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The Signal Chain

The signal chain is the path your guitar signal travels through — from the moment it enters the app to the moment it reaches your speakers. Understanding how it works helps you build better tones and troubleshoot problems.

How signal flows​

Think of the signal chain like a traditional pedalboard on the floor:

Guitar → [Noise Gate] → [Amp Model] → [Cabinet IR] → [Reverb] → Speakers

Each block in the chain is called a node. The signal enters the first node, gets processed, then passes on to the next — left to right, top to bottom in the visual editor.

Why order matters​

The order of effects has a big impact on your tone:

  • A noise gate before the amp cuts hum and hiss before it gets amplified and distorted. A gate after the amp would have to deal with a much louder, dirtier signal.
  • A drive pedal before the amp pushes the amp model harder (like a boost pedal into a real amp). After the amp, it would just add clipping on top of what the amp already does.
  • Reverb and delay after the amp sound natural because real cabs are mic'd in real rooms. Reverb before the amp would wash out the clarity of the amp tone.

A typical arrangement:

Guitar → Gate → Drive → Amp → Cabinet → EQ → Delay → Reverb

Global chain​

Soundshed Guitar has a global pre-chain (applied before the preset, e.g. noise gate) and a global post-chain (applied after, e.g. EQ, doubler). These are consistent across all presets and are configured in Settings.

Bypass​

Every node in the chain has a bypass toggle. When bypassed, the signal passes straight through that node unchanged — the node is skipped. This lets you audition what a single effect is contributing without removing it from the chain.

Parallel paths​

The chain does not have to be purely linear. You can split your signal into two or more parallel paths using a Splitter node, then merge them back with a Mixer node:

               ┌─→ [Effects] ─→┐
Amp ─→ Splitter─┤                 ├─→ Mixer ─→ Output
               └─→ [Effects] ─→┘

This is useful for blending two different amp sounds, or running a dry signal in parallel with a heavily effected wet signal.

Global level controls​

Level is shaped in several places:

  • User Input Calibration (profiles) — the primary global input compensation. Applied very early for your guitar/interface combination.
  • Global input / output gain — available in the main mixer controls area.
  • Per-preset mix/pan and master gain in the multi-preset mixer.
  • Individual effect parameters (input/output/drive/level on NAM nodes and other effects).
  • Output Protection Ceiling (final safety limiter) in Settings.

For most day-to-day levelling between guitars or interfaces, train a User Input Calibration profile. For creative shaping inside a tone, use the explicit gain controls on nodes and the global gains.

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