Microphones needed
First, you’ll need two mics, one cardioid, and one bi-directional (“figure 8”). It’s traditionally recommended that you use either the same mics (two multi-pattern models, one set to cardioid and the other set to figure eight) or two similar mics, but this isn’t essential. I’ve experimented with a dozen combinations and have always achieved useable and often spectacular results.

Placement of a Mid-Side Mic Array

I find it’s always best to start with the “Mid” (cardioid) mic. You’ll need to aim that directly at the sound source. As with normal cardioid mic placement, adjust the “aim” to taste; but if you’re a fan of close mic’ing, try pulling back from the source a bit further; this will result in a more natural stereo image.

Next, place the “Side” (figure 8 ) mic so that the two lobes of the pattern are set 90° relative to the cardioid microphone (i.e. so that the side of the mic is facing the sound source [see picture 1]). Like the more popular XY, Mid/Side is a coincident microphone technique, so you want to get the diaphragms of the two mics as close together as you can. This position allows the figure-8 mic to pick up ambient and reverberant information coming from the sides of the sound source, although the sides will have opposing polarities.

Note: the bidirectional (figure 8 ) mic is not a stereo mic: if you turn the middle mic off, you will not hear independent left and right channels from the side mic.

Once you’ve placed your microphones in their proper relation to one another, feel free to experiment with position and distance in relation to the sound source. When used to record drums or grand piano, it can be placed as an overhead (for a more direct sound) or further back in the room (for ambiance). The closer you get to the source the more exaggerated the stereo effect becomes in relation to that source. Conversely (especially with Mid/Side recording), as you move further away from the source, you begin picking up more of the room ambience; how the instrument sounds in the room.

In this audio example, I have the Mid/Side array about four feet above the snare drum. I also pay close attention to where I point the array at the drum set. Since the snare drum is generally panned dead center, I make sure to point the mid mic at the snare. This is important to remember when recording individual instruments as well.

If you’re tracking an acoustic guitar, where you point the Mid/Side array will determine where in the stereo field the guitar seems to be coming from. In this case, I prefer to point the array where the guitar’s neck and the body meet. Experiment with angling the array more towards the body or toward the neck depending on where you think the instrument should be panned.

Mic Preamps

Now that you have your mics set up, what next? Well, you need to configure how you record your signals. To do this you’ll need either:

1. A mic preamp with a built in M-S decoder
-or-
2. An M-S decoder plug-in for your DAW and any two similar mic pre-amps (the ones on your mixer will do).
Here are a few suggestions of equipment and software that I’ve used over the years:

1. Mic-Preamps (w/ decoder): ART ProMPA, Mackie Onyx 800, Universal Audio DCS
2. Plug-Ins: Waves S1, Voxengo’s free VST format Mid/Side decoder

Each of these options comes with a few drawbacks. With the M-S decoder in the preamp, you’ll have to decide on the width of the stereo signal before you record. Whatever you choose, you’re stuck with that track as you cannot go back and change the stereo width. When using a DAW plug-in with standard mic pre-amps, you won’t be able to monitor the stereo signal until after you’ve recorded it. However, you can adjust the width of the stereo image to your heart’s content after the fact. If you’re recording someone with this method and they need to monitor their instrument with the rest of the mix (through headphones or in a tracking room), just feed them the signal from the “Mid” mic by itself.

Another alternative, which is my personal favorite, is to use a mic preamp with two identical outputs like the Joe Meek 3Q (a bargain at $250). This option would involve plugging the “Side” mic into the 3Q and sending both outputs into separate inputs on your mixing console and panning them hard left and right (and maintaining identical volumes). You will need to flip the phase switch on one of those channels (it’s the switch with this “ø” symbol on it) and actually record three separate tracks (the “Mid” signal and L/R “Side” signals coming from the 3Q). This method has the distinct advantage of allowing you to both monitor the sound before you record it and adjust it afterwards.

Mid-Side Mic Advantages

In case you’re wondering at this point why you would want to put forth all this effort just to get a stereo signal?   Let me point out the two substantial advantages.

A. When mixing in that previously mentioned acoustic guitar, for example, if you notice the Mid/Side recorded tracks taking up too much space in the mix, you can simply reduce the level of the side mic (narrowing the stereo image). Or, you can eliminate the side mic altogether and still have a perfectly recorded mono track. Just try that with the XY stereo technique.

B. Absolute phase coherency. You won’t hear swishy cymbals or phased sounding notes from a piano or guitar, because the mid mic picks up its sound at the null point. What is the ‘null-point’? Well, the array derives its information from three completely different points in space, so the ‘null-point’ is where these 3 points intersect. The spot where the figure 8 pattern mic picks up nothing at all, and the side mic receives information from both sides of the same diaphragm (when the right side goes in, the left side is going out).

When working with an XY array, you have two independently moving diaphragms picking up much of the same information in the middle but the mics are pointed 90º away from each other. This independent diaphragm movement and the opposing direction of the mics almost guarantee that you will suffer some comb filtering from the sound picked up by both mics. This won’t always ruin a stereo track but it only had to happen to me a couple of times before the Mid/Side became my preferred method for stereo recording.

Back to Decoding

If you’re using a preamp with the M/S blending feature built into it, then your decoding has already been done. Again, there’s no adjusting the stereo image. That glorious, phase free stereo track you’ve recorded is what you’re stuck with. If you’re using one of the other methods I mentioned earlier, let me explain how to record and use those tracks.

DAW Recording

First, add two mono recording tracks in your DAW software, making sure to route the inputs of your software to their corresponding tracks. I have a trick that keeps me from screwing this up! I always organize my tracks as follows: “Mid” first track and “Side” second track. I always use odd/even pairs to send to those tracks.

Example: “Mid” mic goes into channel 1 on my mixer, then into input channel 1 on my DAW software, then into rec/playback track 1 which I’ve labeled “Mid”. The “Side” mic is plugged into channel 2, and follows the same numbering as track 1. This helps me keep track of pretty much any stereo recording method.
Now, record-enable both tracks, make some noise and record for a few seconds. When you playback these two tracks, you’ll hear an odd, sort of “sideways” sounding analogue of your original sound source. This is not what you were hoping for! So we need to move onto the decoding phase…

You’ll need to create a stereo “group/submix” track in your project. Make sure this stereo track is routed to the Master output. Load your M-S decoder plug-in onto the “group/submix” track.
Note: No adjustments to the decoder plug-in are needed; it simply “decodes” the information that’s fed into it.

Now, pan the “mid” track all the way left and the “side” track all the way right. All you need to do next is route the outputs of your “mid” and “side” tracks to the inputs of your “group/submix” track. Set the ”mid” track at “0” gain, neither boost nor cut any of the signal, and set the ”side” track at “-5” gain.

If you’ve routed the tracks properly you should hear your Mid/Side signal in all its glory. If it sounds too wide, simply turn down the “side” track. If it’s not wide enough, then turn it up. As I mentioned earlier, experiment with the placement. Angle the array to the left or right, move it closer or further back, to the left or right. And know that, when mixing, if the song calls for a subdued mono version of your M/S recorded tracks, you can mute the “side” track and pan the mono “mid” track wherever you want to.

So you don’t have an M/S decoder plug-in. There is still hope; oh, and another option for you. You can make a copy of the “Side” track and then invert the phase on it. Simple enough…just add another mono track to your song, make sure the song position indicator is exactly where the “side” track starts, paste the copied audio recording onto that added mono track and then “invert phase”.   Next, simply pan the original and copied track hard left and right while making sure they maintain identical volume levels.  Blend these tracks with your “mid” track and presto, Mid/Side without the decoder! Like plug-ins, you aren’t able to hear the stereo signal until after you’ve recorded and copied it, however, you can adjust the width of the image after recording.

Feel free to comment & discuss further as this can be a bit tricky the first go around.  Again, the results are incredibly satisfying.

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Then, out of the blue, came a scattering of affordable new ribbons by budget mic manufacturers in the faraway reaches of Asia and Eastern Europe.  I know lots of you, like me, bought some of these microphones in the past.  And I’m sure many of you, like me, were underwhelmed.  Most of these mics are dark, murky and damn near inaudible.  Still, I haven’t dismissed the validity of the virtues of ribbons.  I’ve simply chalked it up to the adage “you get what you pay for” and I’ve gone about merrily using my condenser mics for recording vocals, acoustic guitars and drum overheads.

A few years ago, though, a few industrious entrepreneurs started companies that once again went to Asia and Eastern Europe and took advantage of the cheap labor costs and the new designs of modern ribbons, and they’re responsible for today’s new “reasonably” priced offerings.  Having used some of these reasonably priced new mics for some time now, I can say, unequivocally, that all the hype is real.  Ribbon mics offer a realism and multi-dimensional sound that you have to hear to believe. I also find that, at the mix stage, the sounds they record respond much better to EQ and compression leaving me with sonic options I never had before.

Let me be clear, not all of the new ribbons are amazing.  Some are more useful as paperweights.  And when I say “reasonably” priced I mean under $1,000, though there are a couple as low as $199. Some of these new gems include offerings by Cascade and Shinybox out of Washington state, Crowley and Tripp out of Massachusetts, Sontronics in England and SE Electronics in China (yeah, that China).  And since we’re talking about China, that’s where many of the parts that both Shinybox and Cascade use in their ribbons come from (though they’re meticulously assembled in Washington State.)   And one more thing, those parts are also very high quality, so let’s put an end to dismissing all gear with a “made in China” label as inferior.

Before I go on about some of my favorite mics and their uses, let me attempt to describe what these things are. A ribbon mic is a type of dynamic microphone, like a Shure SM 57.  Unlike an SM 57, which uses a coil of wire wrapped around a “cap-like” diaphragm suspended over a magnet, ribbons use a very thin strip of aluminum or nanofilm placed between the poles of a magnet.  These mics respond to the air velocity of the sound wave by means of electromagnetic induction, as opposed to dynamics, that respond to pressure variations.  Most but not all, are bi-directional (figure eight), which simply means they pick up sound equally from both the front and back.  Additionally, the word on these mics is that they were once too quiet, rather fragile (it doesn’t take much to break a piece of aluminum many times thinner than a chewing gum wrapper) and running electric current through them (48v phantom power) would fry the ribbon.

All of the above used to be true of most ribbon mics but not anymore.  Several modern designs are wired to ignore phantom power and can handle sound pressure levels up to 135 dB or more. There are also new, though more expensive, designs called “active ribbons” that actually feature a built in preamp (powered by 48v phantom) to substantially boost their output.  My favorite newer designs are the stereo mics (two ribbons, stacked one on top of the other, facing 90° apart) and the cardioid & hypercardioid models.

Here is my disclaimer: this article is not intended to present all of the good, inexpensive ribbon mics available. I haven’t heard all of them.  The microphones I mention hereafter are models I either own (and paid for) or have used extensively, and of course, this is just my opinion.

Most tech articles address the ins and outs of equipment. How to use it, what it’s made of, how it works, what the best parts are, and all the nuances of the craft of guitar equipment design.

This month, I’m going to go off the beaten path to cover a much more important subject—organic tone. What does that mean? YOU!! Organic tone is the product of your mind, body and soul.

Go Beyond the Gear

There is an abundance of great gear out there. Guitar, pedal, and amp manufacturers are creating wonderful sounding, well-built products to assist us with our tone sculpting. But you may have noticed that I’ve chosen to use the word “assist” for describing what our sonic tools do for us. This is because when you get down to it, the real source of tone starts and ends with you, not any of your gear.

Sure, you may have what you consider the best boutique amp on earth, and every flavor of the month pedal, all of which are built with the parts and components you and your friends approve of, write about in blogs, forums, and discuss in all those other places where musicians put their heads together and talk shop. But you have to ask yourself a couple of questions:

Do you want to create music? Or do you just want to make noise with expensive equipment?

Cultivate Perfect Tone

The pathway to great tone is through practice, not machinery. You can’t buy tone! Equipment is there to enhance, manipulate, and convey tone. It is not the source—you are. As a pedal designer and manufacturer, I consider myself a toolmaker, and tools are only as good as the mechanic who uses them.

I totally understand how a musician can buy a ton of pedals and spend more time tweaking knobs and obsessing over what parts operate the unit, than actually playing guitar. However, with this approach, you soon grow to dislike the latest answer to “tone in a box,” usually within a week or a month, and then you’re on to the next new box-o-talent. We’ve all been there, myself included. I know how it is. It’s much easier and seems more rewarding to play with a sea of knobs and switches to find great tone, than it is to sit down and practice creating great tone.

If you enjoy being a technician more than a guitar player, read no more.

Every Great Guitarist Does It

In the many years I’ve spent repairing guitar and bass equipment, designing and manufacturing pedals, attending guitar shows, events, and helping clients who walk into the shop, I’ve talked with and listened to many great guitar players. And I’ve found that they all have one thing in common—It really does not matter what equipment they play through—they ALWAYS sound great. Their wonderful tone follows them wherever they go. Hand them any guitar, plug into any amp, and they sound great. The quality, personality, and character of their sound are intact and superb. They all make it work.

How do they do it? Endless, constant, and effective practicing.

Have you ever noticed how your favorite guitar heroes sound nearly the same every time you hear them? From time to time you notice they’re playing through different amps, effects, and sometimes, guitars. But their sound is unmistakably theirs. That’s the result of practice!

