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In what order should I run my guitar effects?

In what order should I run my guitar effects?

Compression is generally the first effect in the chain for good reason. By compressing the signal, you are able to feed a fairly strong and consistent signal to the rest of the processors. Too little level at the beginning, and you'll end up with way too much hiss at the end. Some people even like to put an additional compressor at the end of the chain to reign in any overly strong peaks that may have built up in between.

Distortion, whether it's sweet tube saturation or raw shred, works well in the next position because it adds to the harmonic content of the input signal, giving subsequent processors something juicy to bite on. The end result will be more pronounced and compelling. Some players will put a noise gate after the distortion to tame some of the undesired grunge that creeps in at the tail end of a note. 

Pitch effects, like harmonization or thickening, come next. Like distortion, these will add more harmonic depth to the sound. You'll also end up with a clearer, more open tone if you harmonize already-distorted sound than if you fuzz up multiple pitches. 

Now that you've got a nice foundation to work from, add in EQ effects like a wah pedal. As you sweep the wah pedal, you pass through all that nice harmonic richness that's built up. As a result, you will be able to coax some very expressive, almost vocal tones out of your guitar.

As we near the end of the chain, things get a little more relaxed. Normally, you add delay (echo, reverb, flange, etc.), and then finish it off with volume control to manage the final output. However, you can also make a case for using a volume pedal before the delay stage for some really creative swells and fades.

As with all things musical, your ears are the final authority. Don't be afraid to experiment: plug your volume pedal into your harmonizer, and then into your Tube Screamer, and listen! Nothing will break, fry, or explode. The worst that could happen is you won't like the sound, but the fix is just a patch cord away!

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