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For the beginning guitarist, the wide variety of effects devices available can be very intimidating. There’s also no shortage of opinions amongst guitarists about which pedals are “must have” and which brands are best. This brief article is by no means mean to be the final word on the subject; however, it should serve to help the curious guitarist understand what effects pedals are and how one may assemble these devices in a useful manner. I will also make recommendations about some of my favorite effects and pedalboards. Of course, your mileage may vary.

What Effects Do I Need?

The effects you need depend upon the type of music you wish to play, though some effects (e.g. volume pedal, compressor) will prove useful regardless of your musical tastes. I will recommend some basic effects to get you started that will serve a variety of musical styles.

Volume Pedal

While not the most exciting effect around, it is perhaps the most useful. A volume pedal is simply an external volume pot, like the one on your guitar, housed with a foot pedal so you can control your instrument’s output gain without your hands. Typically, a volume pedal does not involve boosting your guitar’s gain. When you rock the pedal back, the volume is off; when you rock it forward the gain gradually comes up to the instrument’s full output. Volume pedals are great for swells, which are the smooth increases in volume created by striking the strings with the volume off then applying volume by pushing forward on the pedal. One of my favorite guitarists, Phil Keaggy, is a master of the volume swell.

Volume Pedal Recommendations: Boss FV-50H/L; Ernie Ball 6165/6166

Wah Pedal

A wah pedal contains a potentiometer very similar to a guitar’s tone control. As you rock the pedal back and forth, the sound vacillates between treble and bass, resulting in a very vocal and expressive sound (similar to a trumpet’s mute). The wah effect varies greatly on how slow or fast you rock the pedal. It can be either wild or subtle and is useful in a wide variety of music from funk to heavy metal. When overused, however, it loses its effectiveness.

Wah Pedal Recommendations: Budda Budwah; Fulltone Clyde, Teese Wizard Wah

Compressor

Again, not a real “sexy” effect, but it’s one that comes in quite handy (assuming you know how to use one properly). In addition to adding a more even attack to your picking, compressors add punch to clean sounds and sustain to distorted tones.

A compressor effects the dynamics (i.e. the volume levels) of your guitar signal. It makes very quiet signals louder and loud signals quieter, hence “compressing” the dynamic range of the guitar’s signal. This effect can be very helpful for keeping quieter playing from getting lost in the mix and louder playing from drowning everybody else out.

A compressor can also increase sustain by raising the signal as the note’s signal fades. Most compressors allow you to control both the thresholds (i.e. the upper and lower limits) and the “knee” (the speed with which the signal is raised or lowered). Andy Summers of “The Police” uses a compressor to great effect.

Compressor Recommendations: Boss CS-3; Keeley Compressor; Visual Sound RT-66

Overdrive/Distortion

Indispensable for most modern genres of music, overdrive/distortion pedals help define the basic tonality you are trying to achieve. They range from pedals that provide a mild tube-overdrive sound to extreme high-gain distortion. Don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of overdrive/distortion effects on the market (and there are hundreds of them). A couple of pedals can provide a good range of sounds. There are, however, important differences between distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals.

Overdrive: Generally, overdrive effects distort the guitar signal; however, the effect is not as intense as a distortion effect. When you hit your strings harder, your pickups generate more signal. A quality overdrive is subtle, and allows soft playing playing to leave the signal clean while allowing hard playing to provide more substantive breakup. Overdrive is an essential effect to warm up and deepen the sound of rhythm guitar. It can also be very effective to fatten up the signal for guitar solos without masking your subtle hand technique (e.g. vibrato).

Distortion: Due to its popularity with modern guitar styles, most effects pedals today are distortion units. Most of these feature intensity and tone controls but have radically dissimilar sounds. You’ll be surprised at the different types of distortions that can be produced, from rich, smooth, melodic, and creamy to piercing, jagged, and harsh. Several distortion units (e.g. the Boss OD-20) produce a broad range of styles of distortion.

