Connecting Guitar Effects Pedals

Believe it or not, guitar effects pedals have an order. It may sound crazy, as they are only tiny metal boxes, which should mean that you can simply stick them all together in a string and call it a day, and you can; only you won’t be getting the most out of each and every pedal.

So, how do you properly connect your guitar effect pedals for the best results?

First off, you need to look over your stash. What kinds of pedals do you have? Believe it or not, in the chain of command, the effects pedals that add effects are actually the least important and receive the bottom chain treatment. The most important effects pedals are the tool effects pedals, and of all of them, the tuner should always be the first pedal in line.

What are tool effects pedals?

Tool effects pedals are the pedals that aren’t actually adding to your sound by means of flanging or bouncing or wah-ing, but simply are the tools on which your rig depends. Tool effects pedals include tuners, noise gates, suppressors, and any other pedals that help you clean yourself up.

The second set of links goes to those craft effects pedals. Craft effects pedals are the pedals that craft your tone, whether that be your middle levels or your bass levels; even your distortion levels. Craft effects pedals include EQ’s, overdrives, or any other types of pedals that you use to color your guitars natural sound.

The last link in the effects pedal chain goes to the flavor effects pedals. The flavor pedals are all of the pedals that add spice to your playing, including wahs, flangers, choruses, and any other pedal that adds an unnatural edge to your sound.

So now that we know the order of your pedals, we need to understand why the order is so important. Let’s start off with our tool pedals. Our tool pedals are the main pedals that help us stay in tune and avoid unwanted noise. These pedals require the strongest signal, which means they need to be closest to the guitar in order to get a clear message through the chain. Remember, the chain start at your guitar, not your amp.

The craft pedals need a somewhat clear chain, but are less important, as they are only crafting your tone, unlike the tool pedals which are building the foundations (tuning and noise suppression) for a successful rig. That being said, craft pedals aren’t a dire necessity.

If craft pedals aren’t a dire necessity, then flavor pedals are only added cherries to the sundae of your rig. Flavor pedals are the least important pedals, and don’t require much of a signal to function, as they aren’t actually impacting your tone at all; they are only extras.

A basic signal chain for a simple effects pedal setup would look like this:

Guitar > Tuner > Noise Suppressor > Distortion > Chorus > Amp

Once you decide which guitar pedals you will need, take your time and remember that no matter how important your wah may feel, it is the least important of your pedals in the chain of command.

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