Innehållsförteckning för The Guitarist's Guide to Effects Pedals från The Guitarist's Guide to Effects Pedals

Computer musicians have their plug-ins, drummers have their cymbals, singers have their bottles of water, and bassists have their… lead. But of all the musicians, guitarists are truly blessed – not only do we have the most expressive instrument in the world in our hands and towering stacks of amplification behind us, but at our feet, we have rows of beautifully designed, diminutive, yet all-powerful boxes of sonic possibility, ready and waiting to be unleashed with a single well-timed stomp. From open-mic night performers all the way up to arena-filling rock stars, every guitarist loves and relies on their pedals – and in these pages, we begin by acquainting ourselves with how they evolved, in an article written by renowned author and effects aficionado, Dave Hunter. We name the best…

1 The fabled Ibanez Tube Screamer has a very strong midrange frequency punch. This helps your guitar cut through in a busy band ‘mix’. It also works well for solo boosts 2 Overdrive is a versatile sound, and guitarists from pop, country, rock, blues and even jazz backgrounds will have at least one on their board 3 The best overdrive pedals will offer a range of gain levels that range from a clean boost type of sound (very low overdrive, but with a hike in volume), though to a thicker, more driven and harmonically-packed sound Usage Tip If you want a heavy overdrive sound, set the ‘gain’ or ‘drive’ control high and the ‘level’ or ‘output’ lower. For more of a clean boost effect, do the opposite What it sounds…

1 The ‘scooped’ EQ beloved of thrash and hard-rock guitarists, but often difficult to translate to live performance, is easily visualised with an EQ pedal – see left! 2 Your amp may have all the tone controls you feel you need, but you can’t access a radically altered setting at the stomp of a switch: the EQ pedal can Usage Tip Experiment with using your EQ pedal before and after characterful effects (drives, for example) in your signal chain, to reduce, emphasise and sculpt particular frequencies What it sounds like EQs can sound radically different depending on how they’re set, so perhaps it’s better to discuss what you might want to use them for. First, how about an overall level and midrange boost for solos? Alternatively, you could use your…

1 Phasers vary in complexity; classic Phaser pedals such as the MXR Phase 90 have only one control, for speed, where others add controls such as resonance to alter the character of the effect’s frequency peaks 2 Phasers can be used for rhythm as well as single-note arpeggios and lead playing, and have proved a popular effect with funk players, as well as heavy rockers Usage Tip The faster you set the rate control of your phaser, the more the effect will change from cycling swirl to flutter. Try extremes of both, throughout various depth settings, to unearth some classic 70s sounds What it sounds like The earliest phaser effect, the Uni-Vibe, was developed to create a sound akin to the Doppleresque movement of a rotary speaker. Phasing sounds like…

1 Depth and rate are the typical controls for a tremolo effect; ‘depth’ for the amount of volume cut, and ‘rate’ for the speed at which it happens. Some tremolos also have a ‘wave’ control which makes the volume ups and downs smooth or sharp; from gentle ups and downs, through to sudden on/offs 2 Blues-rock titan Joe Bonamassa often has a faint tremolo effect running on one of his live amps all the time. Weird but true! Usage Tip Try setting your tremolo pulses in time with the music. This can be particularly effective with on/off staccato sounds What it sounds like Tremolo is the classic, oft-heard effect of a guitar sound’s volume cutting in and out at a variety of speeds. It’s exemplified by surf guitar sounds and…

1 Not all pitch shifters have expression pedals built in. Whether integral or add-odd, they’re extremely useful as they enable you to bend or shift notes as you play them 2 Some harmonisers can automatically decode and follow the musical key in which you’re playing, and provide sympathetic harmonies on-the-fly Usage Tip Combine pitch-shifting pedals with delay and tremolo for eerily uncharacteristic guitar sounds; or pitch-shift chords to add unexpected glissando to rhythm parts What it sounds like At one end, pitch shifting can be as simple as using a device to create note harmonies as you play, or indeed transposing your guitar or bass to another key entirely. At the other end, it’s the otherworldly noise of bending and squealing, demonstrated no better than by Rage Against The Machine’s…

