4. Tremelo After Reverb
If you set up a nice a big reverb sound and then place a tremolo after it, you can create some cool effects. It will trip your ears out a bit. At one point your mind hears this big space, but it’s being cut off by a dry pulsing trem.
5. Tremelo Before Reverb
This allows you to get a cool pulsing effect without it being jarring. You’ll still hear the tremolo, but it’s distant. This often works better for ambient type sounds. It doesn’t remove you from the space.
6. Reverb Before Delay
Think of delay as taking a snapshot of your sound. Whatever sound you send into it, it repeats. Some cool textures can be created when the snapshot is a reverberated sound. It can get really cool if you’re running a reverb sound into a backwards delay patch. Do we even say patch anymore? OK, “preset.”
7. Modulation Before Delay
When you place modulation after a delay, you’re affecting the sum of sound coming from the delay. When you place it before the delay, the delay is taking a snapshot of the modulation at that exact second. If you play on top of that snapshot, this will create a neat mod on mod sound. Ooo, Behave!!
8. Tremolo Before Overdrive
At this point I think you’re getting the idea of how moving things around the chain changes the reaction of sound. Placing tremolo before an overdrive means the level of signal hitting the Overdrive is going to vary. You can hear the slight adjustments in gain.
9. Wah or Auto Filter Before Distortion
In this position the wah or auto filter acts as an exciter for the overdrive. As you adjust the the filter it boosts frequencies which get embellished by the OD. (OD is street for overdrive. See how hip I am?) When you place the filter first you will hear frequencies “pop” out as you adjust. Think Brian May’s sound.
10. Wah or Auto Filter After Distortion
In this position the way or auto filter acts like an EQ to the sound. It’s almost like adjusting a big tone knob. There aren’t going to be a lot of frequencies that “pop” out so to speak.
11. Modulation Before Overdrive
Modulation before overdrive works in a similar way as a filter before overdrive. Certain frequencies will excite the overdrive. Try this with a chorus, phaser or flanger. It can be subtle. Or shall I say subtle-icious?
Next time you’re trying to create a sound that’s a bit left of center, think about these variations of signal flow. They cross my mind a lot when I’m developing a sound. One size does not fit all.
Mark Marshall is a producer, songwriter, session musician and instructor based in NYC.
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