Fuzz: A fuzz pedal is nothing more than an extreme distortion. Typically, a fuzz is such a radical change of the guitar’s sound that it is used for an occasional effect rather than the basis of someone’s sound. Since it thickens up the sound so radically, fuzz can be useful for intro riffs and solo guitar parts (e.g. listen to Jimi Hendrix playing the “Star Spangled Banner”).

Overdrive/Distortion Recommendations: Boss BD-2 (modified by Robert Keeley); Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde; Boss DS-1 (modified by Robert Keeley); Fulltone Fulldrive 2

Modulation Effects

These basic pitch altering effects, when used properly, can add a new dimension to your sound. Personally, I think these effects sound best when used minimally. I can’t imagine the opening to “Barracuda” without that great Flanging sound, but if the Flanger was on the whole song, it would sound pretty annoying. Eddie Van Halen used an MXR Phase 90 with great taste on the early Van Halen albums because he used it sparingly. I love the sound of a Strat through a Roland Jazz Chorus amplifier, but only if the Chorus effect is subtle. Anything else, and it’s like too much dessert. Good at first, but a little sickening if you don’t know when to stop.

Chorus: Chorus is the most popular modulation effect, even appearing as the lone effect on a number of amplifiers (e.g. the Roland JC120), and is generally the most subtle, if used properly. A chorus sounds like the same signal running through two amps with a very slight delay between the amps. Chorus is a great way to thicken up the sound of rhythm guitar or lead guitar. While often used with distorted sounds, it is a useful in creating full-sounding clean sounds.

Flanger: A flanger simulates the effect of repeatedly manually slowing the reel of a moving tape machine (or “flange”) briefly and then letting it catch back up while a dry signal plays along. The typical flangers features a depth control, which controls the intensity of the effect, and a rate control, which controls the speed of the cycles. Flange can be a subtle effect, thickening the sound and imparting a “sci-fi” feeling. It can also be extremely dramatic when cranked, even to the point of making your original tone unrecognizable. Don’t overuse a flanger, or you’ll sound like an 8 year-old whose parents left him in Guitar Center.

Phaser: A phase shifter cyclically eliminates certain frequencies in your sound, which sounds bad at first, but it’s actually a very pleasing effect. Various phasing sounds involve multiple notches in the sound. Similar to a flanger, a phase shifter can create ethereal, spacey and open sounds, but it can also deliver more solid jet-like sounds appropriate for more hard-core music. A phaser does not manipulate the pitch as much as does a flanger.

Tremolo: Tremolo is simply the rapid raising and lowering of the volume, like the sound from rapidly turning the volume up and down on your amplifier. Many amplifiers from the late ’40s and ’50s (e.g. the Fender Twin Reverb) had this effect built in. Tremolo was used a lot for surf, rockabilly, country, and other music from the ’50s, so it’s good for a “vintage” sound.

Vibrato: Vibrato is a subtle raising and lowering of the pitch of the note or notes being played. This effect is usually made by subtle fret hand movements or using the guitar’s vibrato bar, but you can also use an effects pedal to provide vibrato. Interesting fact! A guitar’s whammy bar is often, erroneously, called a tremolo bar, but in fact produces vibrato, not tremolo.

Chorus/Phaser/Flanger/Tremolo Recommendations: MXR EVH-90 Phaser; Visual Sound H20 Chorus/Echo; Voodoo Labs Tremolo; Boss CH-1 Chorus; Boss BF-3 Flanger; Fulltone Choralflange; Boss TR-2; Fulltone Supa-Trem; Boss PH-3 Phaser

Delay/Echo

If you learn how to use one properly, a delay/echo pedal can be a great addition to your sound. I generally have two delay pedals on my pedalboard, one for short delays (to be used with fast playing) and one for long delays (to be used for slow playing). If you want to hear a guitarist use a delay tastefully, listen to the Edge of U2.

Typically, delay effects split the signal into two identical signals and temporarily hold back one while allowing the other to play in real time. The signals are then mixed together into one at the output. Generally, you can control the length of the delay and the amount of the signal that is affected (the “wet” signal) versus the part that stays unaffected (the “dry” signal). This control, which is found on most delay effects, is the level control.

