Setting up your effects can be difficult if you don't know what order they should be in. With this logical walkthrough you'll know the best placement for each type of pedal. More from CSGuitars: Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk Affiliate Links: Thomann - www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?... Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/2mGGg CSGuitars uses: LEWITT Microphones - www.lewitt-audio.com/ Hoffnine Cabinets - www.hoffnine.co.uk/ Hosa Cables - hosatech.com/ Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks - www.dragonsheartguitarpicks.com/ Title graphics and logo by: www.studiosmithdesign.co.uk/ Join the discussion at: Facebook - facebook.com/csguitars Instagram - instagram.com/csguitars/ Twitter -twitter.com/CSG_Scotland Music available at: Amazon: amzn.to/2HUdXgV iTunes: apple.co/2JvpCjp Google Play: bit.ly/2KgSzkl Or stream on Spotify: spoti.fi/2HuYPTP
i have a question. Is there any negative side effects from having more than one of the same type of pedal (od or distortion) if you only use one at a time? lets say i need one distortion pedal for one specific genre, and the other for another. will having both on my pedal board effect my tone? even if the second one is off and only one is on? I've got a boss ds-1, proco rat 2, and a big muff and was thinking of putting them all on my pedal board simply so i dont have to keep reconnecting and disconnecting and can just use the one i need at the moment and leave the other two off.
This is the beginner's instructional video I've needed on the order-of-pedal-effects. You've made everything very clear and understandable. Thank you, Colin!
After spending an hour watching Dan and Mick on That Pedal Show discussing pedal order, I recently rebuilt my board in the following order: guitar > wah > fuzz > tuner > boost > distortion > overdrive > phaser > flanger > chorus > comp > volume > EQ > delay > reverb > amp. Fuzz before any buffers and compression after all dirt and modulation have been added to the signal. Very happy with it so far.
Hahahaha hahaha hahaha!!....no you're not funny! Question for you smart arse... Who's the most famous guitarist?? a) Kirk Hammett b) Raoul Selten Hint... it's not you!!
Everything right, but I don't agree on the volume pedal. In front of the distortion it's the same as lowering the volume of your guitar...from the guitar itself. If you use the volume after the distortion, and before the clean channel of the amp, it makes sense as a boost for solos. Before the distortion it won't lower the volume, just the gain. Of course it's ok to put it there if that's what you use it for.
I am thinking about a volume pedal just before a big muff pedal, for controlling the gain of the muff, but also a volume pedal almost at the end for controlling the volume of the guitar. Am I right?
I think most people prefer to use volume pedals for volume/gain swells, like using the volume knob on the guitar. Think of the intro to Fear Inoculum by Tool if you know the song. Having distortion slowly start to creep in as volume swells is much more dynamic than just having distortion, but quieter, especially with high gain amps. I feel a boost pedal after distortion is more practical for a volume boost for leads. However, the beautiful thing about music is you can literally do whatever you want. Some of us may use it for gain control, some of us may use it for volume after gain, and some of us may use it to tame the beast known as 16 stacked tube screamers lol
Hey there Colin, This is by far my favorite video on this channel. So much so in fact that I recommend it to my Sonic Development students as a handy go-to guide for pedal placement. Just as well after a brief argument with a studio engineer one day about my preferred pedal order (fuzz of course was in question) I referred the engineer to this video. By this- I mean I refused to carry forth the session before he watched this... after a quick cigarette his mind was totally changed and said that this video changed his whole outlook on PP and he has since used the logical order as a guide. This order is why most multi-effects pedals also utilize this order for their preset programming- no-brainer there! The one glaring omission in this video that I can see in this video is the use of compression, and to a lesser extent amp modeling pedals and pre-amps. Thusly to add to your content listed (from my experience): Compression should be added early in the chain after utility. Of course in the case of fuzz, this can vary with placement before or after the effect, just as well with any distortion/overdrive. A compressor is meant smooth and often boost a signal to add more clarity and differentiation to the notes being played by unifying their amplitude and cutting down transient peaks in the signal, as well as modifying the charicteristics of their attack and release/sustain. In cases where you want a clean and level signal sent into a chain to maximize the benifits of having an even and clear signal, it needs an early placement, either after utility or after the wah/volume. If you want to preserve the frequency boosts and dynamics of your distortion/overdrive/fuzz, as well as potentially modifying there attack and release, they are best placed after these effects. Limiters, which function somwhere in between a noise gate and a compressor should be treated much the same way as the latter example, allowing the limiter to work with the overall output of the signal in question. Placement of a limiter can change depending on noise floor and what frequencies need to be cut, and as they are fairly transparent, can be an anomaly, used in many places in the chain. Rule of thumb here is the last cited example however. Pre-amps and amp modling pedals are another paradigm. As these pedals/units seek to warm up a signal going into an amplifier (pre-amp) or simulate the output characteristics of a particular kind of amplifier when being fed into a device like a PA or a flat-response solid-state amp. The placement of these is variable as well, but is often at the very end of the chain, or before timed effects. In some cases, a pre can be used very early on the chain, around the same place as a compressor to feed boost and warmth to the overall effects chain, much like using an EQ or a compressor, or to emulate the effects loop of an amplifier. An amp modeling pedal or effect should often be used last in the chain or potentially before timed effects, as it is made to color the sound in such a way that it is changing the tone of the signal chain to cause it to sound as its output is coming from a particular style of amplifier. This can be anomalous as well, and these boxes can often as well be used much like a distortion or overdrive pedal- depending on the model, and may be best placed in a manner that again emulated the afformention use as a replacememt for an effects loop in an amp. I see no other glaring ommisions to this list, but for informational purposes will mention a couple to any eager seekers of advice that may stumble upon this comment. Tremolo: this is an effect that modulates amplitude (volume) and not frequency (tonality), and is often placed after either volume/wah, or in the same placement before one or the other, or after everything besides pre-amps, amp modeling, and timed effects, depending on its desired purpose- as it is modulating the volume/amplitude of a signal and not its overall tone/frequencies. A last example of a somewhat rarely used effect is ring modulation and oscillators. These tend to produce colorful and often wild sonic effects especially depending on placement. Ring modulation produces counter frequencies and overtones to the notes being played, making metallic and oft-described 'bit crushing' tones to the signal in question. Most bit-crushers/ring modulators allow you to control the dry-to-wet ratio/blend of the signal being fed out of them. Oscillators are rare as stand-alone devices, and are often incorporated to the pallet of some ring-mods and often more fuzz pedals, generating a constant set tone that is blended with the signal of the guitar, and sometimes controlable via the guitars built-in volume and tone controls. Oscillators of this type need to be placed first in the chain to function properly as any effects running into them will modulate their bias/pitch instead of the guitar. Ring modulators usually as well should find their placement early in the chain, but are much more variable in coloring the sound, so experimentation may be necessary. Even some examples of fuzz like the octavia and tone machine ring modulate the signal in certain ranges of pitch and tonal charicter. In the case of fuzz, ring modulation, and oscillators, as well as emulator pedals we have not yet mentioned (that are meant to modify the guitars signal to sound like another instrument), these pedals should be placed almost always after utility or volume/wah/tremolo. This is because these pedals in all actuality change the signal in such a way that it is no longer truly even the sound of a guitar. Even the earlist of fuzz boxes were meant or marketed to change to tone so drastically as to be more emulative of horns or bowed string instruments. Overdrive and distortion are meant to carry and boost the sound of an amps pre and power section, and all other effects to modify a guitar signal or output, so logically come later in the chain. Anything that fundamentally is changing the amplified acoustic signal into something that sounds unlike a guitar, or produces a particular fundamental waveform (I.E. square, sawtooth) like a fuzz will need to come very early in the chain, and almost always first after either utility or volume/compression. Oh, and loopers... Either last in the chain or it's a whole new can of worms! Pardon the diatribes, but I hope the someone can find them helpfull! Thank you again to CS Guitars for making this vid. Any commentary or correspondence to this comment is most welcome. Cheers- Jbird
I've always put my Volume pedal at the end of the chain. I want to control the volume of my finished sound, not change the gain or level hitting the front of the amp.
