Engl Ironball Head

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → mid-forward)

Suhr Shiba Drive pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward

Goes in front of the amp

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → mid-forward)

Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Goes in front of the amp

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → tight)

Greer Tomahawk takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight

Goes in front of the amp

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → shimmer)

Put Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress after Engl Ironball Head in the signal chain, clear of Engl Ironball Head's own gain stage

Goes in front of the amp

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.

DryBell Unit67 Compressor leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with

Goes in front of the amp

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put TC Electronic Triple Flashback Delay in Engl Ironball Head's effects loop, clear of Engl Ironball Head's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Sits in the amp's effects loop

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → lush)

Put Meris Mercury7 Reverb in Engl Ironball Head's effects loop, clear of Engl Ironball Head's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Sits in the amp's effects loop

Goes in front of the amp

Put MXR CAE Wah in front of Engl Ironball Head: a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal