Frequently asked questions
Twenty questions that decide purchases, answered from published figures and arithmetic — with a link to the page that works each one through.
Last updated September 1, 2026
The questions below are the ones that decide purchases and that most guitar-gear writing answers badly. Each answer is either a published figure, a piece of arithmetic, or a statement that the question cannot be answered from documentation — and where it is the last of those, we say so rather than guessing.
Each answer links to the page that works it through properly. If your question is not here, ask us.
01About this site
Fret & Fuzz compares pedals and amps on published specifications rather than on adjectives. We have not played this gear and say so on every page; how we research sets out exactly what we do instead and where the method stops.
Frequently asked questions
+ What pedal should I buy first?
A tuner. It is the only pedal that improves every performance rather than some of them, and a pedal tuner mutes your output so you can tune silently between songs. After that, one drive pedal chosen to complement your amp — see best overdrive pedals.
+ Does pedal order matter?
Yes, and two placements matter far more than the rest: fuzz first, because classic fuzz circuits need to be loaded by your pickup, and time-based effects last, because distorting a delay repeat turns it to mush. Everything else is preference. Pedal order has the full chain.
+ Why does my fuzz sound bad on my pedalboard but fine straight into the amp?
Something buffered is in front of it — most likely a tuner or a BOSS pedal. A buffer presents a fixed low impedance, which removes the pickup interaction that makes a fuzz clean up on your volume knob. Put the fuzz first, or use a true-bypass tuner. Big Muff vs Fuzz Face explains the mechanism.
+ How many mA does my pedalboard need?
Add up every pedal's published current draw and add about 30%. Then separately check that your hungriest single pedal fits inside the highest single output on the supply — a 250 mA output cannot run a 300 mA pedal regardless of total current. The power arithmetic guide shows a worked example.
+ Do I need an isolated power supply?
If your board is all analog and quiet, no — a daisy chain is fine and much cheaper. If you have added a digital delay or reverb and now hear hum, that is a ground loop and isolation is the only thing that removes it. Isolated vs daisy chain covers the mechanism.
+ What is the difference between overdrive, distortion and fuzz?
How hard the circuit clips, how symmetrically, and what EQ is applied around it. Overdrive clips softly and responds to picking; distortion clips hard and stays consistent; fuzz clips hardest, usually by saturating transistors. The full comparison works through it.
+ Is a 100 watt amp twice as loud as a 50 watt amp?
No. Doubling power adds about 3 dB, which is noticeable and nothing like twice as loud. Speaker efficiency and cabinet design affect perceived volume more than the wattage rating does. The attenuator arithmetic has the full table.
+ Will a lower wattage amp be quiet enough for a bedroom?
Less than you expect. Going from 20 W to 5 W is about 6 dB — real, and nowhere near enough at the volume where a valve power section is doing anything interesting. A master volume or an attenuator is the actual answer.
+ Do I need a tube amp?
Only if you want the power section itself to distort. If your distortion comes from pedals, a solid-state amp is arguably the better platform — it stays linear until it clips, so it does not add compression on top of what your pedals did. Tube vs solid state.
+ Should I upgrade my amp or buy more pedals?
Play your amp clean, everything bypassed, at your usual volume. If you like it, buy pedals. If you do not, buy the amp — pedals operate before the amp and cannot undo what the amp does afterwards. The full guide.
+ Delay or reverb first?
Buy a delay first if your amp already has reverb, which most do — you are adding a capability rather than duplicating one. In the signal chain, delay goes before reverb so each repeat gets its own tail. Delay vs reverb.
+ Do I need a compressor?
If you play clean and your dynamics are uneven, or you want long clean sustain, yes. If you play mostly distorted, no — distortion is already compressing heavily. Look for one with a blend control. The compressor roundup.
+ Where does a noise gate go?
Wrapped around the noisy pedals using its send/return loop, so the detector listens to your clean guitar rather than to the distorted signal that contains the noise. Without a loop it either chops note tails or fails to close. The gate roundup.
+ Are cheap guitar pedals any good?
The circuits often are — several budget pedals are faithful copies. What the money saves is the footswitch, jacks and pot shafts, which are exactly what fails on a gigging board. Best pedals under $100 is specific about where the corners are cut.
+ Analog or digital delay?
Digital if you want one delay that does everything — more time, more modes, tap tempo. Analog if you specifically want short repeats that darken as they decay, at almost no current cost. The delay roundup.
+ Can I run my multi-effects unit off my pedalboard power supply?
Usually not. A Line 6 HX Stomp ships with a 3 A supply and the highest single output on a pedalboard brick is typically 500 mA. It needs its own supply. Pedals vs multi-effects.
+ Why does my metal tone disappear in a band mix?
Almost always a mid scoop. Scooped mids sound enormous alone and occupy no space in a mix. Bring the mids up — it will sound wrong on your own and right with the band. Best pedals for metal.
+ Do you test the products you recommend?
No, and we say so on every page. We compile published manufacturer specifications, do the arithmetic that follows, and cite every figure. Where a question needs listening or handling, we say we cannot answer it. How we research.
+ Why don't your buy buttons always show a price?
Because prices render only from a live data layer. Where there is no live figure, the button says Check price rather than showing a number we remember from last month. A stale price is a specific, checkable claim that happens to be wrong.
+ How do you make money?
Affiliate commission, primarily through the Amazon Associates program, at no extra cost to you. No sponsored posts, no paid placements, no free products accepted. Full disclosure.