Putting the vol ped after everything don't work for me. Mostly if I'm using timebase effects. The effecrs will not continue to spread as it should if you turn all the way to zero the vol peds since the timebase effects are being affected by the volume peds. It will become abrupt to listen for me. I like it to put before the timebase effect so that my delays will continue to spread until it slowly gone even if I already turned the volume down.
I agree with this... the main purpose of a volume pedal is to control your overall volume at any given time.. if you put it at the end of the chain.. you control the overall volume of everything and it stays consistent. If you put it at the beginning as suggested, you run into an array of issues... especially if you use compression or limiters.
Compressor is another of those pedals that does different things depending on where you put it, like EQ. Generally it would go after distortion/overdrive, to keep the distortion dynamics (i.e. clean up while playing softly) while still compressing and getting rid of weird volume uneveness, but I've seen it placed right before to good effect, as well. Chorus goes with the other modulation pedals.
This is excellent way of explaining in a concise way and getting across the main points. Explains enough get a decent understanding and covers all the basics, leaves scope for experimentation, and people can explore more sourcws if they want more detial/depth
An exception for placing reverb _before_ distortion is a surf sound. Back in the day, surf guitarists had Fender reverb tanks placed before an overdriven amp.
Love this guy and channel, knows his stuff, has a good sense of humor about himself and has great vid content. 3 hard quality's to run across all at 1 time.
I took a hint from The Raveonettes and have TWO reverb pedals, one reverb BEFORE my dirt pedals and one LAST in the chain. When the first is engaged with plenty of distortion you get a fantastic wash of noise (especially if you aggressively strum with your fretting hand over the pickups!).
Colin - I really appreciate your videos! I'm not-so-much a player as I am an engineer/producer, so these types of content videos are invaluable. If anyone works in music production, they need to know these things. Thank you, sir.
Sir, I would like to thank you. All of your videos, you do a fantastic job of explaining things beautifully. You give your opinions but also explain why it may or may not be the "popular" choice, are not a self absorbed ass about your opinion. We need more people like you, a true professional!! Cheers!!
I know I'm a little late, but I think it's important to mention a looper pedal. For those wondering, it's best to put a looper pedal last. That way if you're trying to layer multiple guitar parts with different effects you can do so. Placing the looper first will then cause every guitar part to have the same effect, meaning any pedals you have turned on. So if you want only certain loops to have distortion, or be clean and so on, place the looper last. Thanks to anyone and everyone who reads this to its entirety.
This is correct! Just throwing out there that it may be an advantageous set up to have a looper before certain effects if you were demoing a pedal or just wanted to see how an effect changes the clean sound. Kinda works like post-fx in a DAW.
So if I were to use a Metalzone with an EQ to scoop the mids out, would I put the metalzone or the eq first in the chain? Also will my amp affect it? I'm using a Line 6 Spider.
Hey, you should consider to put the EQ after the Metalzone in order to cut the mids because that way you can say that the metalzone is in f(x) of the EQ. About the amp, it depends whether you want to use its effects or not, so if you only want to hear the metalzone effect, then use the clean channel of your amp.
You better use the PlayOn GA10 amp, which you can get at toys r us. Great tones, cheap, portable, useful for breaking kakis. All you could ever ask for
Great vid as always Colin. My setup goes guitar>tuner>phaser>wah>overdrive>chorus>amp with on board distortion and a bit of reverb. I have it set in this order because its easier for me to have everything going into the front of the amp, its the best way to get all of my pedals to fit on my pedal board and I never use my chorus when I'm playing anything distorted nor is the phaser on at the same time as the wah (except when I want to get crazy weird feedback sounds).
Bass dude's also need to learn about parallel effects. Because subby octaver really needs to stay on a sidechain (maybe even direct to board) and detuner on a relatively high pass EQ blended back with the bassy dry... *chef kiss*! my preferred chorus sound.
@@JohnsFrusciante Naw, bass players using pedals is absolutely fine. You can create some really rich soundscapes without ever sacrificing tone or low end. I've never had a guitarist complain. In fact, they get kinda excited when they see different gain stages, envelope filters, chorus, flanger etc. It's ok to chase tone.