DAVID GILMOUR (PINK FLOYD) Electro-Harmonix Big Muff with Colorsound Power Boost Daniel Steinhardt on Gilmour’s secret weapons: “David Gilmour used a Big Muff with a Colorsound Power Boost. Everyone thinks Gilmour used a Big Muff. Well, no, actually, that sound is a Colorsound Power Boost into a Big Muff. It’s that combination. But you need a really good Power Boost and a really good Big Muff, and then you can go on for days. But I’ve got nothing but respect for the guy; he’s tried everything and really experimented. So, yeah, stacking overdrive pedals is a wonderful way of finding unique sounds.” BARRIE CADOGAN (Little Barrie, Primal Scream) Analogue delay with Dr Scientist Reverberator “This is really useful live, but especially in the studio, or for making rough demos. You…

TONE TIP For impedance reasons, Germanium transistor treble boosters such as the Beano Boost will typically sound best at the very front of a chain of pedals where they can ‘see’ the guitar’s pickups directly. Placed after a buffered pedal, they can sound thin, shrill and lifeless. Use treble boosters in general to add focus and edge to a compressed amp tone. The first class of drive effects Daniel and Mick have nominated for ‘Ultimate’ status belong to what might broadly be termed boost effects. That is, they offer an increase in perceived volume when engaged plus a flattering tonal colouration – but don’t sound as ‘dirty’ as higher-gain overdrive pedals. Among boosts, the Dallas Rangemaster is legend. Beloved of guitarists ranging from Eric Clapton to Rory Gallagher, it remains…

TONE TIP They say everything in moderation. And though that sounds like a recipe for mediocrity, in the case of pedals such as the King Of Tone overdrive, adding a bit extra without masking your instrument’s character is a winning combination. If your current overdrive or distortion pedal sounds a bit generic, try turning down its gain control and raising the level to let the natural sound of your guitar shine through. The King Of Tone overdrive started life as an attempt to get away from the ubiquity of the mid-heavy Ibanez Tube Screamer sound and get back to a more detailed, organic style of overdrive that didn’t obliterate the sound of the player’s guitar, but still provided more sustain, gain and flexibility than a basic boost might. Daniel Steinhardt…

TONE TIP We often say that guitarists buy with their eyes, but it’s also true that we buy by reputation. The Klon Centaur is worthy of high praise for its performance, and is without question a milestone design. But there are a lot of pedals out there that do a very similar job at a fraction of the price. So let your ears be your guide: learning to be analytical but unprejudiced about effects will help you find great sounds at all price points. It’s the most hyped overdrive pedal of all time – so what’s so special about this rather plain-looking stompbox that’s been cloned and coveted more than any other boutique drive? Although it’s often spoken of as the ultimate ‘transparent’ overdrive, it actually has something of a…

TONE TIP Just as a Tube Screamer helps replace weak mids in US-voiced amps, there’s a role for pedals that gently shelve off certain frequencies that your amp might have too much of. Marshall amps, used with closed-back cabinets, have a lot of bottom end – and while that might feel empowering, it’s not always useful to have a lot of pillowy bass in your sound. Distortion pedals that trim bass can be useful in making your tone more lean and penetrating – mids are a guitarist’s best friend, after all. Bratty, over-the-top, with a narrow sweet spot, the RAT is definitely the wild child of the pedals we’ve assembled here. Designed by Pro Co’s Scott Burnham, the RAT uses a duo of silicon diodes to bring the hurt, making…

TONE TIP Drive pedals that are designed to have amp‑like performance form perhaps the most interesting and progressive class of drive effects available today. Although it must be said that the idea of making a solid-state effect that’s designed to sound like a valve amp, when it’s probably going to be plugged into a valve amp anyway, is just a little strange. Wampler (see below), Tech21 and a host of coat-tailing clones have all found useful inspiration for little boxes in bigger ones, however. We’d stick our necks out and say that pedals that copy the bright, rich chime of Vox amps are often the most successful, offering the chance to add pep, lively upper mids and a bit of harmonic detail to duller amps. Los Angeles-based effects maker Mike…

