Electric Guitar Effects Pedals and the Use of a Noise Gate

In your electric guitar effects pedals chain, if you have an amp that is working properly, you have good cables, good tubes in your amplifier (that are in decent working order), a serviceable guitar and you are still experiencing hums and hisses then the device you need will be some sort of noise gate. This relatively simple device is actually rather simple as this short article will illustrate:
Firstly you will need to understand what the main differences are from the available popular noise gate products. When I was looking around for this information I managed to collate a fair bit about these products which I hope you will find useful should you wish to explore this method of reducing or eliminating unwanted noise:
The first thing I discovered was that a noise gate is effectively something that is set up and then left. Easy enough, even for me, but there are some other important factors to understand that are relevant such as how and why the hisses and hums are made in the first place.
Hisses and hums often come from poorly made or put together components on your guitar, such as badly soldered joints, poorly wound or badly shielded pickups, or just the fact that single coils are used. To make the whole set up quieter start with these points. Then make sure that there is an adequate grounding on all the electrical connections and that the solder joints are smooth and shiny. It is likely that one of these things will be affecting the sound.
The next point would be the electric guitar effects pedal chain itself which will bring together circuits built by numerous different manufacturers. Each effect will have its own traits, but the creators should have ensured that their pedal is as good as it can be in terms of circuitry and build quality. However, remember that using boosting devices or anything designed to increase volume in the effects chain will amplify any sound being made - good or bad. This is the reason any compressor pedal should be placed at the beginning of the chain as the pure nature of this effect amplifies any noise from any other sources (like your guitar). It stands to reason that if you minimise the sources in front then you are guaranteed to have less hiss and hum.

It is highly likely that your amplifier was not built to perfection. This is particularly the case if you use a tube amplifier as they tend to introduce hum and hiss into the mix from things like microphone noise or just general wear. Apparently, not many guitar players look at the connections from the amplifier to the speaker terminals in their cabinets and there can be a poor connection in the vast majority of cases commonly caused by the spade connector. Nowadays, those in the 'know' solder their speaker terminals to make sure they get a stable connection and thus reducing the hum and hiss of the amplifier.
All the connecting cables really matter. That means all the cables, not just the lead from the guitar. All should be as high a quality as you can possibly get. Much of the time if the cables are substandard it will also be tone that suffers along with the hum and hiss problems.
Reduction of hiss and hum using a noise gate begs the question of where the device should go in the electric guitar effects pedals chain. I suppose the obvious place is as the last link so it can deal with everything that has gone before, but has the sound degraded so badly by that point? There are arguments that it should be at the first link to deal with the prime 'noisemaker', the guitar. The truth is that the position of the noise gate in the chain depends on what equipment is being used and an understanding of all the issues outlined above, and like everything in music your own personal preference.

Effects Pedals and Processors - Using the Effects Loop

When I first discovered the coolness of stomp box guitar effects, I think I was 11. I would venture down to the local music store where the gentleman that owned the place, Bill, would greet my friend Jimmy and I at the door with the resounding "How's it going there gold dust?" Bill was a great guy and we would literally visit his shop every Saturday without exception. He was great about letting us pull guitars off the rack and cranking up the noise, as a matter of fact he encouraged it! It was there that Bill showed me a Harmonix Bad Stone Phase Shifter, the first guitar effect I had ever seen. He showed me how to hook it up, and from the first note I hit with that bad boy on, I knew I had to have this thing. It's what started my endless obsession with tone, and overwhelming desire to match it up correctly with the piece being played. I'm not the only one though. This is pretty much what comes with the territory when you decide to play guitar seriously. Now days of course there are so many choices and different directions you can go to carve out that perfect sound, that sometimes it can get overwhelming. Over the years there been a few consistent discoveries that I have found to narrow down what my preferences are. These of course are my thoughts presented in an editorial context and may or may not reflect your own feelings.
To start with, the style or genre of music is important when deciding what effects will be needed. The second decision is whether to use an all in one processor or to use separate effects chained together. There are some pros and cons to both, and I will go over some of those. My own experience with guitar processors starts with the first time I bought one. It was the Line 6 "kidney bean" POD. This was the stuff when it came out. It acted as a direct box and guitar amp modeler. I could make my amp sound like a number of different top-notch set-ups. It also had some effects built-in, chorus, delay, and reverb. After a while I graduated to the POD XT Live, a stage version that had more bells and whistles. It had a wah pedal, more amp models, effects and options, all in a unit that could be set in front of you while on stage. I used that for 5 years playing gigs, and it worked great until I broke the wah pedal in the middle of a show. I had it repaired, but it was never the same. I wanted to go a different direction anyway with my sound so I started experimenting with single effects pedals. There are a lot of individuals that will just string together the effects with chords, plug the last output into the input on their amp, and their guitar into the input of the first effect in the chain. That will work for some effects, like distortion, compression, and wah pedals, but they don't work so good for ambient effects like chorus, delay, phase shifters, signal boosters, and flangers. For those, you need to run them through the effects loop, usually on the back of the amplifier. You simply connect the effects together as you normally would, with the outputs connected to the inputs, and run a chord from your "effects send" jack to the input on your first effect. The "effects return" jack should be connected to the output jack of the last effect in the chain. There is usually a control knob for the effects loop that controls how much effect from the effects loop gets put into your sound. This set up will give you the distortion, wah and such before the signal is amplified, by running them in the front of the amp, and the ambient effects for the signal after it has passed through the amp on its way to the speaker. As an example of why this is the way to do it,, try running a power boost, like for instance a Boss GE7 EQ in front of the amp. When you step on the effect, which has a 15db boost (or cut) it won't do anything but muddy up the signal. Put it in the effects loop, and viola, you get a killer boost that will help you cut through the mix during solos. This is important stuff to know and something all teachers should add into the online guitar classes.

So in conclusion, the pros with a processor, they are all-inclusive in one unit and generally cheaper than a properly set up effects array, and they generally have a lot of options for amp models and tone. The cons? You can't run the ambient effects through the effects loop, nor can you control the order they are set up in, and that can make a big difference. The pros with an a la carte effects set up, are complete control, reliability, and versatility. The cons? They are much more expensive to set up. To do it right you'll need to mount all of your effects on a powered pedal board, so that you can just open it up, lay it in front of you, and plug the chords in. My personal set up was over $1100, and I have just 6 effects. They can also hum, although you can eliminate that with a simple filter. Again to avoid learning by trial and error, make sure you ask your instructor during your online guitar classes or in-person lessons about this important aspect of tone creation.

Should You Learn Acoustic Guitar Before Electric Guitar?

Traditionally most people do start their journey to learn guitar on an acoustic model. There are many reasons for this however it's usually due to the fact that acoustic or nylon string guitars are a cheaper investment to make in the early stages. This exposes the student to a lesser risk in that they can find out for sure if they have some talent for playing before spending a lot of money buying a decent electric guitar and all of the other accessories which go with it such as amplifiers and effects pedals.
There are students who start immediately on electric guitar and there's nothing actually wrong with that. Although acoustic and electric models are both obviously guitars there's a world of difference between how they actually feel to play. Just because someone is good on electric does not automatically mean they'll be as equally good on acoustic, in fact, the opposite is more often true. All confident electric guitar players should be able to play acoustic reasonably well however. For many, an acoustic type of guitar is seen as very earthy and real. It's the most authentic kind of guitar player you can be.

Most instructors would advise you to spend around six months to one year on acoustic before making the move to electric guitar. The advantage is that you'll learn your basic chords and strumming without there being any distractions from the various things associated with playing on electric guitars. Everything you learn on acoustic will transpose over to electric without problems and you'll have a much better foundation upon which to continue learning.

Improve Your Guitar Solos Using a Looper Pedal

If you want to be an excellent guitarist, practicing with a looper pedal is essential. And few pastimes are more fun than creating a whole song yourself by layering chord progressions, bass lines, rhythms and drum beats. Looper pedals allow you to create full performances with only your guitar and a looper pedal.
Looper pedals allow you to record a loop, which is then repeated for you to jam over. Over time, you can build up your own backing track by adding to the existing loop. In loop terminology, this is known as "overdubbing." Most of the time, looping, overdubbing and soloing will just leave you rocking out in your bedroom, kicking over anything that stands in your way. Looping also gives you the option of gigging alone, however, and it's always impressive to watch onee musician construct an entire song piece by piece.
So where did the idea of looping come from? Repeating phrases are present in almost all forms of music, and loopers just take it to another level. Loop-based music was initially made popular by Robert Fripp, the musician who benefitted from a stream of experiments involving tape loops. Brain Eno essentially took Terry Riley's 'Time Lag Accumulator' and let Fripp play with it. In the end, Fripp ended up on his 'Frippertronics' tour, bringing delay and looping effects a step further into the mainstream.

To create your own Frippertronics experience, get a decent looper pedal. Different pedals are suited for different uses, so don't just go buy the one with the most exotic features. Think about your uses first, then do some research. Too many guitarists end up with a collection of doorstops instead of an effective pedal board to highlight their playing.
Most looper pedals have similar functionality. One pedal is commonly reserved for recording, playing, and overdubbing. On the first tap, it records you playing, the second tap stops the recording and starts the looping, and a third tap allows you to overdub. You then build up your backing track, and stop whenever you've got enough going on to have a good time adding notes, chords, or solos over the top of it. Most loopers also allow you to undo your last recording, switch between different loops, reverse loops, play along to a drum track and change the tempo of your recordings.
Unless you have a couple friends willing to lay down a backing track for you all day, there is no better way to improve your soloing than using a looper pedal. You can create a backing track for yourself, then solo for hours, practicing over several different tracks and improving your skills. By the time you link up with your friends for a band practice, they'll be blown away!

