1. Plug amp and power supplies into power conditioner. This will give a cleaner supply of electricity.
Here's a few suggestions:
1. Guitar>TU2>keeley comp>ts9>gate>amp>cabinet.... in amp loop send>bbe sonic>chorus>delay>dbx graphic>amp loop return
2. Guitar>TU2>ts9>keeley comp>gate>amp>cabinet.... in amp loop send>dbx 266xl compressor/limiter>dbx graphic>bbe sonic>chorus>delay>amp loop return
3. Guitar>TU2>keeley comp>ts9>amp>cabinet.... in amp loop send>dbx graphic>gate>chorus>delay>amp loop return
4. Guitar>TU2>ts9>keeley comp>amp>cabinet.... in amp loop send>gate>delay>chorus>dbx graphic>amp loop return
You can do anything. Just don't place the ts9 in the loop. A compressor before or after the ts9 can work. Some like it before OD pedals, others after. Place the gate after pedals when the gate is in front of the amp.
In the loop:
If you use a gate in the loop it should be before reverbs/delays/chorus otherwise it can cut off these too early making it sound abrupt. You can places a gate anywhere before these pedals. Some don't like it in the loop but I've never had an issue with one in there.
The graphic EQ can be placed ANYWHERE. It depends what you want the EQ to do. Search for EQ pedals on this site. A lot has been posted about these and what settings people use. If you only have the one EQ, put it in the loop. The EQ will offer the single biggest tone shaping possible than any other pedal. Highly underated, IMO.
Chorus and delay go in the loop. Chorus>delay or delay>chorus, it's up to you. I'm sure that there are preferences depending what people want to hear.
The sonic maximiser: some don't like it. Not exactly sure where it should be placed. In the loop directly after the send sounds right. Look up their website for examples.
The acoustic simulator: In front. Before or after the gate, it's up to you. It's not an OD pedal so should be pretty noise free. I'd place after the gate if the gate is in front of the amp. To be honest, what does this pedal sound like through this amp????
Use good quality cables. No use having $5000 in equipment and connecting it with $3 cables. Doesn't make sense, does it? Noise free cables will go a long way to maximising your tone.
Adjust the pickup height on your guitar to get the best out of them. Seems this is a lost art when talking tone. Search web to get a better understanding of pickup height and the effect on tone.
Search the web and youtube for effect pedal chains. Plenty of info available.
Tubes have an effect on your tone. Read the specific forum on this site and use the search function. If you don't want to go this far, keep it in mind for later when you're after more specific and detailed tone shaping.
Speakers have a huge effect on tone. We'll keep it simple and work with what you've got. Setup your gear first and then you can zero in to shape your tone better.
Just remember that less is more. Avoid boosting everything; sometimes cutting treble, middle or bass or cutting an EQ slider is far better than boosting. For example, if it's a bit too bottom heavy and it seems there's not enough high mids/top end, most will boost the high mids/top end rather than cut the bass back. When cutting, if the volume drops a little, crank up the master, that's why it's there.
I think there's enough here to get you started.
