Click here to return to Effects

My approach to pedalboards will be determined by the amp I am using. To me, the sound of Classic Rock is a Marshall amp - it is essential!

If I am using a Marshall style amp, I will set it up to give me a crunchy rhythm sound, like AC/DC. I can then lower the volume control on my guitar to get 'cleaner' sounds. Listen to the Thin Lizzy song The Boys are Back in Town to hear what I mean. In this set-up, I tend to use less pedals, as seen in the picture below.

The first pedal I would add is a Marshall-in-a-Box (MIAB) style pedal which is voiced to sound like a Marshall amp. There are literally dozens of pedals on the market designed to fill this role. Some of my favourites that are readily available in New Zealand include;

• Wampler Plexidrive
• Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MKIII
• Xotic SL Drive
• JHS Charlie Brown V4

The second pedal I would add would be a boost pedal, just to get more volume for solos. Generally, I find that MIAB pedals don't have the same dynamic range as an amp. It is difficult to get more volume from the MIAB pedal when you put a boost or drive in front of it. You usually just get more gain. To overcome this, I will place a boost pedal after the MIAB pedal.

My Basic Pedalboard with a Marshall Amp

My Pedalboard with a non Marshall Amp

Other Effects

The boards pictured above show the basic effects that I will use 80% of the time. I really only add other effects to my board if I am experimenting, or trying to emulate a specific guitarist or song.

Compressor - These are great for clean sounds, as heard on recordings by David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, and Andy Summers. I have heard compression described as 'overdrive for your clean sound'. It is also a popular effect with chickin' pickin' country guitarists and funk guitar players.

Octave & Octave Fuzz (Octavia) - Honestly, I only ever use these effects when I want to emulate Jimi Hendrix or Jeff Beck. Personally, I prefer a straight lower octave only pedal to create fat, almost synth like lines.

Fuzz - I love fuzz, but I find that it isn't as versatile as overdrive. However, if I want to get Jimi Hendrix or early David Gilmour tones, you need to use a fuzz. Germanium fuzz pedals are 'sensitive' to the signal they receive, so they need to be early on, if not first, in your signal chain.

Distortion (Big Muff, Ratt) - These pedals are lot less dynamic then fuzz pedals, but offer a lot more saturation and sustain. David Gilmour began using a Big Muff around 1976, just before he began recording Animals. Unlike germanium fuzz pedals, these pedals are a lot less 'fussy' about the signal they see, so they can be placed further along in the signal path.

Univibe - When I think of Univibe, I think of three players; Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and David Gilmour. Each of these players used the effect differently. Hendrix would place the vibe after the fuzzface in his chain, while Trower opted to put it before his drive. Gilmour mainly used it on clean sounds.

Flanger - This is a dramatic modulation effect, more extreme than a phaser.

Van Halen - Unchained

Heart - Barracuda

Eagles - Life in the Fast Lane

Rush - The Spirit of Radio

Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell

Doobie Brothers - Listen to the Music

Police - Walking on the Moon

Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

Tremolo & Reverb

Classic Fender and Vox amps have built in Tremolo and Reverb. I only ever use these effects when I am using these kinds of amps. Most classic Marshall amps don't have these effects built in.

Another thing to consider is that Reverb was an effect that was created to emulate playing in a large space when bands were recording in a small studio. Most of the time, if you are playing in a club, I don't think you need any additional reverb - there is usually already plenty of natural reverb in the room.

Finally, too much reverb can make you guitar sound distant and small. Lessen the reverb effect and your sound will be more direct, powerful, and 'in your face'.

Pedal Order

There are no rules, only conventions. Rules are broken all the time by our guitar heroes to create amazing sounds. However there are ways that things are done 'most of the time', and these conventions provide us with a good starting point, before we experiment and find what works best for us!

Here is my general order (the numbers match the positions in the picture above);

1. 'Sensitive' pedals, such as wahs and pedals containing germanium transistors, such as Fuzz Faces and Treble Boosters.

2. Tuner

3. Compressor

4. Pitch

5. Modulation; Univibe, Phaser, Flanger, Chorus

6. Drive, high gain to low gain

7. Delay

8. Tremolo

9. Reverb

As I say, this is just a staring point for me. I very seldom use a fuzz or a treble booster on my board, and the wahs I use are happy not to be first. In this case, my pedal board will most likely go; Tuner-Wah-Compressor-Pitch-Modulation-Drive-Delay-Tremolo-Reverb

If I was to use a vulume pedal, I would put if before my delay, so I can do volume swells. Many people would put their modulation after their drive, and I have seen a number of people who out their compressor after their drives also. There really are no absolutes!

In fact, you can ask any of the professional pedalboard builders or pedal manufacturers and you will get different answers, as illustrated below.

That Pedal Show:

Wah, Fuzz, Modulation, High Gain, Low Gain, Boost, Compressor, Delay, Tremolo, Reverb

Guitar Player Magazine:

Filters - Compressor - Distortion/Overdrive - Modulation - Delay

Robert Keeley:

Which Chain Of Effect Pedals Makes Life Easy?

Wah, Compressor, Overdrive, EQ, Pitch, Modulation, Level, Echo

Pete Cornish:

Compressor, high-gain distortion, low gain, Modulation, Clean boost. Volume before delay, or last to act as a master volume

Brian Wamper:

Octave - Auto-wah - Compressor - Wah - Distortion/Overdrive - EQ - Flanger/Phaser - Pitch - Volume - Delay - Chorus - Reverb

Bob Bradshaw:

Distortion - Filters & Wahs - Modulation - Delay

Dave Friedman:

Compressor - Overdrive - Modulation - Delay. Wah before or after drive, depending on preference

Reverb:

Wah/Envelope Filters - Compressors - Fuzz/Distortion/Overdrive - Octaver/Pitch-shifters - Modulation - Delay - Reverb. Volume pedal going pretty much anywhere before the delay, so as not to cut off the repeats.

