I need recommendations on putting my pedals!

[badguitarist]

Hi everyone,
After an financial effort I finally have a Mark IV Widebody combo (thanks to Mr. Potter who packed her very well to reach me overseas without any damages). The sound of the amp is very awesome, especially R2 channel which along with the EQ has very tight tone. R1 channel is very clean. I did well some Pink Floyd's with R1. Totally in love with the amp.

But the above was how I tested the amp without any pedals. The problem now is how to put my pedals properly. I have a Boss DS1, Boss DD3, ISP noise suppressor, Boss Graphic Equalizer GE7, Ernie Ball Volume Pedal and an upcoming BB Preamp. Could you guys tell me how should I connect my pedals to my amp to sound the best? What are in the FX loop? What are in front of the amp? What is the order of pedals? etc... I will be happy with any recommendations. Thanks all

 

[JamesD]

ok i'm going to take a terrible stab at this. I am by no means educated as to what goes in the loop and what goes out in front, for i really don't run many pedals anymore. I am pretty much just a guitar to amp person now a days. I would say to put the DS1 out in front of the amp, the DD3 in the loop, not sure on the ISP, i always ran mine in front, the EQ i think depends more on what you want to EQ overall and I always ran my volume pedal out front.

Again i could and probably am way off on this but i took a shot at it Also i think that what should go in the loop and what should go out front is more subjective as well, try them out on your own time and see what sounds the best to you for what pedal and position.

 

[Platypus]

This is all very subjective, do what sounds best to you.

However, as a general rule you want all time based effects (delay, flanger, phaser, chorus, etc) to go in the loop and all OD/distortion/fuzz type effects in front of the preamp. Things like your volume pedal, EQ, ISP are all subjective even further as to where they go. There are benefits to each way, find your sound by experimenting.

 

[badguitarist]

Thanks. But I really don't know why a lot of people like putting a volume pedal in front of the amp. I think it will decrease the gain that way, not the volume.

 

[disassembled]

I use a volume pedal like a volume knob on my guitar as it is neat to have the control to do volume swells while not missing a beat on strumming a chord or picking a note. Also, if you use the volume pedal in the loop you add A LOT of cable to your signal.

I guess what I would do if I had the pedals in your collection would be to decide if they are necessary. Can you do away with any of the pedals? IMO the less you have the purer your tone so if you can get down to 1 or 2 pedals you might benefit overall from a clearer tone. You have an amp that can do some great tones all by itself so I wonder if the EQ and Distortion pedals are necessary.

If you are going to use your pedals this is how I would hook it up:

Effects infront of the amp in this order:

Guitar:
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
BB Preamp
Boss DS1
Amp Input:

Effects send:
ISP noise suppressor
Boss Graphic Equalizer GE7
Boss DD3
Effects return:



Maybe it won't work for you but this is how I would set them up to get the most out of everything.

Greg

 

[ned]

The only thing I would do differently from what disassembled suggested would be to put the GE7 first after the volume pedal. This way you get predistortion EQ.

Check these out:
http://grailtone.com/guitar-tone-articles/guitar-signal-chain.html

then
http://grailtone.com/guitar-tone-articles/predistortion-eq-article.html

And some suggested settings for your GE7
http://www.grailtone.com/tone-settings/eq/view-predistortion-eq-settings.html#

 

[disassembled]

I guess what I would do if I had the pedals in your collection would be to decide if they are necessary. Can you do away with any of the pedals? IMO the less you have the purer your tone so if you can get down to 1 or 2 pedals you might benefit overall from a clearer tone. You have an amp that can do some great tones all by itself so I wonder if the EQ and Distortion pedals are necessary.

He could get a Loooper (yes 3 O's) or a loop-master to take pedals out of the chain when not in use.

Yeah that's always an option. Here in Japan Noah's Ark makes some pretty cool items for switching and powering pedals.

Greg