Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Benefits Of Using Guitar Effects Pedals

By Russell Strider


Musicians were manipulating the sounds their instruments produce ever since they were invented. Modifying reel-to-reel tape produced the initial recorded effects. Beginning in the 1940s, these effects were built into tube-based amps. It wasn't until the 60s that guitar effects pedals were developed, due to the appearance of the electronic transistor.

There are actually quite a lot of different effects on the market for a guitarist to select from. Probably the most common one used is distortion. Despite the fact that almost all amps have built-in distortion, using a pedal gives the artist a lot more control during the process.

Dynamic effects were the first used by guitar players. These involve compressors, noise gates, and boost (or volume). Noise gates can successfully limit hum or static and are the complete opposite of compressors, that make loud sounds quieter and just the opposite. Noise gates can make quiet sounds quieter, and will make highly unusual sounds when combined with various other effects. Boost effects do exactly that, by amplifying volume.

Time-based guitar effects pedals add echo or can delay the amount of time it requires for the sound to be heard. A bit beyond generating echoes, a reverb pedal produces a lot of echoes that lose quality with time. A looper pedal will record a snippet of a song, permitting it to be replayed at a later time. This could be done prior to or during a performance. Some pedals enable a number of loops to become layered, creating a unique sound.

Feedback or sustain, while not always an ideal condition, may be manipulated by the performer to produce overtones, which are tones that are somewhat higher in comparison to the original. Feedback might be difficult to produce and control without the right pedal.

Modulation effects are a large number of effects that observe exactly the same principle, fundamentally changing the volume strength, the pitch, and also the timing. One example of this is a vibrato. This creates sounds with various fast variations in pitch. A tremolo can be very similar, nevertheless, it creates quick variances in volume. Some other modulation effects involve chorus and ring modulators.

Filter effects change the sound's frequency for some cool results. A talk box is definitely the most dramatic, enabling the guitarist to make their guitar sound as if it is talking. Wah-wah pedals and equalizers are different kinds of filter effects.

This article doesn't cover all the guitar effects pedals available, but it does give a review of several of the most popular. These pedals can be found in shops that sell electric guitars and various other musical instruments, in addition to on the internet or even in local pawn shops. Certain shops are dedicated to vintage pedals, which can create unique sounds not found in more recent models. These kinds of pedals make it easy to manipulate sound, creating something truly unique.




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