Hey, Colin! I am from germany and like your great videos, because you are a competent teacher and you have a big talent to keep even complicated contents understandable and correct. And there is your friendlyness and great sense of humour, that makes nearly every video a nice event! And it is fine, that you don' t deny your scottish origin, *BUT.... please, please, never forget, that a lot of guitar players, that enjoy your vids come from other countries and some, as me, have sometimes problems to follow your explains, not, because of your scottish accent, but because of the often unbelieveable TEMPO you use!!* So i like to beg you to talk with a bit less speed so that it is no problem for us "non-scots" to follow your explainations!! *Thanx a lot for keeping this in mind!!* - I am already curious about the next interesting vids!! Lincoln 6 Echo
I usually put the volume pedal after the distortions, that way the full signal of the guitar hits the distortions, so in other words I like having a set distortion setting even if I turn down the volume.
Pretty new around here but man, I am LOVING this channel. Great, practical, basic but still detailed info on a potentially very ambiguous topic. Well-done! Only missed compressors though...
Really good video! Here are more effects: - *envelope filters* should be placed before distortion and before compressors, as they use the dynamics of the playing - *boosters* : before distortion to increase the gain, after to increase volume - *Loopers (samplers)* : after everything else (or maybe just before reverb), unless you want to be more creative and place them at the beginning, to interact with your effects - *tremolo* : before overdrives (more vintage sounding), after distortions (for clear cut 'helicopter' effect) but before delays and reverbs - *vibrato* can be put anywhere in the chain since it affects the whole guitar signal (before time effects though) - *Rotary* (leslie) emulators and *Univibe* are kind of modulations, so the same rules apply (i.e., experiment!) - *Preamp pedals* : after all the gain pedals, before modulations and delays/reverbs - *Cab simulators* : after the preamp pedal(s), or at the end of the chain
I'm able to agree with everything you said up until you touched on modulation, modulation belongs before any drive or distortion. A modulation effect will kill your drive sound by removing all the bite and aggression making it super smooth. There's nothing wrong with putting a modulation effect after a drive for this very extreme and "in-your-face" modulation effect for moments at a time, but for general use its best to put then before drive to maintain clarity in your drive sounds.
After two years of saving, I finally got my Helix last week. No matter how awesome you have heard it is, it's 10x more awesome that that. But you can alter the signal chain with it as well, so trying different placements is easy and you can tell instantly what does what. I make a patch with one set up, then alter them and make the next patch the new order. That way you can just go back and forth and hear it real time. It is quite amazing. The logic that Colin follows here is very solid.
Tuner, TalkBox, Compressor, Wah, Boost, Overdrive, Distortion, Harmonizer, Chorus, Noise Gate, Trem, Reverb, Delay. That's all in front of the amp. my amp has a two built in drive channels so I'm really not sure what to put in the effects loop and what to omit.
Lakoda Beebout Basically, anything you have before distortion goes in front of your amp, anything after distortion goes in the loop. The effects loop is between the preamp and power amp, so think of your preamp stage as a distortion pedal.
The most concise and clear explanation I have seen, nice. I can't watch vids from TPS because they're just too f'king long! At least you get to the point quickly, and your presentation is clear. I've watched a bunch of your vids over the years, I really should subscribe, I've never seen a bad one.
+All Kinds it's a good sound to play about with. Perhaps not the most practical, but it can produce cool results. Some delays have built in modulation that only affects the repeats, not the rest of the signal. Those are goals.
Reverb before distortion is definitely a fun thing to experiment with. Especially when you have a digital reverb with multiple simulations. Plate reverbs can get bright as hell and fizzy before distortion where as you can actually get some nice and interesting subtleties when you have a low mix value on a darker spring reverb!
Dude thank you! That's probably why i'm not happy with my noise gate, my wah, and why I've been having problems getting the right sound with delay and reverb. Seriously this was very helpful thank you. I'm definitely going to make some changes to my pedal board today.
After Utility pedals, but before everything else, you want a nice clean signal going in to the Acoustic Simulator, especially if it splits off to a DI or Acoustic Amp
Yeah bro put your looper dead last. If you have it earlier you will find (for example) that if you loop something clean with a bit of delay, then bypass the delay and record a distorted loop over the top, It will distort the entire first loop.. Always put it last so your loops stay how you want..
Volume pedals can also be usable after the drive/dirt pedals. So you have have a some sort of master volume with desired gain, swell with gain/comp behind it, while you can still use your volume in your guitar for dynamics (gain control)
Thank you for explaining the two orders regarding reverb and delay, especially when you yourself are unorthodox in that regard, so people don't assume your order will most often sound the best.
One thing this video is missing is where your amp should be in the signal chain if it has provisions for an effects loop. I haven't done this myself, but other people I've seen on forums recommended this when using a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor: Guitar to expression pedals (volume, wah, etc), expression pedals to NS-2 input, NS-2 send to distortion pedals, distortion pedals to amp input, amp send to NS-2 return, NS-2 output to modulator pedals (tremolos, phasers, etc), modulator pedals to time based pedals (delay, reverb, etc), time based pedals to amp return.
Only an opinion, please don't shoot me, but I have different placings for volume and pitch shift (harmoniser). I place volume just after distortions - or the amps preamp/gain stage, i.e. First in the effects loop. The reason is the volume before the amp acts in the same way as the volume control on the guitar, really it'll control the input gain. I use volume swells in some of my music, but I want to swell the "gained" tone; putting the volume pedal before the amp doesn't achieve that but in the effects loop it does. Pitch shift: for whammy I agree with putting it right up to the guitar. But for the harmoniser (Boss PS-6 if you're interested), I prefer the harmoniser in the effects loop because I feel it gives a cleaner harmony. Perhaps this depends on whether the effects are connected in series or parallel. Good overall guide though, love the vids, keep them coming!
I've been watching for a long time, and I have to say it's been awesome watching you perfect your place in the YT gear community. Very educational & you humor is fresh and hilarious. Good show man. Scotland forever! Cheers! P.S. Please demo the Orange Crush 120 Pro! Thanks mate.
This was one of the most informative videos I’ve ever watched. Interestingly enough, my effects loop is modeled very similarly to the way you described it. And I did it completely by accident. But it’s good to know that I did it correctly LOL. Please keep posting these videos, they are extremely informative, and they are truly helpful to folks like me who are still a little confused on proper use of effects. These videos are definitely helping me to create solid tones and good signal character! Cheers man! One question though: what’s the name of your band? I’m a huge metal head, and I can tell that you play a lot of hard rock and metal; so I’d definitely like to check out your tunes!
