Guitar Effects Pedals: A Buying Guide
Guitar effects pedals (or "stompboxes") have been a mainstay in guitarists' sound-palettes since the early 1960's when engineer Roger Mayer is purported to have built the first guitar effects pedals, the "fuzz" pedal (the precurser of the modern overdrive and distortion pedal) and the wah-pedal. Mayer's creations graced the stages of such rock luminaries as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix (supposedly, Mayer created the first pedals for his friend Page in the early 1960's). Mayer's legacy lives on, as guitar effects are used by guitar players across the globe.
Guitarists use effects pedals to give themselves a wider variety of sound choices to use during recording or live performances. While different amplifiers can offer some of the alternatives, not many amplifiers have built-in effects. Besides, guitar players would have to go to their amplifiers every time they wanted to make a change. Effects pedals are much more convenient, especially since guitarists often change tones in the middle of a song.
Not unlike the electric guitar and amplifier itself, effects pedals contribute to guitarists having a broad range of tonal expression. Today, even classical and acoustic guitarists use these effects, though they tend to avoid the distortion, overdrive, and wah pedals used by electric guitarists.
After effects pedals became popular, rack-mounted effects saw more wide use amongst guitarists, especially during the 1980's. The Yamaha SPX-90 and Eventide Ultra Harmonizer were two of the most popular rack effects that guitarists used at this time. However, guitar players soon realized that effects pedals were far more convenient and useful than rack gear, especially since the sound quality of digital pedals increased dramatically and eliminated the need for much rack equipment.
In order to make storage and transport much easier, guitar players will usually affix their pedals to boards ("pedalboards") with velcro, so that it's easy to "stomp" on their desired effects pedals. Volume and Wah pedals are usually mounted in such a way that facilitates their usage, since those pedals have to be "rocked" back and forth to affect their sound.
Most pedals, though, have a simple on-off feature. For instance, the ubiquitous distortion tone of hard rock and metal guitar players can be instantly switched off and the guitar's "clean channel" allowed to be played, to give a different feel to different sections of a song. Another simple stomp, and the distorted tone comes roaring back.
It's safe to say that most guitarists expend a lot of effort to get the "perfect" sound, and this involves configuring their guitars, amps, and effects pedals in the right combination. There are many different types of effects for players to chose from today: delay, vibrato, tremolo, chorus, pitch-shifting, flanger, overdrive, distortion, and the list goes on and on. Such effects can have significant changes on a guitarist's sound, which explains their ever-increasing popularity.
If you are interested in broadening your sound or just trying something different, then you should give some of the above effects a try. Who knows? They may inspire your next killer solo! - 23815
Guitarists use effects pedals to give themselves a wider variety of sound choices to use during recording or live performances. While different amplifiers can offer some of the alternatives, not many amplifiers have built-in effects. Besides, guitar players would have to go to their amplifiers every time they wanted to make a change. Effects pedals are much more convenient, especially since guitarists often change tones in the middle of a song.
Not unlike the electric guitar and amplifier itself, effects pedals contribute to guitarists having a broad range of tonal expression. Today, even classical and acoustic guitarists use these effects, though they tend to avoid the distortion, overdrive, and wah pedals used by electric guitarists.
After effects pedals became popular, rack-mounted effects saw more wide use amongst guitarists, especially during the 1980's. The Yamaha SPX-90 and Eventide Ultra Harmonizer were two of the most popular rack effects that guitarists used at this time. However, guitar players soon realized that effects pedals were far more convenient and useful than rack gear, especially since the sound quality of digital pedals increased dramatically and eliminated the need for much rack equipment.
In order to make storage and transport much easier, guitar players will usually affix their pedals to boards ("pedalboards") with velcro, so that it's easy to "stomp" on their desired effects pedals. Volume and Wah pedals are usually mounted in such a way that facilitates their usage, since those pedals have to be "rocked" back and forth to affect their sound.
Most pedals, though, have a simple on-off feature. For instance, the ubiquitous distortion tone of hard rock and metal guitar players can be instantly switched off and the guitar's "clean channel" allowed to be played, to give a different feel to different sections of a song. Another simple stomp, and the distorted tone comes roaring back.
It's safe to say that most guitarists expend a lot of effort to get the "perfect" sound, and this involves configuring their guitars, amps, and effects pedals in the right combination. There are many different types of effects for players to chose from today: delay, vibrato, tremolo, chorus, pitch-shifting, flanger, overdrive, distortion, and the list goes on and on. Such effects can have significant changes on a guitarist's sound, which explains their ever-increasing popularity.
If you are interested in broadening your sound or just trying something different, then you should give some of the above effects a try. Who knows? They may inspire your next killer solo! - 23815
About the Author:
Author R. S. Rasnick is the founder of JustEffectsPedals.com, where you can easily shop for all the effects devices mentioned in this article and hundreds more!
posted by X - Men at
10:20 AM
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