The importance of levels

Effects are designed to work best with a particular level. With guitar effects, this range will be the levels you can expect from an electric guitar (-20dB). Similarly, if you are using a studio effect, the input and output will be designed to cope with Line Level (+4dB). Once the input signal exceeds this level, there is a very real chance that the inputs will distort and/or the headroom will be severely limited. In the case of digital effects, this clipping can be extremely nasty and harsh.

Low levels can also worsen the S/N (signal-to-noise ratio), making the noise level increase. This is because the noise any effect makes is usually fixed, so when the signal level is low the noise is louder in comparison. See the graphic at the top of this page for a visual representation of this.

Levels also affect how some effects work – compressors, auto-wahs, etc. depend on the input level to determine how they should work, so a low or high signal level will make them respond completely differently.

How to gainstage

The important thing to remember about gainstaging is you want each stage of your chain to keep the level more or less the same.

1. Set the input and output levels (Multieffects)

If you are using a multieffect (stompboxes are always guitar level), the first thing to do is set the input and output levels. The input and output levels may be switchable between “Low” or High levels. An effect designed specifically for guitar will usually have a fixed input suitable for guitars, so you won’t have to worry about the input level, just set the output. If the output  is connected to a guitar amp, set the level to low, if directly to a power amp or mixer, set to high. If you have a fully adjustable output level, the first thing to do is turn all your effects off, so they do nothing to the sound and set the level by comparing to the level of the guitar plugged straight into the amp

2. Set each effect’s level

Start with all effects bypassed and turn them on one at a time. Set the level of each by switching on and off to compare the effect level with the bypassed level, and adjust it to the same as the bypass. Then bypass the effect again and move on to the next. Do the same for each effect and when finished, all your effects will be at the same level.

Setting EQ gains correctly

Specific effects

Compressors (which even out differences in volume), can be a little tricky to set as they can give you a false impression of level. When you play softer, the compressor boosts the volume, and when you play harder it cuts the volume. The trich is to play at a level somewhere in between while you compare the effect sound to the bypass.

Equalisers – every frequency band has a level control and each can be set incorrectly. EQs are more accurate and sound better set as close to the middle of their range (the 0dB line) as possible (see example). In the first example the faders are all too far above the centre line. In the second they are too far below. The final example is correct, with all the adjustments centred around the middle. Once you have set the EQ, adjust the overall level to match the bypassed level as discussed with the other effects.

3. Setting for a volume boost

It’s common practice to set up one effect to boost the level a bit when turned on – this lets the player instantly jump out of a band mix for a solo. This is perfectly acceptable, even desirable as long as you do not boost too much and distort the next effect in the chain.

In a chain of effects there is a specific order of effects which will usually work best, listed below. However, this order is not set in stone and it often pays to experiment with the order of your pedals. One very important thing to bear in mind is that there are very few things that are ‘wrong’. So swap them around and find out what works for you. The more you learn about the sounds they create and how they react with each other, the easier it will be to create your own sounds.

The Different Effect Categories

Effects fall into a number of categories, depending on how they achieve the sound they create. And these categories help identify where an effect can be used in a chain:

EQ/Tone controls

These effects can be placed almost anywhere in the signal chain to tailor the tonal response of the sound, but usually after compression. You will find that an equaliser may give a very different sound placed before another effect to the same equaliser placed after it.

Dynamics

Usually a compressor or limiter is the first effect used. This helps to boost the signal level, which helps reduce the amount of noise generated by subsequent effects. However, they are sometimes used after effects which reduce or boost the volume level significantly, like modulation effects and wah-wahs.

Distortion

Distortion is usually placed after a compressor in the signal chain, this makes for a more sustained overdrive sound. However, will usually be before time-based effects like delays and reverb. Distortion thickens up a sound, adding in lots of harmonics. Because of this, their position in the chain can make a large difference to the resulting sound.

Modulation

Modulation effects are usually placed after distortion and before time-based effects. They can also be placed before distortion, which gives a much more subtle effect.

Pitch-based

Pitch based effects are usually placed after distortion effects and before time-based effects.

Level

Volume pedals are usually placed after distortion pedals and before any time-based effects, where they control the level of the signal. However, if you place them before a distortion, they will work to control the amount of distortion.

Time-based

Time-based effects such as delay and reverb usually come last in the signal chain. There is one exception – when you are using a delay to split a signal for parallel processing.

Noise gates

Noise gates are in their simplest form, merely a switch which gets rid of the noise you hear during quieter parts of a signal by muting the sound.

Noise gates usually come after any effects which generate noise, such as distortion or modulation effects. They should always come before time based effects, as when they shut off the signal to block the noise, the delay or reverb will continue – making for a more natural sound.

Better noise gates will feature a trigger input and output (if it is designed specifically for guitar, it will label these ‘guitar in’ and ‘guitar out’). When a signal is applied to the trigger input, the gate opens (lets the signal through). This is particularly useful as you can use the pure, unaffected guitar sound to control the gate. This helps the gate to  .

Example chain

The following is an example chain of common effects pedals based on the above:

Guitar > Compressor > Wah > Overdrive > Chorus > Volume Pedal > Pitch Shifter > Delay > Reverb

Remember, this is just an example and you should try swapping around the pedals to experiment until you hear the sounds that you like.

All the keyboard sounds in the recorded examples below are created from the guitar part in realtime without overdubs, so would be equally suited for studio or live playing. You’ll notice I always layer the synth sound over the guitar sound instead of using synth sounds alone – I like guitar sounds, dammit!

Arabic Ringtone
Instrumentation: Drums, bass, single guitar
Description: A simple string sound doubling the guitar.