Besides your backwards Reverb, I really liked this video by you a LOT, excellent information on placement, totally agreed with everything you said ( except the Reverb ) Very Well Done
I use a Eastman version of a ES-335 or 339 out of a fender devile combo 2 10. My chain is TC2 tuner, fuzz, distortion, compressor, SD-1 as a clean boost, space chorus, rainbow machine, night wire (tremolo phaser thing), and avalanche run delay reverb. For a fuzz I use a Orange fur coat and it plays nicely with all my pedals thankfully 👍👍. Great video man, it helped me put this pedalboard together in time. Big thanks from a US fellow rocker 🤘
Great talk. Through much experimentation I have for that for my tastes I like modulation (phaser, flanger, chorus etc...) before dirt. Even sometimes before the compressor. I like wah then compressor if the modulation pedals will allow it. If not, I just put the mods before the compressor. Modulation after dirt is just too enthusiastic (extreme) for me. Well done Colin as always.
Bingo - question answered. I'm building my pedals up. My initial purchase was the Boss GT-1 FX, for bang for buck, it has everything, but a bit of a jack of all trades. So this has been beefed up with a RC-30 looper, 34 sec's was a bit tight, and a lovely delay: EHX Grand Crayon of many colours. Then the confusion set in! Use the reverb in the GT-1 then into the delay? Or have to splash out on a reverb to go after the delay I've seen and read of both choices, but without explanation for the reason of the sequence. I've hunted this video down, and was worth the search - Thanks
On the subject of EQ after the FX chain...there is a point to doing this. Now, I use two EQ's. One pedal -- preferably a buffered EQ -- goes right after the amp FX send (as I prefer using amp distortion), and pre-delay/reverb to fine-tune my pre-amp settings. However, I also use an EQ pedal post FX chain and prior to amp return so that I can tune my setup to the environment that I am playing in. This makes a world of difference, especially when playing a club where your cab is not mic'd.
Thank you for the Tips for Fuzz. I thought it was like Distortion and Overdrive😅. I tested it on my pedalboard and I also found that it's best to at least put it before the Wah, because the Wah effects the sound of the Fuzz after you've turned the Wah on just one time it will always effect the Fuzz even when it's turned off.
Setting up your effects can be difficult if you don't know what order they should be in. With this logical walkthrough you'll know the best placement for each type of pedal.
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i have a question. Is there any negative side effects from having more than one of the same type of pedal (od or distortion) if you only use one at a time? lets say i need one distortion pedal for one specific genre, and the other for another. will having both on my pedal board effect my tone? even if the second one is off and only one is on? I've got a boss ds-1, proco rat 2, and a big muff and was thinking of putting them all on my pedal board simply so i dont have to keep reconnecting and disconnecting and can just use the one i need at the moment and leave the other two off.
What about a compressor is that at the end of the chain or just after your distortion or overdrive?
Hey Colin, cheers for the thorough explanation! Ready to make my first pedalboard here, so you're being very helpful, thank you :-)
watch the video in reverse to see how tom morello builds a pedalboard
IkoGrande not quite, funny joke non the less haha
r/wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Cyperb S. r/ihavereddit
Who cares here garbage
Hehehehe😂😂
PETCH SHEFT
You need to be haired in the mex.
VOLUME END *WAH*
Peckups
You ned to be haired in the mex otherwise you will sound like shet
Rim reeebrb
So where do you put the Miku pedal?
on the pitch
Everywhere
In the trash
Lots of opinions in this thread. Interesting.
At last some serious questions
This is the beginner's instructional video I've needed on the order-of-pedal-effects. You've made everything very clear and understandable. Thank you, Colin!
After spending an hour watching Dan and Mick on That Pedal Show discussing pedal order, I recently rebuilt my board in the following order: guitar > wah > fuzz > tuner > boost > distortion > overdrive > phaser > flanger > chorus > comp > volume > EQ > delay > reverb > amp. Fuzz before any buffers and compression after all dirt and modulation have been added to the signal. Very happy with it so far.
Hahahaha we need a shirt that says ".... And then there's Fuzz"
+ErickØSX I like this idea.
Hi Colin, how about Treble Boosters? Some see this effect like a fuzz. It should be the first in the chain.
Seconded!
"And, on the 8th day, God created Fuzz..."
Love the pfp. Nice to see a fellow thrower
_volume_ and *WAAAAAAH!*
are you related to Kirk Hammet?
Where in my signal chain should I put my wah?
Correct answer: as far away from Kirk Hammett as possible
true
Hilarious
he will track it down anyway
Hahahaha hahaha hahaha!!....no you're not funny!
Question for you smart arse...
Who's the most famous guitarist??
a) Kirk Hammett
b) Raoul Selten
Hint... it's not you!!
@@fatabelly Hahaha I was just joking around trying to spread the positivity. Kirk is a straight-up legend. Happy new year mate
Everything right, but I don't agree on the volume pedal.
In front of the distortion it's the same as lowering the volume of your guitar...from the guitar itself.
If you use the volume after the distortion, and before the clean channel of the amp, it makes sense as a boost for solos.
Before the distortion it won't lower the volume, just the gain.
Of course it's ok to put it there if that's what you use it for.
I am thinking about a volume pedal just before a big muff pedal, for controlling the gain of the muff, but also a volume pedal almost at the end for controlling the volume of the guitar. Am I right?
@@bernab
Yep :)
I think most people prefer to use volume pedals for volume/gain swells, like using the volume knob on the guitar. Think of the intro to Fear Inoculum by Tool if you know the song. Having distortion slowly start to creep in as volume swells is much more dynamic than just having distortion, but quieter, especially with high gain amps.
I feel a boost pedal after distortion is more practical for a volume boost for leads.
However, the beautiful thing about music is you can literally do whatever you want. Some of us may use it for gain control, some of us may use it for volume after gain, and some of us may use it to tame the beast known as 16 stacked tube screamers lol
Remember there are no ruels to thess
Without doubt the best 8mins I've spent listening to pedal effects order and associated variables.
Hey there Colin,
This is by far my favorite video on this channel. So much so in fact that I recommend it to my Sonic Development students as a handy go-to guide for pedal placement. Just as well after a brief argument with a studio engineer one day about my preferred pedal order (fuzz of course was in question) I referred the engineer to this video. By this- I mean I refused to carry forth the session before he watched this... after a quick cigarette his mind was totally changed and said that this video changed his whole outlook on PP and he has since used the logical order as a guide. This order is why most multi-effects pedals also utilize this order for their preset programming- no-brainer there!
