As everyone knows, when you bake a cake you need some basic ingredients. Think of electric guitars as the flour. Guitar amplifiers are the butter. And the sugary frosting that adds extra flavor and color are the effects pedals. Guitar effects pedals are often the final sonic ingredients that allows guitar players to dial in their tone and find that perfect sound.
If you’ve read my article on guitar amps, then you’re probably are familiar with the basic differences between digital modeling amps and analog tube amps. As a reminder, digital modeling amps usually come loaded with built-in effects. This is similar to those found in effects pedals. So players using those styles of amps generally don’t have too much use for them. Except if their amp is missing a specific effect that they desire. The majority of guitar players who use tube amps rely on guitar effects pedals to help shape their sound.
Does this mean that if you choose to buy an analog tube amp that you might end up wanting to also buy an effects pedal or two down the road? Depending on your musical tastes, the answer is usually ‘yes’. But don’t let that scare you. Because effects pedals are super fun, not that expensive and they make your great sounding tube amp sound even better. Virtually all professional guitarists use tube amps. And virtually all of them have an assortment of effects to call upon when the time is right.
Key Questions Related to Guitar Effect Pedals
- What exactly are guitar effects pedals and how do I use them?
- What different kinds of effects pedals are there and what do they do?
- How do I know which effects pedals I need for my kind of music?
- How do I know in what order to connect my pedals?
- How do I choose between the endless possibilities of brands and models?
I’ve spent countless hours playing and researching different guitar effects pedals. And I am happy to share my extensive knowledge with you so you can choose wisely in creating the sound you’re looking for without busting too big of a hole in your wallet. So I’ll address each of the questions listed above one at a time. And I’ll try to keep things simple.
Guitar Effects Pedals – What Are They and How Do I Use Them?
Effects pedals are small electronic devices that plug in between your guitar and the amplifier. Connect all of the devices between your guitar and amp with multiple instrument cables. The first cable connects from your guitar to the first effects pedal. Use small patch cables between each of the pedals. And then another normal instrument cable connects from the last pedal directly to the amp.
Most effects pedals have a robust built-in foot-switch that engages them in the electronic pedal chain that you’ve created. Another name for guitar effects pedals are “stomp boxes”. This is because a guitarist literally steps on or stomps on the button to engage or dis-engage the effect while they’re playing guitar. In the picture shown below, the coiled cable coming from the guitar would plug into the white pedal in the upper right corner of the pedal board to complete the signal chain.
Will you need to have eight pedals to find your sound as shown in the picture above? The short answer is ‘no’. Many guitarists only need one, two or three pedals to get started and find the tones they’re looking for. Back to the baking analogy for a moment. If you also like to add sprinkles and other decorations on your cake to make it fancier or just because it’s fun, then you can add as many pedals as you can afford. These little boxes of fun serve as points of inspiration to keep you continuously excited about expanding your guitar horizons.
Different Types of Guitar Effects Pedals and What They Do to Your Sound
If you thought that the number and types of guitars and amps available on the market was a lot, then get ready when you enter the wacky world of guitar effects pedals. There are both “big brand” and “boutique” designers of effects pedals out there. And certain makes and models have risen to the top finding continued success with guitarists over the years. Those pedals are the ones I’ll try to stay focused on for purpose of this article. The table below represents the basic types of guitar effects pedals. I’ll describe how they influence your sound and which types of music generally benefit from their inclusion.
