signal chain

[dennyb2009]

I am trying to set up a pedal board with all the stomp boxes I have acquired over the years . What is the best line up for an effects chain ?
Which pedal should go 1st , 2nd , etc . to achieve the best tone , signal , and use ?

[ashcatlt]

Even if you had told us exactly what pedals you're using, what amp, and most importantly what kind of sounds you're shooting for, this question is basically impossible to answer with any authority.

The only way to know what pedal order will work best for you is to start pluggin' and playin'. Move things around and try again until you're best satisfied. You might find that one thing you want to do works best with one order, but you need a different order to get some other sound you like.

There are a very few basic rules of thumb to consider, though.

1) If it sounds good, it IS good.

2) "Classic/Vintage" type fuzz pedals (FuzzFace et al) want to be connected directly to the passive pickups without any active stages in between. That is, they only really sound right when they're first in line. I think some older wahs are like this, too.

3) If you've got a very long chain of True Bypass pedals, it's probably a good idea to have a non-True Bypass buffered pedal as close as possible to the front of the line while still satisfying #s 1 and 2.

4) If it's a really long chain of TB pedals, and/or there's a long cable run from the last pedal to the amp, it might be a good idea to have a non-TB device at the end of the chain.

[newey]

I am trying to set up a pedal board with all the stomp boxes I have acquired over the years .

Yeah, I did that. But I quickly realized that there were several that I hardly ever use. And the longer the chain, the more issues with placement and tone, also with noise.

So, I'm currently downsizing the board to just those I really use, and setting up a second board for the "rejects", so I can play with them if I ever get the urge to further experiment with their sounds.

I am also contemplating (although I haven't done so yet) making a 2-pedal battery-operated board for travel purposes. This would have only a vibrato pedal and an echo/reverb pedal, since my travel amp has neither available. These are the ones I use most, so duplication of those is a good thing- I'll have a separate pair for the travel board, so I don't have to dismember my regular board when I leave town.