A rewrite of material from ra3035 at sps.mot.com (Mick Patterson):

>Any systematization of effects positioning should take into account the
>circumstances surrounding live performance, and
>differentiate between that situation and the studio,
>where critical tonal decisions are more essential. The
>average working guitarist will usually be happy to get
>the timebased effects after the preamp in a live situation,
>as this gets them after any preamp distortion (which is,
>whether one likes it or not, where most of the distortion
>is derived presently), and still lets him have control
>of them. Most of us have necessarily clueless sound
>engineers doing any live work, since they are usually
>unfamiliar with the material, and won't know where any
>effects switching would take place.

>The noise, mic bleed, electronics involved in the PA amplification,
>room sound, etc. that is inherent in a live performance
>usually nullifies any small tonal gain you might get by
>either [a] having the soundman do your effects, or [b]
>trying to lug around a speaker isolation box for this
>purpose. If you're Rush, maybe (they do this), but most
>of us must fit this stuff into a small space for cartage,
>as well as hand-carry it ourselves. THIS is the reasoning
>behind all-in-one multi-effects units, for the most part.

>The studio is a different situation. Here is
>where critical listening will take place, where effect
>placement after the power amp/speakers is plausible, and
>where tonal considerations are most important.
>I still use a solid-state amp here, and power-tube distortion
>is not a consideration for me.

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