Challenge Yourself

Teach yourself new things that are beyond your usual test riffs or the same songs you’ve played many times. Work towards eradicating your weaknesses and not just practicing your strengths. If you have already mastered it, move on to the next challenge. Learn material outside of your musical taste and technique.

A friend of mine, who is a monster guitar player and can play anything, has recently needed to play slide guitar regularly in a new band. He never considered himself a good slide player because there wasn’t any need or desire to invest the time practicing slide playing. However, now, when we talk on the phone several times daily for business, I hear him playing slide in the background while we’re talking. Nearly every phone call I hear him practicing slide. Sometimes through an amp, often unplugged, and it sounds great. He took what he considered a weakness and within a couple of weeks, eliminated it through effective practicing.

Side note: All great players say “Practice with a metronome!!” It’s the only electronic gear you really need for practicing.

How To Find YOUR Tone

You can go very far in your quest for tone just by unplugging your guitar and playing it. Find all the effects you can create with your fingers. Pay attention to the way they contact the strings and the fingerboard. Notice how much your hand contacts the back of the neck influences a variety of tones as well as how tightly you grasp the neck. Explore different picking techniques to command different sounds. How tightly or loosely you hold your pick, the angle and depth of attack when plucking a string, all this changes tone. Even the way you wear your guitar has an impact on tone. Want a little more sustain and feedback a bit sooner? Lean over and let your guitar hang off you by its strap. That allows the guitar’s body to vibrate more freely because it’s not dampened by your body. The point is to experiment, investigate, and discover all the tones that can be created by just you and the guitar. The majority of these nuances will reveal themselves through practice, not electronics.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg regarding the creation of organic tone. The rest is up to you, as most aspects of it can only be self-taught through practicing.

So put away your effects. Turn off your amp. Explore your guitar and discover yourself.

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Groove Tubes - The Brick

Your problem, though, will be that you probably won’t be able to try out dozens of pre amps through every price range, and possibly, find an inexpensive nugget. Having said that, I can say, with all confidence, that the finest sounding pre amp for vocals (under $1,000) I’ve ever used is a little box called The Brick. Made by Groove Tubes, it’s an all tube mic preamp, and best of all, it costs only $400. I try not to make too many definitive statements, though I feel pretty confident that The Brick will always be my favorite preamp under $1,000. Unfortunately, I can’t say whether it will sound great with every voice.

Presonus - Comp16

The cool thing about it, for us tweekers is that we can swap out several different tubes in the pre for different tones (some for brighter sounds, others for darker tones). But a tube mic pre will always have a slower, less defined transient response, so it’s not always suited for everyone’s voice. One downside to The Brick is it only has one knob, “gain.” There’s not a lot of control over how hard you can push the tubes, unless you can provide another gain/attenuation stage after The Brick (a compressor or equalizer). Thus your solution requires another investment, like a cheap EQ or compressor, which will run you between $150 & $300, pushing your $400 mic pre to around $600 or $700.

FMR Audio - RNC1773

The Brick is a solid, well-built, high-quality mic pre made in the U.S.A. with the best parts available.  And it’s what I’d get if I were on a budget and starting from scratch.  Then I’d probably get a Presonus Comp 16 compressor (because it has balanced ins & outs) for $159 or an FMR Audio RNC1773 (unbalanced, but a great sounding compressor) for $199 to control the volume.  Keep in mind you’ll also have to buy good quality patch cables to go between the boxes (another $20 to $40).  And none of these items are rack mountable (they’ll just sit on your table).

Joe Meek - SixQ

Now, if what you want a sub $500 mic pre that does it all and does it all pretty well, the Joe Meek SixQ, mic preamp, compressor and EQ at $499 is a damn good bargain. I don’t think it sounds nearly as interesting as The Brick but it is a quality channel strip and it is very flexible. It uses Burr-Brown Op amps (made in Tucson, AZ) and features separate EQ and compressor stages, both designed by Fletcher Electronics in Torquay, England. This preamp also has a nifty button on the front panel called “Iron.” It sends a bit more voltage to the transformers, making it sound a little fatter a little more “British” (like a Neve or a Trident)–not half bad.

My last mic preamp recommendation would be the $700 Toft EC-1. Again, the Toft uses Burr-Brown Op amps, with an all British design (by Malcolm Toft, the man who designed all those Trident mixing consoles in the 70′s) and made in China. I actually think the preamp section of both the Joe Meek and the Toft sound identical as far as quality of sound goes, with the nod going to the Joe Meek because of the “Iron” button (adds more flexibility). But the EQ part of the Toft preamp is some of the best sounding analog EQs I’ve heard in any channel strip under $2000—I believe it sounds better and is more useful than the EQ in my Avalon.  But if you’re using this mic pre primarily for your vocals, you probably won’t be using a lot of EQ.

Toft - EC-1

The reason I don’t mention any ART pre amps is because I haven’t found them to meet my needs sonically with the projects I’ve worked on over the last five years, and I don’t think they sound any better than an M-Audio box. I think people like them because they’re so forgiving.  Being tube preamps, you can push them into peak levels and they just give you that warm, pleasant, even order, harmonic distortion. They’re not very detailed or present.  On the other hand, your voice could very well be one that just sounds great through it.  Though any of my three recommendations are for a mic preamp that would not just be really useful for vocals, but also for acoustic guitar, electric bass and guitar, piano, finger cymbals, hand claps, congas, mandolin, just about anything!

And by the way, if you decide that you’re willing to spend more than $1,000 for a mic preamp, then your options will get much bigger.  I’ll address that cornucopia of options in my next article… Mic Preamps Pt. II.

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There’s a method to this mic’ing madness.

When you’re setting up your snare, the goal isn’t just to score a loud, punchy sound—you have to find a balance.  An explosion of beats doesn’t give your track the rich complexity it deserves.  Likewise, you don’t want your snare to fall flat. So how do you hit a high note? Practice, my friend, and do it before you hit “record.”  In fact, you should try to work out all of the kinks before you hit the mixing board; that way your headaches will be substantially reduced.  Don’t rely on the mixing process to allow the time for sound correction.  By finding your perfect set-up before you record, you’re more likely to achieve the perfect sound.

Just ask Jim Moreland, a drummer and recording artist with more than 25 years of experience in the music industry.  Jim also owns an Orange County, CA-based studio Live Oak Recording, and he’s here to share his most valuable snare secrets with our Sonic Weekly audience.

Step One: Get To Know Your Snare

The sound of a snare drum can vary significantly from drum to drum, so it’s imperative that you become intimately familiar with your drum’s specific sound. Be conscious of the quality of the heads, the snare itself, and any wear and tear that affects the overall resonance.  The drum’s material also has a large impact. In the wood department, maple is by far your best recording choice—producing a big, classic-sounding beat.  When it comes to metal, brass is your go-to. It’s the most commonly recorded metal drum, but bear in mind that these puppies tend to have a bit more over-ring.  But that’s nothing you can’t overcome.

