How to choose guitar effects pedals

Effect pedals have opened up a whole new world of sonic possibilities for guitarists and bassists. From subtle to relatively large in size, these "gadgets" allow you to reproduce the sounds of your favorite recordings, as well as those that are spinning in your head. In this article, we will introduce you to many types of effects and their capabilities.

What are the effects?

Guitar effects are electronic devices and circuits that process an electrical signal from a musical instrument or microphone. They are capable of changing the sound so much that you may not even recognize the original sound. They, like the brushes of an artist, add boundless creative possibilities to your artistic imagination.

Using effects, musicians achieve the best sound of their guitar in various musical contexts, as well as create new sounds or just have fun jamming with friends.

The evolution of effects dates back to 1940. Pioneering guitarist Les Paul was one of the earliest and most picky effects designers, experimenting with echo and multi-channel recording. The first effects pedal appeared in the late 1940s. with a tremolo processor called "Harry DeArmond's Trem Tol", and was later used by legendary American guitarist Bo Diddley. Over the next two decades, other effects were developed, but these tended to be expensive and had significant disadvantages. Meanwhile, amps from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson already had reverb and tremolo effects built in.

With the emergence of hard rock bands such as The Kinks and the Yardbirds in the 1960s, there was a craving for crunchy and distorted sounds. Kinks guitarist Dave Davis even cut his speaker cone in search of an extra sandy sound. The demand for loud and distorted sound led to an increase in the production of amplifiers from the British company Marshall, which gained popularity in the Atlantic.

Half a century later, effects have become popular with musicians around the world. Most of the studio recordings began to depend on these "bells and whistles", which gave the melodies a unique color in their sound.

More often than not, effects pedals can be seen housed in small metal boxes on the floor at the guitarist's feet. They are called pedals because a musician steps on or off the device by stepping on the metal buttons. The pedals also have toggle switches for adjusting the intensity and volume of a particular effect. Often at concerts, guitarists use blocks of several pedals and buttons. These devices are called multi-effects pedals or processors. They usually have a wide variety of different effects that can be used simultaneously. Recently, the popularity of processors has skyrocketed as their quality and functionality have improved. Also, we are write an article about best reverb delay pedal at the our sites, which we linked before! So, hurry up! Read and choose the best one!

Where to begin

First, you should know that most of the world famous guitarists you are familiar with use effects in their music. And all of them, too, once started from scratch.

Every guitarist on his creative path sooner or later begins to experiment with effects. After all, using all kinds of sound distortions, you interact more closely with your instrument and thus look for sound possibilities unknown to you.

Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain - analog pedal with a wide range of effects (reverb / pitch shifter / tremolo / overdrive / fuzz)

Many modern guitar amps are equipped with a multi-effects section that encourages the player to experiment with the sound. Most are programmable, allowing you to create your own unique sounds and then save them for quick playback later. All the popular guitarists of the world, as a rule, have played dozens of different effect pedals during their musical careers.

Analog or digital effects?

All effects that were created up to the early 1980s were based on analog circuits . This means that they work by directly modifying the actual audio signal. Later, the digital revolution invaded the realm of guitar and digital signal processing effects. Digital effects convert a signal into a digital bitstream, which is then digitally modified into analog audio signals at the output. While many musicians prefer the original analogue effects devices and modern re-releases, most of the "gadgets" on the market today are digital circuitry. Professionals at all levels use digital effects... Both analogue and digital devices have their advantages, and their choice depends on the guitarist and musical style.

Analog effects are preferred by many professionals. This is due to the fact that they do not use digital signal conversion, as a result of which the sound is cleaner at the output. The truth is that digital conversion can lead to some natural artifacts of the original sound. However, digital technology has undergone great changes and its quality has improved markedly. Digital effects have two big advantages: versatility and precision. Today's multi-effects processors exist thanks to digital processing, and many effects can be packaged in a single device due to their sheer processing power. Digital signals can also be used to control a wider range of parameters.

