Must Own Guitar Effects Pedals
Essential FX Equipment for Becoming a Guitar Hero in a Rock Band
Jul 30, 2008
Whether someone wants to be the next Jimi Hendrix, Slash or Steve Vai there are some essential pieces of guitar equipment that every guitar player should own.
Distortion / Over drive Pedal
A distortion pedal gives the guitar that distinctive raw rock sound. It replicates the sound of an overdriven guitar amp and is essential for those guitarists who are into playing metal. There are also overdrive pedals available which are great for a more organic and less extreme sound (for playing blues for example) but they aren’t suitable for playing metal or hard rock style music.
Chorus Pedal
A chorus pedal helps enhance the clean sound of an electric guitar. It gives the sound a spacious airy quality. The best example chorus being used is on the bass part of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”. A chorus pedal is great for adding extra colour to arpeggios and chords and is often used in ballads.
Wah Wah Pedal
Made famous by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix the Wah Wah pedal is one of the ultimate pieces of guitar equipment. By varying the midrange eq of the guitar signal this pedal produces the distinctive vocal “Wah sound” that can be heard on “Voodoo Chile” and the guitar solo in “Enter Sandman”. The Wah pedal is also very useful for funk and jazz music if used with a clean guitar sound.
They are a few different brands out there but the only two worth investigating are the Cry Baby and the Vox.
Digital Delay Pedal
A digital delay pedal is quite simply a very advanced echo machine. The difference with a digital delay is the sound recreated is perfect and its timing can be adjusted to the users requirements. A digital pedal can be used to simply add an extra layer of interest to a guitar solo or it can be used for much more colourful and complex effects. The Edge from U2 has developed a whole style of his own that incorporates digital delay. A prime example being in the song, “Where the Streets Have No Name.
Guitar Looping Pedal
A guitar looping pedal allows the user to play a phrase into the pedal and then loop it repeatedly back. This means the player can then solo over the top, add more layers to the loop or slow the loop down or speed it up. Often employed by solo acoustic guitarists it’s a more expensive piece of equipment but its uses are extensive. A good guita looping pedal is the Digitech Jamm Man.
The wannabe guitar hero who invests in all of the above will find that they never struggle to get a great sound from their instrument. Bass players should read Essential Effects Pedals for Bass Guitar.
 |
