Always first to ensure you're tuning your guitar before the signal is altered by any other pedals.
Wah effects typically work best early in the chain, just after the tuner.
Compressor/Sustainer:
Placing a compressor after the wah ensures it doesn’t squash the wah’s dynamic range.
Overdrive/Distortion:
Typically follows the compressor as you want to shape your signal with distortion after compressing.
This goes after the overdrive/distortion to reduce any excess noise that might come from these pedals.
The best placement for a noise suppressor in your pedalboard depends on what noise you’re trying to eliminate.
Here are the two most common placements:
1. After High-Gain Pedals (Most Common Placement)
Place the noise suppressor after distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals but before modulation, delay, and reverb.
This setup eliminates unwanted noise from high-gain pedals while preserving the natural decay of reverb and delay.
Example Signal Chain:
Guitar → Tuner → Overdrive/Distortion → Noise Suppressor → Modulation (Chorus, Phaser) → Delay/Reverb → Amp
1. After High-Gain Pedals (Most Common Placement)
Place the noise suppressor after distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals but before modulation, delay, and reverb.
This setup eliminates unwanted noise from high-gain pedals while preserving the natural decay of reverb and delay.
Example Signal Chain:
Guitar → Tuner → Overdrive/Distortion → Noise Suppressor → Modulation (Chorus, Phaser) → Delay/Reverb → Amp
2. In the Effects Loop (For Amp Noise and High-Gain Setups)
If your amp has an effects loop, place the noise suppressor there to reduce hum or hiss coming from the preamp.
This is useful in high-gain amp settings (like metal).
Example Signal Chain:
Guitar → Overdrive/Distortion → Amp Input | Effects Loop Send → Noise Suppressor → Effects Loop Return
If your amp has an effects loop, place the noise suppressor there to reduce hum or hiss coming from the preamp.
This is useful in high-gain amp settings (like metal).
Example Signal Chain:
Guitar → Overdrive/Distortion → Amp Input | Effects Loop Send → Noise Suppressor → Effects Loop Return
3. Dual Placement (For Maximum Noise Reduction)
Some noise suppressors (like the Boss NS-2) have a send/return loop, allowing you to clean up both the input signal (guitar noise) and the high-gain pedals' output.
Some noise suppressors (like the Boss NS-2) have a send/return loop, allowing you to clean up both the input signal (guitar noise) and the high-gain pedals' output.
Example Signal Chain with NS-2:
Guitar → NS-2 Input → NS-2 Send → Overdrive/Distortion → NS-2 Return → NS-2 Output → Modulation → Delay/Reverb → Amp
Guitar → NS-2 Input → NS-2 Send → Overdrive/Distortion → NS-2 Return → NS-2 Output → Modulation → Delay/Reverb → Amp
Usually works best after distortion and noise suppression, as it tracks well with an already shaped signal.
Chorus comes after octaver to add modulation to the harmonic signal.
Acoustic Simulator:
If using this, it often works best towards the end of the signal chain to simulate an acoustic sound after all effects have been applied.
Reverb:
Reverb is typically placed near the end of the chain to add space and ambiance to the overall sound.
Loop Station:
The loop station should ideally be the last in the signal chain to record and loop the full processed sound.
DI Box:
It’s generally the last item before going to the amplifier or PA system. It converts your signal to a balanced one for better sound transmission.
Tuner → Pedal Wah → Compressor/Sustainer → Overdrive/Distortion → Noise Suppressor → Octaver → Chorus → Acoustic Simulator → Reverb → Loop Station → DI Box
Guitar players commonly shop for rigs, pedals, and other gear from these online platforms:
Major Online Retailers:
1. Sweetwater (sweetwater.com) – Known for excellent customer service, free shipping, and detailed product reviews.
2. Guitar Center (guitarcenter.com) – A big retailer with both online and physical stores. Offers used gear as well.
3. Musician’s Friend (musiciansfriend.com) – Similar to Guitar Center, with frequent discounts and free shipping.
4. Zzounds (zzounds.com) – Offers flexible payment plans and fast shipping.
5. Sam Ash (samash.com) – Family-owned retailer with a solid online presence.
Major Online Retailers:
1. Sweetwater (sweetwater.com) – Known for excellent customer service, free shipping, and detailed product reviews.
2. Guitar Center (guitarcenter.com) – A big retailer with both online and physical stores. Offers used gear as well.
3. Musician’s Friend (musiciansfriend.com) – Similar to Guitar Center, with frequent discounts and free shipping.
4. Zzounds (zzounds.com) – Offers flexible payment plans and fast shipping.
5. Sam Ash (samash.com) – Family-owned retailer with a solid online presence.
6. Shoppe- Most favourite guitar player choice is typically Music Bliss
Used & Boutique Gear:
6. Reverb (reverb.com) – The best marketplace for used, boutique, and rare pedals and rigs.
7. eBay (ebay.com) – Good for finding deals on used pedals and parts.
8. Craigslist & Facebook Marketplace – Great for local deals if you’re willing to meet sellers in person.
Direct from Brands & Boutique Shops:
Many boutique pedal makers sell directly through their websites (e.g., JHS Pedals, Walrus Audio, Strymon, Chase Bliss Audio).
Chicago Music Exchange (chicagomusicexchange.com) – High-end and boutique-focused store.
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