From Tuner to Tone: Mastering Your Pedal Chain

A Quick Guide to Pedal Chaining: Best Practices for Building Your Board
Written by Josh Lister | Published July 21, 2023

Pedal chaining may not follow any hard-and-fast rules, but for many guitarists, the order of effects is part art, part science—and all tone. Whether you're a stickler for perfect signal flow or you just toss pedals down and hope for the best, understanding how pedal placement affects your sound is worth exploring.

The Basics of Pedal Placement

The position of a pedal on your board can dramatically influence your tone. That’s why many players think carefully about where each effect goes in the chain. While experimentation is encouraged, understanding some foundational concepts will help you get the most out of your rig.

The General Signal Path: From Guitar to Amp

Think of your signal flow as moving from right to left on your pedalboard—from your guitar to your amplifier. A common and effective order looks something like this:

1. Tuner First

Start with your tuner pedal. Placing it at the very beginning of the chain ensures the cleanest, most accurate signal. Distortion or fuzz ahead of a tuner can confuse its tracking.

2. Gain and Tone Shaping Effects

Next, add your gain-altering pedals—fuzz, distortion, and overdrive. The exact order of these can vary based on taste, but here are some general tips:

• Fuzz (e.g., Big Muff) typically goes first in this section for maximum impact on raw tone.

• Compression is debated—it can go directly after your tuner or after fuzz, depending on whether you want it to shape dynamics before or after distortion.

• Distortion (e.g., Boss DS-1 or DS-2) often follows fuzz for a meatier tone.

• Overdrive (e.g., Boss Blues Driver) can go before distortion to smooth things out or after to add clarity.

3. Modulation Effects

Once your core tone is dialed in, you can add modulation pedals like chorus, phaser, or flanger (e.g., Boss Super Chorus CH-1). These help shape and add movement to your sound. Since they don’t drastically affect volume or dynamics, they’re typically placed after gain stages.

4. Time-Based Effects

Delay and reverb should be placed toward the end of the chain. If you run them into distortion, the repeats can become muddy and lose definition. Let them echo and trail after all tonal shaping has occurred for the cleanest effect.

5. Volume Pedals

Volume pedals can technically go at the start, middle, or end—but most players prefer them at the end of the chain. That way, you control the final output level after all tonal and dynamic processing.

Extra Tools: Buffers and Wah Pedals

Buffers are a smart addition to long pedal chains. They help preserve signal clarity by reducing high-end loss, especially when you're using a lot of true-bypass pedals or long cables. Place a buffer early in the chain for best results.

Wah pedals, like the classic Cry Baby, are often placed toward the beginning—usually right after the tuner and before fuzz or gain. This positioning lets them shape your clean tone more effectively.

Overdrive Stacking: Layering for Character

One major benefit of smart pedal chaining is stacking overdrives for extra tonal variety. Here's how:

• Choose a primary overdrive as your base tone for heavier parts and choruses.

• Add a second overdrive with lower gain to run in tandem. This gives you a mid-focused, harmonically rich tone that’s perfect for solos.

• You can also set the second overdrive with high gain and low volume boost to create a compressed, saturated “blanket” of tone—great for warmth and sustain without overwhelming volume.

Final Thoughts: Follow Your Ears

There’s no single “correct” way to arrange your pedals. What matters most is how it sounds to you. Use these guidelines as a starting point, then tweak, swap, and explore. Pedal chaining should serve your creativity, not limit it.

Whether you're a tone chaser or a noise maker, building your board is part of the fun. Happy stomping!