what order do you chain your blocks?

F

funkyrimpler

Member
what is the general consensus on chaining amps/cabs/effects, and how do feel that the order affects your tone?

ie: where in the chain do you guys tend to put your effects..between amp and cab, at the end, or somewhere in between?

thoughts please gentlemen :)
 
There will never be a general consensus, cause in Axe FX you're free to do what you want, like to put delay after the cab, which in real live environment wouldn't be possible. I was told that here in forum and it's true. My personal chain goes like this:

(comp) --> (wah) --> drive --> (PEQ) --> amp --> cab --> (delay) --> (reverb)

Sometimes I use other FX before or after the amp/cab. Delay and reverb sound maybe clearer after in the chain. I rarely use paralel chains.
 
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I find that placing the delay block before the amp sounds and feels more organic. The repeats become part of the sound instead of an addition to the sound.

The downside to this arrangement is that the repeats will not smoothly ring out over an x/y switch of the amp block.
 
finleysound said:
The downside to this arrangement is that the repeats will not smoothly ring out over an x/y switch of the amp block.
Click to expand...

You can inadvertently change the entire tonal quality of an amp/cab combo with putting a post-effect as a pre-effect (delay in front of amp/cab). It is a unique vibe for sure, I just know that when I tried it this way the amps did not have as much punch as I prefer [preference is what makes the AFX amazing].

Typical chain for me:

VOL1 > COMP > DRIVE > AMP > CAB > REV1 > MLTY-DLY > DELAY

For ambient presets I place a straight shunt above from I to O with a VOL2 > REV2 so I have a direct guitar signal with ambient reverb over top with a mix of about 25-30%.

As Donald_Joseph mentioned, there's no right or wrong way to do it. Most of the time I look at the factory presets if I try to accomplish something similar to see how the geniuses @ FAS did it ;) . It's good to understand the differences in Pre versus Post effects as it relates to the Amp/Cab combos because it gives a ton of flexibility with how a preset sounds (caption obvious over here).
 
Try a spring reverb in front of the amp block. Gives it a nice washy surf kind of vibe that sounds a bit more old school and less hi-fi. The standalone Fender reverb unit was always run in front of the amp back in the day. Works quite well for that Dick Dale vibe. I often like the sound of analog chorus in front of the amp too. Gives a different and more subtle flavor.
 
I put modulation effects in front most of the time and time based after cabs. I only use compressor in front on clean sounds, for gain tones if I use compressor I use the one in the amp. a compressor in front on a gain tone IMHO kills what most of us want a tube sound for.
 
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A typical preset for me looks like this

Comp - Wah - Drive - Phaser - Amp - spring verb - Cab - GEQ - pitch (detune) - chorus - Delay - Fliter set to null 3db boost.

If I don't use spring reverb then my Reverb ends up last in the chain right before the filter block.
 
This is a pretty standard layout for me:

Trey-A-FW16v1.png
 
In what order... thats like asking "how high is up?" ;)

Im too pretty "classic" setup, wah-drive-filter-amp-cab-misc effects but recently I have been playing around with testing other setups, like above suggested reverb before amp etc. Easy peasy with AXE EDIT to drag effects around, crank it up and listen to the result.
 
I was taught:
1. Compressor first
2. Wah second
3. Analogue effects before the amp, and digital after
4. If you are using more than one distortion or overdrive then put the heavier distortion first.

As everyone is saying, this is not the only way, but it's a good starting point.
 
Huge benefit of the Axe is that it is so quick and easy to move blocks around. You can do the same with hardware pedals of course, but its way more work to plug/unplug your pedal board all the time, or on a song by song basis.

With axe you have total freedom to change the order on a patch by patch basis.

No "rules" at all, so just experiment and find what sounds best to you
 
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