IMHO, the one exception would be Tremolo - I put that next to last in line, after everything but Reverb, so NG-Trem-Rev, in that case. OTOH, if you find that quiet, sustained notes or chords are getting cut off, move the NG, or dial it down a bit. If you're getting a lot of LFO noise bleeding through, you may want the NG to shut that down. Try to find a happy medium, literally.Įxperiment with your Mod effects (Flanger/Phaser/Chorus) in relation to your Noise Gate - basically, you want it where it will take out the noise, without cutting into your signal. If you set your Threshold/Release values for your highest noise levels, you may experience some signal drop-out, with quieter/cleaner settings. I'll vouch for Boss noise suppressors- the Boss NS-50 was the best tracking 'noise-gate' that I ever used!Īdd my vote - the Boss Noise Suppressors have a smooth roll-off, rather than clamping down, once the signal drops below the threshold. If the attack and release settings are extreme, you will get a problem called 'breathing', where you can hear the compressor working. Adjust it to get the sustain you want, while setting the release to minimize the noise that follows each note.

The Boss noise gates do a pretty good job of gradually tapering out after the signal drops below the threshold you set. Then put the compressor between the noise gate and your amp. I think I'd try the noise gate after the chorus/phaser block, as some of those can get noisy. I've also found that I often want un-compressed dynamics going into some devices, such as octave-fuzzes and filter-effects (wahs, etc.) and some overdrive/distortion pedals, so that the attack and ramping up and down of the envelope affects the effect, if you will so experiment. Also, where applicable, I'd put such compression in an effects-loop or otherwise downstream, after most tone/texture devices, but before echoes, delays, reverbs. I have found that studio/processing type compression, whether bona fide studio quality hardware or in digital modeler/multi-effects, seems to work well with a Les Paul or such humbucker-laden axes. I've found that classic guitar/pedal type compressors, such as or similar to vintage Orange Squeezer, Dyna Comp, and Ross compressors, that work BEAUTIFULLY with Teles and Strats, don't work well for humbucker-equipped Les Pauls and the like. Very compressed, sustained, forceful turbo-buzztortion! I had one when I was a kid, LOVED IT, but threw it in with a guitar and amp I sold to a friend before I realized that my BMP was different from everyone else's. Re: Smashing Pumpkins/Billy Corgan- get a Euthymia ICBM Fuzz, which is based on the rare, expensive, vintage late '70s IC/Op-Amp version of the EH Big Muff Pi, which is what Corgan used a lot.

Noise gates and compressors