Big Intro
Instrumentation: Drums, bass, guitar x2
Description: Swept synth sound with sustain pedal to keep the sound going while the guitar (and a delay) get busy over the top of it. Second, lead guitar only comes in at 0:48.

Melancholy Romance
Instrumentation: Single guitar
Description: Low, slow sweep only is synth sound to create moody atmosphere. Upper frequency gloss is not synth, but effected guitar (octave up pitch shift, reverse delay, phase & autopanning).

Junkyard Dogs
Instrumentation: Drums, guitar x3
Description: My favourite little ditty I’ve done in the last year. Guitar synth provides bass and Hammond organ sounds. Bass is on low three strings while Hammond is on three treble strings. Guitar and bass sound together create an interesting 8-string bass sound. First 30 seconds is all one guitar and drums only, then lead and harmony guitar join in at 30 and 50 seconds.

Heavy
Instrumentation: Drums, bass, single guitar
Description: Guitar has a very heavy synth sound added which makes even the two string intro fat and heavy. A second monophonic synth is layered in from 0:20 which uses an arpeggiator to provide some single note movement to the chords, making it sound like it comes from a completely different source. Wah sound is part of the bass sound, not a synth.

Industrial
Instrumentation: Single guitar
Description: Whoo boy… All one guitar, realtime. Low pitched “chuntering” pad from one note played with guitar volume down and sustained throughout the whole piece with the pedal. Interference is from normal magnetic pickups, from bringing guitar close to the laptop.  Second, layered synth sound switched in immediately after that – quite a complex sound (listen to the single open E string note at 0:30 – 0:43). Mostly I’m just playing percussive noises and things on the guitar which creates a host of false starts and occasional glitches from the synth patch. Quick (and badly ended) arpeggio and finish. Synth accommodatingly glitches by accident as the last note fades out (which is why I didn’t re-record to try get the arpeggio right).

What Is Bypass?

Bypass is the method used to turn off an effect when not using it. As you may know, the power is not turned off when you step on the switch, the guitar signal is simply routed away from the effect circuit (bypassing it), and routed directly to the output.

Types of Bypass

There are a few different ways to achieve bypass. Let’s take a look at then now…

True Bypass

True bypass simply switches both the input and the output away from the effect circuit. When bypassed, it is the next best thing to having a single cable plugged directly from your guitar to your amplifier, having little to no effect on the signal at all. The downsides to true bypass are that it is more prone to switch noise and does nothing to alleviate the problems often encountered with more complex effects chains, long cable lengths or substandard cables. Finally, some pedals are not suited to true bypass – particularly the time-based effects such as reverb and delay, where true bypass will cut the delayed signal short.

Output Switching

Output switching leaves the input connected to the circuit at all times, and merely switches the pedal’s output between the circuit’s output and the input. Output switching is common on many vintage effects and is a bit of a compromise as the circuit is always partially connected to the signal line. The effects most often accused of “tone suck” (especially vintage or vintage-style wah pedals) are usually output switched.

Active Bypass

Active bypass runs the signal through a buffer (preamp) first, switches the signal electronically, then buffers the output too. The buffers don’t boost volume, but change the signal from high to low impedance and are always in the signal path, even when the effect is bypassed. The buffers ensure that the guitar and amp (or next effect in a chain) always “see” the same impedance whether the effect is bypassed or not and do away with switch noise completely. Active is also a bonus when you are running lots of pedals, as the low impedance signal is much less prone to picking up noise in cables, plugs and sockets and avoids treble loss when running long cable lengths (and all those short cables on a board add up quickly). A well designed and made active bypass can be tonally transparent, not adding or subtracting anything audible from your tone or dynamics.

From all this it’s easy to think that active bypass is the be-all and end-all of effects bypass. Unfortunately, not all circuitry is designed and made equal and some less expensive pedals compromise on the quality of the buffers, which affect the tone of the pedal both in use and bypassed. Also, by the time you have a pedalboard full of pedals, even with good buffers, the tiny effect each has on the tone can accumulate until it becomes an audible degredation or noise.

Solutions

So, as you can see, each type of bypass has it’s pros and cons. There are however, ways to minimise the bad effects (as it were) of each and maximise the good.

Keep it Simple

A small pedalboard with six or less pedals will work best if they are all true bypass and all cables kept as short as possible. This is the sweetest, simple solution to tonal bliss and the perfect solution for tonehounds.

Complex Boards

If you simply must have a whole array of effects on your pedalboard and/or want to set up complex chains, then a good active bypass pedal at the front of your pedalboard (your compressor or drive would be perfect candidates) is the way to go with as many as possible of the other effects being true bypass. The buffering will retain your tone [i]better[/i] than a complex board full of true bypass pedals will and you’ll keep the adverse effects of having too many buffers in series. If all your pedals are already true bypass, consider adding a good sounding preamp pedal to the front of the chain, set it to unity gain (no volume boost) and leave it on all the time.

For The Troublesome Individual(s)

If you cannot live without a specific but troublesome vintage wah or fuzz pedals with output switching, get a true bypass loop switch pedal and run the problematic pedal “always on” in the loop, using the loop pedal to switch it in or out. If you have a few pedals that fit this description, there are even models that allow you to use up to eight effects, each in their own true bypass loop.

In Conclusion

The most important thing to bear in mind is if it sounds good, it probably is. Don’t worry about “solving” problems you can’t hear. If you want to check for tonal degredation, the best way to do it is plug in to the amp directly then via your pedalboard with all the pedals bypassed (you couls also use a true bypass looper to bypass your entire pedalboard). If you hear a big difference between the two, then only should you start looking for a problem.