The one glaring omission in this video that I can see in this video is the use of compression, and to a lesser extent amp modeling pedals and pre-amps. Thusly to add to your content listed (from my experience):
Compression should be added early in the chain after utility. Of course in the case of fuzz, this can vary with placement before or after the effect, just as well with any distortion/overdrive. A compressor is meant smooth and often boost a signal to add more clarity and differentiation to the notes being played by unifying their amplitude and cutting down transient peaks in the signal, as well as modifying the charicteristics of their attack and release/sustain. In cases where you want a clean and level signal sent into a chain to maximize the benifits of having an even and clear signal, it needs an early placement, either after utility or after the wah/volume. If you want to preserve the frequency boosts and dynamics of your distortion/overdrive/fuzz, as well as potentially modifying there attack and release, they are best placed after these effects. Limiters, which function somwhere in between a noise gate and a compressor should be treated much the same way as the latter example, allowing the limiter to work with the overall output of the signal in question. Placement of a limiter can change depending on noise floor and what frequencies need to be cut, and as they are fairly transparent, can be an anomaly, used in many places in the chain. Rule of thumb here is the last cited example however.
Pre-amps and amp modling pedals are another paradigm. As these pedals/units seek to warm up a signal going into an amplifier (pre-amp) or simulate the output characteristics of a particular kind of amplifier when being fed into a device like a PA or a flat-response solid-state amp. The placement of these is variable as well, but is often at the very end of the chain, or before timed effects. In some cases, a pre can be used very early on the chain, around the same place as a compressor to feed boost and warmth to the overall effects chain, much like using an EQ or a compressor, or to emulate the effects loop of an amplifier. An amp modeling pedal or effect should often be used last in the chain or potentially before timed effects, as it is made to color the sound in such a way that it is changing the tone of the signal chain to cause it to sound as its output is coming from a particular style of amplifier. This can be anomalous as well, and these boxes can often as well be used much like a distortion or overdrive pedal- depending on the model, and may be best placed in a manner that again emulated the afformention use as a replacememt for an effects loop in an amp.
I see no other glaring ommisions to this list, but for informational purposes will mention a couple to any eager seekers of advice that may stumble upon this comment.
Tremolo: this is an effect that modulates amplitude (volume) and not frequency (tonality), and is often placed after either volume/wah, or in the same placement before one or the other, or after everything besides pre-amps, amp modeling, and timed effects, depending on its desired purpose- as it is modulating the volume/amplitude of a signal and not its overall tone/frequencies.
A last example of a somewhat rarely used effect is ring modulation and oscillators. These tend to produce colorful and often wild sonic effects especially depending on placement. Ring modulation produces counter frequencies and overtones to the notes being played, making metallic and oft-described 'bit crushing' tones to the signal in question. Most bit-crushers/ring modulators allow you to control the dry-to-wet ratio/blend of the signal being fed out of them.
Oscillators are rare as stand-alone devices, and are often incorporated to the pallet of some ring-mods and often more fuzz pedals, generating a constant set tone that is blended with the signal of the guitar, and sometimes controlable via the guitars built-in volume and tone controls.
Oscillators of this type need to be placed first in the chain to function properly as any effects running into them will modulate their bias/pitch instead of the guitar. Ring modulators usually as well should find their placement early in the chain, but are much more variable in coloring the sound, so experimentation may be necessary. Even some examples of fuzz like the octavia and tone machine ring modulate the signal in certain ranges of pitch and tonal charicter.
In the case of fuzz, ring modulation, and oscillators, as well as emulator pedals we have not yet mentioned (that are meant to modify the guitars signal to sound like another instrument), these pedals should be placed almost always after utility or volume/wah/tremolo. This is because these pedals in all actuality change the signal in such a way that it is no longer truly even the sound of a guitar. Even the earlist of fuzz boxes were meant or marketed to change to tone so drastically as to be more emulative of horns or bowed string instruments. Overdrive and distortion are meant to carry and boost the sound of an amps pre and power section, and all other effects to modify a guitar signal or output, so logically come later in the chain. Anything that fundamentally is changing the amplified acoustic signal into something that sounds unlike a guitar, or produces a particular fundamental waveform (I.E. square, sawtooth) like a fuzz will need to come very early in the chain, and almost always first after either utility or volume/compression.
Oh, and loopers...
Either last in the chain or it's a whole new can of worms!
Pardon the diatribes, but I hope the someone can find them helpfull!
Thank you again to CS Guitars for making this vid. Any commentary or correspondence to this comment is most welcome.
Cheers- Jbird
I've always put my Volume pedal at the end of the chain. I want to control the volume of my finished sound, not change the gain or level hitting the front of the amp.
Rusty Gill A volume pedal is especially useful in the FX loop of an amp without a master volume.
Rusty Gill I alway have mine after my gains but before my mods
Rusty Gill I do as well. My Ernie Ball feels like I have a wider range in-between the two. What volume pedal do you use?
Putting the vol ped after everything don't work for me. Mostly if I'm using timebase effects. The effecrs will not continue to spread as it should if you turn all the way to zero the vol peds since the timebase effects are being affected by the volume peds. It will become abrupt to listen for me. I like it to put before the timebase effect so that my delays will continue to spread until it slowly gone even if I already turned the volume down.
I agree with this... the main purpose of a volume pedal is to control your overall volume at any given time.. if you put it at the end of the chain.. you control the overall volume of everything and it stays consistent. If you put it at the beginning as suggested, you run into an array of issues... especially if you use compression or limiters.
I have my fuzzes right after my flanger and wah, right before the ODs. I love hitting an overdrive with fuzz, greatest distortion ton ive heard.
Hello Colin,
You didn't mention compressors and where they should be on the pedalboard. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Also you didn't mention chorus pedal, I usually put this last to widen the whole sound. Is this the right application?
Compressor is another of those pedals that does different things depending on where you put it, like EQ. Generally it would go after distortion/overdrive, to keep the distortion dynamics (i.e. clean up while playing softly) while still compressing and getting rid of weird volume uneveness, but I've seen it placed right before to good effect, as well.
Chorus goes with the other modulation pedals.