Donner® Yellow Fall Delay Guitar Effect Pedal True Bypass

Yellow Fall
I would say the yellow fall is small, compact and smart. The side-mounted jacks are solid, and protrude very little, allowing for a tight pedal board pack.
There are three function knobs, namely Echo, F.back, and Time. Time is used to set Delay time, turning to the left to make delay speed fast and to the right is to slow the speed. Echo is used to set the delay volume. F.back is to set the repeated notes. When F.back is the smallest, the delay note repeats only once and while F.back is at the largest, it repeats infinitely.

The clear tone of it can be well applied to all kinds of music, and the tone can compete with same expensive similar products.
This delay pedal is also a pure analog circuit delay pedal. And maybe it’s the smallest analog delay effect ever. Usually analog delay has the warm and natural tone, similar to old-tape effect of adjusting delay effect. So it can be better to embellish the tone, and create the atmosphere of space nature.
Within minutes of plugging in, I’d going from programming my pedal to actually playing again. Inspiration, instinct, interaction, immediacy - all of the things I look for in a good piece of gear. And this certainly falls into that category

In the practical performance, the tone of Yellow Fall sounds warm and clean, that is the delay effect we often can hear in famous band performance, the mild transposition of the delay make the sound more full and natural.
It is worth mentioning that delay is always very clear sound, but the old analog delay will timbre to turbidity and fuzzy, so that for those guitarists of pursuing clean sound，they prefer digital delay(Comparison with the turbidity of traditional analog delay, digital delay is of absolute articulation and brightness)
What’s more, when I open the case, the Circuit board of yellow fall is using CD2399GP (PT2399), professional echo chip.

On the whole, I think the clear sound of Yellow fall can be well applied to nowadays all kinds of music, not just in the traditional style, for analog delay, 25ms-600ms delay time is sufficient to meet the normal needs.
I was looking for an inexpensive option for an analog delay. This little number does the job for me. Great old school, smeary , ambiance. Another plus is its size. I have owned a few delay pedals in my many years of playing, I can say that I
would recommend the Donner "Yellow Fall Delay " without hesitation to anyone. I have ordered another one for my backup pedal board. Great , sturdy construction, beefy switch, smooth potentiometers, tough metal housing.

It’s less than a cost of a movie, and likely more fun. Haven't had it as long as some of my other pieces of gear, but it looks, sounds, and feels well build. No loose parts or connections. Surprisingly nice packaging for such a low dollar item.

Electric Guitar Furnishings Pedals - 5 Accepted Furnishings Pedals For Guitar

1. Compression
This is an acutely donner yellow fall , which is apparently the hardest to use, and the atomic understood. Effectively the Compressor enables the aerialist to play over a advanced activating ambit - from bendable adroit chords to baking solos - while advancement the aforementioned achievement aggregate of the Amplifier. This way the admirers can not alone apprehend those softer passages, but aswell the added activating advance plan after drowning out the added musicians (and authoritative your 'ears bleed').
Another aftereffect put to acceptable use, is the adeptness of the Compressor to accredit continued abiding notes, far above the accustomed adeptness of the instrument. Ideal for all those eyes closed, assuming moments while addition that agenda for as continued as possible.
Care accept to be taken if application a Compressor, as abnormal use can advance to the addition of noise,or advance to a rather banal activating performance.
2. Tremolo
A actual accepted Pedal acclimated in the 60's and is still acclimated today. The Tremolo Pedal produces a vibrato aftereffect to the alone agenda or ambit by alteration the amplitude (volume) of the signal, by a aberration bent by the user. The Pedal allows ascendancy of both the arresting abyss and amount of the acceleration variation. On a abstruse note, a sine beachcomber is activated to a Voltage-Controlled Amplifier, which affects the arresting from the Guitar. It's the Abundance and Amplitude of the sine beachcomber - which the controls adapt - that furnishings both the amount and depth.
3. Overdrive and Distortion
These Pedals amplify the guitar arresting to the point area the complete produced is annihilation amid a balmy affluent 'clipped' complete to a bedraggled or abrasive tone. The amount of controls, and appropriately the accessible accent variations, alter from pedal to pedal from just a few simple pots and a footswitch, to added circuitous versions accumulation Accent Shaping facilities.
4. Wah Wah
Another acutely able-bodied accepted Pedal. This produces an effect, which sounds agnate to a animal articulation adage - yep you've estimated it 'wah'. The aftereffect is produced by a bottom pedal in the anatomy of a agitation treadle, and is abundant for acceptable your advance or adroit playing.
Getting a bit abstruse again, the Wah aftereffect is produced by a low-pass clarify whose absolute abundance is ascendancy by the bottom pedal. Interestingly, this blazon of low-pass clarify is acclimated generally in avant-garde Dance or Trance blazon music area the top frequencies of the song are gradually filtered out until alone a affectionate of deadened exhausted is left. The aftereffect is afresh gradually antipodal until all frequencies are adequate again.
5. Phaser
Finally the fifth pedal for this commodity is the Phaser, and is apparently the best known. Basically, two signals are produced from the Guitar arresting traveling in, and afresh they are alloyed calm but hardly out of phase. This is what produces the Phasing effect.
Conclusion
Guitarist set up their aftereffect pedals in two ways. By use of mutli-effects Units that accept assorted types of Guitar Furnishings in one 'box' - which ambit in amount depending on the accessories available. However, as a lot of are now chip controlled, huge variations of ambit of accent and constant are at the guitarist's disposal.
The additional adjustment is area alone pedals are 'daisy chained' calm by abbreviate cables. Many guitarists accept favourite alone pedals, which they accept and apperceive actual well, accordingly they accept this method. Also, if you are on a low budget, pedals can be bought alone as time goes by, and added to the chain. The abatement is that the start-up time takes best and added cables are complex (which consistently assume to go amiss at the gig).
There are actually hundreds of types of anniversary pedal mentioned, which can be a logistical daydream for the Guitarist searching to buy. If you would like added advice on what's accessible on the bazaar today, afresh YouTube is a abundant online abode to appointment to accretion advice on just about every pedal on the market, additional you will be able to watch and apprehend anniversary pedal in action.

Bass Guitar Effects Pedals - 5 Effect Pedals For the Bass Guitarist

Overview
The effects that are described for each Effects Pedal are the same for both electric and Bass Guitars. However, for the Bass Guitar, the effect is often modified to suit the lower frequency range of the instrument.
Bass Wah Wah Pedal
As with the Electric Guitar Wah pedal, the Bass Wah effect is produced by the use of a rocking treadle type foot pedal. However, with this type of unit, the use of custom EQ circuitry is incorporated specifically for Bass frequencies and the result is a full fat bass tone with a smooth response. This is ideal for enhancing your rhythmic playing, from warm and subtle, to punchy.
Octaver Pedal
The use of the Octaver is to produce a note that is one full octave below the original note played - quite a useful pedal for Funk and R&B - and many are able to cope with two or three note chords. Due to its need to create the altered pitch 'live', the pedal needs to have a fast response or tracking capability suitable for use with rapid playing techniques.
Overdrive and Distortion Pedal
If you want gutsy sounds for playing Rock/Metal etc, then the distortion pedal is for you. These pedals enhance the signal to the point where the resulting sounds are anything between rich and warm 'clipped', to something which is a lot more aggressive. Pedals vary in complexity from a few simple controls to more complex versions incorporating control over harmonic content and tone shaping facilities. Often these pedals are criticised for introducing high levels of noise, and are quite difficult to use for studio recording. Considering the way the signal is being boosted and enhanced, it's not surprising.

Bass Chorus Pedal
Again this pedal is specifically designed for the Bass frequency range. These pedals emulate the effect of having multiple bass notes playing in unison where slight variations create the chorus effect. It is possible to emulate up to sixteen voices depending on the make, and voice randomisation produces a thickening of the sound.
Bass Compressor/Limiter Pedal
The Bass Compressor enables the Bassist to play over a wide range of playing styles - from normal rhythmic playing to greater dynamic styles such as 'slap' - while maintaining the same output or volume from the Amplifier. This enables the audience to hear all your playing, while maintaining a balance within the band. The Compressor is probably the most commonly used pedal, but is the most difficult to use. If not set up correctly, the pedal can produce a rather bland performance.
Conclusion
If you want to use a number of Bass effects, you may want to choose using multi-effect units which incorporates all or any of the above. However, many criticise these saying that having all effects in one unit compromises the quality and functionality of each individual effect. Although, with the advent of microprocessor electronics, a large range of control over the parameters and sound shaping facilities are available to the user, so whether these criticisms are valid or not is difficult to confirm. It is probably down to the opinion of the individual which will decide the method to adopt, and there is certainly an appeal to the ease of setting up at a gig - with fewer cables to worry about going wrong at the most inopportune time.

There are a number of these types of pedals on the market today, which can make deciding the type or make of pedal to buy a bit daunting. If you would like more information on what's available on the market today, then YouTube is a great online place to visit to gain information on just about every pedal on the market, plus you will be able to watch and hear each pedal in action.

What Makes the Yamaha Clavinova CLP320 Such a Coveted Digital Piano?

The Yamaha Clavinova is the company's most popular product and has an enviable reputation as the digital piano that everyone aspires to own. But why should this be the case? What is so special about this particular Yamaha digital piano? The CLP320 is the entry level model in the highly respected Clavinova range and has many of the superb features of models at the top end of the series.
Like every model in the Yamaha Clavinova range, the CLP320 uses sampling of authentic Yamaha concert grand piano sounds. It has 3 levels of dynamic stereo sampling, which means that each piano note has been recorded at three different levels, giving greater depth to your playing. It's so convincing that you'll forget that there's any difference between this digital piano and an old-fashioned upright.
The keys are lightly weighted to make this digital piano feel as true to an acoustic piano as possible. Every Yamaha Clavinova uses graded hammer action for its 88 keys, and has re-created the subtle effects of each of the three pedals a pianist uses. For example, the Yamaha Clavinova has a damper pedal with a half-pedal effect - one of many superior features. There's plenty more to keep you interested in this Yamaha digital piano, such as the ten different voices include several different styles of piano, organs, harpsichord, and even string instruments.

However, this model in the Yamaha Clavinova range is only really designed to sound good in the average home. The two 20 watt speakers don't give out a huge sound - you'll need to connect up some external amps and speakers to get that. So if you are looking for a more powerful instrument, this may not be the right digital piano for you.
Probably the most impressive aspect of this Yamaha digital piano is its awesome 128 note polyphony, a great improvement on older models and better than many of its rivals. This means that it can play up to 128 variations of notes at the same time, so you get a richer sound and a finely graduated transition when you go from one note to another.
There are several special effects to experiment with, such as the digital reverb, the built-in metronome, and the transposing function. Once you've mastered a piece of music on your Yamaha Clavinova you can record it using the single track song recorder. You can even connect it to a computer for upload of MIDI files.
At 46 kilos this is no lightweight piece of kit, but it's a lot easier to move around than many digital pianos. It's easy to match your Yamaha Clavinova to the interior decor of your home too, with a choice of Rosewood, Mahogany, Cherry or Polished Ebony finishes. You even get a matching bench with it.

Pedal Board Gig Bags

Gig bags/soft cases are an ideal way for Guitarists/ Musicians to transport around their pedals. Effects pedals are most often used by guitarists, bassists and keyboard players to enhance or change the sound that their instrument produces. Soft cases allow musicians to protect their pedals by attaching them with velcro to the inside of a padded case.
Advantages
Pedal board gig bags give several benefits to Musicians

• Ensures protection of their pedals during transit and storage
• Can be quickly set up and ready to go in an instant
• Light and easy to transport around
• Less likely to hurt yourself carrying it (e.g than smashing your leg off the corner of a flight case!)
• provides accessory pockets to store leads etc.
• Includes a pedal board (which can be removed) to attach your pedals to
• Can be bought cheaper than flight cases

How will it help you?
Because there is such a large variety of cases on the market today (flight cases, pedal pads, soft cases, Pedal board gig bags etc.), it can be difficult to find the right case for yourself. However, because there is such a variety of cases, this means that manufacturers can target the more specific needs of each musician. For example:

If you have limited storage space at home, or if you have limited space for transporting around your gear ( e.g you may have a small car and have to carry around a lot of other gear like myself!) a soft case would be a better option than a hard case which would be bulky and take up more room.
If you have a limited budget to buy a case, then pedal board gig bags offer the same quality protection and posses many of the same benefits to Musicians as any other case. You don't have to buy the most expensive case to do the right job.
Pedal board gig bags are also ideal and popular among people who use public transport a lot or those who do not have their own transport. This is so because they are light, soft, compact and easy to transport around.
Where to find the right case?
There are a wide choice of pedal board gig bags online and it is worth taking some time to do some research on them and understand what exactly your needs and requirements are. By doing this you will be better off in the long run.

Types of Bass Guitar Effects Pedals

Are you playing the same old song on your guitar every day? Aren't you improving in the least bit? Well, the main problem is that you lack the fun of playing the six strings and instead you can try out the new guitar effects pedals. These pedals enable you to mix and match up the sounds with everything that you do, and thus gradually you'll have a much better time playing your guitar now. These effects pedals are packed and sold in various ways like individual pedals, built in effects on amplifiers, guitar multi-effects pedals, etc.
Now, the effects described on these pedals are almost similar for electric and bass guitars. Among the various types of bass guitar effects pedals, here are a few:
- Bass wah wah pedal- This effect on an electric guitar is the result of the use of a foot pedal which is of the rocking treadle type. Here, custom EQ circuitry has been enabled, which is best suited for playing rhythmic melodies ranging from warm to subtle, to even punchy.
- Overdrive distortion pedal- The main function of this type of pedal is to enhance the resulting sound output between warm and rich, making it more aggressive. These pedals are varied in their complexity. But they have some complaints regarding the high noise level which makes them inefficient for recording in studios.

- Bass chorus pedal- Usually these pedals are used for emulating the illusion of involving the multiple bass notes being played in unison, and the creation of variations in the chorus effects. Up to sixteen sounds can be emulated at a time, and randomization of the voices will help thicken the sound.
- Octaver pedal- This octave is used in cases where the requirement involves the production of one full octave and mostly used in case of Funk and R&B. Many even are good enough in coping up with more than two note chords. It is used in creating 'live' altered pitch, but the pedals need to possess a fast and unique tracking capability that can be used well in rapid playing techniques.
- Bass compressor pedal- This enables the bass guitarist to play styles covering a huge range- including normal rhythmic to a greater dynamic. All these can be done smoothly by variation of the sound output resulting from the amplifier. This pedal, though the hardest to use, is only able to produce a bland performance.

The Top 3 Effects Pedals (Almost) Every Guitarist Needs

When setting up your guitar pedal board, you are more than likely to spend hours and hours in the shop trying to decide which pedals you need in order to pull an awesome sound with your guitar/amp combination.
As tempting as it is to buy every pedal in the shop, you will most likely only be able to afford a few pedals when starting out.
So to help, here is a list of the top 3 pedals every guitarist needs.

1. Tuner: A tuner is the most important pedal in my opinion. If you aren't playing in tune, than it's going to sound bad full stop. One of my favourite tuners is a bright Korg LED style tuner. A really simple tuner that is really easy to see when you look down at your board. There is nothing worse than no being able to read the tuner when it's dark on stage.
2. Overdrive Pedal: I once heard a guitarist say, "A good overdrive pedal is like a favorite pair of old jeans." This is true in so many ways. A good overdrive pedal should be a staple part of the guitarists tone. Classic examples of this pedal include the Ibanez Tube Screamer and the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. A few more modern effects pedals incorporate valves, but usually these still run at voltages that are too low for the valve, resulting in a "starved plate" configuration that generates harsh and buzzy distortion. Distortion pedals usually also provide signal gain, which can be used to drive the input stage of the pre-amplifier harder, resulting in further distortion and, in some cases, higher volume.
3. Delay Pedal: A delay takes a sound and repeats it back without altering its tone or pitch, like an echo. You can alter the time between each repetition, measured in thousandths of a second, or milliseconds. Available in Analogue or Digital. The most obvious example is The Edge of U2, whose classic guitar parts couldn't have been written without a delay pedal.

In summary, there is no right or wrong when choosing guitar pedals. One of my favourite aspects of the music industry, is that someone is always trying something new and breaking the 'traditional' rules. That being said, with these 3 pedals you should be able to pull most good sounds with the right amp/guitar combination.

The Daily Guitar aims to provide news, updates and inspiration for guitarists of all levels. Whether you are just starting out, or your a seasoned pro, this website exists for you.

Guitar Pedals

Distortion - They do just what the name says...add gain or distortion making the sound rougher. Perfect for rock and heavy metal lovers, distortion pedals may be the most popular guitar pedals that are sold.
Chorus - They give the perception of similar sounds coming from multiple sources to create a full and rich sounding tone.
Fuzz - Similar to a distortion pedal but produces a more 'rough around the edges' sound that is harsher than normal distortion.
Wah - Named for the human voice sound of 'wah', the wah pedal produces a modified tone quality with the wah sound.
Reverb - Produces echo after the note is done playing.
Flange - An audio effect that occurs when to identical signals are mixed together, but one signal is time delayed. The effect is a sound that 'sweeps' up and down.
Switching - These are helpful to turn effects on or off, depending on the number of effects that you are running off your amp.
Deciding on a Guitar Pedal
The final decision on purchasing a guitar pedal depends on the genre of music you are playing and the type of sound that you are after. Generally amplifiers have built in effects but often they will not create the sound that you are after. There are many brands of guitar pedals and the choices can seem overwhelming.

You have a few options on where to actually purchase a guitar pedal. You probably have local stores where you can test out equipment and even make a purchase, but the downside is the price will be full retail. It may be wise to test out some pedals locally and the get online to find the bargains.
For an online search, start by deciding on what kind of sound you are after and the do an internet search for the type you are interested in.
You will find some good guides to guitar pedals and then you can narrow it down by brand. Reviews are often available at some of the larger sites that have feedback from actual users. Nothing is better than a fellow guitarist who has tested the guitar effect out in a live environment. Order the pedal and make sure the retailer has a good money back guarantee. You can try out the new effect pedal and if it is not what you were looking for it can always be returned.

Use Tremolo Pedals or Tremolo Picking to Spice Up Your Guitar Playing

The tremolo pedal has its uses, but it's not the only way to get a tremolo sound on your guitar. In fact, the word 'tremolo' (sometimes called 'tremolando') can refer to two distinct but related sounds*. The 'tremolo' that's perhaps more well-known amongst electric guitarists refers to a rapid variation in volume. On low settings this creates a shimmering, vibrating sound that's commonly associated with surf rock, whereas when its cranked up to the max this effect creates a jarring, disconcerting shudder. Check out Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones for a great example of the former or How Soon Is Now by The Smiths for an example of the latter. This tremolo effect is completely dependent on modern electronics, the tremolo effect in another form has been around since at least the 16th century.
Tremolo in its original form refers to a rapid repetition of a single note. This kind of tremolo is thought to have been invented by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567, 1643). He used it in orchestral composition, but that doesn't mean you as a guitarist can't add it to your bag of tricks. Just hold your plectrum loosely, fret whichever note you feel appropriate, and pick that note over and over as fast as possible, being sure to hit the string with both the upstroke and the downstroke to maximise speed. This is called 'tremolo picking'. It's a picking technique that you might not hear so often compared to other tricks like sweep picking or legato playing, but it has its uses.

One word of warning - use it sparingly! Tremolo picking can really add 'oomph' to a song or solo, but no-one wants to hear it on every song. You can have too much of a good thing.
(Incidentally, one of my favourite examples of tremolo picking can be heard throughout the song Don't Forget Me by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Check it out.)
Outside of songwriting and performance, tremolo picking is also a really beneficial practice exercise. Speed and stamina in your picking hand are two vital skills if you want anyone to take you seriously as a guitarist, and tremolo picking will build up those muscles fast. Try combining it with a fretting-hand exercise such as scales or arpeggios to get more bang for your buck.
So if you can't afford a tremolo pedal, or even if you're playing an acoustic guitar, rest assured there's plenty of non-electronic ways to use the tremolo effect to enhance your playing. I'll see you on stage!

Guitar Effects Pedals - Choosing The Right One

Guitar effects pedals are always used these days with electric guitars because of their versatility and wide range of sounds.
Guitars now don't sound like guitars any more because of the impact effects have made on them. Whether its in the studio or live on stage many musicians will manipulate one or a mix of effects to make amazing sounds with their instruments.

Distortion is one of the most popular effects especially with rock music. It creates a distorted sound and depending on how you use the settings you could use this effect for metal sounds or softer indie sounding music.
Echo is also one of the most commonly used guitar effects in many different genres of music. It gives a great big sound to your guitar and for this effect you would be playing maybe slower quiet music.

Wah Wah is an effect in which you have to buy an extra pedal which almost looks like a throttle for a car and as you move your foot up and down on the pedal the sound you get is used mainly in funk or soul and sometimes in blues or rock as well. Definitely get a wah pedal if you're going to be playing funky music.

The ebow is a small hand held device which, when turned on, creates an electro-magnetic field which vibrates the strings when it is near to contacting them. This creates a huge sweeping and highly sustained sound which offers limitless possibilities on which to experiment. Get this if you want to play more experimental music.

I hope this has helped you in choosing the right pedal

The Top 4 Effects Pedals You Really Need

If you're building a house there are some "must have" tools you should keep in your toolbox. A hammer for driving nails, a saw for cutting wood, a tape measure, pliers and screwdrivers, just to name a few.
When playing guitar there are some great "tools" available to color the tone of your guitar in various ways. Some purists would argue that, with the right amp and guitar, no extra tools should be needed.
But let's face it, we guitar players love our toys. All the new fangled gadgets that produce and endless array of tones and sounds. But if money is tight, and we absolutely had to choose a handful of the most "important" effects pedals, here are my "hands down" top 4 picks.
1. Distortion - Unless your amp has a killer crunch with channel switching, a good distortion pedal is a must have. In fact, if I could only choose one pedal to own, it would be a distortion pedal. There are a ton a choices on the market and your choice will be largely dependent on your style of music and personal taste.
2. Chorus - My number two pick would be a chorus pedal. This is a modulating effect that produces a "sweet" swirly sound. It's a great effect for clean rhythms, as well as a nice touch for crunchy leads.

3. Delay - Most amps come equipped with reverb, and most times that will do the trick. But having the ability to add some "slap back" to your leads will bring a whole new dimension to your sound. This is one of those "a little goes a long way" effects, so use it wisely.
4. Wah-Wah - As an "old school" guitarist, I grew up with a wah-wah pedal and have used one as long as I can remember. They are great for adding a "talking" or "singing" effect to your leads, and are also a good rhythm tool for the funky stuff.
It's important to remember that any effects pedal is just a tool and should never become a crutch. I have seen too many new guitarists go out and purchase a plethora of pedals, only to become dependent on them. Take the pedals away and they suffer from guitar paralysis.
Keep your main focus on truly learning how to play guitar, and use the pedals only to spice things up. Use them sparingly and tastefully and you will become a well rounded player with a wide range of tones at your disposal.

Pedal Wheelchair - A New Type of Wheelchair

Wheelchairs are durable medical equipment (or home medical equipment), most of them are controlled to move forward and backward and turn using the arms to rotate the wheels. Electric wheelchairs driven by motors are also popular. However, both of these wheelchairs are not driven by the feet and cause the feet of the elderly or the foot impaired due to injury or illness to be even weaker than ever.
Recently, pedal-style wheelchairs (some people call it leg-propelled wheelchairs) are developed and showing excellent effects on rehabilitation of the foot impaired after using the pedal-style wheelchairs.
So, what is pedal-style wheelchair?
A pedal-style wheelchair has two relatively large wheels linked to the pedals with a mechanical chain to propel them, and a directional wheel controlled by a steering system. These three-wheel pedal-style wheelchairs are easily controlled to have small turns, like whirling in a spot, to move and to turn safely. Thus, the wheelchairs are capable of turning in elevators or other limited spaces in the daily life.
For people suffering from paralysis on one side, not only the healthy lower limb can step, but also the hemiplegic lower limb can step together with the healthy lower limb. The pedal-style wheelchair can move as fast as an adult walks in a long distance and can be used by people suffering from one-side paralysis with slight to extremely severe mobility issues if their joints are not obviously uncomfortable or have pain.
It is unavoidable for people with severe hemiplegia sitting in the wheelchair for long period, non-use of the affected leg can increase the risk of secondary impairments. For people with walking difficulties or disability, using the pedal wheelchairs may activate paretic muscle through self-locomotion with bilateral pedaling and improve the weakened strength and palsy of the legs.

A study reports that driving the pedal wheelchairs elicited augmentation of paralytic muscle activity in people with severe hemiplegia or with severe impairment in lower extremities (e.g., due to stroke, spinal injury, Parkinson's disease, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive atherosclerosis, diabetes), and providing an alternative of physical exercise for them.
The pedal wheelchairs may be used not only as the devices of practical locomotion but also as therapeutic exercise for the non-ambulatory hemiplegic people. Use a pedal-style wheelchair daily may contribute to restore paretic leg function.
It is also reported that most of the non-ambulatory elderly become psychologically active by self-locomotion with pedal wheelchair driving.
Although the long-term effects of driving pedal wheelchairs are unknown especially in the aspects of functional and physiological change, and have not been able to explain the details in medical science, this can be predictable. According to a research, this is caused by the response actually appears in the central pattern generator CPG within the spinal cord (neuromodulation), and now further scientific studies are being done.
Neuromodulation is a new medical technology that does not rely on any surgery and medication. It makes sufficient use of the body in the process of rehabilitation.

The Beginners Guide to Guitar Effects and Pedals - MultiEffects and Single Pedals

In this article, I just want to touch on the delight that you can get when you use a pedal, or distortion. In the beginning, distortion was thought of as something unwanted, as a malfunction that was to be corrected, but, over time, musicians began to realize that a distortion or the effect of a pedal could sustain a guitar note, if used properly, and it could also add some other interesting sounds to the guitar that gave it a whole new range, and audience.
When amplifiers were first used, they discovered that the tubes could not handle the sound well enough to allow it to disperse properly and so, distortion happened. However, when musicians realized that there was a completely new world to be explored with the different sounds, they began to play with all the possibilities.
Many musicians still like to use the old tube amplifiers because of the distortion they give. They have a warm, more resonant tone that puts audiences in that mood where they can appreciate better the qualities of the different tones that can be created.
Later, a thing called equalization was discovered, Equalization, or EQ, happens when certain frequencies are amplified within a signal. It can highlight the treble or the bass to make it a little more equal with the sound being produced, hence the name equalizer. You have to experiment with EQ, because the distortion or the amplification you get may not work with what the rest of the band is playing.

Other properties of the pedals are known as modulations and delays and those occur when the signal is split into two equal parts so that one follows the other at an interval of your choosing. Modulations don't have the natural sound of a delay, and so have to be evaluated as you experiment.
The next characteristic of the pedals is the pitch shift. This is where you can alter the pitch of a note or chord by operating the pedal to your liking. Again, you have to experiment with all the sounds because with pitch shift, you can go too far and go completely out of key with the song being played.
Modeling while not really an effect as much as a program is also used to imitate a certain guitar sounds that is different from the one you were just using. You press the pedal and choose the desired sound that you have programmed in. This goes along with multi-effects that combine individual effects, or allow you to mix and match according to the sound you want. This gives a depth and range that can create a whole array of different sounds.
Individual pedals have different effects, from tone to sound variations to pitch alteration to different guitar sounds. What the pedal does is allow for you, the player to create a whole world of sound and variations that will invariably delight the audience, as long as you use it right.