Guitar Effects Pedal Summary
| Pedal Type | Effects on Sound | Popular Genres / Examples |
| Overdrive | Overdrive, fuzz and distortion pedals all simulate the sound of the guitar signal being driven too hard for the amplifier, causing it to break up, but in a musical way that sounds cool. | Blues, Rock, Country, etc. Overdrive pedals are very versatile for a broad range of music and are usually among the very first pedals that a new guitarist will use. |
| Fuzz | Fuzz pedals generally apply more effect than an overdrive pedal in terms of how much the signal is driven into the amp. | Classic, Alt, Indie Rock. Some well-known examples include Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”, Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock” and just about everything by The Black Keys. |
| Distortion | Distortion pedals apply the most pronounced effect on the guitar signal. | Hard Rockers and virtually all Heavy Metal guitarists rely on distortion pedals. |
| Reverb | Short for reverberation, reverb pedals simulate the natural echo sounds that are automatically produced if you play in a large venue, like a church or concert hall. | A touch of reverb can make almost any guitar tone sound fuller and more natural. Many quality tube amps come with reverb built-in, so if your does then you can skip this one. |
| Delay | These pedals come in both analog and digital varieties but their purpose is generally the same: to produce discrete repetitions of your sound. Similar to reverb, delay effects add layers of echo, spatial and/or rhythmic sounds to your playing. | Delay is used broadly in all kinds of music. Classic examples include Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” and U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Bad”. |
| Compressor | This effect normalizes the volume of sounds produces by clipping the louder notes and increasing the volume of quieter notes. This effect usually also has features to increase the sustain or length of time that a note can be heard through the amp. | Compressor pedals are used by lots of guitarists, and are used in different forms in virtually all recording situations. They are also really popular among Country musicians. A Fender Telecaster into a compressor then a clean tube amp is country music paradise! |
| Wah | The wah or wah-wah pedal is named directly for the sound that it produces by filtering the frequencies heard and generating great voice-like and muted-trumpet tones. Instead of a simple on/off button, wah pedals have a large foot pedal that a guitarist pushes or pulls to varying degrees to control the amount that the effect is deployed. | Rock and funk music is known for using the wah pedal, among many others. Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” is maybe the most definitive song that simply wouldn’t sound the same without it. But plenty of other guitar greats including Jimmy Page, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have used the wah pedal to great effect. |
| Chorus | If you like the simulated sound of many guitars being played at once, then a chorus pedal might be for you. | Classic and modern pop. The Police song “Every Breath You Take” has a nice chorus effect. |
| Phaser | Phasers and flangers are similar effects that produce swirly or whooshy sounds by splitting the signal and changing one of the signal paths. Phasers use phase delay on one of the split signals. | Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Van Halen’s epic “Eruption” is loaded with phaser effects. |
| Flanger | Flangers use time delay on one of the split signals. | Hard Rock and Heavty Metal. The song “Barracuda” by Heart uses a flanger on the famous guitar riff. |
| Looper | These handy pedals have no direct effect on your sound, but their usefulness is their ability to start and stop recording whatever you play by simply stomping on the foot-switch button, then playback the sound continuously in a loop for as long as you like. | Loopers are great for practicing your timing, such as strumming some chords to make a rhythm backing track and then practicing your solos over the resulting loop. It’s like having a friend over to play with you whenever you want. |
| Tuner | Tuners have no direct effect on your sound. Well, I guess you could say that staying in tune has a positive effect on your sound! | All guitarists need to stay in tune, and pedal tuners allow you to do so while the guitar is muted, which is very handy when you’re on stage or jamming with friends. |
| Noise Gate | All pedals can add unwanted noise to your sound, and this can be in the form of hissing or other unpleasant feedback. If you accumulate enough pedals in your chain or use pedals known to be noisy, such as fuzz pedals, then a noise gate might be worth your time and money. | As their name suggests, they automatically mute any sounds below a certain decibel level, and if set properly can filter out the unwanted hiss and let all of your sweet tones ring through unaffected. |
Which guitar effects pedals do I need to play my kind of music?
This list of 13 different types of pedals are meant to educate, not intimidate. Do you need one from each category? Definitely not. But if you wanted to take your first step into the world of effects pedals, where should you start? Let the type of music you love and your favorite artists or bands be your guide.
So Where Do I Start?
For the vast majority of pedal newbies, I recommend your first pedal to be one that creates overdrive/fuzz/distortion tones. This is because most tube amps need to be pushed pretty hard to generate their own natural “dirty” tones. And you don’t always have the privacy to play that loudly. A “dirt box” is the perfect place to get the signal gain you want without busting your ear drums.
And What’s Next?
In fact, when a lot of guitarists are ready for their second pedal, they often stay in the same family. Let’s say your first pedal was an overdrive and you love it to play hard rock like AC/DC. You may want to add a distortion pedal when you’re ready to bang your head with some heavy metal. Once you’ve gotten your gain on, the next pedals after that are wide open for your choosing.
If you’re like me, you may be starting to learn guitar in your bedroom or basement. Generally, the acoustics of those environments don’t provide any sense of grandeur or open space. So if your amp doesn’t include a built-in reverb effect, I’d recommend a reverb pedal. They really add another dimension to your sound with their spatial effects. Professional musicians often record songs including some amount of reverb. In my opinion, too much reverb can be a bit over the top. But just the right amount adds tremendous weight and depth to your sound.
If you’re playing with your buddies in a garage or elsewhere, then I’d recommend a chromatic tuner pedal. If not, you will start to annoy your friends by tuning out loud with your iPhone in your hand. If you’re usually playing guitar on your own and you have a separate tuner available to you, then you can probably skip this one.