Professional MKII By Pigdog Pedals “So this is an example of a pedal by Pigdog Pedals in London. The amount of work and research and knowledge that’s gone into it is astonishing. He doesn’t just use the best components available but he’s used original transistors from the MKII Tone Bender. All the transistors are matched and then everything is tested by ear. But also, this pedal [which replicates the MKII Tone Bender] works beautifully with buffers. So the guy’s a genius. “The original Tone Bender was a very important pedal in the history of guitar tone. From Clapton to Mick Ronson, and of course Jimmy Page… the Tone Bender had a massive influence on the sound of guitars. But again, it was a really temperamental-sounding pedal. Lots of people have…

1 At low volumes, you may find you need high levels of distortion to get plenty of sustain. As you turn up to gig levels, you may find it beneficial to back off on the distortion a bit, to retain clarity and cut in your sound 2 What’s the difference between overdrive and distortion? In technical terms, they’re the same thing. Soncially, overdrive sounds ‘softer’ and ‘rounder’, while distortion sounds ‘harder’ with more edge and aggression 3 Some techniques are greatly facilitated by distortion, including pinch harmonics, right-hand damping, two-handed tapping and legato lead playing Usage Tip As with all overdrive, distortion and fuzz boxes, try using your guitar’s volume control to regulate the amount of distortion and volume. This can be very effective for moving between rhythm and solo…

1 Compressor pedals affect the volume of your signal in a dynamic way: they respond to the incoming signal strength attack and compensate either up or down. As a result, they can alter the feel and response of the playing experience significantly 2 Compression isn’t just for guitars: it’s used extensively in many aspects of recording other instruments and vocals, not to mention while mixing and mastering 3 Many compressor pedals have only a few controls. The most common are ‘threshold’ (the point at which the compression effect comes into play); ‘ratio’ (how aggressively it affects the signal); and ‘level’ (the overall output volume) Usage Tip For the most compressed sound, set the sensitivity (compression) knob high and the output low. For a clean boost, do the opposite What it…

1 Octave above is the Purple Haze sound, but modern units (and some vintage ones, such as the MXR Blue Box) offer bassist-in-a-box, multiple octave-down settings too 2 Drive and Tone are typical additional controls on an Octave pedal 3 It may be associated with fuzzy lead sounds, but clean octave sounds can also yield intriguing atmospheres – particularly on bluesy or funky single-note runs Usage Tip If your octave pedal is not polyphonic (many aren’t, especially vintage ones) you’ll only be able to play single notes. If you try chords, it’ll turn into a great big horrible mush What it sounds like Jimi Hendrix’s solo in Purple Haze, played with a driver in front of Roger Mayer’s early Octavia effect, is still one of the most arresting effects moments…

1 The Echoplex had an Echo Sustain Control which enabled repeats to play back on themselves in a feedback loop 2 Artists such as John Martyn, David Gilmour, Andy Summers and Brian May pushed the possibilities of tape echoes to their limits 3 The multiple ‘heads’ you can see on this Copicat enable you to have multiple delays running at once: instant Hank Marvin! Usage Tip A lot of people would say ‘don’t’ when it comes to using real tape machines. These days, they’re often confined to studios because of their rather fragile – and therefore expensive-to-maintain – nature What it sounds like Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine guitar, or indeed music in general, without some control over repeating notes. Delay is ubiquitous: as players, we’ve become so spoilt for…

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TONE TIP At higher levels, you can use a booster like the EP to make your amp’s natural voice wider and louder without overly changing the core character of your sound. Watch out when trying that with amps that have lots of bottom end, though – things may get mushy! If you simply want the flattering tonal colouration that a boost pedal can add, however, turn the boost’s level control down to near unity gain and leave it on all the time. In the days before effects pedals were as numerous as they are today, top players would find tonal advantages in unusual places. The Maestro Echoplex EP-3 tape delay unit is best known, of course, for its vintage echo sounds. But as players such as Jimmy Page and Brian…

FREE THE TONE Gigs Boson GB-1V £222 This high-end, high-ticket overdrive from Yuki Hayashi’s Free The Tone stable seeks to fit the ‘sounds natural/does everything/has enough gain’ ideal. It does so admirably, by offering a range of usable tones from slight fattening to full, singing drive. A must audition alongside modded Tube Screamers and OCDs. www.freethetone.com J ROCKETT Archer £149 The best value Klon-alike on the market. It’s based on a silver Centaur owned by J Rockett co-boss Chris Van Tassel, and is the result of a collaboration with Klon designer Bill Finnegan. The collaboration faltered but the Archer remained, going on to great success. There’s also the gold Archer Ikon model, using up-specced diodes rockettpedals.com SUHR Shiba Drive Reloaded £179 The Shiba Reloaded tweaks the overdrive circuit of Suhr’s lauded…

TONE TIP If you’ve used a well-known drive pedal from a mainstream manufacturer for years and like its basic sound, but find yourself wanting a certain ‘something’ extra, do some research into boutique pedals that are inspired by the same design. You may well find that others have identified that pedal’s weaker points and have designed pedals that offer a tweaked alternative, opening the door to total tonal satisfaction. One of the great things about so-called boutique effects makers is the way that talented independent designers can take a well-known mass-production pedal as a starting point, then refine the concept until they have something that’s a classic in its own right. Such is Lovepedal’s Eternity Drive. Designed in Michigan by Sean Michael, it’s a medium-gain overdrive with pronounced mids, in…

TONE TIP A lot of people are confused about the difference between overdrive and distortion and how to apply them. “The main difference is harmonic content,” says Daniel Steinhardt. “If you look at an overdrive pedal, it produces a lot of even-order harmonics, and consequently sounds very warm and lovely. Distortion pedals, by contrast, give you even-order harmonics, but also some more ‘odd-order’ harmonics in there as well and it just sounds angrier. The way that the top of the waveform is cut off, or ‘clipped’, is a lot sharper. “It sounds a lot more aggressive. It’s still the same concept, though, but just more and angrier.” The orange case of the Boss DS-1 is probably the most recognisable in all pedal-dom, thanks not only to the ubiquity of Boss…

U2 Where The Streets Have No Name GUITARIST: The Edge  EFFECTS USED: TC Electronic 2290 Dynamic Digital Delay / Korg SDD-3000 FIND IT ON: The Joshua Tree (1987) “Whether it’s a Fuzz-Tone or a wah-wah pedal, if it’s really happening, it becomes part of the instrument,” The Edge muses. “I don’t think about playing through an effect; I think about playing the whole thing.” This integral approach has ensured U2’s guitarist has done more than any other modern guitarist to implant the joys of guitar effects into the collective consciousness. This reached its stadium-filling apex on Where The Streets Have No Name: those circular delayed intro arpeggios (0:14 to 0:35) through two differently timed delays build into partial powerchords (0:35 to 1:17) then flit between styles until the arpeggiated coda (4:21) – ushering…

1 Although primitive fuzz circuits produced an inflexible wall of sound, fuzz quickly developed into a highly playable and dynamic effect enhanced by the interaction of the guitar’s volume control and pick attack 2 The germanium transistors used in vintage-sounding fuzz pedals are sensitive to environmental factors, and variables such as their gain and frequency response can drastically alter the character of the distortion they create. No two fuzzes are the same! 3 Where you place your fuzz in the signal chain has a significant bearing on overall tone, so experiment with different orders Usage Tip Blues-rock star Philip Sayce tells us how to set up the perfect fuzz sound: “With the Fuzz Face, I would put both knobs on full, and even if you weren’t playing, it’d be like…