Useful Guitar Effects Pedal Cases

A guitar case is often the first case you think about getting when you play guitar, but if you have several effects pedals how do you transport them around in an easy and tidy manor? Save yourself the trouble of stuffing all of your effects pedals and cables into a rucksack and everything getting tangled together in the process, and save the time it takes you to fix it all when you get to practice or a gig.

Have you ever set out to go to a gig with everything in your backpack as neatly and organised as you possible could, then finding out that everything has still managed to get into a heck of a mess when you arrive at the venue. You might have only walked 10 minutes or put your bag into the car, but its somehow still in a mess.

A pedal board and case will go some way to helping to solve the problems. The good thing about a pedal case is that once you have it at home you can Velcro or screw all of your effects pedals into place on the board, they won't move from their allocated position no matter what. Your pedals will all be set out and connected up with patch cables, then all you need to do is connect one side to your guitar and the other into your amplifier. It saves you about half an hour of untangling the ball of mess that has been created in your bag in the trip from home to the practice room or show. Connect two leads and you are ready to go.

Not only do these cases save you from untangling everything they are really handy for moving everything from place to place. Zip up the cover or attach the lid and you are set to go in a few seconds. There are many models available at most good music stores, they can come with a comfortable handle or a strap that will go over your shoulder, leaving your hands free to carry your other gear. Normally they do come with both handle and shoulder strap.

Effects pedal boards and cases come in all sizes from small to massive. If you only need to take a few pedals with you there will be a small case just for you. They can of course only go to a certain size before it becomes silly, so if you have every pedal ever made then you will need to buy more than one case for all of your stuff.

Pedal cases come in hard and soft cases and as flight cases just like those your guitar. Hard cases are great if you have expensive boutique pedals, or just don't want your gear to get damaged by things falling onto them or being struck by something unexpected. Or go for a soft case if you want some a little bit lighter to carry around.

If you move your gear around a lot and normally do it with a backpack then you should should look into getting a proper purpose made effects pedal case. For saving time, protecting your gear and for how easy it makes moving from place to place they really are worth the money.

Beginners Guide to Guitar Effect Pedals

Almost since the invention of the Electric Guitar, musicians have been using electronic devices to modify the sounds created by their instruments. These days there is a vast range of effects units available, both hardware and software based, which can create a dazzling array of sounds. Despite this, there are still a few core effects which continue to provide the staple diet of most guitar players.
Distortion
This effect relies on overloading the signal, so that the waveforms become distorted, or "clipped". This means that smooth sound waves become squarer, making the original clean guitar tone more "gritty" or "dirty". The effect was originally achieved by literally overloading guitar amplifier inputs, to an extent that the electronic components, usually valves, were unable to process the signal properly.
Delay
There are different types of delay pedal, ranging from the short "slap-back" delay popular in Rock & Roll and Rockabilly styles, to the longer "echo" delay favored by U2's guitarist "The Edge" (Dave Evans to his mates). The classic method of getting these results is to use a vintage Roland Space Echo.
Chorus
This effect is interesting because most non-musicians aren't even aware it exists, but in the 1980s it was all over just about everything! For one of the most famous examples, listen to anything by The Police from the late 70s/early 80s. Andy Summers used the effect on just about every track, and along with Sting's vocals and Stuart Copeland's idiosyncratic drumming, it formed part of The Police's trademark sound.

Wah-wah
This is one of the most recognisable guitar effects - just listen to the opening riff of "Voodoo Chile" by Jimi Hendrix for one of the best examples of the wah-wah sound. It gets it's name simply because it sounds like a person saying "Wah wah wah"! It was invented by Vox while creating an electronic filter, and basically works by filtering out particular frequencies in the guitar signal, based on the position of a foot pedal. The guitarist plays the guitar normally, and rocks the pedal to move the filtered frequency around, creating that distinctive sound.
That should give you an idea of what's available, and what it does. But don't forget, no amount of effects will cover up bad playing! You need to get stuck in and practice. And if you're serious about your playing, you really want to look into some proper tuition.

There are some superb Online Guitar Courses available these days, which represent superb value for money when compared with private tuition. They're probably cheaper than all the books and DVDs you could end up buying,too! If you want to improve your guitar technique, and are serious about your playing, you owe it to yourself to look at them.

A Beginer's Guide To Guitar Effects Pedals

We're going to try to give a quick look at the major types of guitar effects pedals. Here in part 1 we'll cover the basics.
We know that there are a million web sites offering insight to this topic, but its been our experience that they're written by engineers, not musicians... they read like microwave manuals rather than a helpful resource... Anyway... off we go.
Boost
I can't really milk more than a few lines out of this topic. It's pretty cut and dry- a boost pedal will give your signal a volume boost - or cut, depending on how you've got it set. Most boost pedals act as a master volume control allowing you a pretty wide range of use.
Why do I need a boost pedal? To bring your guitar volume up over the rest of the band during a solo, to drive your amp harder by feeding it a hotter signal, to have a set volume change at the press of a button.
Overdrive
When most guitarists talk about overdrive, they are referring to the smooth 'distortion' produced by their tube amps when driven to the point of breaking up. Overdrive pedals are designed to either replicate this tone (with limited success) or drive a tube amp into overdrive, creating those screaming tubes beyond what they normally would be able to do without wall shaking volume.
Why do I need an overdrive pedal? Overdrive pedals can be used as a boost pedal- so you get those inherent benefits, you'll get some added girth to your tone from the distortion created by the pedal. Most overdrive pedals have tone control giving you wider tone shaping possibilities.
Distortion
Based on our above definition of overdrive, distortion is where overdrive leaves off. In the rock guitar world think Van Halen and beyond for a clear example of distorted guitar tone. Distortion pedals often emulate high gain amps that create thick walls of sound small tube amps are not capable of creating. If you're fortunate enough to have a large Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Diezel or other monster amplifier to create your distortion you might not need a distortion pedal. But for the rest of us mere mortals, distortion pedals are crucial to modern guitar tone.
Why do I need a distortion pedal? You want to be relevant don't you? Even with large amps, like those mentioned above, distortion pedals play a key role in modern music. They offer flexibility that boosts and overdrives can not rival.
Fuzz
God bless Ike Turner and the Kinks. Both acts achieved their landmark tones by using abused speaker cabinets. Ike dropped his on the street walking in to Sun Records to record Rocket 88, the Kinks cut their speakers with knives or so the legends have it. No matter how they got it, their tone changed the world. Some call it distortion, some call it fuzz, however, seeing the progression from these damaged speakers to the fuzz boxes built to emulate those tones, I think its safest to call what Turner and Davies created/stumbled upon was fuzz.

Why do I need a fuzz pedal? Ya like Hendrix, don't ya? In all honesty, the fuzz pedal is seeing resurgence in popular music these days. Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Muse and the White Stripes rely heavily on classic designs on recent releases.
Compressor
The job of a compressor is to deliver an even volume output. It makes the soft parts louder, and the loud parts softer. Current country music guitar tone is driven by the use of compression.
Why do you need a compressor? Improved sustain, increased clarity during low volume playing.
Modulation
Flanger
The earliest "flanger" effects were produced in the studio by playing 2 tape decks, both playing the same sounds, while an engineer would slow down or speed up the playback of one of the dupe signals. This is how you could produce wooshing jet streams. The edge of the old school tape reels is called the flange.
Why do I need a flanger? A flanger will offer a new color to your tonal palette. You can live with out one, but you'll never get some of the nuance coloring of the Van Halen's, Pink Floyd's, or Rush's of the world.
Phase shifter
The phase shifter bridges the gap between Flanger and Chorus. Early phasers were meant to recreate the spinning speaker of a Leslie. Phase shifting's over use can be heard all over the first few Van Halen albums.
Why do I need a phase shifter? See Flangers answer.
Chorus
Chorus pedals split your signal in 2, modulates one of them by slowing it down and detuning it, then mixes it back in with the original signal. The effect is supposed to sound like several guitarists playing the same thing at the same time, resulting in a wide swelling sound, but I don't hear it. You do get a thicker more lush tone, but it doesn't sound like a chorus of players to me.
Why do I need a chorus? Because Andy Summers uses one, and Paul Raven says so... that should be good enough.
Tremolo
As a kid, did you ever play with the volume knob on the TV or the radio manically turning it up and down? Yeah? Well you were a tremolo effect.
Why do I need a tremolo pedal? 6 words for ya: The Smiths 'How Soon Is Now'
Delay
A delay pedal creates a copy of an incoming signal and slightly time-delays its replay. You can use it to create a "slap back" (single repetition) or an echo (multiple repetitions) effect. Who amongst us can't appreciate The Edges use of digital and analog delay throughout U2s career?
Why do I need a delay pedal? See Flangers answer.
Wah
A variable band-pass frequency filter... Screw all that- you know what a wah wah is... its porn music! It's Hendrix! It's Hammett. It's Wylde. It's Slash.

The Evolution of the Guitar Effects Pedal

During the golden age of rock and roll it became fashionable and expressive to use distortion. And the only way to do that up in till that time was to crank the amp all the way up or make small cuts directly into the speaker cone. The result was a 'sputter like sound' and Gibson guitar's responded to this and released the Fuzz Tone distortion pedal. A world first!
No well rounded story should go forth without first crediting the Gibson Maestro 'Fuzz Tone'. The Fuzz Tone pedal introduced the world to its very first distortion pedal for the electric guitar, residing in that all important floor dwelling wedge of an enclosure. Soon after many popular group's utilized it such as; The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Monkey's and so on...
However while all this change took place the basic fact remained the same. The classic's we're all limited to the analog effects and studio equipment of the time. In fact cementing the humble analog guitar pedals in the mortar of the golden age of rock and ever increasing pages of history. No matter what pedal simulations transpire the guitar effects pedals used by those early legends of rock remains the same.

