Hi all,

I guess I have a general question regarding the setup of my effects & amp. The amp has it's own effects and amp models (it's a fender g-dec jr.)

I wonder what's the best, or most usual way, to use the wah along with other effects, do you place the wah before or after the other effects? (I mean to play the guitar at home through the amp)

I have a pocket pod, and a wah pedal, so i'll use the pod as a multieffects device and the wah when needed.
So far I'm thinking of doing it this way.

Guitar > PocketPod > Wah > Amp


I'm plannig on using the pod to choose the amp/cab type + effects such as chorus, delay, distortion, etc.
Then I'll switch the wah on/off as needed.
I'll finally add the reverb with the amp (it has a nice reverb).


The only problem I find with this setup is that the amp also has it's own amp emulations, so I usually leave it in a clean one such as "jazz" or one of the clean "blackfaces", so that it doesn't affect the sound from the pod very much.

Is that ok? Or should I change the order/settings somehow to make it better?

Wah is always the first pedal because a wah distorts a tiny little bit. When you first use for example an overdrive and the wah behind it you'll get a muddy tone. So go for:
Guitar>Anything that does not change the sound(tuner,etc...)>Wah>Anything Else that has to do with the sound(modeling, overdrive, distortion)>Amp

Not strictly true, the wah pedal can go almost anywhere in an effects chain, depending on the desired effect at the end as the wah changes the eq slightly, in this case just try both and see what you like, I think it`d probably be better before the pod as its a multi effects in this case

This post has been edited by Smells: Dec 28 2007, 12:50 AM

I agree, but you can have any pedal anywhere if you like the sound.

There's an unwritten rule to put a Wah first.

Unwritten, since like some others pointed out, pedals in different positions will give different sound and if you like the sound from the Wah in the middle or last in the effects chain, noone can say that's wrong.


I always keep my Wah first incase you wonder.

you must make a test between all the effects what you have so use your ears to see which is the best. any way with wah you can add the delay or reverb and chourus if you have it

Thanks all

I ended up doing as you guys suggest and I put the wah before the other effects.

So far so good!, but I'll try some other configurations soon to see if it makes any big difference.

You can do anything you like man. When you put it after the guitar you'll get better control of the effect, put it after the distortion, and you''ll get some wovel, quacky effects with pronounced wah sound, but not so definite. It depends what kind of sound you're looking for. Most people use it just after the guitar.

as people have said guitar-tuners etc.-wah-bla bla bla
if you use filters you should put it where the wah is as well b4 stuff like distortion etc i got a new q tron and just worked tat out today

I cant belive I still dont own a WAH

get a morley wah off ebay.co.uk i got one for 20 quid a month or so ago and it is great, more wah like than crybaby

A WAH can be fun to play with. I got one for Christmas. Been having a ton of fun with it.