Taken the plunge into fx pedal world - which order?

[Clarky]

I have a Boss TU2 and have just ordered an Aphex Punch Factory and an MXR-M80 OD/DI unit. I have scouted a few threads on ordering these but am none the wiser. Presume tuner first but is it best to compress the signal pre- or post- the overdrive unit?

Thx in advance, Clarky

[johnnylager]

I have a similar set-up to you mate, but the OD & DI are seperate (unless I use the SansAmp as a 2nd OD) I go - TU2 > J-Lo fuzz > EBS MultiComp > Bass Xciter > SansAmp DI. I found the OD sounded better compressed than being fed a compressed signal. It's a fairly recent change - Cheddatom's idea in fact - and works. Like if you went TU2 > MXR > Punch Factory.

It does mean that you would be sending an uncompressed signal to the desk if you DI out of your MXR though, should that be an issue. I tend to use the amps pre-EQ DI out...

[Clarky]

[quote name='johnnylager' post='229456' date='Jun 30 2008, 08:23 AM']I have a similar set-up to you mate, but the OD & DI are seperate (unless I use the SansAmp as a 2nd OD) I go - TU2 > J-Lo fuzz > EBS MultiComp > Bass Xciter > SansAmp DI. I found the OD sounded better compressed than being fed a compressed signal. It's a fairly recent change - Cheddatom's idea in fact - and works. Like if you went TU2 > MXR > Punch Factory.

It does mean that you would be sending an uncompressed signal to the desk if you DI out of your MXR though, should that be an issue. I tend to use the amps pre-EQ DI out...[/quote]
Thanks - re: issue, can't you DI from a Punch Factory? - the spec sheet for this says "Balanced Pro DI output". In which case TU2>MXR> Punch Factory would work on all levels?

[johnnylager]

[quote name='Clarky' post='229457' date='Jun 30 2008, 08:28 AM']Thanks - re: issue, can't you DI from a Punch Factory? - the spec sheet for this says "Balanced Pro DI output". In which case TU2>MXR> Punch Factory would work on all levels?[/quote]
Doh, of course, most Aphex pedals do including my Xciter. I'll give the next soundman a choice of 3 DI's next time and watch him sweat

Yup, TU2 > MXR > Punch Factory [i]would[/i] give you a compressed DI out.

[Clarky]

[quote name='johnnylager' post='229460' date='Jun 30 2008, 08:35 AM']Doh, of course, most Aphex pedals do including my Xciter. I'll give the next soundman a choice of 3 DI's next time and watch him sweat

Yup, TU2 > MXR > Punch Factory [i]would[/i] give you a compressed DI out.[/quote]
Cool, sorted then

[Kev]

just to explain why that is the best combo: you always want the tuner first in line so that you get the most acurate reading without any buffered bypasses or anything to interefere (id actually have the tuner in a seperate loop, but thats just me). Compressors work equally good before or after distortions, i always switch between which i prefer! compressors after distortion can be great for keepin it from goin out of control too easily, but can make them more noisy. compressors before will even out playing dynamics and so should make the distortion equally even, however this may hinder playing if you want to dig in hard and drive the pedal more.

[Clarky]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='229492' date='Jun 30 2008, 09:38 AM']just to explain why that is the best combo: you always want the tuner first in line so that you get the most acurate reading without any buffered bypasses or anything to interefere (id actually have the tuner in a seperate loop, but thats just me). Compressors work equally good before or after distortions, i always switch between which i prefer! compressors after distortion can be great for keepin it from goin out of control too easily, but can make them more noisy. compressors before will even out playing dynamics and so should make the distortion equally even, however this may hinder playing if you want to dig in hard and drive the pedal more.[/quote]
thanks for the insight - looking forward to getting the pedals this week and trying them out