Question: pedal position preferences please

[311boogieman]

Hey there,

Anyone want to chime in and help me determine my signal path?

I got bought some new pedals (Thanks Maddnotez) and I need to make some decisions. He sold me his Koko Boost (pretty amazing), MXR 10band and Boss Noise Suppressor.

Mainly-

1. What is the best order for the amp in signal (bottom row) and
2. What is the best order for the loop signal (top row)

Both will be right to left as you see them below. Below is basically how I would set this up without asking. Yes, I know, do what sounds right but it is kind of big chore to wire everything up. What would you do with these? What has been removed that you don't see is a Bad Monkey OD, MXR Zakk Wilde OD, and a Big Muff Russian Fuzz.

Amp In: Wah > Suhr Koko Boost > MXR 10band > MXR Phase 90 > MXR ABY splitter > Splawn and Recto

Loop in Mesa: Boss Noise Gate > Fish n Chips 6 band EQ > MXR Carbon Copy delay > Digitech Hardwire Reverb > EH Clone Theory Chorus > Boss Loop Station. Honestly, I can do without the 6 band, Chorus and looper.

I want the ;Amp In' pedals to work well with both amps. Should I rearrange these any differently?

The Loop will be in the Mesa Rectoverb. I will experiment with the X pattern on the Noise Gate but it works well in the loop now. Would you rearrange these at all and is the Gate in the right place?

Yes I will experiment. Just hoping to get a jump start. They are sitting on a Van Halen tee just so I can move them around easily before I settle in and re-cable.

Thoughts?

 

[PDC]

I am sure you will get lots and lots of opinions on signal chain. One thing I have found is that I like placing my boost As the last effect in the front end chain so I am not sending a boosted / gained / compressed signal through tone shaping effects like phase / flange / wah etc. I try to think of a boost as part of the front-end gain stage of my amp, and my signal would necessarily hit the tone shapers before going into the amp. Of course, I like having my time based effects in the loop. I would be inclined to run the 10 band in the loop before hitting any time based effect - but I’d have to hear it in front and in the loop to decide. This is a very nice collection of effects and with that Splawn, you will have great tones.

 

[311boogieman]

Hey thanks man!

I appreciate your feedback. Always good advice

After I typed this up and went to bed I realized that the Noise Gate should be last in the Loop (I think) before the red Looper pedal. Right?

I think I totally agree on the boost last before amp input so I will switch places with it and the Phase 90. I do like the Phaser up front. I will play around with the EQs. I rarely use the my loop effects on the clean channel (like 10% of the time).

Thanks for the input. Good stuff.

 

[VH4_BigRig]

One thing I'm curious about is what exactly you're using both EQs for; is it for shaping gain? Solo boosts? Also, I find noise gates can affect reverb and delay decay/trails sometimes, so you actually have it close to where I would put it.

Also, for your looper, I guess it depends on if you want to loop something with the delay effects on the loop clip or not. If you move the looper earlier, you won't get the effects included as part of your loop, but this may not be important depending on how you use it.

Personally, if I had the pedals you had, I would probably go with:

Front: Wah-> Phase 90-> Koko-> Fish N Chips-> ABY (flip the koko and EQ if EQ is boost, not shaper)
Loop: MXR 10 band->EH Chorus-> Noise Gate-> Carbon Copy -> Hardwire -> Looper

Have fun trying different things, the only rule is time effects after gain. Aside from that, there are no rules Cheers

 

[311boogieman]

^Thanks BigRig!

Appreciate the feedback. Honestly, I don't really us EQs too much. Bumping some frequencies here an there. I will be experimenting more with this now that I one in front and in the loop.

Also really have NOT even messed with the looper - it was something just for fun. I need to read on how to use the damn thing. Good points on that though.

Gate before the time effects makes sense too.

I'll kind of start with what you are recommending on chain path. Like I said, it is kind of a pain to wire up so this help up front is really appreciated



Anyone else have different ideas?

Put the Phaser closer? OK, I'll try that. Wouldn't have thought of that necessarily.

 

[BeZo]

I like boost into phase. You get a thicker swirl.

I use a subtle boost (MXR Booster Mini) before my phaser. Boost is always on for me.

I would put the chorus in front of the delay and reverb. Delay and reverb should always be last.

 

[PDC]

One thing to consider with the gate in the loop after your time based effects is that the gate can chop of the effect tail as the signal naturally diminishes. With the gate in the loop before the time based effects, your time tails will naturally decay without being clipped by the gate.

 

[311boogieman]

I like boost into phase. You get a thicker swirl.

I use a subtle boost (MXR Booster Mini) before my phaser. Boost is always on for me.

I would put the chorus in front of the delay and reverb. Delay and reverb should always be last.

That chorus placement makes a lot of sense.