If you hear a tinny “ping” when you hit your snare, you may need to mute it. Metal drums are especially plagued by this problem.  To achieve this, place a strip of duct-tape directly on the head.  You can also use Moon Gel, a nifty little product favored by many professionals. Jim Moreland describes his technique, “I usually put the Moon Gel right where the drum head and the rim of the snare drum are.  That will mute it enough to give it a little ring. Just a little bit of a ring helps the drum sound fuller.”  A snare can easily get lost in the post-compression stage, so don’t go overboard with the muffling process. Remember, balance is key.

Step Two: Tuning Your Snare

Tuning the drum is also a tricky process because the end result is rather subjective.  As you’re finding the perfect pitch, remember that the snare is always tuned a little higher than the rest of the drums.  Trust your ears from there, and let your song be your guiding force.

To implement the tuning process, use a drum or torque key.  Begin by finger tightening all the tension screws on both the top and the bottom of the drum. Next, use the tuning key to tighten each screw.  You should always criss-cross from one screw to another on the opposite side of the drum.  Tune each head in a uniform manner until they feel nice and firm, but not spongy.

You’re ultimate goal—to create the same pitch all around each side of the drum.  To get the right sound, the top head will likely need to be tuned higher than the bottom.  Many of us are after a lower, deeper drum sound.  Jim’s got the perfect tip to make this happen. “If you want a lower sound on your snare, start loosening up the bottom head a little bit—you’ll get more meat.”  Don’t fret too much about over or under tuning—just keep your ears tuned-in, and they’ll certainly catch the difference.

Step Three: One Mic or Two?

There are two distinct ways to mic a snare drum.  The first involves placing a single microphone at the top of the drum, and the second uses another mic at the bottom.  There is a common misconception that two mics are better than one.  Trust us, this is not always the case.  If you’re a jazz-style drummer that utilizes tapping and brushes, double-mic it. Otherwise, simplify the process and stick to a single microphone.

Why not use a second mic?  Modern ways of playing don’t get any real benefit from a double mic set-up.  These days, the snare is used primarily as a back beat, and there is a tendency for the drum to be hit a little harder than it needs to be.  This actually muffles the final sound. Jim sums it up perfectly, “In my 15 years of experience, I’ve never once used the recording from the bottom microphone.”  When you compare the same recordings with or without a second mic, you will find that microphone number two rarely adds anything to the final mix.

Step Four: Choosing the Perfect Mic

Here’s an interesting statistic: “60% of the sound of a snare drum that you hear on a recording comes from the drum, and the other 40% is the overhead microphone you are using to pick up the cymbals.”  This is where that top, reverberating sound really comes from.  The best mics for your cymbals are either tubes or condensers—they pick-up quick sharp, articulate sounds.  These suckers are crucial because dynamic microphones used for the snares don’t normally pick up sharp sounds very well.  Dynamic mics are the best choice for your snare.  They handle larger sound pressure levels and are less prone to getting damaged during the recording process.  What’s more, they’re also relatively inexpensive. Dynamic mics are ideal for snare recording as they pick-up lower frequency sounds far more accurately than the higher variety.  The result is a rich, deeply intense snare sound.

Step Five: The Mic’s Perfect Placement

First, place your mic, and its mic stand, underneath the high-hat, making sure it’s directly behind the microphone.  This drastically reduces sound leakage.  The pick-up range for most dynamic mics is shaped like an inverted heart.  This means that it picks up more of the sound pointed directly at the mic, rather than from the sides.

If you hear the high-hat bleeding through, wrap a thick piece of Auralex sound proofing foam around the mic base.  Position the Auralex about an inch away from the pick-up, and the problem should be rectified.  For another inexpensive solution, create a cardboard barrier between the mic and the high-hat.  The results won’t be quite as impressive, but it’ll still do the trick.

The microphone itself should sit about one inch above (and to the side of) the rim of the drum, creating enough distance to prevent impact with the drummer.  Many musicians point the top mic directly at the middle of the drum; this is far from optimal.  When you record a snare, you’re generally trying to capture the backbeat.  You’re not recording the sound of the drum as much as the sound of the stick hitting the drum.  Now here’s a tip: The absolute best place to point the mic is directly at the wear pattern on the drum.  This is normally a smidge off-center and naturally places the mic at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.  Why off-center? Jim explains, “I have never in my life come across a drummer who hits the snare in the center.  I’ve been a drummer for over 25 years and I have never hit it dead center.” Follow this handy rule of thumb, and you’ll eliminate most of the headaches associated with mic placement.

Step Six: Final Nuggets of Wisdom

There are no hard or fast rules when it comes to mic’ing your snare drum.  Use these tricks of the trade in conjunction with your own trusty intuition and hearing, and you’ll no doubt find the right blend of snare-magic.  The music you play will also help determine what works best for you. If you’re a country music drummer, you’ll likely want a little less “ring” from the drum.  With hardcore rock anthems, however, you’ll probably want to compress the hell out of the drum for the entire mix.  Whatever your sound, a perfectly mic’d snare helps it all come together.  By finding the perfect tone for your drums, you’ll at the very least score a delicious, infectious background.  Add to that, the right balance of boom, and dude, you’ve got the beat and the makings of a killer tune.

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Preparation

First, be honest with yourself – what do you need the amplifier to do?

Do you need it to primarily work with your pedal board?
Do you need multiple channels and built in effects – or a combination of both?
Do you need a big, powerful amp – or a small, light and portable unit?

If you’re a pedal junkie and depend on your pedals as the main source of sonic sculpting, look for a simple amplifier. A two or three band EQ would be nice as well. If you run the amp clean most of the time, a master volume may not be necessary. Some smaller amps may only have one Dull-O-Brite tone knob, which is not a bad thing if it sounds good. For effect pedals, less bells and whistles is usually better. The thing to listen for is how well the amp handles your pedals at different volume levels.

Overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals can be problem with some amplifiers. Low volume levels may sound fizzy if the bright circuit in the amp is too aggressive. Higher levels might sound too mushy if an amp can’t handle the bottom end of your favorite pedal. The most important thing to ask yourself is how loud you really need to be. Why drag a fifty watt head and a four twelve cabinet around if you can only turn it up to two?

I use a little class A, fifteen watt tube combo, and still get in trouble with the sound man, however, I can power this amp up enough so it can breathe. Unless you’re playing on huge stages, outdoor gigs, or just want to impress your friends and shake the ground around them, there’s no need to own any decibel blistering monster.

Second, don’t shop for amplifiers based only on their brand name or who designed it. You’ll narrow the playing field severely and will miss out on legions of great amplifiers. It doesn’t matter what’s written on or about the amp if it sounds great and functions properly for you and your gear.

