# Sound effect chain order

**URL:** <https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129>\
**Category:** TidalCycles\
**Tags:** questions\
**Created:** [22 March 2026 19:45 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129 "2026-03-22T19:45:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/user_avatar/uzu.lurk.org/nikola_nenov/32/3573_2.png) [@Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/u/Nikola_Nenov)\
**Post date:** [22 March 2026 19:45 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129/1 "2026-03-22T19:45:57Z")

</div>

Ello, I’m finally starting to dip my toe into tidal and its been great so far, i have LOADS of beginner questions and so far theres been loads of super useful resources I’ve found.

One thing I was wondering about, I’ve been putting some fx on my cycles, e.g.

```haskell
d1 $ sound "rs lt bd/2 cb/3 cb bd" # shape 0.5
 # distort "<0.6>"
 # shape 0.6
 # room 0.3 # sz 0.7

```

and I thought it would be great to do the reverb before the distortion, but when I put the reverb first in the order, I still get the same resulting sound, like the reverb is still being applied last?

```haskell
d1 $ sound "rs lt bd/2 cb/3 cb bd" # shape 0.5
 # room 0.3 # sz 0.7
 # distort "<0.6>"
 # shape 0.6

```

Is it possible to control order of sound effects in the fx chain? or is there some predefined fx chain for all possible audio effects?

Also, if I put the same effect twice, is it doubled/compounded? It sounds like only the last one is used?

Thank you,

Nik

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yaxu](https://uzu.lurk.org/user_avatar/uzu.lurk.org/yaxu/32/2_2.png) [@yaxu](https://uzu.lurk.org/u/yaxu)\
**Post date:** [22 March 2026 19:56 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129/2 "2026-03-22T19:56:09Z")

</div>

Hey Nick, questions very welcome!

It isn’t really possible to change the order of effects from tidal. It is possible in supercollider, [see here](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/effects-after-reverb/1315/15).. But unfortunately because reverb is a ‘global effect’ (or to be more precise one that’s applied to a whole ‘orbit’), it will always come after distortion.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yaxu](https://uzu.lurk.org/user_avatar/uzu.lurk.org/yaxu/32/2_2.png) [@yaxu](https://uzu.lurk.org/u/yaxu)\
**Post date:** [22 March 2026 20:02 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129/3 "2026-03-22T20:02:14Z")

</div>

Oh and for the second question.. Yes by default later effects will override earlier ones.

Tidal actually doesn’t know anything about the effects, or control routing, generally speaking. All it does is pattern OSC messages, superdirt takes care of everything to do with sound.

However there are ways of adding/multiplying effects. The `#` operator is actually combining the pattern on the left, with the pattern on the right. If it sees the same effect in both, the one on the right will override it.

If instead of using `#`, you use `|+`, then instead of overriding, the values of the effect patterns will be added together. Likewise if you use `|*` they will be multiplied together. So you could do

```haskell
d1 $ sound “bd sd” # speed 2 |* speed “<1 2>”

```

and that would have been the same as if you’d have had

```haskell
d1 $ sound “bd sd” # speed “<2 4>”

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/user_avatar/uzu.lurk.org/nikola_nenov/32/3573_2.png) [@Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/u/Nikola_Nenov)\
**Post date:** [22 March 2026 20:31 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129/4 "2026-03-22T20:31:05Z")

</div>

Ahh I see ok! Thank you, that explains a lot!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/user_avatar/uzu.lurk.org/nikola_nenov/32/3573_2.png) [@Nikola\_Nenov](https://uzu.lurk.org/u/Nikola_Nenov)\
**Post date:** [22 March 2026 20:34 UTC](https://uzu.lurk.org/t/sound-effect-chain-order/6129/5 "2026-03-22T20:34:21Z")

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I was just trying out |+ etc today in your page on notes and arp and chords, i was just trying it on notes didnt think about using it on other stuff !