Pedals that stack with the Lab Series L5

clean platform takes the driveA clean, high-headroom stage takes on dirt it can't generate by itself. (high headroom → mid-forward)

The high headroom tone has headroom to spare — Marshall Guv'nor leans it toward mid-forward to fill it in

Goes in front of the amp

clean platform takes the driveA clean, high-headroom stage takes on dirt it can't generate by itself. (high headroom → fuzzy)

Black Arts Toneworks LSTR Fuzz leans this high headroom tone toward fuzzy, which it doesn't make on its own

Goes in front of the amp

clean platform takes the driveA clean, high-headroom stage takes on dirt it can't generate by itself. (high headroom → fuzzy)

The high headroom tone has headroom to spare — Beetronics Nectar leans it toward fuzzy to fill it in

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.

Run Electro-Harmonix Bad after Lab Series L5 in the signal chain, clear of Lab Series L5'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. (high headroom → compressed)

What Universal Audio 1176 Compressor brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around

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 Binson Echorec Delay in Lab Series L5's effects loop, clear of Lab Series L5'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.

Keep Meris Polymoon in Lab Series L5's effects loop, clear of Lab Series L5's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Sits in the amp's effects loop