Boss Effects Pedal Guide: Useful Helpers

Which useful helpers are there?

There are of course many useful helper pedals; here we've explained the four most important ones for you. Further down you'll find an overview of all useful helpers from Boss.

Tuner

A floor tuner like the Boss TU-3 can be integrated into your effects chain if you don't want to use a clip-on tuner. However, because Boss pedals feature an integrated buffer that alters the signal, you should place the tuner at the start of the effects chain to achieve the most accurate tuning.

Looper

With a looper you can record your signal and then play it back to use as a backing track. That gives you the opportunity to work on song structures and develop a better sense of harmony. Loopers are also excellent for creating soundscapes and for solo performances.

Noise Gate

A noise gate is ideal for preventing unwanted noise, whether from heavy distortion or a long signal chain. They're best placed after the distortion pedals, since these are usually the cause of the noise. Reverb and delay should definitely be placed after the noise gate, otherwise it could cut off the nice, expressive reverb tails.

Equaliser

An equaliser, often called an EQ for short, gives you very precise control over your signal. You can decide exactly which frequencies in your signal should be more or less prominent. Depending on the effect settings, an equaliser can be placed anywhere in the effects chain. Sometimes it also makes sense to use multiple EQs, for example before and after the distortion section.

Overview of all useful helpers from Boss