Guitar Effects Order: The Order in Which to Place Your Guitar Effects

This is a perennial question on all guitar oriented forums - what order do I put my effects in? While there are some simple guidelines, there is no "right" way to do it. It's all a matter of taste and your personal tone. Let your ears be the final arbiter.

The order of effects that produce the sounds most people have become accustomed to hearing is this:

Amplitude altering effects
Pre-distortion EQ
Distortion(s)
Post Distortion EQ
Small time delays and Phasers
Longer time delays - chorus
Reverb and echo, tape delays, etc.
There is a rationale for the placement of each effect in this order; it goes like this:

Amplitude altering effects
As simple as your guitar's volume knob, or as complicated as fancy compressors, attack-delay or other note-shaping device. The idea here is that the basic "shape" of the note that will interact with the later distortion devices gets set for the best tone at that level. Because distortions are level sensitive, the higher the level that comes out of an amplitude device, the more it will be distorted in any following distortion devices, and vice versa. A distortion following a level changing device converts the level-altering device into a distortion-intensity modulator - and that reverts to level changes if you switch the distortion out.

Pre-distortion EQ
Once again, as simple as your guitar's tone control (which is really a simple treble-cut filter) or as complicated as a parametric EQ; pre-distortion EQ sets up which frequencies are loudest - and the louder the frequency, the more that a following distortion will affect it. As I mentioned before, distortions are level sensitive devices - anything under the level at which distortion starts will be largely unaffected. Anything over the threshold will be distorted.