No longer large companies that invested much time and money into human labor, short cuts quietly took hold. Digital solder robots replaced legions of workers. With this great turn once again, the success of each new designed seemed to lean on the shoulders of engineers. Many designed teams had members that never even picked a guitar.
A new/old desire emerged over this massive market and the rebirth of the handmade analog pedal took hold once again. Practical innovators with much personal experience now had a fighting chance. True-by pass, germanium transistors now could be added as ingredients to new designs that recall vintage hints of history through out the mature design.

Guitar Effects Pedals Explained

So, let's say you have been playing your electric guitar for awhile and haven't quite figured out how to sound like your favourite band. You know how to play all their songs, but the guitar just doesn't sound right. You've heard about effects pedals, but you have never used one. Could one of these pedals be the answer to all your questions? The answer is yes--and no! An individual effect pedal may produce one of a thousand different sounds, and it's up to you to decide which ones are adequate insofar as what you're trying to achieve musically.

To begin, you'll need to go to a music store and see what's available and try out different effects pedals to hear for yourself the sounds they produce. A number of distortion pedals, for example, are on the market, and they produce sounds decidedly most appropriate for metal, punk, grunge, blues overdrive, or any number of different styles. Each one is activated by stepping on it while one plays. It remains on until one steps on it once again to turn it off. If your amp's distortion channel just doesn't give you the sound you want, it may be worth trying out a distortion pedal or two. Other pedals operate the same way--that is--they are activated by stepping on the pedal one time and deactivated by stepping on the pedal again. Digital delay effects, which allow repetitions of the last note played, and chorus effects, which provide a smooth element to one's clean channel, are popular pedals that follow this operation.

Not all pedals, however, are used in the same fashion. Wah pedals, like the popular Crybaby pedal, are used by first stepping all the way down on the pedal to activate a switch and then gently rocking the pedal back and forth as the "wah" effect increases and diminishes to one's liking. Volume pedals operate similarly. One can rock the pedal to one position to decrease volume gradually or all at once. Another pedal that rocks back and forth is the whammy pedal, which simulates the use of a whammy bar for electric guitars that do not come equipped with them and for those players who don't want to knock their guitars out of tune by using an actual whammy bar.

Another option that one should take a look at when browsing through the effects pedal selection at the music store are multi-effect pedals. Several brands manufacture effects pedal boards that provide lots of different effects in one unit. While such products are usually more expensive than an individual pedal that performs one function, they can be a more economical choice since for one price one can set several effects before one's feet. Many offer both distortion pedal-style, single-tap pedal action as well as a rocking pedal for wah, volume, or whammy effects. It's important to keep in mind, however, that multi-effect pedal boards have a reputation for providing inferior quality to those of individual pedals.

Playing Live With Guitar FX Pedals - Getting the Right Sound

When you are playing around with your guitar at home or doing some recording, it can take a bit of work to get the right tone, you play about with the knobs and settings, get the sound you are looking for and let rip. When you are playing live, things can get more complicated, especially if you require different sounds for different songs. You set your pedals up at home, everything sounds right, you get to the gig and your tone is suddenly a disaster. What went wrong?
Well, if you play live then you have to expect a certain amount of problems. No two halls sound alike and many things will affect your tone, anything from the amount of people at the venue to the placement and volume of other band members, even the arrangement of the furniture. You'll never find a default setup that sounds right every time, you will always need to tweak your sound in one way or another but there's one very important element to your setup that will alter your sound drastically if you don't understand how the signal from your stomp boxes interact with the settings on your amp ... volume!
When the venue fills up, band members often crank up, so you turn up your amp to compete and find all your FX now sound like a mess, too much reverb, too much delay, the chorus has disappeared and your solos have become inaudible. Sound familiar? Chances are you've turned up the gain on the amp and everything has changed. This problem occurs as a result of badly matched gain staging. There's no quick fix for this problem, the best you can do is understand what it is so that when it occurs you have a better chance of dealing with it. Not knowing about it just leaves you guessing what knob to twiddle.
Most amps have at least two volume controls, gain and main volume. If your amp has two channels then you'll likely have two or more gains as well as the main volume. Now I don't want to bore you with the technical details so I'll give you a basic explanation of what the differences are.
Guitar amplifiers have two main stages, the pre-amp and the main amp. Two channel guitar amps will have two pre-amps and one main amp. You can think about this as two separate amplifiers in one box (or three for a two channel amp). The reason for this two stage idea is because guitarists like to crank up the volume and overdrive the signal to create distortion. For everything else this is bad news but for loud guitar it's extremely common. So the reason we guitarists get two volumes is so that we can have the amp cranked right up without having it blasting out at full volume. We can adjust the pre-amp (gain) to give us the amount of distortion we want, and the main amp gives us an overall volume so that we can get the right overall level.

This idea works well when the guitar is plugged in directly to the amplifier but when you place something like a multi effects pedal between the guitar and amp, the amp's gain setting has a large affect on the resulting sound. Ideally, once you have got the sound you want from the pedal then the gain on the amp should stay where it is. If later in the gig you decide to use the gain for getting a bit more volume then the sound will change drastically. If you are all out of main volume and forced to turn up the gain, you might find you now need to change the patch settings on the pedal as well.
Effects such as delay, reverb and modulation usually sound best if they are placed in the chain after any distortion. Your pedal is probably setup this way and works well internally but as soon as you turn up the gain on the amp, you introduce more distortion after the pedal. This will often reinforce effects like delay, making them sound much louder and messier than they would with a lower gain level. This can't really be explained any further without getting too technical so the best thing to do is experiment with various pedal patches and listen how they are affected with varying gain levels.
One more thing worth noting. If you use an overdrive or distortion to boost your volume over guitar solos then the gain will have a huge impact on the amount of boost you get. A guitar amp's pre-amp section can only take so much before it max's out on available headroom. What this means is the higher the level, the lower the amount of boost. Again, try it and listen. Set the main volume very low so that you don't blast the house out. Now set your overdrive pedal to max and the guitar amp's gain quite low. When you switch in the pedal you'll notice a massive volume boost. As you turn the gain up higher, the amount of boost gets smaller until eventually the pedal seems to make no difference at all. If you are using this boost to your advantage in live situations then this is also something you must be aware of.

Digitech Multi Effect Pedals: A Guitarists Review of the Digitech RP Guitar Effect Pedal Series

I suppose I could give you all the usual talk about the professional sound and user friendly interface that the manufactures love to ramble about in their "reviews", but I know you can get that from them. What I can tell you about is how these pedals sound to me, and how easy (or hard) they are to use, and how well they are constructed, from a guitarists viewpoint.
The RP series starts with the RP55, and continues to the RP355 with more or less the same layout and functionality throughout, with the addition of integral foot controllers on the RP255 and RP355. Where things really start to get interesting, especially for someone who plays live, is with the RP500 and RP1000.
Construction
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically built like a tank. Believe me when I tell you, this helps when your playing live. Nothing like a broken switch when your about to launch into your favourite solo. I've also noticed that all the connection points at the rear of the unit are very robust (XLR, guitar input/output/USB/CD). This is probably because they are mounted into a steel casing, which helps resist movement, and cracking. I've had this happen with a few pedals. The best part however, is the footswitches. They are, again, made of steel. Pretty hard to wreck with your size 12 cowboy boots, no matter how hard you stomp. The only weak point I could see would be the rotating knobs used for effect tweaking. They are made of plastic, and located near the footswitches, so potential for breakage there.
Features
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically the same unit, with a few key features. They both have a row of effects footswitches for controlling compressor, distortion, chorus/fx, delay, and reverb. These effects can all be modified on the unit itself using the knobs, or by using the X-Edit software that comes bundled with the units. Many classic, and modern sounds can be replicated with this setup including distortions like the Ibanez TS-9, TS-808 Tube Screamer, Arbiter Fuzz Face, Big Muff, Boss DS-1 and more. This can be found in quite a few multi effects pedals, but some cool additions are the Digitech Whammy if your'e into Jack White, or Tom Morello, or the Univibe and Octavia if your'e into Jimi Hendrix or Doyle Bramhall II.
They also both come with a 20 second looper. If you have never used a looper before, its more fun than a barrel of drunk monkeys. This feature is actually what persuaded me to buy the RP500 as I was looking at buying a dedicated looper (Line 6 JM4), but realized I would get much more bang for the buck with this unit. I also tried the JM4 in a guitar shop and thought the sound was very poor.
If you have 2 amps, or even better a PA with a couple of powered monitors, you can run a stereo signal (via XLR or 1/4" outputs) and create some amazing sounds. I do this with my Fender Twin Reverb tube amp, and a cheap practice amp, and WOW! Try some effects like the Tremolo Panner, or the Rotary Speaker and you get some very interesting panning sounds across the speakers. I can only imagine what two great amps would sound like.