Variety of models

Since the early 1990s. musical device manufacturers have begun developing digital effects models designed to recreate sounds produced by classic effects, instruments, and vintage amps. This technology has rapidly expanded to include samples of heads, cabinets, microphones, and pedals and amplifiers widely used by professional musicians. Over the past decade, one of the leaders in this field, the popular Line 6 company, has even created electric guitars and basses, containing samples of the sounds of famous ancient instruments.

Variety of pedal models

Most modern multi-effects devices provide sets of effects that are fairly easy to operate. Thanks to this convenience, even a novice guitarist can experiment with creating his own unique sound. Plus, almost all preset blocks make it easy to create your own sets. Having bought such a device, you can customize the effects to your taste, and then save in order to activate them later with one click of a button.

Equalizer effects

These effects are designed to boost or cut specified frequency ranges within a single audio signal. It should be noted that the pitch of high- and low-frequency sound ranges (for example, hissing sounds on rivets of low-quality cymbals, sounds of a bass drum or bass guitar) cannot be changed by the equalizer effects , but they can change their timbre or quality.

Most guitars have one or more tone controls, offering a fairly simple form of EQ control. Using them, a musician, while playing, can raise or lower the frequencies of the sound of his guitar. Most guitar and bass amps come with multiple tone controls (usually in the form of a 3-band EQ) that let you control the bass, mids, and treble independently.

Detailed sound settings

For more control and fine-tuning your sound, you can use a parametric or graphic equalizer. The parametric equalizer allows you to adjust the bandwidth. The graphic equalizer divides this frequency in the range into several narrow bands, each of which can be increased or decreased using sliders, thus providing a visual or "graphical representation" of the equalizer. The more bands there are, the more accurately you can make the adjustment.

Equalizer allows you to radically change the "clear" sound of the instrument. This becomes especially important when playing with a group. Your guitar may sound great if you play alone, but if other musicians are joining you may need additional tuning. Depending on the instruments involved, you will need to adjust the EQ to help your guitar blend in with the overall sound. Using the equalizer on the effects processor allows you to tune the sound you want more easily and accurately than turning the knobs on the amp.

Guitar Effect Pedals

Wow-wow effect

The wah-wah guitar effect is unique in nature. When you press the pedal with your foot, you get the feeling of a triple sound. By releasing it, the triple effect is weakened. Thus, by pressing and releasing, you can hear a "wah" sound, which actually served as the official name for this effect. When you play with the wah pedal, you get dynamic and expressive sound. It is known that legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix was one of the first to reveal the full spectrum of this effect.

The famous Vox JS-WH Big Bad Wah Pedal analogue wah pedal used by renowned guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani

There is a wide variety of wah-wah pedals on the market, each with its own unique characteristic sound.

Typically, you can adjust the attack time (how fast the pitch moves towards the high frequencies) and the depth of the loop. Some of the models allow you to set a constant value for the automatic activation of the distortion "wah", the so-called "auto-wah", which eliminates the need to use your foot. This design is included in many multi-effects processors.

Some of the best recent developments in this area are the Electro-Harmonix wah pedals. Although they lack all the moving parts of traditional "croaks", they do an excellent job of the job.

Overdrive

BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive - Overdrive pedal with a pleasant, smooth, smooth sound

Overdrive is an effect that is formed as a result of some distortion of the sound signal by its "smooth" amplitude limitation. Simply put, the principle of overdrive is based on a certain limitation of the audio signal in terms of its amplitude. The "smoothness" of such a limitation lies in the fact that the cutting of the upper turns of the sinusoid occurs not along a straight line, but along a smooth rounding. Thanks to this solution, the output signal will be distorted in proportion to the signal level at the output. By using the overdrive effect, you will immediately appreciate the brightness of the sound dynamics. Depending on how hard you hit the strings of your guitar, the signal on your guitar will be distorted accordingly.