+Tallica 81 chorus is a modulation effect, it follows the same rules as other modulations: usually after distortion, but before time effects.
Everson Bernardes I like my compressor before my dirt pedals.
mezsh as I said, I've seen it done like that, as well - if you want a very consistent, even distorted sound, that's the way to go.
This is excellent way of explaining in a concise way and getting across the main points. Explains enough get a decent understanding and covers all the basics, leaves scope for experimentation, and people can explore more sourcws if they want more detial/depth
Colin! I bought the MxR carbon copy and im loving it. This video is exactly what i need now thx
how good is the carbon copy aye - easily my favourite pedal
Best sounding analog delay in my opinion. The only thing I'd suggest to improve it is add tap tempo, but it's a gorgeous sounding delay.
One of the best explanations. Oh and I was supposed to set up my board at lunch. Perfect timing. Thanks.
An exception for placing reverb _before_ distortion is a surf sound. Back in the day, surf guitarists had Fender reverb tanks placed before an overdriven amp.
so does this mean we need to do the same for black metal!?
@@manfrombritain6816 for black metal just throw your pedals in a random order, turn them all on and youre fine
@@gonkdroid2539 Why bother with pedals? Use the in-built gain channel in your practice amp.
@@mk_rexx but all knobs maxed out
Love this guy and channel, knows his stuff, has a good sense of humor about himself and has great vid content. 3 hard quality's to run across all at 1 time.
"Reverb after distortion"
Shoegaze begs to differ
Sometimes I like delay before the distortion as well...
reverb in front of chain :)
Reverse verb>f u z z> W. H. A. M. M. Y. B. A. R
M'kay...this is why you need multiple reverbs and distortion pedals on your board.😉👍✨
I took a hint from The Raveonettes and have TWO reverb pedals, one reverb BEFORE my dirt pedals and one LAST in the chain. When the first is engaged with plenty of distortion you get a fantastic wash of noise (especially if you aggressively strum with your fretting hand over the pickups!).
Colin - I really appreciate your videos! I'm not-so-much a player as I am an engineer/producer, so these types of content videos are invaluable. If anyone works in music production, they need to know these things. Thank you, sir.
Good stuff man, I didn't know the positioning effected fuzz tones so much, my Big Muff does indeed sound better first in the chain. Thank you!
Sir, I would like to thank you. All of your videos, you do a fantastic job of explaining things beautifully. You give your opinions but also explain why it may or may not be the "popular" choice, are not a self absorbed ass about your opinion. We need more people like you, a true professional!! Cheers!!
I know I'm a little late, but I think it's important to mention a looper pedal. For those wondering, it's best to put a looper pedal last. That way if you're trying to layer multiple guitar parts with different effects you can do so. Placing the looper first will then cause every guitar part to have the same effect, meaning any pedals you have turned on. So if you want only certain loops to have distortion, or be clean and so on, place the looper last. Thanks to anyone and everyone who reads this to its entirety.
thank you
Much appreciated, I was wondering about this.
This is correct! Just throwing out there that it may be an advantageous set up to have a looper before certain effects if you were demoing a pedal or just wanted to see how an effect changes the clean sound. Kinda works like post-fx in a DAW.
Dude this was so awesome. You come off super nice and informative. Best pedal video out there.
So if I were to use a Metalzone with an EQ to scoop the mids out, would I put the metalzone or the eq first in the chain?
Also will my amp affect it? I'm using a Line 6 Spider.
Daniel Brown Oh no
Hey, you should consider to put the EQ after the Metalzone in order to cut the mids because that way you can say that the metalzone is in f(x) of the EQ. About the amp, it depends whether you want to use its effects or not, so if you only want to hear the metalzone effect, then use the clean channel of your amp.
You better use the PlayOn GA10 amp, which you can get at toys r us. Great tones, cheap, portable, useful for breaking kakis. All you could ever ask for
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Considering I am using a line 6 spider myself with a distortion pedal, I'd say eq after to really get that guzzly tone.
Great vid as always Colin. My setup goes guitar>tuner>phaser>wah>overdrive>chorus>amp with on board distortion and a bit of reverb. I have it set in this order because its easier for me to have everything going into the front of the amp, its the best way to get all of my pedals to fit on my pedal board and I never use my chorus when I'm playing anything distorted nor is the phaser on at the same time as the wah (except when I want to get crazy weird feedback sounds).
A good example of wah after dirt is Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Eddie Hazel was a genius.
Hendrix played his wah-wah before dirt, this is where I like it.
Best presentation and explanation of this topic I've come across - better than the guitar magazines.
To the bass players, I found that putting modulation and time based effects in an effects loop is extremely effective.
Bass dude's also need to learn about parallel effects. Because subby octaver really needs to stay on a sidechain (maybe even direct to board) and detuner on a relatively high pass EQ blended back with the bassy dry... *chef kiss*! my preferred chorus sound.
Bass players need to lay off with pedals in general. Get a compression and tuner and buzz off.
@@JohnsFrusciante Naw, bass players using pedals is absolutely fine. You can create some really rich soundscapes without ever sacrificing tone or low end.
I've never had a guitarist complain. In fact, they get kinda excited when they see different gain stages, envelope filters, chorus, flanger etc. It's ok to chase tone.
Hey, Colin! I am from germany and like your great videos, because you are a competent teacher and you have a big talent to keep even complicated contents understandable and correct. And there is your friendlyness and great sense of humour, that makes nearly every video a nice event! And it is fine, that you don' t deny your scottish origin, *BUT.... please, please, never forget, that a lot of guitar players, that enjoy your vids come from other countries and some, as me, have sometimes problems to follow your explains, not, because of your scottish accent, but because of the often unbelieveable TEMPO you use!!*
So i like to beg you to talk with a bit less speed so that it is no problem for us "non-scots" to follow your explainations!!
*Thanx a lot for keeping this in mind!!* - I am already curious about the next interesting vids!!
Lincoln 6 Echo
Guitar>tuner>pitch>distortion>gate>solid state amp
FX loop: flanger>phaser>reverb>delay
finally, a brief, informative and non baffling video on the subject for a newbie to follow. Nice one matey
I usually put the volume pedal after the distortions, that way the full signal of the guitar hits the distortions, so in other words I like having a set distortion setting even if I turn down the volume.
If you do it before distortion, couldn't you then use it to control the level of distortion?
