Olli's Starter Guide

Effect pedals: how and how many?

In this edition of Olli's Starter Guide everything revolves around one of Olli's favourite topics: effect pedals and their order in the signal chain. First of all, it's important to say that there's no surefire formula. It's essential that the effects are matched to each other and to your personal taste. The signal flow — i.e. the order of effects — can be a good first guideline to follow. Although you should of course experiment, the following order for effects has generally proven most useful:

Compressor → Distortion → Modulation → Delay → Reverb

What purpose do these individual components serve?

Compressor: A compressor evens out the signal and 'thickens' it up a bit at the same time.

Distortion: A distortion pedal makes it possible to generate heavy distortion at low volume. Pro tip from Olli: combine several types of distortion (Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz) with each other for a more interesting sound and different levels of distortion with just a few stomps of your foot.

Modulation/Chorus: Modulation effects, such as the chorus in our example, noticeably change the tone and are a kind of 'special effect'. Depending on your personal taste they can be placed before or after distortion in the signal chain.

Delay: A delay, or echo, is very useful for practising solo playing on your own and makes the sound more interesting. In more extreme settings you can also create interesting ambient sounds up to a Wall of Sound.

Reverb: A reverb, or hall, helps give the tone a sense of space and (room) resonance that isn't present at low volumes. Similar to delay, reverb can also be used to create exciting sonic worlds.

If you're interested in the topic, you'll find further information in our guide “Wiring Effects Correctly” .