Effects pedals ... what order do they go in?

Although it is important for you to experiment with different configurations, there are some basic guidelines for linking your chain of effects pedals. This way you will find it easier to minimize noise and hiss while making each effect work to its potential. Here is a good place to start:

• First, plug your guitar into your dynamic effects such as a compressor and limiter to give the rest of the effects a smooth, even signal. 
• If you want the equalizer to have the greatest effect it should follow the compressor. Equalizers can be used at a variety of stages depending on what effect you want to equalize. They can be helpful at the end of the chain to adjust your overall sound or in the middle to enhance a particular effect such as a distortion pedal.
• Next in line would be your distortions, overdrive, fuzz boxes, etc., because you want to put high-gain devices on a clean signal, not a processed one.
• Next, add your "time" effects such as chorus, flanger, phase shifter, tremolo, and pitch shift effects such as octave, etc. The order doesn't matter that much.
• Place delay and reverb effects last in the chain (closest to the input of your amplifier). This way you can have the chorus or flanging effects on repeats, and your active effects can be heard in the decaying reverb. Also, if a reverb or delay effect gets "processed" through distortion or time effects, they tend to get muddy and undefined.

• "Tone" devices such as a wah can be placed before or after your distortion pedals depending on your desired effect. It is common to place the wah first in the chain. That way, whatever is going on after the wah will be affected by the tonal variations produced by it. But it can produce some very cool and intense effects when placed last, as well.

But don't live by the "rules"! Experiment and build your own unique sound! You can't break anything, so plug it in, aee how it sounds. Even if you have two or three pedals, spend some time playing around with their placement until you find out what sounds good to your ears. Some of the most adventurous and accomplished players have found unique and interesting sounds by breaking the rules.