Effects Pedals - Are They Worth the Trouble?

Guitar effects pedals have been on the scene since the 1960's when guitar-based music became predominant. An engineer named Roger Mayer is credited with devising the first electric guitar effects device, a "fuzz" box, that evolved into the contemporary distortion and overdrive pedal, and the wah pedal.

Mayer created pedals that were used by the likes of legendary rockers Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page (for whom Mayer, his friend, reportedly created the first pedal in 1963 or 1964). Today, numerous effects are widely used by electric guitar players.

Effects pedals are so popular with guitarists, especially electric guitarists, because they can easily widen the tonal range of the guitarist's sound.

While various amplifiers can offer some of the options, not many amplifiers have built-in effects. Besides, guitar players would have to go to their amplifiers every time they wanted to make a change. Effects pedals are much more convenient, especially since guitar players frequently change tones in the middle of a song.

So, just like the electric guitar and the amplifier offered guitar players a wider variety of tonal choices, effects pedals, too, give them even more options in shaping their tone.

Today, even some acoustic guitar players and classical guitar players use effects pedals although the distortion and wah pedals used by electric guitar players aren't usually part of their tonal palette.

Since the first pedals were created, rack-mounted guitar effects have become more common. These were more popular during the 1980's, thanks to companies like Yamaha and Eventide.

Since rack gear requires a more advanced and time-consuming approach (not to mention considerably more money) than pedals, most guitar players favor effects pedals for their simplicity and tweakability.

When they have their effects selected, most guitarists will mount their pedals on a pedalboard to facilitate transfer and storage of their effects. This system makes it much easier to activate the pedals as well, since they are contained in a relatively small space.

Since wah and volume pedals operate a bit differently (they are rocked back and forth rather than simply switched on), they are mounted to make this usage easier.

Most pedals, though, have an easy on-off feature. For instance, the omnipresent distortion tone of hard rock and metal guitar players can be directly switched off and the guitar's "clean channel" allowed to be played, to give a different feel to different sections of a song. Another simple stomp, and the distorted tone comes roaring back.

It's safe to say that most guitarists drop a lot of effort to get the "perfect" sound, and this involves configuring their guitars, amps, and effects pedals in the right combination.

There are literally thousands of effect devices for you to chose from. Some more standard effects include volume, wah, compression, distortion, overdrive, chorus, echo/delay, tremolo, and vibrato. Effects such as these can drastically and effectively build a guitar player's sound.

If you are guitar player who is wondering how you can shape your sound in new and exciting ways, then check out the above guitar effects. They might inspire you in ways you never believed possible.

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