Guitar Effects Pedals: An Introduction and Purchasing 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.
Effects pedals are used to give the guitarist more tonal colors or, that is, an expansion of timbre on his instrument’s palette. It’s possible to use an amplifier’s settings to create these different tonal colors, too, but the amplifier is limited to what effects it can give, plus its settings would have to be changed only between songs, whereas guitar players frequently want to change tonality and color in the midst of playing a single song, and often many times over.
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 the initial popularity of guitar effects pedals, manufacturers produced rack-mounted gear that was either aimed at guitarists or widely used by them. Companies such as Yamaha and Eventide made products that were often found in the racks of famous guitarists, particularly in the 1980′s. However, with increased quality in effects pedal technology, most guitar players moved away from rack-mounted gear back to floor-mounted effects pedals, embracing their simple usability.
When they have their effects selected, most guitar players will mount their pedals on a pedalboard to facilitate transportation and storage of their effects. This system makes it much easier to activate the pedals as well, since they are contained in a relatively small space. Since wah and volume pedals operate a bit differently (they are rocked back and forth rather than simply switched on), they are mounted to make this usage easier.
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.
Guitarists often spend a great deal of time tweaking their effects, amps, and guitars just to get the “perfect” sound that they’ve been searching for. There are literally thousands of effect devices for you to chose from. Some more common effects include volume, wah, compression, distortion, overdrive, chorus, echo/delay, tremolo, and vibrato. Effects such as these can drastically and effectively shape a guitarist’s sound.
If you are guitarist who is wondering how you can shape your sound in new and exciting ways, then check out the above guitar effects. They might inspire you in ways you never considered possible.
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