Ease of use
To rearrange my title here, its easy to use! I think it took me a grand total of 10 minutes from opening the box to start getting good sounds out of this unit, and to begin tweaking the presets. The presets are actually not bad. I say this because I normally don't expect any presets to be worth keeping, but in this case, I have kept them all. They make a good starting point if you are creating new sounds. Being as there is room for 100 factory presets and 100 user presets, there is no need to delete anything. The X-Edit software is also fairly user friendly. The tweakability of the effects is greater with the software than it is on the unit itself, so if you are really into this, then you will want to get the unit hooked up to your computer.
Amp/Cabinet Bypass
Speaking of amps, what turns most people off buying these types of effects pedals is how they sound through an amp. I have to admit that I have tried some multi effect pedals through my tube amp and they sounded very bad (so do some single pedals). This probably had a lot to do with the fact that you could not turn off the amp modeling, which was designed to be heard through reference speakers, or headphones, and not colored by the amplifier circuitry. One of the biggest advantages of the RP500 and 1000 is the amp/cabinet bypass switch. This simple little switch (at least the switch looks simple!), allows you to apply the effects of the unit directly to the tone of the amp/cabinet you are using (in my case a Fender Twin Reverb). You really notice the difference when you hit the switch on a tube amp, and the sound becomes much warmer and organic. When you activate the internal amps and cabinets by pressing the switch again, through headphones, or computer speakers the sound is fantastic, with quite realistic sounds. I'm not really into this feature of the pedal (amp modelling), but I'm sure some would have hours of fun with it.
RP500/RP1000 differences
Well, the first difference is price. The RP500 normally comes in at around $300 while the RP1000 costs approx. $500. This price difference is due mainly to the second row of switches on the RP1000 that allow you to control external stompboxes. This was added with the pedal freak in mind who wants the advantages of the new breed of multi effect pedal, but just can't part with their old pedals that they have built their sound around. The side benefit of this is that it will allow you to experiment with new hybrid sounds, combining your old pedals, and the new library of effects, tones and amps that comes built into the RP1000 (160 to be exact).
With a combination of solid construction, ease of use and great sound, the RP500 and RP1000 would make a worthy addition to any guitarists arsenal of pedals. After awhile, I bet you will find its the only pedal you need.

Continue your search for these great multi effect pedals and more at [http://multieffectpedal.com] A great resource for all guitarists who are looking for their own sound.

Guitar Accessories: Effect Pedals and Devices

Electric guitarists seldom just plug into an amp and start playing. Well, they may start out that way, but if you listen to the radio - or any recorded guitar music, for that matter - you quickly notice a lot more going on than just a "straight" guitar sound. At the very least, you hear some ambient treatment in the form of artificially created echo, or reverb, as the effect is known in guitar lingo. You may hear some (intended) distortion, especially in rock and blues music, and you may hear additional effects, such as wah-wah, vibrato, and other electronic manipulations. Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of guitar accessories known as effects.
Effects are devices that plug in between your guitar and amplifier and enable you to alter your signal in all sorts of creative and unusual ways. Scores and scores of these guitar accessories are available from all different manufacturers and in all price ranges. You can buy them as individual units or as an all-in-one box, called a multieffects processor. But whether you go for the package deal or à la carte, effects can spice up the basic sound of your guitar in all sorts of exciting ways.
Most effects come in the form of foot-accessed pedals, also known as stomp boxes because they reside on the floor and you activate them by stepping on a footswitch. This setup enables you to selectively turn effects on and off while playing the guitar without interruption.

If you plug, say, a reverb device inline (that is, between the amp and guitar), you can make your guitar sound as if you're playing in a cathedral. A distortion unit can make your tones sound like those of Jimi Hendrix, even at low volumes and with your amp set to a clean sound. Dozens of different types of effects are available - more than you could possibly own, not to mention use all at once. The price of these individual units varies, too, with distortion boxes as cheap as $45 and digital reverbs and delays as much as $175 (or more).
Individual pedals are a great convenience because they enable you to buy effects one at a time and use them in a modular fashion - you can choose to include them in your chain or not, and you can rearrange their order to create different effects. But many guitarists opt for a multi-effects unit, which puts all the individual effects into one housing. Multi-effects units are programmable, meaning that you can store different settings in the effects and recall them with the tap of a foot. Multi-effects guitar accessories, like individual pedals, also offer a modular approach to effect ordering, although they accomplish this electronically rather than physically.

Digitech Multi Aftereffect Pedals: A Guitarists Review of the Digitech RP Guitar Aftereffect Pedal Series

I accept I could accord you all the accepted allocution about the able complete and user affable interface that the articles adulation to constitutional about in their "reviews", but I apperceive you can get that from them. What I can acquaint you about is how these pedals complete to me, and how simple (or hard) they are to use, and how able-bodied they are constructed, from a guitarists effects pedals.
The RP alternation starts with the RP55, and continues to the RP355 with added or beneath the aforementioned blueprint and functionality throughout, with the accession of basic bottom controllers on the RP255 and RP355. Where things absolutely alpha to get interesting, abnormally for anyone who plays live, is with the RP500 and RP1000.
Construction
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically congenital like a tank. Believe me if I acquaint you, this helps if your arena live. Nothing like a torn about-face if your about to barrage into your favourite solo. I've aswell noticed that all the affiliation credibility at the rear of the assemblage are actual able-bodied (XLR, guitar input/output/USB/CD). This is apparently because they are army into a animate casing, which helps abide movement, and cracking. I've had this appear with a few pedals. The best allotment however, is the footswitches. They are, again, fabricated of steel. Pretty harder to bones with your admeasurement 12 cowboy boots, no amount how harder you stomp. The alone anemic point I could see would be the alternating knobs acclimated for aftereffect tweaking. They are fabricated of plastic, and amid abreast the footswitches, so abeyant for accident there.
Features
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically the aforementioned unit, with a few key features. They both accept a row of furnishings footswitches for authoritative compressor, distortion, chorus/fx, delay, and reverb. These furnishings can all be adapted on the assemblage itself application the knobs, or by application the X-Edit software that comes arranged with the units. Many classic, and avant-garde sounds can be replicated with this bureaucracy including distortions like the Ibanez TS-9, TS-808 Tube Screamer, Arbiter Fuzz Face, Big Muff, Boss DS-1 and more. This can be actuate in absolutely a few multi furnishings pedals, but some air-conditioned additions are the Digitech Whammy if your'e into Jack White, or Tom Morello, or the Univibe and Octavia if your'e into Jimi Hendrix or Doyle Bramhall II.
They aswell both appear with a 20 additional looper. If you accept never acclimated a looper before, its added fun than a butt of bashed monkeys. This affection is in actuality what abiding me to buy the RP500 as I was searching at affairs a committed looper (Line 6 JM4), but accomplished I would get abundant added blast for the blade with this unit. I aswell approved the JM4 in a guitar boutique and anticipation the complete was actual poor.
If you accept 2 amps, or even bigger a PA with a brace of powered monitors, you can run a stereo arresting (via XLR or 1/4" outputs) and actualize some amazing sounds. I do this with my Fender Twin Reverb tube amp, and a bargain convenance amp, and WOW! Try some furnishings like the Tremolo Panner, or the Rotary Speaker and you get some actual absorbing animadversion sounds beyond the speakers. I can alone brainstorm what two abundant amps would complete like.
Ease of use
To adapt my appellation here, its simple to use! I anticipate it took me a admirable absolute of 10 account from aperture the box to alpha accepting acceptable sounds out of this unit, and to actuate tweaking the presets. The presets are in actuality not bad. I say this because I commonly don't apprehend any presets to be account keeping, but in this case, I accept kept them all. They accomplish a acceptable starting point if you are creating new sounds. Being as there is allowance for 100 branch presets and 100 user presets, there is no charge to annul anything. The X-Edit software is aswell adequately user friendly. The tweakability of the furnishings is greater with the software than it is on the assemblage itself, so if you are absolutely into this, afresh you will wish to get the assemblage absorbed up to your computer.
Amp/Cabinet Bypass
Speaking of amps, what turns a lot of humans off affairs these types of furnishings pedals is how they complete through an amp. I accept to accept that I accept approved some multi aftereffect pedals through my tube amp and they articulate actual bad (so do some individual pedals). This apparently had a lot to do with the actuality that you could not about-face off the amp modeling, which was advised to be heard through advertence speakers, or headphones, and not black by the amplifier circuitry. One of the better advantages of the RP500 and 1000 is the amp/cabinet bypass switch. This simple little about-face (at atomic the about-face looks simple!), allows you to administer the furnishings of the assemblage anon to the accent of the amp/cabinet you are application (in my case a Fender Twin Reverb). You absolutely apprehension the aberration if you hit the about-face on a tube amp, and the complete becomes abundant warmer and organic. If you actuate the centralized amps and cabinets by acute the about-face again, through headphones, or computer speakers the complete is fantastic, with absolutely astute sounds. I'm not absolutely into this affection of the pedal (amp modelling), but I'm abiding some would accept hours of fun with it.
RP500/RP1000 differences
Well, the aboriginal aberration is price. The RP500 commonly comes in at about $300 while the RP1000 costs approx. $500. This amount aberration is due mainly to the additional row of switches on the RP1000 that acquiesce you to ascendancy alien stompboxes. This was added with the pedal aberration in apperception who wants the advantages of the new brand of multi aftereffect pedal, but just can't allotment with their old pedals that they accept congenital their complete around. The ancillary account of this is that it will acquiesce you to agreement with new amalgam sounds, accumulation your old pedals, and the new library of effects, tones and amps that comes congenital into the RP1000 (160 to be exact).
With a aggregate of solid construction, affluence of use and abundant sound, the RP500 and RP1000 would accomplish a aces accession to any guitarists armory of pedals. After awhile, I bet you will acquisition its the alone pedal you need.

