Nevertheless, I still like to think that somehow “there are no rules” in a way that everyone’s taste is different. Case in point, the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal is loved by some and just despised by others, personal preferences do play a big part in how we perceive and rate a tone. That is why my aim on Guitar Tone Overload is to give advice about how to get the tone you are looking for, not absolute rules. For example, about the placement of flangers or phasers, I have shown in 2 different posts (phaser here, flanger here the difference between placing these effects before and after the distortion/OD.

There always seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding pedal effects no matter where you try to find information. It’s not that there “are no rules” it’s just that the full gamut of relative options and interactions is really hard to pin down. One can give a relative order of effects in a chain but there are options and once again some effects respond differently. A case in point is phasers, flange, vibes and chorus, some swear to put them before OD or gains. Well here again is the fine case of differing effects. An OD is more tollerant of modulation than a dist. Some phasers will sound good in front some will not. Some do no like modulation after or in the loop but in reality this is where they are going to have a greater band width and sweep. Put a chorus in the loop and hear its beauty run it into something and it is muted and dulled. An MXR type phase works in front of OD or gain but a phase like a Small Stone, no way. Each effect has an option possibility and it depends on the effect itself and the overall interaction.

A great majority of the confusion arises from generic statements without regard to the individual nature of ones guitar amp & guitar AND their interaction. Some effects will not respond well or work some amps or guitars but with others they are gold. Rather impossible to define which amps and guitars and what effects, best to listen to what commentors say (although do not bet too much they have an IQ greater than a house plant).

What is said here regarding clean boost is eseentially true, I do find one FYI point to add and that is the relative ability of your effects loop. Some effects are just instrument level and most effects loops are line level. Some effects have a db boost switch for line level and some loops have a level adjust. Common sense will tell you that a instrument level clean boost is not going to work well in a line level loop, it cannot. I am lucky and my amp (Carvin V3) has 2 programable to channel clean boosts (one is a mod) which raise the amp vol and not the gain intensity. rather cool.

I use all three on my board, a clean boost, ODs, and gains. I like differing options. I prefer clean boosts and ODs before high gains if one is stacking for an effect. An OD after changes the character and voice of the higher gain. Exception is that I use a Fat Boost 3 end of chain as Fuller recommends the unit, it fattens up anything without coloring it before it, but is not set to increase the vol.