Pedal Placement Question

[kayla]

My current pedal board was set up and ready for me when i bought it (used). I want to remove either the blues driver or the noise compressor and replace with a tube screamer. I just dont know where i should place it in the chain, closest to the amp or closest to the guitar? I was thinkin amp?

Heres a pic of my current pedalboard.



any help you can give me would be great. thank you!

- kayla.

[lonewolf]

It is probably a good replacement for the Blues Driver, both functionally and position in the chain, although its hard to tell without knowing what all is in your pedalboard. Too much glare in the pic to read them.

If you have any envelope filters or something that works on the guitar dynamics, they usually work best nearest the guitar--wah pedal here too. Then comes compressor, then tube screamer, then noise gate, then mod FX (Flanger, Phasor) then delay then reverbs.

The noise gate can work in a few locations, but the most logical spot is right after the thing that makes the most noise...that would be the tube screamer. It is more difficult to tweak and less effective when the noise gate is at the beginning of the chain. Remember, its not very logical to accuse most guitarists of being logical.

[kayla]

thanks jeff!

heres the pedals - Noise supressor, marshal echohead, digitech delay, super chorus, metal core, and then the blues driver.

- kayla.

[lonewolf]

thanks jeff!

heres the pedals - Noise supressor, marshal echohead, digitech delay, super chorus, metal core, and then the blues driver.

- kayla.

You have a little bit of overlap in your pedals...especially with the Tube Screamer coming in. The Tube Screamer can replace both the blues driver and the metal core. Knowing your likes, I'd definitely sell the metal core or trade it for a flanger or phaser. The Blues Driver might complement the Tube Screamer, but I think your amp could do that just as well.

You may not need both digital delays/echos. In that case, you could sell the one you don't want or trade it for a flanger or phaser. You also might want to trade a pedal for a compressor. Boss makes good pedals for all 3 functions...flanger, phaser and compressor.

[kayla]

nah i definitely wanna keep the metal core - it gives me a heavy sound that i can't get with my single coils. i do play a different variety of music ... i like the set up i got right now - minus maybe the blues driver/noise supressor. thanks for your help!

[tornandfrayed]

Kayla, what amp are you playing this through? Just curious..

[kayla]

Kayla, what amp are you playing this through? Just curious..

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[lonewolf]

Kayla, what amp are you playing this through? Just curious..

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

If I was you, I'd try a compressor pedal like a Boss CS3 thru the OD channel of that amp before spending more money on distortion pedals.

[songsmith]

+1

That's a pretty nice amp, to be adding all the stuff to. Remember, those overdrives were invented to recreate the sound of a nicely-overdriven tube amp, which you already have.
Back in the olden days, I used to marvel at how people would spend big bucks on a vintage Marshall, then put a cheap pedal in front of it to get their distortion. Kinda like owning a Hemi 'Cuda, and towing it around with Neon.

[bassist_25]

Back in the olden days, I used to marvel at how people would spend big bucks on a vintage Marshall, then put a cheap pedal in front of it to get their distortion. Kinda like owning a Hemi 'Cuda, and towing it around with Neon.

+1 on the cheap pedal in front of nice amp comment. I cringe when I see a nice $2000 amp with a $200 Digitech floor processor in front of it.

In my experience, a lot of cats get Marshalls, which are mid-focused amps with moderate gain and loose damping, and then do all kinds of things to do them in order to try and make them sound like high-gain, American amps with tight damping. They usually should have just bought a Mesa or VHT in the first place if that's the sound they wanted. Marshalls have their own voicing and flavor, so I don't understand why cats do that, unless they just think they should get a Marshall because that's been the standard for rock for the past 50 something years.

[riksylvania]

+1

That's a pretty nice amp, to be adding all the stuff to.

Agreed, but even those things are 30 watts or so, class AB. It's still too loud to really turn up. I went to low wattage class A amps and will never go back. 12 watts of tweed is loud as hell!

[stratobastard27]

I don't think you'll find too much difference between the blues driver and a screamer. They're both mid gain midrangey overdrive pedals. It would be a slightly different flavor, but probably not enough to justify spending another hundred (or more) dollars. Have you tried the HD 300 yet? /:)

[kayla]

I don't think you'll find too much difference between the blues driver and a screamer. They're both mid gain midrangey overdrive pedals. It would be a slightly different flavor, but probably not enough to justify spending another hundred (or more) dollars. Have you tried the HD 300 yet? /:)

i had a tubescreamer custom built for me about a month ago. and its definitely not the same as the bluesdriver. what is an hd300?

- kayla.

[stratobastard27]

The new line 6 pod. It is the smallest in the series, but I think it has all the goods and mmuch more that you are looking for.