Hi,

Please, I am an Acoustic Instrument Player getting back into playing Electric Guitar. I need help in the arrangement of my Pedals on the P/B. I have the following: Classic Cry-Baby Wah, Small Stone, Big Muff, Deluxe Memory Man, HOG, Cathedral Reverb, BOSS Volume Pedal/Expression Pedal (all in 1) & a Danelectro Chicken Salad Tremolo, (I think the Deluxe MM may retire the Chicken Salad??). Any suggestions on how to keep the Sound/Tone in best shape would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, I am playing into a Fender Blues Junior or when it’s late a 1/4 Watt Little Lanilei amp(s).

Thank You very much,

James

Well, the first 3 pedals I’d go for are the HOG, Big Muff, and Crybaby, but not necessarily in that order. 

You’ve got to make the following choices:

Big Muff before or after the Crybaby?
Big Muff before or after the HOG?
HOG before or after the Crybaby? 

If some of the answers to the choices conflict (say you want the Big Muff after the Crybaby but before the HOG and you want the Crybaby after the HOG)  you have to decide which are most important to you.  It’s not a better/worse type thing, just tonal preferences. 

You might also want to see if you like Small Stone before the Big Muff, so that might enter into the equation as well (some people like phaser before distortion.)  If you don’t like it before that, put it 4th (or in the DMM’s loop for awesome phased repeats)

After that I’d go:

Chicken Salad- Boss Volume - DMM - Cathedral

There’s no rwrong way to do it.  Different orders will give you different side effects tonally when using multiple effects that you may like or dislike.

Thanks very much Julian for your input. I will try your suggestions for sure. I thought there might be rules as to the order of the Pedal. You know like DON’T put this one here & such. I will keep you posted on my testing. Thank you again for your time on my issue.

James

Only really guidelines.  For example, generally you put reverb last because you want your effects reverbed, not your reverb effected, and you put delay after your distortion because you don’t want your repeats to be compressed.

If it were me, I would go wah-dirt-phaser/tremelo-reverb.  I love a phaser after dirt more than before, but I run 2 so that I can have it both ways.  Either way, try as many possible combination as you can to see what you like.  Personally, I don’t use the effects loop.  I prefer running everything in line, but most people say “your doing it wrong,” until they hear me play then they say “WOW!!!  You really suck!!!”  HAHAHA!  Play around with it until you get sounds that sound good to you. 

Have fun!

effects loops to me just seem like a big hassle.

firesgt911 - 07 February 2010 11:53 PM

If it were me, I would go wah-dirt-phaser/tremelo-reverb.  I love a phaser after dirt more than before, but I run 2 so that I can have it both ways.  Either way, try as many possible combination as you can to see what you like.  Personally, I don’t use the effects loop.  I prefer running everything in line, but most people say “your doing it wrong,” until they hear me play then they say “WOW!!!  You really suck!!!”  HAHAHA!  Play around with it until you get sounds that sound good to you. 

Have fun!

You suck to their ears, which is no major thing.

btw, I would like to hear some clips from your russian muff and stone :rawk:

Don’t pay any attention to the sloppy playing, and sorry my video only does 60 second vids so it isn’t very detailed.  Just a down and dirty sound sample.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=incBCkQIIzs

julian - 07 February 2010 04:13 PM

Only really guidelines.  For example, generally you put reverb last because you want your effects reverbed, not your reverb effected, and you put delay after your distortion because you don’t want your repeats to be compressed.

Yeah. As an example I like to use reverb before distortion because it approximates the sound you’d get by plugging a reverb tank into an overdriven amp. No holds barred, it’s down to your preferences.

Ok, it seems like there are no set rules here, as I previously thought. I will move the pedals all over the chain- to hear how they sound. Thank you one & all for all your input. I will post the final results when I get there…..

Thanks again,

James

It depends on choice but must people would run it like this IMO

BOSS Volume Pedal/Expression Pedal, Classic Cry-Baby Wah (volume/wahs)
HOG (octave)
Big Muff (distortion)
Small Stone, Danelectro Chicken Salad Tremolo (pitch-modulation, you could put the HOG Here too)
Deluxe Memory Man (delay)
Cathedral Reverb (reverb)

wah>muff>hog>mod>volume>delay>reverb. depending what do you want, you can put tremolo pretty much anywhere

Brooklyn - 11 February 2010 05:54 PM

Ok, it seems like there are no set rules here, as I previously thought. I will move the pedals all over the chain- to hear how they sound. Thank you one & all for all your input. I will post the final results when I get there…..

Thanks again,

James

I say jumble it up James, you might find some interesting sounds of your own.
See Bill Rupperts reverb video for some ideas.

Thanks Pablo, been there done that- Bill is a true inspiration to us all!  I have, since my first post, added a Boss NS-2, LPB-1 & The Flanger Hoax to my family of Sonic Wonder.  Man oh man, what fun work it is to arrange these Pedals around the chain.  I still have not come up with a permanent set pattern of the Pedals & thinking about it now, nor will I ever.  I am spending most of my time now on The Flanger Hoax, phew; this puppy needs its on text book. I love it.  Thanks again to all whom gave advice.  If & when I get a final chain order, I will post the order on this site.

Thanks!

James

i always found phasers to sound better, when placed before distortion. so that way the distorted tone is preserved but, the phase can still be heard, and since the small stone does have a volume drop, that takes care of the volume drop problem