Of course, Fuzz Face users will need to take a different tack, and lots of people prefer wahs and filters after fuzz and distortion. Many people also prefer to have the volume pedal after the fuzz, especially if the fuzz is noisy, as then it can function as a manual noise gate in addition to producing more effective volume swell effects.

Cables

The quality of the cables you use will have a direct affect upon the quality of your guitar tone - not all cables are made equal. My advice would be to buy good quality cables, and then make sure you take care of them. They don't have to be the best, or the most expensive. I usually buy the Planet Waves Custom Series Cables - I look after them and have never had one fail.

Check out this video on how to roll a cable like a pro;

How to Roll a Cable

Capacitance

Capacitance is better understood when compared to water pressure and long hose runs. The longer the hose is, the less water pressure there will. The longer the signal is between your guitar and your amp the more treble will be lost. If you use a short, good quality cable and plug directly into your amp you will experience very little capacitance. However, if you use much longer cables and run through several effects pedals which are connected by patch leads, you will likely notice that your sound is not as bright and present, and can sound quite dull and lifeless. Some guitarists prefer this sound and use capacitance to tame bright, piercing sounds. Jimi Hendrix and Brian May both used coiled (curly) cables, which are longer than straight cables and therefore lose some high end frequencies.

Buffers & True Bypass

By the time you go through several pedals and patch cables, you will introduce quite a bit of capacitance. Buffers are introduced to the circuits of pedals to actively boost your signal, in an attempt to replace the signal that is lost. However, like cables, not all buffers are created equal. The buffers in some pedals can have quite a significant impact upon your tone. Some buffers are also known to allow 'tone suck', where your signal is noticeably weaker when passing though the pedal while it is not engaged. Also, many buffered pedals linked together can have a detrimental effect upon your guitar tone. Buffered pedals can have a dramatic affect on pedals that follow them in the signal chain, particularly vintage wah pedals and pedals that use germanium transistors, such as early Fuzzface pedals and treble boosters.

With the rise of the boutique pedal makers in the 90's, it became popular for manufacturers to utilise true bypass switching. Put simply, when a pedal is not engaged the signal bypasses the pedals circuit so that it does not colour the tone. Of course, the more true bypass pedals there are in your chain, the more capacitance there will be, as the signal has to travel further.

Many people will deliberately put a buffer in their signal chain, often at the start, at the end, or both. You can now buy buffer pedals, and several popular tuner pedals are buffered, such as the Boss TU-2 and TU-3. As noted already, the exception to this scenario is when you are using germanium fuzz or treble booster, or some wah pedals. In this situation, a buffer would be placed after these 'sensitive' pedals.

Power

Back in the day, pedals usually ran on 9 volt batteries. Nowadays, most guitar players will run their pedals from a power supply. As with all things, some power supplies are better than others. When I was young, I would daisy chain my pedals together from one power supply. I guess it would be similar to using a product such as the Truetone 1-Spot. It worked, but there were occasions where I got lots of additional hum and noise - it seemed it would depend on where I set up to play. Years later, a band mate of mine got fed up with all the extra noise I was experiencing. He told me I needed to get a power supply that had isolated power outputs. With a daisy chain, pedals can pick up noise from the pedals that are sharing the same power source. With an isolated supply, each output is separate and independent of each other, so pedals are less susceptible to noise. I find that distortion and digital pedals are the biggest contributors to extra noise. I have used the Voodoo Lab 2 Plus for years now, without any problems. I think it's safe to say that it was the industry standard for a long time, however, there are many power supplies on the market now. Most of these newer supplies offer more outputs, more power, and different combinations of 9/12/18v outputs.

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus

MXR M238 Iso-Brick

Truetone 1-Spot Pro CS6

Truetone 1-Spot Pro CS7

Truetone 1-Spot Pro CS12

Strymon Zuma

Batteries

Once upon a time, guitarists used batteries almost exclusively to power their pedals. It was a hassle though, replacing batteries before each gig, and the fact that batteries could go flat right in the middle of your performance. There are famous guitar players who swear that pedals using germanium transistors sound better when running on carbon batteries. You won't notice a difference with other types of pedals, so you can use alkaline for those. One bonus of using batteries is that the power for each pedal is isolated, so you won't be prone to additional interference and noise.

Loop Switchers

The loop switcher concept was popularised by Pete Cornish in the 70's and Bob Bradshaw in the 80's and 90's. These designers put together elaborate rigs for well know guitarist that optimised tone and functionality. As technology improved and manufacturing became cheaper, companies began utilising these concepts into loop switchers.

The basic premise of a loop switcher is that all pedals are plugged in to the switcher and turned on. All pedals are bypassed. They are only engaged as a loop is selected.

Some loop switchers allow you program combinations of pedals that can be turned on and off with the touch of a button. More advanced switchers can even allow you to change the order of the pedals and program midi changes.

Loop switchers can make life easier, but they can be expensive and take up a lot of 'real estate' on your pedal board. For every pedal you wish to use, you will require power, 2 plugs, and cable. It all adds up (see the picture below),

If you are only using half a dozen pedals, it might be easier not to use a switcher. However, if you find that you are doing a lot of 'tap dancing', or are using many pedals and it is becoming quite noisy, you may want to consider using a loop switcher.