Third, take your favorite guitar, a flashlight and a note pad with you when auditioning amplifiers. You should be familiar with your guitar and know the sounds you can command from it. The note pad is for writing down what amplifiers you had chemistry with and why. The flashlight is for looking in the dark areas of an amp. If you use pedals, bring a couple of them with you as well. Choose the pedals that you know are a bit finicky about the pairing with the right amp; usually distortion and fuzz pedals.

Fourth, don’t research anything before you hit the stores. Your first trip out is the beginning of your research. You are just listening to amplifiers at this point, and not purchasing one. Clear your head; don’t listen to friends, blogs, magazine articles, forums or anything else that may damage your perception of any amp. How many times have you been completely happy with a piece of gear and have read nothing but trash about it somewhere?

And Finally, what’s your price range. Don’t check out three thousand dollar amplifiers if you haven’t any ambitions of buying one. Establish a price range and audition only those amplifiers that fall within your budget. Playing through anything else is just a distraction and a waste of time.

Reconnaissance

Before dragging any of your gear into a store, grab your note pad, flashlight and do a little reconnaissance. Find out what they have in stock that’s within your budget. Once you have a few contenders in view, look them over. Check them inside and out. I’m not suggesting that you disassemble any part of it, just use your flashlight and peek in from the back and note the construction and quality of the chassis and cabinet. The level craftsmanship on the outside of the amp is a good clue on how well the interior components are fabricated.

Also note the quality of the covering on the cabinet as well. If possible, try to determine what type of wood a cabinet is made of. This isn’t a factor with head amps, but does have a tonal impact on combo and speaker cabinets. It’s easy to see if a combo is made with particle-board or plywood just by looking for the wood grain. Sometimes the baffle board will be made of particle-board and the rest of the cabinet plywood.

Other than weight, there is nothing wrong with particle-board however it tends to have a neutral tone due to its hardness and inflexibility. Plywood is lighter, more durable, and offers some flavor to the overall sound of an amp.

Chassis construction is another clue to quality and workmanship. Look for anything that’s bent or skewed. Transformers will have a field day with thin chassis, especially after rough shipping to the dealer. Look for everything to be clean and straight on the chassis. Once you’ve whittled the herd down to your star contestants, it’s time to make some noise.

Sonic Testing

Hopefully the music store has some sort of sound proof room or at the very least, a booth you can wail away in. If not, just make the best of it and patch in your gear. If you brought pedals with you, begin with all of them bypassed. Set all the controls on the amplifier straight up, except for any master volume knobs, turn them off until you power the amp up.

Do not spend more than five minutes trying to make an amplifier sound good. If you can’t find one good tone within five minutes, you never will. The right amp will be easy to quickly dial in any of the tones you’re after. Write down on your note pad everything you like and dislike about each of the amplifiers you’ve played through, as you will need this information later. Once you’ve given all the amps a rumble, gather up your gear and go home. That’s right, don’t buy anything, just go home.

Note; One thing to bear in mind is that you are in the music store to shop for amplifiers and not for practicing. Have some respect for the music store, and other customers. Check the amp out and move on to the next one. Don’t turn a new amp into a used one by playing with it for hours; if you like it, buy it.

Research

Once you’ve played through all the amplifiers of interest and wrote down your impressions, fire up your computer and search for any information about them online. Read about any experiences others have had with them in terms of quality, workmanship, reliability, etc. Don’t concern yourself with negative reviews or comments about sound or tone. Remember, you’re getting the scoop on amplifiers that have already passed your tone test. Look for trends, not anomalies. Lastly, review the owner’s manual from the manufacturer’s website. All of this valuable research allows you to avoid amplifiers that may develop problems down the road.

Making The Choice

If you’ve filtered your choices down to one amplifier, play through it again. If you still like it, pay the man and run like hell. If there are a few on your hit list, play through them all and may the best amp win. If you’re still on the fence and can’t make a decision, then engage a sales clerk as they can most likely provide some clarity and help you decide. Good luck!

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Long Island drummer Will Noon and Pennsylvania vocalist and guitarist Chris Cerulli saved money by doing it themselves.  Noon, who currently plays with Straylight Run, booked a tour for Eyeball Record’s Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer with his own booking agency “Super Hot Booking,” and Cerulli recently booked his first tour for his own band, Motionless In White.

Here’s what these “do-it-yourselfers” had to say:

Decide where you want to go—Take out a map or an atlas and sit down with your bandmates. If you have friends in neighboring states, try to go there first.  Not only will they have friends to bring to your show, but they’ll also offer you a place to crash. Sleeping in a van sounds like you’re living the rock star life, but remember home offers comforts, like a hot shower.

Keep your tour small—Don’t try to go cross-country on your first go around, “It’s hard work, so just be ready for it,” says Will Noon, who is also the stickman in the hardcore band Breaking Pangaea, based out of Philadelphia. “Start small.  Play locally and then slowly expand. There’s no point in booking a four-week national tour when you’ve never played the surrounding cities.”

Noon also suggests spacing out your touring schedule. Most bands take their first tour during Spring Break or over summer vacation when most bands and people who go to shows are out of school.  If you only have one week for your first tour, you may want to try to play as many shows as possible, but that’s probably going to burn you out.

Remember you can always tour again—You don’t have to go everywhere that first week; you can book some time to tour throughout the year.  “The first Breaking Pangaea tour, I think we wanted to play 10 shows in 11 days,” says Noon.  “We ended up playing four shows in seven days I think.  Ha!” Lesson learned?  It’s important to pace yourself.

So, let’s say you’ve dotted the map and gone online to find clubs where you want to play. One easy way to do your search is to type “list of venues” plus a city name into yahoo.com. Once you find a few good spots, you can cold-call them and send out demos.  Cold calling is fine as long as you limit your calls. After ringing the club once, follow up about a week later.  If you don’t book something right away, don’t despair.  Ask if the venue received your press kit and tell them you’ll call back once they’ve given your CD a listen. When you do book a show—and you will—call about a week before you perform to confirm.

Will Noon says, “The best thing you can do is everything.  Call, email, send press materials, and don’t give up.  Sending an electronic press kit including photos and a CD or DVD is also a nice touch.”

It’s important you not annoy the club or promoter. And though there’s a chance the club owner won’t even pop in your CD or spin your record, that doesn’t mean you can slack on presentation. Your disc is what’s going to get you into the club, so make sure your packaging looks good.  Send clubs a press release along with your CD.  If you don’t have one written, type one up.  Write about the band—where you’re from, what you sound like, where you want to tour.  If you mention this is your first tour, say how long you’ve been playing locally.  Mention your style and your audience because club owners will want to know you can draw people in the door.

It isn’t always easier to find a booking agency to do the work for you.  A booking agency usually has connections, but Noon has done it both ways.  He booked the first Breaking Pangaea tour with Fred Masherino, the band’s frontman. He has also booked as “Will from Super Hot Booking.”  Which was easier, you ask?

“Most of the people I dealt with were people I knew through Breaking Pangaea, so it was kinda the same thing being ‘Will from Breaking Pangaea’ or ‘Will from Super Hot Booking,’ ” he says. “If I continued booking, I think it probably would’ve helped to be associated with an agency, even a smaller one.”

But what about paying the booking agent? Anthony Strump, who runs the promotion/show company TriStatePunk says, “When you have an agent they get 10-percent, but when you book it yourself you waste a lot of time.”

So what if you take the other route—looking for bands on MySpace with whom you can do a trade. Most smaller bands will want to swap a show with you. You come to their town and hop on one of their shows; then, when they’re ready to make the trek out of their hometown, they’ll call you, and you repay the favor. It’s a great way to help other local bands, and you get to play other cities.

If a local band puts you on their bill and hypes you up saying, “A touring band from New York City or Chattanooga is playing with us,” it makes them seem desirable, like other bands are dying to play with them.

“At first you need to have the ‘anywhere anytime’ mentality,” warns Noon. “If you’re good, and you play enough, you’ll build up a following. Then clubs will actually want you to play.”

Chris Cerulli spent three months booking a 10-day tour for Motionless In White and a fellow local band called Auxilia. The tour took place over Spring Break this April.  It made both bands feel comfortable traveling out of the state together, but it didn’t stop problems from occurring. After just two hours on the road, Motionless In White’s van broke down.  Then, after sitting in a rest-stop for 14 hours and pouring $470 into the van just to get it towed, the band was kicked out for loitering.  “It sucked,” Cerulli says. “It was the worst week from Hell.”  The van had to be brought home and Cerulli and his father worked on the engine.  While tinkering in the garage, Chris spent time on the phone with venues rescheduling their club dates.  In the end, the van was fixed and the bands salvaged five shows.

“We were pretty scared,” Chris said. “But we’re fucking dedicated.

No matter how much planning you put into your first tour, there’s a good chance something will go wrong. Just remember to hang on to your sanity—you’re out there to have fun.  Plan every detail as best you can, and if all hell breaks loose on the road, make it the inspiration for your next song.

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In June, 2003, Mourning Maxwell showed up at the Kansas City Festival and started playing in a parking lot. After a week of impromptu parking lot shows, “Tour Creator” Kevin Lyman invited the guys inside to play. The band was asked back the next summer, but ironically, during the 2004 tour, half the band quit.  The remaining members kept putting up their tent every day, attracting new fans and pushing merchandise, what they called merch,’ so they could support themselves.  “We were having too much fun to quit,” Smith explains. “The Warped Tour is the best place to hear good music, meet cool people, sell lots of CDs and have lots of fun.  It’s an experience that you don’t want to [have] end.”  No wonder they didn’t want it to end.  The band’s debut EP, “Our Collective Voice,” released with Bob Hoag (The Ataris, The Format, Scary Kids Scaring Kids) sold over 9,000 self-released copies.

Okay, so let’s talk money here—when you’re touring, how much green can you expect to live on?  Smith says allot $10 per person per day for food.  Your total daily budget for the band should be about $50 to $100 for food and gas—per day.  That’s it.  “Staying in a hotel room is rare,” he admits, “But if we have a good show where we sell a lot of merch’, we might get a room.  [Otherwise] we sleep in the van.  We have a bed built in the back of our van that can sleep two to three, [and] we have two bench seats. It’s actually not that bad sleeping in the van, but it’s nice when people let us crash, use their showers and eat their food.”

Budget, Budget, Budget

When you’re touring, don’t rely solely on the generosity of strangers, you need to plan ahead. The costs you can expect to incur while on tour include gas, food, oil changes, tires and merch’—t-shirts, hoodies, CDs, stickers and buttons—which you should stock up on just before going on tour.  Of course, that list doesn’t account for any unforeseen mishaps that may occur along the way.

Here’s a huge tip: Log your expenses while on tour.  Then when your tour is over, sit down and go over the list to see where you can cut corners the next time around.

Mourning Maxwell’s Smith and guitarist Alex Kling usually set up the band’s budget, which they keep track of in a notebook.  And that notebook becomes the band’s financial bible—the guys carefully track how much money is going in and out of the cash box and exactly where the money is going.  They discuss how many miles the band is traveling and how many people they anticipate will buy their merch’.  Then, they sum up those numbers and create a tour budget from that.

The Numbers Guy

It’s important to designate one person as the “money guy.”  Only the money guy can reach into the cash box to get change when you sell a t-shirt.  Why? Because you don’t want other band members feeling like they can reach into the cash box and give themselves an allowance.  Ever. Let one guy deal with it. That way, if there is ever money missing, you know who’s accountable.

Take Mourning Maxwell.  When it comes to keeping a budget, Kling, the money guy, has a tough time. “Like most bands, we usually end up spending more money than we thought because shit always happens.” Lead singer, Smith explains, “The van blows up, the trailer hitch breaks, your drummer falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into a freeway divider. You know, the usual stuff.”  (Okay, crashing into a freeway divider is probably not “usual.” But that’s another story.)

Yes. Shit will happen and assuming you have the money to make it all the way, you’ll have plenty of war stories to share at the end of your ride. Just remember to budget, feed yourself, and peddle your merch’. Gas will be the most costly expense, food—the cheapest. It’s perfectly okay to put ketchup and other condiments on crackers and eat Tom Hanks-style in “The Terminal” (remember that Kentucky Fried Chicken has pre-packaged butter and jelly at the registers) or you can always eat off the “Value Menus” at any fast food joint. Just remind your stomach that it’s only temporary, and you’ll be fine.

Peddle Your Merch’

If you’re playing a festival-type event, like The Warped Tour, you’ll have plenty of down time inside the venue to pedal CDs.  If you don’t have that luxury, take a page out of Mourning Maxwell’s tour book. “We make money by selling merch’—t-shirts, CDs, stickers and buttons—and getting people to the shows so the club will pay us,” says Smith and notes that the band aims to make $100 a day selling merch’ on a club tour.  During The Warped Tour, Mourning Maxwell anticipated making $1000 from merch’ sales a day.  But on some tour days, the band only made $50. That’s when they needed to peddle harder. “We’d go to malls and movie theaters and try to sell CDs to kids hanging out.  Anything [so we could] eat.”

Remember, you can try to sell merch’ on “off” days, but that’s usually when you do most of your driving. Keep a calendar with your show dates written on it, and mark how many miles you need to drive on days off.  Also keep a map nearby so you can calculate your route.  If you get lost, stop and ask for directions. Don’t drive too far out of your way for pride’s sake, because a long detour can be costly at the pump.

Bring Along a Tour Manager

The tour manager is in charge of life on the road—taking care of tour dates, making sure your band gets to the next show on time, paying the club (if it takes a percentage of your merch’ sold) as well as getting paid by the club and keeping track of expenses.

The life of a tour manager is really about as unforgiving as it sounds, but it’s great if you’re in the band.  You can spend time practicing songs while the tour manager takes care of the boring financial side.

Mourning Maxwell, had a tour manager for three weeks on one tour.  And it definitely helped. But touring with a manager also means an added mouth to feed.  It’s a great way to have your musically-dysfunctional best friend see the country, as long as you realize it’s your dime he’s traveling on, ”It was nice to have one guy whose job is to get you paid and make connections,” says Smith.  ”But it’s definitely more expensive to have another person on the road with you.  At the same time, it’s nice to have someone not in the band there just to hang with and help referee our arm wrestling matches.”

Facing Reality

So how bad does it get on the road?  “It’s tough,” Smith says, sounding all too wise.  “You’re gonna get in fights. You’re gonna be uncomfortable. You’re gonna lose money. You’re gonna be broke.  You’re gonna go hungry. The shows are gonna suck for the first year or two because nobody cares about you outside of your hometown.”  And on top of that, it can hurt your love life, “You won’t want to bring your girlfriend with you, and she will probably be really pissed off, and you will fight with her a lot while you’re gone because she misses you and thinks you’re partying and banging chicks every night like the rock star you are.”  He goes on, “It’s not glamorous.  It’s not a constant party. You won’t get any sleep. You will always be dirty.  But it’s fucking awesome, and I suggest everyone experience being homeless [as a touring musician] once in their lifetime.”

Surprisingly, Smith doesn’t regret his nomadic lifestyle at all.  “When you can’t afford food or a shower and you’re playing in front of three people a night, it can get a bit discouraging.  But I think a big part of being in a band is hanging out with your friends. If you don’t get along with the people in your band, there’s no point,” he says nostalgically.  “We all are good friends and enjoy each others’ company, so being out on the road is just a big, long, moneyless, crazy road trip with your friends. We always have a good time on the road no matter what’s going on, and we get to play music every night, which is our favorite thing to do in the world.  It’s tough, no doubt.  But it’s an experience that you really can’t understand unless you’ve done it.”

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For illustration, compare CD mastering to the editor’s job of taking a raw manuscript and turning it into a book. The book editor must understand syntax, grammar, organization and writing style, as well as know the arcane techniques of binding, color separation, printing presses and the like. Likewise, the CD mastering engineer marries the art of music with the science of sound.

As an artist, producer, engineer or independent label you may ask yourself, “Why do I need to master?” Of course this is a valid question, particularly when you are on a tight budget and pre-mastering represents spending more money! There are several reasons for mastering:

1. Perfecting the spacing and level changes between songs.
2. Perfecting the overall tonal balance of each song that may not have been achieved in mixing.
3. Perfecting the dynamics of each song so that the record is at its optimum level.
4. Consistency between songs so that transitions sound natural.
5. To gain that competitive, world-class sound worthy of comparison to any major label release.
6. To acquire a low-BLER master disc, suitable for mass replication, that retains every nuance of your original performance and is truly ready to be accepted by a manufacturing plant.

In fact, many producers often have no idea in what order to arrange the tracks until after all mixes are completed. Track mix down can take anywhere from 4 hours to 4 weeks, depending on the producer’s predilections, the artist’s whims and the budget. Normally each tune is mixed in isolation and rarely does one have the luxury to switch and compare the songs as mixing proceeds. Some mixes may be done at 2 am, when ears are fatigued or at 12 noon when ears are fresh. These things can even happen after weeks in the studio, and the problems sometimes don’t become apparent until the album is assembled in its intended order.

Tending to all these factors will result in a release that is far superior in sound quality to one that has been poorly mastered or not mastered at all. Mastering requires an “accurate” listening environment, specific outboard gear and a mastering engineer with years of experience to do a good job. After all, you are relying upon this person to make final judgments about the sound of your music.

Why spend money on Mastering?

Because it will sound better, of course! But seriously-you’ll prefer the sound of your recording after it’s spent some time in the mastering room. Most importantly, don’t skimp on this stage! You’ll want an objective ear, with years of mastering experience to give your music that “major label” sound.

Mastering facilities won’t change your music unless they have your explicit permission to do so. If you want your CDs to sound exactly the same as your digital master, then all they do is make sure that the highest peak actually reaches -0.1dBfs, that each track starts and ends cleanly and that there is digital silence between the tracks where appropriate. This is usually accomplished on a computer by carefully monitoring the levels to within one-tenth of a dB, then adjusting the overall peak and silence with digital faders; the time taken for mastering is consequently only about twice the program duration. These leave-it-alone jobs are very quick, easy and economic.

However, good mastering engineers know how to make your music sound better. Using sophisticated techniques, they can improve the clarity, definition, and depth of your recording. They can add equalization and limiting, remove hiss, hum, crackles and clicks; they take care of timing problems, dropouts, glitches, and dropped notes. They can even get rid of unwanted words for radio play.

What to look for in a Mastering Engineer

The mastering engineer must have a musical as well as technical background, good ears, and an excellent sense of pitch, sophisticated digital processing tools and the knowledge to use them correctly. They are sensitive to the producer and artist’s needs while treating each project or CD with individual attention. They must also understand what will happen to the CD when it hits the radio, car or home stereo system. Just because the engineer who recorded your music did a good job, does not mean he can master it equally as well.

The engineer should be willing to explain what it is they will do in the mastering process.

There are many mastering studios that claim they have some “magic” technology that is not available anywhere else. Although it would be nice if there was some “black magic” box that would make your music sound incredible, this is simply not true. The quality of mastering is determined by only two things: the quality of the mastering studio and the experience and expertise of the mastering engineer.

Rick Hamel of SiB Effects Pedals

Most every guitarist employs at least one effect pedal in his or her tonal arsenal, be it a $30 beater or a high-end “boutique” stomp-box. And, much like all things guitar, effects can be addictive.  Many of us start with one and end up with a chain of effects we simply can’t live without.  And just like every component in your signal path — from your pick to your speaker cone — effects affect your tone.

If you arrange them correctly, your effects pedals can be a transparent ally in your quest for good tone.  In order to figure out what works best for you, it’s helpful to learn what each pedal in your chain does to your signal.

First, a disclaimer: we all know guitar tone is subjective. What sounds heavenly to me may not do it for you.  My advice is based on my many years of experience and my personal sonic preferences.  You may not agree with everything I suggest, but I know that if you try some of my suggestions, my experience tells me you will have good results.

