When you decide to get some pedals for your guitar, it means that you are ready to become serious about your hobby of playing this musical instrument. But just a short look at the list of models available may make you think whether it is a wise decision or not. Guitar effects pedals can make your music more exciting and entertaining, but you will have to know what you’re getting yourself into.
Distortion pedals for a more aggressive sound
The natural sound of a guitar is nothing like what can be obtained when you introduce a distortion pedal into the mix. It adds volume, so you can hear your guitar sounding louder, it adds crunch and sustain for more exciting output, and overall, it can transform the way the sound of your guitar appears.
This type of guitar effects pedal can be an excellent tool for a beginner. When you begin to experiment with your style, you need to focus on the things that can make a tremendous change. A distortion pedal will make your guitar sound more aggressive.
Compression pedals for impressive solos
The role of a compression pedal is that of regulating all the sounds so that the dynamic range is significantly reduced. If this explanation sounds a bit too complicated, here is the easier to understand alternative. Your pedal will manage to make the quietest sound produced by your guitar as close as possible to the loudest.
Guitar solos can benefit a lot from a compression pedal. Articulate playing styles can also improve as a result of using this type of pedal if you’re using a bit of a delay.
Boost pedals for lead tones
In a musical arrangement, your guitar may not sound the loudest, nor the cleanest. Depending on what you want to obtain, you can be severely affected by the loss of gain when you are playing without a boost pedal.
Such a device can make a significant difference, and make switching between overdrive and clean tones a breeze. For lead tones, it is also essential, and it all depends on where on the chain of pedals and cables, you are inserting this one.
Tremolo and vibrato pedals for surf music and rockabilly
There are music genres that demand the use of specific guitar effects pedals, and the model you should pick for surf music or rockabilly is a tremolo and vibrato pedal. Where tremolo modulates volume, vibrato modulates pitch, resulting in sound effects you can notice as standard in the music genres mentioned earlier.
Delay pedals for rock music
As its name says, this type of pedal is ideal for inserting a delay in the sound output. You can fiddle with several controls here, as you will be able to decide on the delay time, the number of repetitions for the effect and so on. Combined with a great reverb pedal, you can get some serious, huge-sounding tones.
This type of sound effect is commonly encountered in modern music, and rock guitarists often use it. Blues players also consider delay as a must-have for their arsenal.