Delay/Echo Pedal Recommendations: Visual Sound H20; Boss DD-7; Boss DD-20; Line 6 DL-4

In What Order Should I Place My Effects?

While there are no unbreakable rules, there are some general rules of thumb. Conventional wisdom dictates the order below. Please note, though, that I personally often use two volume pedals, one pre-distortion and one post-distortion. Also, I have a Keeley BD-2 before the compressor, which is Keeley’s recommended placement. I would recommend that you experiment with effects placement. After all, you won’t hurt anything.

1.) Wah
2.) Volume
3.) Compressor
4.) Distortion/Overdrive
5.) Chorus/Phaser/Flanger
7.) Delay/Echo

What Kind of Pedalboard Should I Use?

You’ve got two options. You can build one yourself or you can be a pre-made board. If you’re the do-it-yourself type, you can build a pedalboard for under $40 with supplies from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Personally, I prefer a professionally made board, though I’ve made my own in the past. My favorite is the Pedaltrain PT-2 with the hardshell case. The great thing about the Pedaltrain is that its design allows you to route and hide cables underneath the pedalboard itself. What a brilliantly original design! The Pedaltrain is available in 3 sizes and is virtually indestructible.

What About An All-In-One Effects Unit?

Several guitar effects manufacturers, including Boss/Roland, Line 6, and Digitech, offer effects devices that offer many different types of effects in one unit. There are advantages and disadvantages to such devices. The obvious advantage is that they represent great value for the money. They can also be a good way for you to try several different effects types without purchasing a dozen or more pedals. The disadvantage is that such devices do not offer the flexibility and quality of individual effects pedals.

Personally, I don’t think you have to chose. I have a Boss ME-50 that I use for smaller gigs and times when carrying a larger pedalboard around simply wouldn’t be practical. I think it has a solid basic sound and represents excellent value for the dollar. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and practical place to start with effects, you can’t beat the ME-50 or the newer ME-20, in my opinion.

When I play gigs that require me to go direct (some churches, for example), my unit of choice is the Line 6 POD X3 Live. It has excellent options regarding amplifier models and effects.

How Do I Power My Effects?

If you use a number of effects pedals, you’ll soon find that using batteries or individual adapters to power your pedals isn’t really an option. The former is way too expensive while the latter is far too inconvenient. A power supply that powers multiple pedals is your best option.

There are various types of pedal power supplies on the market, but they fall into two basic types: (1) Switching Power Supplies (e.g. the Godlyke PA-9 or the Visual Sound 1 Spot) (2) Power supplies with individually isolated outputs (e.g. the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2).

Both of these types of power supplies have advantages and disadvantages. In my view, here are some things to consider.

Switching Power Supplies (Godlyke, Visual Sound)

Pros

1.) Small (takes up no space on pedalboard)
2.) Inexpensive
3.) Can power more pedals than the typical isolated power supply device

Cons

1.) Can’t power regular and reverse polarity with same adapter
2.) Some pedals (e.g. Teese Wahs) react negatively to switching power supplies
3.) Can’t supply non-standard voltage (e.g. 18v) to individual pedals

Individually Isolated Output Supplies (e.g. Pedal Power 2)

Pros

1.) Extremely versatile (can power reverse, 18v, and regular polarity)
2.) Typically quieter than switching power supplies (each output is isolated)

Cons

1.) Expensive (in comparison)
2.) Takes up more room
3.) Can’t power as many pedals.

I’ve owned the Godlyke PA-9, the Visual Sound 1-Spot, the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2, and the Dunlop Brick. I currently use the Pedal Power 2 in my pedalboard, though I use the 1-Spot on occasion. You need to be flexible enough to use whatever the situation demands.

Find the best new and used effects pedals at The Pedal Zone.

Ray Scott is owner of The Pedal Zone, which specializes in new and used guitar effects, including pedalboards.

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