Much of the strategy behind effects pedal arrangement has to do with the sound you are going for.  Are you seeking out vintage Fender tweed tube amp raunch?  Or big, classic British Marshall or Vox?  Maybe that dramatic, processed 1980s sound?  Clean jazz tone?  What you are hoping to achieve has a lot to do with how you arrange your effects pedals. The following is an overview of some of the most common pedals, their characteristics and signal path preferences.  Take a look and see if there aren’t some ideas in here for you to clean up your guitar signal and enhance your tone, regardless of what style you play.

Auto filters and other envelope devices love to be first in the signal path.  These are dynamic units that require an unprocessed signal at their input to operate properly.  They work best patched directly to your guitar. It just so happens that they also sound great when placed first in your effects chain.

Wah-wah pedals are band-pass filters that boost a narrow band of frequencies, allowing you to sweep them up and down the frequency spectrum.  For a wide sweeping, natural sound, your wah should be next in you chain (after your auto filter or envelope device), and before any overdrive, distortion, delay or modulation effect.  This arrangement also yields more of a vintage tone as well.  However, if you are going for a more mechanical sounding wah, place it after your distortion or overdrive effect.  Another interesting tone is to have a mild overdrive in front of your wah and distortion after it, which will allow you to experience elements of both tones.

Compressor-limiters have a couple of uses; as a sustainer they amplify weak signals and attenuate strong signals, thereby increasing your guitar’s sustain.  As a limiter, they limit the amount of signal entering your amp or subsequent effect, helping to avoid distortion. A combination of both features – sustain without distortion — can be achieved with the right control settings. Compressor-limiters can also be used as simple boosts. These devices do their best work early in the signal path — before distortion, modulation effects, delays and reverbs, as they are best utilized after all dynamically-sensitive units.

Distortion and overdrive units are the cornerstones of many players’ tone.  These effects sound best early in the signal path, before most modulation effects, delays, or reverbs.  Placing them early in your effects chain will also cut down on unwanted noise, as it will amplify any and all noise generated by a previous device.  Distortion and overdrive pedals placed late in the chain may take that tiny bit of hiss from your delay pedal or reverb unit and turn it into a wall of white noise, and your echo and reverb effects will be hard to tame as well.  Another way to use a distortion or overdrive unit is to plug into the high gain channel of your amplifier rather than an external pedal, and treat the effects loop send of the amp (if so equipped) as your distortion effect output.

Volume pedals are great after distortion or overdrive units because you can increase and decrease your volume without altering grind level, just like the master volume in your amp (ummm, well…allegedly! I’ve yet to find a truly 100% useful master volume. Ed.).  They’re also very useful to have before any reverb and/or delay units, allowing you to create volume swells without cutting off reverb or echo trails.  Quite a few players gravitate toward putting volume pedals first in the chain, which is somewhat wasteful, as the volume control on your guitar serves the very same function.  But it is useful to have your volume pedal first if you want a hands free, pre-distortion volume control.  However, auto filters and envelope devices should not have a volume pedal before them in the signal chain, as they prefer a signal as raw as possible to do their job correctly.

Chorus and flanger effects are very short time delay devices that take your signal, split it, delay and modulate one half, and then mix it back together with the unprocessed half.  The modulation slightly raises and lowers the pitch of the processed half of the signal.  With a chorus, the resulting effect is similar to the sound of two guitars, or a 12-string.  Flangers have a shorter delay and a feedback control (sometimes called ‘resonance’) and cancel some frequencies as they sweep through their modulation range, similar to a comb filter.  These effects sound great toward the end of the chain, but before delays or reverbs.  If you play in stereo, and you use your chorus or flanger to create your stereo field, then you are effectively locked into using it at the end of your chain.  If you use a mono echo and/or reverb unit, it can sound great if you use it on one side only.  This will cause the sound to have more depth without getting washed out and buried in the mix, plus you can make everyone airsick!

Vibrato pedals raise and lower the pitch of your guitar’s signal.  And while we’re talking about this effect, I should point out that there is a difference between vibrato and tremolo.  A tremolo pedal is a volume-altering device; some pulse, and others fade your signal in-and-out, while the vibrato raises and lowers the pitch of the note or notes.  Some tremolo pedals even pan your signal between two amps.  You can place a tremolo early in the chain, before distortion devices and it will alter the gain of the distortion pedals as it trems your signal, or place it after for a more mechanical sound.  If you place it after a reverb unit, you can lop off reverb decay tails for.  Tremolo pedals are very useful anywhere in the effects chain.  The same goes for vibrato pedals.

Noise gates are best used after distortion and before any echo or reverb unit.  You may have to experiment with placing your noise gate before or after modulation effects (chorus, flanger or vibrato), depending on how noisy they are and if their sweep trips the gate open and closed.  Also, if your pedal has a side chain or external trigger input, this is very useful for having a different signal control the gate.  For example, you could split your guitar early in the effects chain, and control the gate’s behavior with a noise-free signal.  This way you can avoid high threshold settings and cutting off your guitar’s signal as it decays.  Another use is patching a drum machine in and turning your noise gate into a tremolo effect with rhythm.

Phase shifters are similar to flangers in that they have the same type of controls and the modulation is comparable.  But unlike flangers, phase shifters do not delay the signal. They do exactly what the name implies: shift signal phase.  They split the incoming signal, one half goes directly to a mixer, and the other half goes through two or more phase shifting stages, and gets mixed back in with the dry, unprocessed signal.  The resulting effect is phase cancellation of certain frequencies as it sweeps through its modulation range.  For a lush, subtle tone with a lot of depth and focus, they sound great before distortion.  Although some types of phase shifters may seem a bit noisy before a distortion pedal, in my opinion the effect is worth it.  For a more animated, mechanical effect, you can run it after your distortion pedal.

Ambient effects, such as delays (echo) and reverb sound best at the very end of the signal path.  It’s your choice: do you want to reverb your echoes or echo your reverb?  I tend to prefer running my echo before reverb.  Just because it sounds good to my ears.

And finally, a word about Fuzzface-like devices and octave up fuzz pedals: these two effects both love to have the guitar plugged directly into them.  Neither will not respond properly if running anything before them; wah pedals will not wah, and the units themselves will not sound or feel right.  They do work great together, running an Octavia into a Fuzzface sounds wonderful, but you must run your guitar right into them.  Octave down/distortion pedals can be placed anywhere you would put a distortion unit.

So there it is a basic understanding of the most common effects pedals, and where they like to reside in your signal chain.  There are many other weird, wonderful effects out there.  If you have one I haven’t addressed here, just do some research at the company’s website to determine what it is the pedal does to your signal.  Once you know this, you can use your know how to determine where it should lie in your path.

But, as always, the best – and most enjoyable — test is to plop your pedal down in between two others and see how it sounds.  After all, monkeying around with gear is fun, and you may discover something new in your eternal quest for good guitar tone.

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