Modulation

Modulation covers the largest cluster of pedal types that alter a signal cyclically over time rather than reshaping its gain or frequency balance outright: phaser, flanger, chorus, vibrato, rotary and ring modulator each sweep or vary some property of the signal on a repeating cycle, and tremolo does the same to amplitude specifically. Six of these types — phaser, flanger, chorus, vibrato, rotary and ring modulator — have no settled precedence among themselves; a board with several of them stacked has no single correct order between those types, only an order relative to the rest of the chain.

The types in this family

• Chorus (rank 80): Modulation after the gain stages keeps the sweep defined, because the drive is no longer compressing the modulated peaks back together.
• Flanger (rank 80): Modulation after the gain stages keeps the sweep defined, because the drive is no longer compressing the modulated peaks back together.
• Phaser (rank 80): Modulation after the gain stages keeps the sweep defined, because the drive is no longer compressing the modulated peaks back together.
• Ring modulator (rank 80): A ring modulator multiplies the signal against a carrier; after the gain stages the inharmonic result stays legible instead of being clipped back together.
• Rotary (rank 80): A rotary emulates a speaker cabinet being driven, so like the other modulations it belongs after the gain stages that would otherwise smear its sweep.
• Vibrato (rank 80): Modulation after the gain stages keeps the sweep defined, because the drive is no longer compressing the modulated peaks back together.
• Tremolo (rank 90): Tremolo modulates amplitude rather than pitch or phase, so it ends the modulation block, immediately before the time-based effects that should repeat its pulsing.

Where it sits in the chain, and why

The whole family sits after the gain stages, tremolo included, for the same underlying reason: modulating a signal before it is distorted lets the drive pedal compress the modulated peaks back together, producing a thicker but less distinct sweep, while modulating after the drive keeps the cyclical movement clearly audible on top of the finished distorted tone. Tremolo specifically sits at the very end of this group, immediately before delay and reverb, because it modulates amplitude rather than pitch or phase, and the time-based effects that follow it should repeat its pulsing rather than smear it. Running modulation ahead of the drive block instead is an older, still commonly used order that trades definition for a thicker blend — a real choice, not a mistake.

Power notes

This family spans both analog and digital designs, and the two draw current very differently: a simple analog phaser or chorus circuit is often a modest, easily shared load, while a digital multi-effect modulation pedal or a rotary-speaker emulator can draw considerably more and often benefits from an isolated output. There is no single number that honestly describes "a modulation pedal" — the individual model’s own specification is the only reliable source.

General guidance for the family, never a specification for any individual pedal — always confirm voltage, polarity, current draw and isolation from the maker’s own documentation before wiring a real board.

Every rank and reason above is quoted straight from pedal-chain-planner.js's PEDAL_TYPES — the same taxonomy this site's chain planner runs and docs/gearwarrior-pedals-contract.md documents. No second table.