Pretty new around here but man, I am LOVING this channel. Great, practical, basic but still detailed info on a potentially very ambiguous topic. Well-done! Only missed compressors though...
1. You've already made secret to setting up your effects, which this basically is
2. Victory Kraken
Really good video! Here are more effects:
- *envelope filters* should be placed before distortion and before compressors, as they use the dynamics of the playing
- *boosters* : before distortion to increase the gain, after to increase volume
- *Loopers (samplers)* : after everything else (or maybe just before reverb), unless you want to be more creative and place them at the beginning, to interact with your effects
- *tremolo* : before overdrives (more vintage sounding), after distortions (for clear cut 'helicopter' effect) but before delays and reverbs
- *vibrato* can be put anywhere in the chain since it affects the whole guitar signal (before time effects though)
- *Rotary* (leslie) emulators and *Univibe* are kind of modulations, so the same rules apply (i.e., experiment!)
- *Preamp pedals* : after all the gain pedals, before modulations and delays/reverbs
- *Cab simulators* : after the preamp pedal(s), or at the end of the chain
I've never heard about setting up your delay and reverb in that order. Your reasoning sounds interesting, though, I might give it a try.
I'm taking notes as I watch this. My notes are:
*Delay first for rhythmic delay
*Reverb first for atmospheric delay
Thanks, this info will be extremely useful when I start building my pedal board.
I'm able to agree with everything you said up until you touched on modulation, modulation belongs before any drive or distortion.
A modulation effect will kill your drive sound by removing all the bite and aggression making it super smooth.
There's nothing wrong with putting a modulation effect after a drive for this very extreme and "in-your-face" modulation effect for moments at a time, but for general use its best to put then before drive to maintain clarity in your drive sounds.
eq in the loop takes amps from sounding like 100 soldiers marching to 1000 soldiers marching. unbelievably aggressive sounding
After two years of saving, I finally got my Helix last week. No matter how awesome you have heard it is, it's 10x more awesome that that. But you can alter the signal chain with it as well, so trying different placements is easy and you can tell instantly what does what. I make a patch with one set up, then alter them and make the next patch the new order. That way you can just go back and forth and hear it real time. It is quite amazing. The logic that Colin follows here is very solid.
Tuner, TalkBox, Compressor, Wah, Boost, Overdrive, Distortion, Harmonizer, Chorus, Noise Gate, Trem, Reverb, Delay.
That's all in front of the amp. my amp has a two built in drive channels so I'm really not sure what to put in the effects loop and what to omit.
Lakoda Beebout
if you want to use your amps overdrive, you should put your reverb and delay in the effect loop
Lakoda Beebout Basically, anything you have before distortion goes in front of your amp, anything after distortion goes in the loop. The effects loop is between the preamp and power amp, so think of your preamp stage as a distortion pedal.
this is just the channel ive been looking for, answers my biggest questions
VX Kraken! new amp Colin?
The most concise and clear explanation I have seen, nice. I can't watch vids from TPS because they're just too f'king long! At least you get to the point quickly, and your presentation is clear. I've watched a bunch of your vids over the years, I really should subscribe, I've never seen a bad one.
"Aural Chaos" would be a great name for a late 80s- style metal band.
Super handy I switched the location of my octave fuzz pedal based on this video. Fricking rad!!!! Thanks!
#ColinExplains < could be a series title????? .... but aside from that. i found this video extremely helpful. 100/10 "excellent hair"
oh my gosh thank you Thor for feeding me with this golden knowledge. I've been lost on how to start my journey on pedals.
"Lush swirls to your echo's" sounds pretty funky to me would be a cool sound imo, but yeah obviously logically echo after mods n OD
+All Kinds it's a good sound to play about with. Perhaps not the most practical, but it can produce cool results.
Some delays have built in modulation that only affects the repeats, not the rest of the signal. Those are goals.
great synthesis! furthermore by adjusting TH-cam speed to 75% I was really able to understand everything CSGuitars was explaining. ;)
You should make a "And then there's fuzz" merch!
Wo fat
Reverb before distortion is definitely a fun thing to experiment with. Especially when you have a digital reverb with multiple simulations. Plate reverbs can get bright as hell and fizzy before distortion where as you can actually get some nice and interesting subtleties when you have a low mix value on a darker spring reverb!
He just said layers in a Scotty accent...Shrek confirmed
Dude thank you! That's probably why i'm not happy with my noise gate, my wah, and why I've been having problems getting the right sound with delay and reverb. Seriously this was very helpful thank you. I'm definitely going to make some changes to my pedal board today.
will it shred series?
I decided today before I saw this in my sub box that I was gonna revamp my pedal board. so the timing couldnt be more perfect, thanks man (:
Metal muff demo???
TheLukster100 ALL THE GAIN!
ALL THE GAIN!
METAL MUFF!
NO MIDS!
MORE GAIN!
SLAYERRRRR!!!!!!!
ALL THE GAIN!!!!!!!!
it sounds more crisp than metal zone
This was really nicely said! I wish you mentioned which ones go directly into the amp and which ones should go through the effects loop.
Can anyone tell me where an Acoustic Simulator falls in ? like category wise ?
Also Noise Suppressors and where would I place these two pedals
After Utility pedals, but before everything else, you want a nice clean signal going in to the Acoustic Simulator, especially if it splits off to a DI or Acoustic Amp
Same spot as the pitch shifting pedals.
Why do I watch this when I don't even have 1 pedal?
same
yeh
DON T KNOW.. BUT I GUESS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUY IN NEAR FUTURE A DISTORTION PEDAL OR A OVERDRIVE PEDAL.. MAYBE A FACER OR REVERB
. BEST IS DELAY.
Probably because you want some pedals but don't want to put the money down om them at the moment, and/or you don't know what to buy.
Do remind myself what an incredibly involved pain they can be so I can learn to do without them . But they're so pretty . . .
Nice concise talk. Good calls and caveats, Colin!
Compresors????
In my opinion I would set them as Volume, after the utility pedals. The same as Filterpedals.
THANK YOU! For committing to an informed “this is how it’s done”! Of course I can change things, but an expert “go by” is invaluable.
Execute order 66
clf400 It will be done, milord!
just kill the children and wait for the old to die
Omg I'm dying 😂😂😂😂 where we droppin 🅱️oys 💯💯💯😂😂😂👌
hello there
@@waitwhat7065 GENERAL KENOBI
I don't know what I like the most between the content and his accent!
Was that last bit your impersonation of a fuzz in a less than ideal part of the signal chain?
Bloody fantastic. This is the most to the put pedal how-to I've found. Thanks!
Loop pedal?
Cal end of the chain , so it can catch all the fx before
Yeah bro put your looper dead last. If you have it earlier you will find (for example) that if you loop something clean with a bit of delay, then bypass the delay and record a distorted loop over the top, It will distort the entire first loop..
Always put it last so your loops stay how you want..
Volume pedals can also be usable after the drive/dirt pedals. So you have have a some sort of master volume with desired gain, swell with gain/comp behind it, while you can still use your volume in your guitar for dynamics (gain control)
Has anyone told you you look so much like Chad Channings (ex drummer from nirvana)
+Suhail Couto
Oh wow! I never noticed that! Now I love Colin even more!!!! 💜 Thanks for pointing that out!
Big time wow!!!
Thank you so much, I'm trying to build up my pedalboard and was having trouble figuring out where to start, so this was incredibly helpful
in which order do i plug my diddey into my girlfriend to stop the weird laughing sound?
Thank you for explaining the two orders regarding reverb and delay, especially when you yourself are unorthodox in that regard, so people don't assume your order will most often sound the best.
Tip for people playing shoegaze: Do everything the complete opposite and your good to go
One thing this video is missing is where your amp should be in the signal chain if it has provisions for an effects loop. I haven't done this myself, but other people I've seen on forums recommended this when using a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor:
Guitar to expression pedals (volume, wah, etc), expression pedals to NS-2 input, NS-2 send to distortion pedals, distortion pedals to amp input, amp send to NS-2 return, NS-2 output to modulator pedals (tremolos, phasers, etc), modulator pedals to time based pedals (delay, reverb, etc), time based pedals to amp return.
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!!
Very short and informative video. I like your style! Thanks mate!
You're the guy Lisa fell in love with in the Simpsons movie
Only an opinion, please don't shoot me, but I have different placings for volume and pitch shift (harmoniser).
I place volume just after distortions - or the amps preamp/gain stage, i.e. First in the effects loop. The reason is the volume before the amp acts in the same way as the volume control on the guitar, really it'll control the input gain. I use volume swells in some of my music, but I want to swell the "gained" tone; putting the volume pedal before the amp doesn't achieve that but in the effects loop it does.
Pitch shift: for whammy I agree with putting it right up to the guitar. But for the harmoniser (Boss PS-6 if you're interested), I prefer the harmoniser in the effects loop because I feel it gives a cleaner harmony. Perhaps this depends on whether the effects are connected in series or parallel.
Good overall guide though, love the vids, keep them coming!
I've been watching for a long time, and I have to say it's been awesome watching you perfect your place in the YT gear community. Very educational & you humor is fresh and hilarious. Good show man. Scotland forever! Cheers!
P.S. Please demo the Orange Crush 120 Pro! Thanks mate.
I really like you logical approach to all things music. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge
This was one of the most informative videos I’ve ever watched. Interestingly enough, my effects loop is modeled very similarly to the way you described it. And I did it completely by accident. But it’s good to know that I did it correctly LOL. Please keep posting these videos, they are extremely informative, and they are truly helpful to folks like me who are still a little confused on proper use of effects. These videos are definitely helping me to create solid tones and good signal character! Cheers man! One question though: what’s the name of your band? I’m a huge metal head, and I can tell that you play a lot of hard rock and metal; so I’d definitely like to check out your tunes!
Setting up my first board this week and this helped a ton. Spanks!
I've watched this video so many times when getting new pedals. Cheers guy!
Your channel has great info and is quick and to the point. Great content.
Very good.well explained & to the point without going on too much like some of these videos do
Besides your backwards Reverb, I really liked this video by you a LOT, excellent information on placement, totally agreed with everything you said ( except the Reverb ) Very Well Done
I use a Eastman version of a ES-335 or 339 out of a fender devile combo 2 10. My chain is TC2 tuner, fuzz, distortion, compressor, SD-1 as a clean boost, space chorus, rainbow machine, night wire (tremolo phaser thing), and avalanche run delay reverb. For a fuzz I use a Orange fur coat and it plays nicely with all my pedals thankfully 👍👍. Great video man, it helped me put this pedalboard together in time. Big thanks from a US fellow rocker 🤘
Very helpful. Thanks! Especially your tips about where to consider placing the EQ.
Great talk. Through much experimentation I have for that for my tastes I like modulation (phaser, flanger, chorus etc...) before dirt. Even sometimes before the compressor. I like wah then compressor if the modulation pedals will allow it. If not, I just put the mods before the compressor. Modulation after dirt is just too enthusiastic (extreme) for me.
Well done Colin as always.
Been binging CS vids all day! 🎸🙏
Thanks man, this video really helped me out, I've had a lot of trouble setting up my pedal board but now I know
Bingo - question answered.
I'm building my pedals up. My initial purchase was the Boss GT-1 FX, for bang for buck, it has everything, but a bit of a jack of all trades. So this has been beefed up with a RC-30 looper, 34 sec's was a bit tight, and a lovely delay: EHX Grand Crayon of many colours. Then the confusion set in!
Use the reverb in the GT-1 then into the delay? Or have to splash out on a reverb to go after the delay
I've seen and read of both choices, but without explanation for the reason of the sequence.
I've hunted this video down, and was worth the search - Thanks
On the subject of EQ after the FX chain...there is a point to doing this. Now, I use two EQ's. One pedal -- preferably a buffered EQ -- goes right after the amp FX send (as I prefer using amp distortion), and pre-delay/reverb to fine-tune my pre-amp settings. However, I also use an EQ pedal post FX chain and prior to amp return so that I can tune my setup to the environment that I am playing in. This makes a world of difference, especially when playing a club where your cab is not mic'd.
The best explaination I've found on the subject, thank you!
Thank you for the Tips for Fuzz. I thought it was like Distortion and Overdrive😅. I tested it on my pedalboard and I also found that it's best to at least put it before the Wah, because the Wah effects the sound of the Fuzz after you've turned the Wah on just one time it will always effect the Fuzz even when it's turned off.
Excellent video, just what I was looking for!