Effects Pedal Chain

The reference order

1. 1
   Tuner

   Always first: it needs to receive the guitar's raw signal, unaffected by distortion or modulation, to display a reliable pitch reading.

   Chromatic tuner

2. 2
   Dynamics (compressor, noise gate)

   Early in the chain: a compressor evens out playing before gain amplifies it; a noise gate cuts background noise before it gets saturated by the pedals that follow.

   Compressor, Noise gate

3. 3
   Filter and pitch (wah, octaver, pitch shifter)

   Before gain in the most classic setup: the wah shapes a still-clean sound, which distortion then thickens. (Placing it after gain, for a more vocal effect, is a deliberate variant, not a mistake.)

   Wah-wah, Octaver, Pitch shifter

4. 4
   Gain (overdrive, distortion, fuzz, boost)

   At the heart of the chain: it shapes the basic tone. Placed too late, it also saturates the modulation or delay ahead of it, muddying the sound instead of enriching it.

   Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz, Boost

5. 5
   Equalizer

   After gain: it sculpts the already-saturated sound instead of shaping a clean sound that distortion would transform anyway afterward.

   Graphic EQ, Boost EQ

6. 6
   Modulation (chorus, phaser, flanger, tremolo)

   After gain: it colors an already-saturated sound without changing its grain. Placed before, the distortion that follows would crush the effect's subtlety.

   Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo

7. 7
   Time-based (delay, reverb)

   Always last (or in the effects loop on a tube amp): the repeats and reverb should pick up the already-complete sound, otherwise any distortion after them would saturate the repeats too.

   Delay, Reverb