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Effects Chain

This document provides hints and tips for constructing effects chains when recording music in the studio or live. It discusses that the order of effects like wah, distortion, chorus, and delay are a personal choice, though distortion is typically placed before modulation effects and delay is last. When recording, it is important to create a comfortable environment and use minimal effects at first to build up the tone in a way that works for the track. Technical considerations like cable lengths, impedance matching between pedals, and amplifier loop gain structures can also impact the sound quality.

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Fernando Grille
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40 views1 page

Effects Chain

This document provides hints and tips for constructing effects chains when recording music in the studio or live. It discusses that the order of effects like wah, distortion, chorus, and delay are a personal choice, though distortion is typically placed before modulation effects and delay is last. When recording, it is important to create a comfortable environment and use minimal effects at first to build up the tone in a way that works for the track. Technical considerations like cable lengths, impedance matching between pedals, and amplifier loop gain structures can also impact the sound quality.

Uploaded by

Fernando Grille
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Effects Chain Hints and Tips

GeneraI Considerations:
The order of the type of effect is a personal choice and the biggest debate is whether the wah comes
before the distortion or after. There are no fixed rules here as when recording it is often necessary to
have a wah effect that alters an already decided tone. This is not always the best choice for live work as
the situations are completely different. Distortion normally comes before chorus, vibrato or tremolo and
the echo or delay is usually last.
Studio Tips:
Concentrate first of all in creating an environment that feels comfortable and that enables you to play at
a level that will encourage you to feel at one and part of the track or song. This is diff icult when using
headphones as in overdubbing but experiment to find the best solution that makes you happy. A distant
feeling when playing to a track will always result in lack lustre performance that will not reflect your true
ability. Remember to forget your live set up, as this is not playing in a club etc. It is best to start fresh for
each track with the least number of pedals and to build and evaluate your progress as you go. The tone
you end up recording is the only thing to consider when making any change. It is best to listen with the
echo effect or chorus effect you intend to use later as this will affect what and how you play. Monitor
your sound as close to the sound you ultimately wish to achieve and also in the same context in the
track as it will be finally mixed.
TechnicaI Considerations:
The sound level at which you play greatly alters the way you perceive the overall EQ or tone.
The amount of time spent listening at loud levels will also affects your own ears EQ.
The length of lead from the guitar to first effect and also the lead length to the amp will also cause high
frequency loss unless a high input impedance - low output impedance approach is used.
Evaluate each pedal separately and check to see if any mismatches are occurring. Roger Mayer Pedals
are of a high input impedance and low impedance buffered output design that interfaces and causes no
interfacing problems in virtually all situations. There are however a few manufacturer who persist to
design pedals that only perform well when used on their own and do not lend themselves well to
connecting with other pedals.
All our modern range of pedals also have an output choice to suit all situations.
AmpIifier PedaI Loops:
There are many considerations to take into account when putting an effect into a loop.
Is the gain structure the same as the input or am I introducing gain and EQ that is desirable?
What are the input and output impedances of the loop?
Has a ground or earth loop been formed that now causes hum or any extra noise been introduced?
Are there any real advantages to having these effects after the input stage of the amp?
Further Information:
Here are some further downloads that may help and interest you on your search for your tone.
www.roger-mayer.co.uk/manuaIs.htm

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