with the location of other effects pedals will determine the best sound for you.
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Things You'll Need
- Electric guitar
- Guitar effect pedals
- 2 guitar cords
- Amplifier
- Patch cords for each guitar effect pedal
- Notebook and pen
Instructions
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Plug the guitar into the tuning device input, with a standard guitar cord.
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Use a patch cord to connect the tuner's output jack to the next device's input jack. If you have volume pedals, wah pedals, envelope filters, and compressors, place them next, and experiment to find what sounds best. Always connect each device's input to the next device's output as you move toward the amplifier in the chain.
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As you get farther from the tuner, place compressors, distortion boxes, and modulation effects (phasers, flangers, and choruses) in this approximate order. Playing around with settings and swapping out positions later will give different effects, some of which can be pretty cool. This is also a good place to add a noise gate, to quiet any noise generated by the effects.
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Place equalizers, reverbs, echoes, and delay devices last in the chain. Placing equalizers last allows full control over the processed signal, but equalizers can be placed anywhere in the chain. Reverbs, echoes, and delays must be placed after volume pedals so that using the volume pedal does not cut off the lingering sounds of these pedals.
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Plug the output of the last device into the input of the amplifier.
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Experiment with the settings on each pedal, and try switching their location in the chain to see if different locations suit your sound better.
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Write down all of your settings, findings, and pedal locations in a notebook for future reference. You will begin to notice patterns, and you'll be reminded of pedal combinations that worked well, or did not.
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Tips & Warnings
Use high-quality shielded patch cables and guitar cords, and limit their length. Long signal chains, especially when using inexpensive cords, can add noise and pick up radio frequencies.
When you have decided where you'd like your pedals to go, mount the pedals on a wired pedal board. Pedal boards are easy to make, and offer convenience, pedal and wire protection, and portability.
If you don't own a particular effect mentioned, ignore it, or use the information for future reference.
Never use speaker cords in place of guitar and patch cords. Extreme noise and hum will result.
If you use batteries in your pedals, remove them if you won't be plugging in for long periods of time. Leaking batteries can cause serious pedal damage.
To avoid draining your batteries, always unplug the cords from the inputs of all battery-operated pedals. Using A/C adapters for your pedals will save you from having to make multiple battery changes.
