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 so popular with guitar players, especially electric guitarists, because they can easily expand the tonal range of the guitarists' sound. True, it's possible to use the guitar amplifier to change these sounds, but most amplifiers do not have built-in effects and the settings would have to be changed from song-to-song. Usually, guitarists want to be able to affect their sounds during a song or in various sections as well, so it makes sense keeping the pedals in front of them so they can change it themselves.
Just as the invention of the electric guitar and the amplifier gave the guitar player a far more powerful voice and greater sustainability of notes, so the effects pedals gave him a far wider range of expressive options. Today, even some acoustic guitar players and classical guitar players use effects pedals although the distortion and wah pedals used by electric guitar players aren't usually part of their tonal palette.
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.
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.
You'll find, though, that most guitar pedals are pretty simple to operate. With a simple "stomp," one can go from a blaring rock and roll distortion to a beautifully clean sounds. Some guitarists even use devices called "loopers" to chain groups of effects together than can be switched on and off simultaneously.
Guitar players go through a great deal of effort to tweak the settings on their guitar, their amps, and their configuration of effects pedals to get their "just right" or signature sound. Popular effects devices include distortion, overdrive, chorus, flanger, echo, delay, vibrato, tremolo, flanging, and pitch-shifting, just to name a few. These effects can have drastic changes on a guitarist's sound.
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! - 18418
Effects pedals are so popular with guitar players, especially electric guitarists, because they can easily expand the tonal range of the guitarists' sound. True, it's possible to use the guitar amplifier to change these sounds, but most amplifiers do not have built-in effects and the settings would have to be changed from song-to-song. Usually, guitarists want to be able to affect their sounds during a song or in various sections as well, so it makes sense keeping the pedals in front of them so they can change it themselves.
Just as the invention of the electric guitar and the amplifier gave the guitar player a far more powerful voice and greater sustainability of notes, so the effects pedals gave him a far wider range of expressive options. Today, even some acoustic guitar players and classical guitar players use effects pedals although the distortion and wah pedals used by electric guitar players aren't usually part of their tonal palette.
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.
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.
You'll find, though, that most guitar pedals are pretty simple to operate. With a simple "stomp," one can go from a blaring rock and roll distortion to a beautifully clean sounds. Some guitarists even use devices called "loopers" to chain groups of effects together than can be switched on and off simultaneously.
Guitar players go through a great deal of effort to tweak the settings on their guitar, their amps, and their configuration of effects pedals to get their "just right" or signature sound. Popular effects devices include distortion, overdrive, chorus, flanger, echo, delay, vibrato, tremolo, flanging, and pitch-shifting, just to name a few. These effects can have drastic changes on a guitarist's sound.
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! - 18418
About the Author:
Author R. S. Rasnick is the owner of JustEffectsPedals.com, where you can find all the effects pedals mentioned here and purchase them today!
posted by X - Men at
4:29 AM
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