What Are the Best Guitar Effects for Me?
Adding some guitar effects can transform the sound of your guitar and even help you to shape a sound that’s entirely your own. If you’re new to the world of guitar effects, this Buyer’s Guide has been put together to offer a great little introduction. If you can’t see the answer to your question here, feel free to contact us!
1. What Types of Effects Are There?
There are roughly four different guitar effect types:
- Distortion effects (overdrive, distortion, fuzz)
- Modulation effects (o.a. chorus, phaser, flanger)
- Time-based effects (reverb, delay)
- Compressor, boost and envelope-filters
Overdrive & Distortion Effect Pedals
Fuzz Effect Pedals
Modulation Effect Pedals
Reverb & Delay Effect Pedals
Compression Pedals
Boost Pedals
Filter Pedals
2. What Does a Distortion Effect Pedal Do?
Modern music wouldn’t look the same without that familiar, powerful and raw, ‘distorted’ guitar sound. You can create distortion by turning a valve amplifier all the way up, but if you’re using a transistor amplifier (which is often the case), then you’ll need an overdrive or distortion pedal to make that heavy rock, grunge, or metal-style sound. An overdrive pedal is used to create a lightly distorted sound and can also be used to add an extra ‘edge’ to the sound of a valve amplifier, for a thicker, more solid sound. Distortion pedals are generally used to make an extra thick, more heavily distorted sound. Then there’s fuzz. Rather than imitating the sound of an overdriven valve amp, Fuzz pedals create a distortion that’s based on the buzzing, grainy distortion that broken electronic equipment used to make.
3. Modulation: What Do Chorus, Phaser, & Flanger Pedals Do?
The difference between these effects can’t really be explained in a couple of words. But, we’re going to try to give you a good idea. Chorus, phaser and flanger effects all make a copy of the original signal from your guitar and then add ‘modulation’ to it to create a smooth, atmospheric effect. A chorus adds a different, hamonic note to the copied signal. This little difference makes the guitar sound wider and more full. A classic example of chorus can be heard as soon as the opening riff of Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ kicks off. A phaser kind of makes a negative copy of the guitar signal which is then delayed before being played back, resulting in a wave effect, like the guitar sound on ‘Unchained’ by Van Halen. A flanger, on the other hand, adds a kind of short delay that’s then repeatedly modulated. The intro of ‘Baracuda’ by Heart is a great example of a phaser in action.
All Modulation Effect Pedals
Chorus Effect Pedals
Phaser Effect Pedals
Flanger Effect Pedals
4. Modulation: What Do Tremolo, Vibrato, & Rotary Pedals Do?
Before effects pedals even existed, some guitar amplifiers came with built-in tremolo or vibrato effects. A tremolo automatically varies the volume of the guitar sound at a specific speed and intensity, both of which can usually be adjusted. Vibrato effects are similar but make a slight adjustment in the pitch of the guitar sound, rather than the volume. To finish, the rotary effect is similar to both the vibrato and tremolo. Here, the sound is literally rotated, just as the speaker inside a Leslie amp is rotated to create the distinctive sound of a Hammond B3 organ. This ‘rotating’ effect varies both the volume and pitch of the guitar sound, making it sound like a ‘passing sound wave’ and is based on the Doppler effect.
All Modulation Effect Pedals
All Tremolo Effect Pedals
Vibrato Effect Pedals
Rotary Effect Pedals
5. Modulation: What Do Pitch Shifter & Octaver Pedals Do?
Pitch shifter and octaver effects change the pitch of your guitar. Octavers raise or lower the pitch of the signal coming from your guitar by one or more octaves. The effect can usually be combined with the dry (uneffected) sound of your guitar to create a wide and heavy sound. Pitch shifters can be set to raise or lower the sound of your guitar by a number of notes. Using a pitch shifter, you can also often create harmonies. A little basic music theory is useful here since you can dictate the scale and key, and then indicate how many steps higher or lower the copy of the guitar signal is shifted by. One of the most well-known pitch-shifters of all time is the Digitech Whammy, which was famously used to great effect by Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine.
6. Time-Based: What Does a Delay Pedal Do?
Delay pedals make a copy of your guitar signal and then repeat the signal with a pre-determined delay. You can usually adjust the timing of the delay with a lot of accuracy. You can also dictate how often the ‘echo’ is repeated (feedback), how long the effect lasts (delay time) and at what volume you want the repeats to be ‘played’ back. You can adjust this effect to create a multi-layered effect, like the signature sound of The Edge from U2. Delay effects are often used by lead guitarists to thicken up their sound during solos.
7. Time-Based: What Does a Reverb Pedal Do?
A reverb pedal literally makes the sound of a guitar ‘reverberate’. Just like a delay pedal, reverb does use delay, but with reverb, the difference between the normal signal and delayed signal is much less clear. In this way, it shapes an entirely new sound. If you think about what your voice sounds like when you sing in a large church or in the shower, the effect is reverb. Reverb effects can be adjusted so that they sound very subtle or very immense and there are many different types of reverb, including spring, plate, or hall. These names originate from the way in which reverb used to be created. Short reverbs can be heard a lot in country, surf, rock & roll, and rockabilly. Longer, or bigger reverbs are used a lot in shoegaze or dream pop.
8. What Do Compressor, Boost, & Envelope Pedals Do?
Compressors, boosters and envelope filters all influence the volume of the guitar signal. Boosters strengthen the volume without distorting the sound, unlike overdrive pedals. Boosters are usually used to give the volume of a solo a ‘boost’ at the push of a button, so that the guitar sound immediately sits on top of the sound of the rest of the band. Compressors are used to create a balanced guitar sound. The signal from the guitar is kind of pressed together and more focussed as a result. With compression, signals that are (too) quiet sound louder, and a signal that’s (too) loud sounds quieter and this has the effect of balancing out the entire sound. As such, both the quieter and louder guitar parts blend better with the other instruments in the mix. This also ensures improved ‘sustain’ (the amount of time a note can be held for). Sustainer effects are specifically designed for this. Envelope filters filter specific frequencies out of your guitar sound. With a wah-wah pedal, for example, you can adjust the frequencies that are being filtered out in real-time, using an expression pedal. If you push the pedal back and forth, you get that familiar ‘whacka-whacka’ sound, famously used during the intro for Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix himself. In principle, an autowah has the same effect but switches between the filtered frequencies automatically.
9. What Are Multi-Effects?
Multi-effects combine a number of effects in a single pedal. A multi-effect offers a lot for your money, since buying separate effects pedals can cost a lot more. If you want to start experimenting with a number of different effects, a multi-effects pedal is a great choice. Also, a multi-effects pedal can be more practical when taking your gear to gigs or rehearsals since it can replace a big, heavy pedalboard. Many modern multi-effects pedals also offer amplifier simulations and can sometimes be used as an audio interface for recording directly to a computer. The advantage of having a few separate effect pedals in place of a single multi-effect unit, is that you often have more setting options for each effect and can experiment more easily with the order (effect chain) of your pedals. However, there are also more advanced multi-effects units available where you can simply edit the order in which the effects are placed.
Links & More Information
Product Categories
All Guitar Effect Pedals & Accessories
Overdrive & Distortion Effect Pedals
Fuzz Effect Pedals
Modulation Effect Pedals
Reverb & Delay Effect Pedals
Compression Pedals
Boost Pedals
Filter Pedals
Multi-Effect Pedals
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