Guitar Effects Pedal To Improve Your Sound

Listen to an electric guitar plugged dry, into an amplifier. Observe how, as soon as the note is played it pretty much fades away. Note how every mistake that the player makes, is sounded out in all its glory. You only have to see how many professional guitarists rely on small boxes in their signal chain (between the guitar and amp in cabling terms) to beef up their tone, to make it more lush and wet or to make their technique a little more forgiving.
Broadly speaking there are certain types of guitar effects pedals with different sub-variations. Here are some of the more common examples (it's not an exaustive list - check product pages for big brands such as Boss, Mooer, MXR or Electro Harmonix for more):
Delay / Reverb - These FX pedals are great for stretching out your guitar tone using timed repeats for delay or a lush reverberation (think shouting inside a stone building) for reverb. You play a note and you can have it automatically replayed, making your riffs sound bigger and potentially more effective. Listen to U2's guitarist, The Edge on "The Joshua Tree" for some amazing use of delay. This type of effect normally comes in analog or digital formats with the former sounding a little more grungy and the latter going for the clean sterile sound.
Modulation - Chorus, Flange, Phase and Tremolo all come under this guitar effects pedal banner (reduced to Mod for short). Chorus plays back the original signal along with a slightly de-tuned cloned version. The two soundwaves collide to create the effect. Phase and Flange are a little less subtle with a whoosh or aircraft taking off being the nearest analogy here. Tremolo fades the volume in and out to create a wavy effect that is very effective in country and blues. All can give you a richer, more interesting twist to your guitar playing.
Distortion - this effect varies hugely from a soft clipped overdrive to a punch-in-the-stomach brutal high gain guitar tone. Distortion comes via a pedal and often direct from the amp itself using its natural characteristics. Pedals can be useful for a distortion that changes the amplifier's natural sound. For example Vox produce the Satchurator distortion pedal that can give you Joe Satriani's tone (or something approximating it). Valve based technology is popular in the distortion market for it's natural driving characteristics though transistor based pedals can do a great job - just try the MXR M78 Badass for a good example of this.
Looping - not really an effect but very popular for sampling playing and then repeating it back for practice or performance purposes.
Expression - this covers Wah Wah, Volume and Expression pedals. These rock backwards and forwards under your foot to control the sound. Wah was made hugely popular by Hendrix and is used in most genres of music today, producing a "wah, wah, wah" sound that can be controlled dynamically. Volume is useful for fading out your guitar sound and creating volume swells like those of Mark Knopfler. Expression pedals can change an effect parameter up or down with pedal movement. For example you can connect one to some delay pedals and change the millisecond parameter as you play.
Compression - a tricky one to describe but roughly speaking, Compression smooths out your sound, taking the peaks out. It's often used for clean, funky playing and lead guitar. Listen to the product demo for Rothwell's Love Squeeze compressor - great pedal and very popular.
As mentioned previously, there are more pedals than mentioned here and it's up to you to seek out demos online but if you have maybe at least one pedal from each of the above types, you wont go far wrong. Use them with taste and in the right musical place and learn how your favourite players use their effects. Sometimes it is great to just plug into an amp and keep it simple but open your mind to guitar effects pedals and you wont look back.

Guitar Multi Effect Pedals: Finding Your Sound With One Pedal

Like they always say, you get what you pay for. Except in this case, you get more.
Just saying "multi effect pedal" a few years ago would have got you thrown out of most bands, but oh, how times have changed. My first guitar multi effects pedal was the Zoom 505. Honestly, it was a piece of hissing, digital crap, but it made me realize the potential that lay there within its cheap, semi-transparent blue housing. I actually brought it to one of my band practices, and I can tell you, that pedal combined with the roaring power of a cranked, 70's Fender Twin Reverb was painful to say the least, especially for my band mates. So I went back to my "snake pit", home-made pedal board consiting of the usual guitar pedals (distortion, tuner, delay...).
Then, last year I started researching new guitar pedals on the internet, and found a new opinion developing regarding multi effect pedals. Experienced guitarists, with a large collection of expensive, boutique single effects pedals were starting to sing the praises of multi pedals by brands like Digitech, Line 6 and Boss. Either these players had reached an advanced stage of hearing loss, or they really liked these multi effect pedals!
I was particularly surprised with reviews of the new Digitech RP line of pedals (RP500, RP1000). Guitarists were going off about how great the sound was, the quality of the effects, and the ease of use. None of these qualities had previously been associated with a multi effects pedal. These pedals (and others by Line 6 and Boss), have such a wide palette of great sounding effects, that its hard to understand why you would buy single guitar effects any more.
With this thought in mind, I did a little research on single effect pedal prices. I picked 9 of my favourite single effects, that are also produced by most new multi effect pedals, and priced them out. This is what I found:
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q multi wah: $125.44 Visual Sound Volume Pedal: $139.95 Proco Rat Distortion: $67.49 Boss CH1 Super Chorus: $89.00 Boss FRV-1 '63 Fender Reverb: $129.99 Boss DD7 Digital Delay: $169.00 Boss RC-2 Loop station: $189.00 Boss TU-2 Tuner: $99.00 MXR M-102 Compressor: $69.95 Total price: $1077.83
This would give you a pretty impressive pedal board! Especially in size. My old pedal board had half this many effects, and it was a beast to deal with. You would be looking at 11 patch cables, 9 power connections, and the board itself.
I now own the Digitech RP500. It has all of these effects built in, with a total of 125 effects, a looper, all metal construction, and stereo output. But honestly, the best thing of all is its ability to shut off all digital modeling, and simply become a pedal board. This feature, through my old Fender Twin Reverb tube amp sounds awesome. Better than any single pedal, or combination thereof I have ever owned. The only thing that sounds better than my RP500/Twin Reverb combo, is an RP500 through two Twin reverbs in stereo! Huge, lush, shimmering sound. All that, for $300 bucks (the pedal that is).
So if your looking for a single, or multi effect pedal, do your research. Despite their digital sounding names, the latest in multi effect pedals can produce amazing sounds, at a reasonable price. They simply allow you to explore more creative sound ideas.

6 Of The Most Popular Guitar Effects Pedals Explained

Guitar effects pedals, which are also called stomp boxes, are used by the musician to change the sound of their guitar. Stomp boxes get their name because of the "stomping" action needed to make the effect work. When the pedals are off, you are playing with the guitars clean (unaffected signal) sound coming out of your amp. When you step on it to turn it on, the signal that goes to the pedals are changed creating the desired effect.
You can also connect more that one effects pedal to your guitar. Simply use patch cables (short cables) to connect them to each other using the imput and output jacks. You can individually control which effects you want on and off at any time just by turning (stomping) them on or off. When a pedal is off, the signal will bypass it and go through anyone that is turned on.
For the best possible sound, you should place your gain and tone based effects at the beginning of your line of pedals. Gain and tone based effects include distortion, volume, wah and EQ. Next you should put the pedals that change the pitch or color of your sound. Then at the end of your chain, you can put the pedals that affect your timing such as delay, reverb and flanger.
If you accumulate a large amount of effects pedals, you can keep them all organized and protected by using a pedal board. Pedal boards are basically a flat board that all of your pedals can be placed on all connected together. You can even get them with covers, transformers and power cables to make it a breeze to pack up and move from gig to gig.
One thing to be aware of is that connecting too many pedals together can cause a lot of humming and unwanted noise. To fix this problem a noise gate pedal can be used.
With so many different types of pedals on the market today, I couldn't possibly list them all. So I'm doing the next best thing and will explain some of the more popular ones.
Distortion:
Distortion is used in many popular musical genres especially metal, rock and hard rock. The distortion pedals job is to clip the signal, giving it's distorted sound.
Chorus:
Chorus pedals give you a thick and lush sound by duplicating your original sound; adding some delay to it and then mixing it back with your original signal. This ends up making your guitar sound like a bunch of guitars or a "chorus of guitars" if you will.
Flanger:
Just like the Chorus pedal, the Flanger duplicates the signal, adds a short delay and then mixes it back with your original signal. The difference here is that the Flanger's delay includes several repeats that get longer and shorter at a steady rate. This produces a thicker sound compared to the Chorus pedal.
Wah-wha:
The Wah-wha pedal kind of looks like your cars gas pedal and you rock this pedal back and forth to allow lower and higher frequencies to pass though. This then produces the "wah-wah" sound. Jimi Hendrix in the late 60's and funk music in the 70's made this effect famous.
Reverb:
The Reverb effect emulates natural acoustic spaces by producing an echo making your tone sound like it's being played in a big concert hall.
Talk Box:
Last but not least is the Talk Box. The Talk Box pedal has a small speaker in it that plays the signal loudly up an airtight small plastic tube. This tube is taped to the side of the microphone where it sticks out just enough to be able to send the sound into the guitarist's mouth. The guitar player then makes shapes with their mouth to change the sound, which is then picked up by the microphone. Many performers have used the Talk Box over the years but one of the most famous was Peter Frampton who used it on his song "Do You Feel Like We Do" off his Frampton Comes Alive record.
Hope you have enjoyed my explanations of some of the guitar effects pedals that are out there. This is just a small fraction of the effects that are available to you. A good tip would be for you to do a little research on some of your favorite guitar players and find out what effects they use that give them "their sound" the most. For example if you were into hard rock or heavy metal, it would be a good idea to start off with a distortion pedal. Rock On!

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