Moving Beyond the Basics
If you love country music, then I’d recommend a compressor pedal sooner than later in your effects journey. They help deliver crisp sustaining tones common in country music. But know that use of compressors goes way beyond country. The ability of a compressor pedal to level the sounds of the notes and increase the notes sustain make if kind of a secret weapon among beginning and intermediate guitarists. In a subtle way, compressor pedals automatically make you sound like a better guitar player. And they make the most out of less-than-professional-grade guitars and amps.
If you’re into more modern musical stylings or like experimenting in general then a delay or chorus pedal might just do the trick. They can have slight, moderate or drastic effects on your sound depending on how you dial in all of the settings.
If you’re the studious type, you may really want to focus on your technique, timing and skill as a guitarist. Then a looper pedal will be extremely valuable to you. It helps you understand how rhythm and lead guitar playing work together to become more than the sum of their parts.
And if Eddie Van Halen happens to be your guitar hero, then you probably need to move the purchase of a phaser and/or flanger pedal higher up on your list. Eddie Van Halen used these effects brilliantly and extensively throughout his career.
As I’ve said before, when it comes to guitar effects pedals, the musical world is your oyster. And these little gems will increase your fun, passion and inspiration for learning and loving to play guitar.
Does the order of pedals effect my sound?
The short answer to this question is ‘yes’. But explaining exactly why the order matters, and the effects it has on your sound if you move things around, would be beyond the intended scope of this blog. Plus, this is an advanced topic at this point if you’re still a beginner player. Instead, I recommend that you trust the countless number of guitarists that have come before you. Start by following the general “rules” that we have learned so far. Now that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t experiment. After all that’s part of the fun of pedals in the first place! But I’m just not going to bore you with the technical details right here.
Take a close look at the diagram below. And just focus on the types of pedals that you own. Following this order will ensure you end up with a solid foundation. From there, you can further experiment with all of the cool dials on your pedals to catch the elusive perfect tone that all guitarists are in search of.
- Tuner
- Wah
- Compressor
- Overdrive
- Fuzz
- Distortion
- Chorus
- Phaser/Flanger
- Noise Gate
- Delay
- Reverb
- Looper
If your guitar amp has a built-in FX loop, then you would want to connect the delay and/or reverb pedals through that loop separately, but everything else stays the same.
Buffered Vs. True Bypass
One more technical bit that you’ll frequently read about as you browse the effects pedals online or in stores is the type of bypass that a pedal uses. The two basic options are buffered bypass and true bypass. Is one technically better than the other? Not really. Can you screw up your signal chain if you don’t have the “right” one? Unless you’re a complete tone snob, then I say, not really. Ultimately, what’s right for you depends on a few factors. Let me quickly explain what I’m talking about.
The electrical signal generated by the guitar’s pickups is relatively weak. So it is impacted by the number and length of cables connecting it to the amplifier. Let’s say you run a handful of pedals and patch cables between your guitar and the amp. Then some of the high frequency tones are at risk of getting lost as the signal passes from device to device and cable to cable. So the goal is to prevent that from happening. A buffer essentially helps to amplify and drive the signal to the amp without losing any of the tone.
It is important to note that whenever a particular pedal is on, it is generally buffering your guitar’s signal. This buffer plays the role of driving whatever cables, effects or amplifier that follows downstream. So really the difference lies in what the pedal is doing when it is off, or not engaged.
So it comes down to this:
- Buffered bypass pedals continue to buffer the signal whether they’re on or off
- True bypass pedals remove the pedal circuit completely when off so no buffering takes place until they’re on
At this point, it might seem logical to conclude that all pedals should have buffered bypass to prevent any signal loss between stages of the electrical chain. And many people would agree with you and not worry about this issue any further. However, some guitarists who are more particular about their tonal quality worry that the “extra” buffering applied by pedals not in use are ever so slightly contaminating the signal. They may be concerned that the signal is not allowing pure tonal clarity to pass through.
Taken to the extreme, if all of your pedals are of the true bypass variety, then you run the risk of losing the very tone you’re seeking to maintain in the first place. So most practical guitarists have concluded that it makes good sense to have at least one or two pedals in your chain come with buffered bypass which can sufficiently amplify the signal through the rest of your pedal chain. And if you want the rest to be true bypass, then go for it. As usual, tonal happiness is usually between either end of the extreme.
How Do I Choose from the Endless Pedal Brands and Models?
Easy-peasy. Check out my guitar effects pedals buying guide where I reveal my top picks in each category. And also check out my article on guitar accessories to figure out what cables and power supplies you will need to hook up all of your fun little toys!