DISCLAIMER: Getting the basics down is crucial to a good pedalboard, but moving outside those rules and boundaries every now and then will open up a world of sonic opportunities, that you should not deprive yourself of. Experimenting with your pedals can be a source of great fun and epic unique sounds. Reverb and delay before drives is perhaps one of my favourite things on a pedalboard. It adds a certain grit and otherworldly vibe to the trails. Remember to let your ears guide you. Anyways... here's the “standard” signal chain:
Buffered Wah. If you have a germanium fuzz in your chain the wah goes first. The best result is achieved with a buffered wah. Do not put a regular buffer in front of your germanium fuzz.
Vintage (Germanium) Fuzz. Germanium fuzzes don't like buffers in front of them, so they go before buffers, with the exception of buffered wahs. In rare cases, some vintage style silicon fuzzes can cause trouble with a buffer in front as well.
Input buffer/tuners. If you experience a loss of high frequencies in your signal, a buffer will most likely be a good idea. Input buffers should always be placed as early in the chain as possible. Ideally as the very first pedal your guitar sees. Tuners often work as buffers and they are more accurate if placed early in the chain. Some volume pedals have a tuner out. If the VP is passive, these can cause quite a bit of tone suck, due to the impedance being split between the 2 outputs of the volume pedal. A bit technical, I know, but all you need to know is that you need a buffer in front of a passive VP, to prevent tone suck. Even if you aren't using the tuner out.
Looper option 1. Having a looper here will allow you to record a clean loop and then experiment and shape it with your pedals afterwards. This is fun if you want to create more ambient/noise type music. This is not the right option for you, if you want to use the looper for practice or writing leads etc.
Compressor. Compressors raise the noise floor of everything placed before them, so having them early is often desirable and a lot of people like the compressed signal hitting the drives, for a more even drive tone.
EQ option 1. Use your EQ to shape the tone going into your pedals and to push your drives. The effect is more subtle if placed here.
Octave/pitchshifters. Having octave pedals early in the chain will make it easier for the pedal to track the notes.
Volume pedal option 1. Putting your VP here, will make it act like a volume pot in your guitar. It will turn down the gain of the drives coming after it, as well as turn down volume. Having a buffer before a passive VP will prevent tonesuck. Active VPs can be placed earlier if that's your jam.
Wah pedal. If you don't have a germanium fuzz, it is a good idea to have your wah after your buffer and compressor. Having the buffer before the Wah will help preserve your high frequencies and the compressor before the Wah will keep the noise floor down.
Drives. This includes boosts, overdrives, distortions and (most) modern fuzzes. Most people start with the lowest gain and end with the highest gain, when setting up gainstages. That way you can use the lower gain drives to boost into the higher gain drives and push them into more saturated tones. Personally I don't set up my board like this. I always put my favorite overdrive last in my drive section, so the flavour of that pedal shines through more than the others, but I suggest you experiment with the order to find out what you like best.
EQ option 2. This will give you the ability to sculpt the sound coming out of your drives, like you would in a studio. I like this because it gives a lot more control and it allows you to tame unwanted frequencies from the drives.
Modulation. (phaser, chorus, flanger, univibe) For the most pronounced modulation effect, your phasers, flangers, etc need to be after your drives.
Tremolo. Tremolo can be a very overwhelming effect, especially if placed after delay or reverb. Having it in between your modulation and delay, will give you a clean tremolo effect, that doesn't completely take over your sound.
Volume pedal option 2. Placing your VP here will allow you to do ambient swells, with the trails from the delay and reverb still coming through, while cutting noise from drives and tremolo. This, to me, is the most natural and musical placement of the VP.
Delay. If you want clear and beautiful delay trails, this is where to put your delay pedal. If you put it earlier, the effects coming after will also affect the trails of your delay and that can muddy or even distort your sound. Imagine having your tremolo signal repeated. I get seasick just thinking about it.
Reverb. Much the same as with the delays, reverb last will keep it nice and clean. You want your reverb after delays, otherwise your reverb trails will get delayed, making the dealy repeats completely washed out.
Looper option 2. Record loops with effects, so the sound of the loop doesn't change, when you turn pedals on and off. Having the looper here, is great for practice and for writing the second guitar part.
Volume Pedal option 3. VP in this position, will make it work as a master volume, cutting out everything from your board.
Output Buffer. This will help drive your signal through the long cable going from your board to your amp and prevent tone suck, from a build up of capacitance.
