For instance, if I have envelope-controlled
chorusing or modulation effects, I will
place them before all other effects,
which can lead to some insane out-oforder results.
Fuzz boxes can be moved around
depending on whether one wants to
goose gain further with boost and
overdrive placed in front, or simply boost
the fuzzy signal’s volume by running them
after. Another fuzz placement planning
parameter is that of utility. I like to place
my trusty old Malekko B:Assmaster last in
the dirt line because it is a heavily gated
effect than can shut out extraneous noise
from the whole preceding chain. It also
features a clean blend for pseudo-parallel
effect processing. When it comes to EQ
pedals and racks, I like to place them in
the loop before delays and ‘verbs if they
can handle the signal from the preamp.
Otherwise, if they are first in the chain,
EQs can be cool for frequency
supplementing guitars or making the
swap between single coils and
26
TONE TALK //
humbuckers less dramatic in a live
environment.
Modulation
Placement:
Pre or
Post Dirt?
In my opinion, modulation placement
yields the safest subjective scope for
experimentation, but here is what I have
found works best for me: Uni-Vibe
variants and two-stage phasers—such as
my favorite classic the MXR Phase 45—I
think of being in the wah pedal realm for
some reason; they sound best before dirt.
A phaser laps up a clean signal and wraps
3D glasses around it. When I have
experimented with Uni-Vibe-type pedals
post-dirt, I have found that the gain
accentuates the throb too much and
flattens out the orbital Doppler magic. It
chokes the breadth of subtle movement
somehow and deflates the grandeur. With
four-stage (and higher) phasers, I don’t
Effects Routing 101: Pre and Post Processing