02Start here

What order do guitar pedals go in?

Updated · By the Suede Social desk

The answer

Start with this order: tuner, wah or filter, compressor, overdrive and distortion, modulation like chorus or phaser, delay, then reverb. Then trust your ears. Swapping two pedals never damages anything; it only changes how they sound together. The one rule most players keep is delay and reverb near the end.

The standard chain

Your signal runs from the guitar, through each slot in order, to the amp.

  1. 01GuitarYour signal starts here.
  2. 02TunerReads the clean guitar and mutes while you tune.
  3. 03Wah or filterShapes the raw guitar sound.
  4. 04CompressorEvens out loud and quiet notes.
  5. 05Overdrive, distortion, fuzzAdds gain and grit.
  6. 06ModulationChorus, phaser, flanger, tremolo.
  7. 07DelayRepeats what you play.
  8. 08ReverbAdds space, last of all.
  9. 09AmpWhere the whole chain ends up.

Build it slot by slot

  1. 01Tuner firstPut the tuner at the front so it reads your guitar before any effect changes the signal. Most tuner pedals also mute your sound while you tune, so the room stays quiet between songs.
  2. 02Wah and filters nextA wah in front of your drive pedals gives the classic sound: the drive amplifies the sweep. A wah after the drives sounds more extreme. Both are valid, so start with the wah first and try the other way later.
  3. 03Compressor before the gainA compressor narrows the gap between loud and quiet notes. Early in the chain, it evens out your picking before the drive pedals add gain.
  4. 04Drives in the middleOverdrive, distortion and fuzz go next. Stacking two drives? Try both orders. The second pedal reacts to what the first one sends it, so each order has its own sound and either can be right. One exception: many vintage-style fuzz pedals sound thin or harsh after a buffered pedal. If yours does, move it to the very front, ahead of the tuner.
  5. 05Modulation after the drivesChorus, phaser, flanger and tremolo usually go after the drives so they shape the whole driven sound. A phaser in front of the drive is a well-loved variation, so try both.
  6. 06Delay, then reverbDelay near the end keeps the repeats clean instead of running them through your distortion. Reverb goes last so the repeats sit in the same space as everything else. Reverb in front of a dirty drive turns the reverb into a wash of distortion, a sound some players chase on purpose.
  7. 07Looper at the very endA looper records whatever reaches it. At the end of the chain it captures every effect, so the loop plays back exactly what you heard.

Where the volume pedal goes

A volume pedal does a different job depending on where it sits. Pick the job you want.

At the front, before the drives
Works like the volume knob on your guitar. Pulling it back turns you down and also cleans up the drive pedals.
After the drives, before delay
Changes your level without changing your drive sound. Delay and reverb tails keep ringing when you pull it back, which makes smooth swells.
At the very end
A master volume for the whole board. Pulling it back cuts everything, tails included.

Passive volume pedals come in two versions, named by impedance: how much the pedal’s input drags on the signal feeding it. A high-impedance one (often 250k) barely drags, so it goes straight after a guitar with passive pickups and keeps your treble. A low-impedance one (often 25k) goes after buffered pedals or with active pickups. Put it straight after passive pickups and it dulls your tone.

Got an effects loop on your amp?

An effects loop is a pair of send and return jacks that put pedals between the amp’s preamp, where a channel-switching or master-volume amp makes most of its distortion, and its power amp. If your distortion comes from the amp, put modulation, delay and reverb in the loop so they come after that distortion. Keep the tuner, wah, compressor and drive pedals in front of the amp.

Playing a clean amp and getting your dirt from pedals? The loop is optional. Everything can go in front.

A noise gate goes after the drive pedals and ahead of delay and reverb. On a high-gain amp it can also go in the loop to quiet the preamp’s hiss; the high-gain noise guide covers both, plus a way to wire one gate into both spots at once.

Common mistakes

  • Treating the standard order as a law. It is a starting point. Swap pedals around and keep what sounds best to you.
  • Putting reverb in front of the drives by accident and wondering why everything sounds like mush. Move reverb to the end.
  • Parking a vintage-style fuzz after a buffered pedal. If it sounds thin and fizzy, move it to the front.
  • Running a long chain of true-bypass pedals and long cables, then losing your treble. Every foot of cable dulls the highs a little. One buffered pedal early in the chain, such as a buffered tuner, stops further treble loss.
  • Comparing two orders at different volumes. The louder one almost always sounds better at first. Match the levels, then decide.

Words used here

Signal chain
The path your sound takes from the guitar, through each pedal in order, to the amp.
Buffer
A small circuit that lets your signal drive long cables without losing treble. Many pedals have one built in.
Impedance
How much a circuit’s input drags on the signal feeding it. A high-impedance input barely drags; passive pickups lose treble into a low-impedance one.
True bypass
When the pedal is off, your signal passes straight through on a plain wire, untouched by the circuit.
Effects loop
Send and return jacks on an amp that place pedals after the amp’s own distortion.
Modulation
Effects that move the sound over time: chorus, phaser, flanger, tremolo, vibrato.
Gain
How hard a pedal or amp boosts the signal. Push it far enough and the sound distorts.
Noise gate
A pedal that mutes your signal when you stop playing, hiding hiss between notes.

Tools for this

First Year · the forum

Still stuck? Ask the room.

Post in First Year with the suggested title and a fill-in template already in the post.

Make it easy to answer: List your pedals in order from guitar to amp, name your amp, and describe the sound you are after.

Suggested title: “Can you check my pedal order?”

Ask in First Year

Sign in free with Apple or an email code to post.