Where to put eq pedal in stomp chain (does order matter)?

[Samdbl]

I’ve got a decent patch set up. However, I need to mess with the eq a bit more, I think I should add an eq pedal in the chain. Where in chain should I put it? And does the order really matter? I know that real pedals tones change dramatically when their orders are switched around, but is this the case with these pedal models in the stomp? Or will they always be in the optimum place in the chain, regardless of where they physically appear on the screen?

[DunedinDragon]

Where it appears on the screen is exactly the same behavior as what it would do in a real signal chain cabled in sequence.  Therefore, it will always have an effect on the blocks after it in the signal chain.

Where it should go is somewhat arbitrary and subjective.  There are no rules.  However I would say that in the real world as well as in the modeling world, the majority of people use EQ toward the end of the signal chain to address minor tonal problems as that's the most efficient way of doing things.  That doesn't make it a rule.  The good news is that it's easy to move it around in the signal chain and see what difference it makes.  This is especially true with special EQs like the low/high shelf which can dramatically change the overall tone prior to reverbs and delays.

What I would emphasize is to make sure all the blocks in your signal chain are configured to get you as close as possible to the sound you want to achieve before applying final EQ.  A good example is that of cabinets/IRs, mics used, and mic positions.  Often changing those things can dramatically shape your tone and can sometimes reduce or eliminate the need for dramatic changes in EQ.  EQ, in my opinion and for the most part, is for final "tweaks" of tone and most prominently for surgically addressing specific problem issues.  It's not really a hammer for beating your signal chain into submission.

[Hillman1312]

As DiD said it does not matter where you put it; all depends on what you want to achieve. My approach (at present at least ..) is to add an EQ at the very end of my signal chain in order to tweak quickly if so needed. Another reason is that I prefer my presets in mono and I use a mono EQ block (I prefer the Cali EQ by the way) to achieve that (but there are other ways as well).

I dial in my presets using the amp and IR (or cab) controls to get the sound I want and most of the time all EQ settings are at "0", i.e. the EQ is not really used.

Just my 2 cts...

[lou-kash]

6 hours ago, Samdbl said:

Where in chain should I put it? And does the order really matter?

 

• If you put an EQ right before the amp block, you can use it to drive or "undrive" the amp by boosting or attenuating specific frequency bands.
• If you put it after the amp, you can round up the overall sound in a similar way a cab or an IR block does.
• You can e.g. put an EQ and a delay block on a parallel path, thus affecting just the wet sound of the delay, leaving the dry path as is; useful particularly for delays that don't have a built in EQ.
• On the other hand, if you put an EQ as your first block in the chain, you are shaping the dry sound of your instrument first, before it's being processed any further. That's e.g. where you would usually put the Acoustic Sim block – which is at its core also an EQ heavily attenuating mids and boosting highs and lows.