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.