{"id":918,"date":"2021-08-20T06:58:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/?p=918"},"modified":"2022-02-14T08:43:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T16:43:37","slug":"guitar-pedals-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/guitar-pedals-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Guitar Pedals 101: Adding Effects To Your Playing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pedals<\/a> are a HUGE part of your setup and sound! They can take you from sounding amateur to sounding professional, but there are so many options to choose from. So how do you know where to start? Well, that’s what The Beginner’s Guide To Guitar Pedals is all about, helping you understand which guitar pedals you should purchase first!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reverb pedal? A compressor? Delay? Distortion? Modulation? And to add – What kind of reverb? What type of distortion? Is there an order in which I should purchase these? The short answer is, it depends. But that’s what we’re going to discover together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want your guitar to sound more lush and rich then a reverb pedal might be your first purchase. If you’re going for that Kurt Cobain sound then maybe it’s a distortion pedal you get. And if it’s that U2 type delay that gets you inspired then you should probably start there. In this guide, Ayla breaks down the basic kinds of pedals you might add to your setup and what they can do for you and your guitar tone. By the end of this article, you will find out exactly what guitar pedals you should buy and what adding effects to your playing can do for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuner Pedal<\/strong>
Being in tune is the fastest way to improve the sound of your guitar! Throughout this guide, you\u2019ll find all Ayla\u2019s pedal recommendations for each category. Here\u2019s her favorite tuner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TC Electronic PolyTune<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gain Effects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what style of music you play these pedals are useful. Depending on the tone you\u2019re going for, there are a few different categories of gain pedals. Starting with overdrive which is the least aggressive option. If you\u2019re looking for something that\u2019ll make your guitar sound heavier, then a distortion pedal is the way to go. For a more extreme \u201camp blowing up\u201d type of tone, a fuzz pedal will be your best bet. Gain effects are a great place to move on to once you\u2019ve got yourself a good tuner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overdrive<\/strong>
The least saturated type of gain pedal. Overdrives tend to give your amp just a little push and add some hair and character to your notes and chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pedal<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distortion<\/strong>
Distortion is common in rock and other heavier genres. It\u2019s more compressed and aggressive than an overdrive. If you’re looking to nail Nirvana tones, this is your go-to pedal choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuzz<\/strong>
Fuzz is an effect that was designed to emulate the sound of a broken guitar amplifier. It\u2019s the most noticeably distorted of all the gain effects available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MXR Brown Acid Fuzz<\/strong>
Buy now: Dunlop<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time Effects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about time-based effects we\u2019re usually referring to reverb and delay. These two effects are perfect for adding depth and width to your guitar tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverb<\/strong>
Ayla\u2019s desert island effect \u2013 reverb makes your guitar sound like it\u2019s in a larger room. There are many different styles of reverb but ultimately, they all achieve the same goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fender Marine Layer Reverb<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delay<\/strong>
Delay is a flexible effect that can do a lot of different things. From a subtle slapback to long repeats \u00e0 la David Gilmour\u2019s solo tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Boss DD-8 Digital Delay Pedal<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looper<\/strong>
One pedal that isn\u2019t always mentioned in guides like these is looper pedals. They are an incredible practice and songwriting tool. By simply tapping the button you can layer guitar parts together and jam with yourself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TC Electronic Ditto Looper<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-Effects Units<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to mention multi-effects units in an article like this. While they may not give you the same tactile experience as individual pedals, they can be a great way to save some money or have a more compact rig. Some guitar players feel like there might be something a little synthetic about the tones you get from multi-effects units. However, as technology gets better and better, units like the Line 6 Helix or Fractal Axe FX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Pedals Ayla Uses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some more pedals you’ll find on Ayla’s pedalboard. Even though they weren’t thoroughly covered in the main part of this video, they can be equally as important to shaping your unique guitar tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus Pedal<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LPD SIXTY8 DELUXE<\/strong>
Buy now: LPDPEDALS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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MXR EVH Phase 90 Eddie Van Halen Phase Pedal<\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dunlop JHM7 Jimi Hendrix Univibe Chorus\/Vibrato <\/strong>
Buy now: Sweetwater<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*This article contains affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission from the product seller if you make a purchase. For more info, check out our <\/em>privacy page.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pedals are a HUGE part of your setup and sound, but there are so many options to choose from. So how do you know where to start?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[190,205,9,192,195,191,42,193,189,196,194],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1605,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions\/1605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.guitareo.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}