1 The classic wah design uses a mechanical pot in conjunction with the pedal. Others use optical circuits with fewer moving parts 2 Some wah pedals add extra fuzz or distortion to the circuit, and signature models are ‘tuned’ to star players’ preferences 3 Use your wah with care – it may be the best-selling pedal of all time, but it’s also the victim of overuse and can sound somewhat clichéd if it’s used all the time Usage Tip It’s tempting to rock your wah in time to the song’s tempo, but intriguing effects can be created by rocking in counter-rhythm, or simply by leaving the wah in one position What it sounds like Ask any non-guitar player to imitate a guitar, and the chances are they’ll make a sound…

1 The ‘depth’ controls the amount of ‘sweep’ in the pedal’s waveform, resulting in the perceived intensity of the chorus effect: how ‘deep’ the chorus goes 2 The ‘rate’ controls how fast the waveform repeats, resulting in the perceived speed and pitch variation of the effect 3 Analogue choruses are considered ‘warmer’ than their digital counterparts; but digital chorus units typically offer much more control, and additional parameters Usage Tip For subtle effects, set the depth medium/high and the speed (rate) to minimum. For more sea-sickness, increase both rate and depth. Woah… What it sounds like Chorus is related in sound to flanger and phaser, in that it relies on phase cancellation to create a characteristic swirling sound. It differs in sound from those effects, however, because rather than create…

1 Depth and speed are typical controls on a vibrato pedal. Depth controls the extent of the pitch modulation, while speed determines how fast that modulation occurs 2 Two-in-one pedals such as Carl Martin TremO’vibe continued the tradition of associating the vibrato and tremolo effects in guitarists’ minds 3 Some analogue delays include an option for pitch modulation in the repeats of the notes you play. Not strictly vibrato, but it still helps to create that vintage, ethereal texture Usage Tip Setting vibrato to slow speeds can produce some ethereal, dreamlike sounds, especially when used over sustaining arpeggio notes or ringing chords. Faster speeds have a more obvious wobbling effect What it sounds like Vibrato was first introduced in early guitar amplifiers from Magnatone, Gibson, Fender and Vox. What it…

1 Higher pitches of the carrier wave create resonant, hollow sounds; lower settings tend towards industrial glitch and stutter 2 The ring modulator is a difficult beast to harness, but has almost unlimited potential to transform your sound, particular with an expression pedal Usage Tip Using low settings of the blend knob can enable more subtle modulations, unless all out metamorphosis is what you’re after – in which case, turn it up and experiment away What it sounds like The ring modulator is a denizen of the synthesiser realm, and when applied to the guitar signal, is an often extreme effect that ranges from musically intriguing to downright debased. When used in conjunction with fuzz, as in Black Sabbath’s Paranoid solo, ring modulation can further mangle and contort the inherent…

1 A delay pedal’s basic controls are level (volume), delay (time) and repeat (number of repeats), or many a variation thereof 2 Some units offer the ability to progressively modulate the tone of the repeats, creating fluid, changing delay tails 3 Increasingly, modern delay pedals come with a looper function, enabling you to build up repeating layered phrases during live performance, and save the ones you like Usage Tip You owe it to yourself to set up two amplifiers (borrow a friend’s) and experiment with the stereo settings on inexpensive modern delay units such as the DL-4, the Flashback or Vox DelayLab. Limitless fun and experimentation awaits… What it sounds like Play a note – the pedal records it, then repeats it either once or multiple times at a predetermined…

T-Rex SoulMate £540 When this arrived, we all wondered why it had taken so long. So, in one ’board you get an overdrive, distortion, delay, reverb, boost and tuner, derived from some of T-Rex’s top pedals. It’s all analogue, and includes an effects loop insert after distortion/before delay to add more pedals. You can use it as five separate pedals, or choose to program 10 preset sounds. EHX Tone Tattoo £189 There are three pedals in one here: EHX’s Metal Muff distortion, Neo Clone chorus and Memory Toy analogue delay. They all work independently and are wired in series in the order above. The Metal Muff is much more versatile than its name implies, so this would be a good choice for pretty much any rock, pop or heavy blues…

TONE TIP With low-gain overdrives, the relationship with the amp you’re using is especially critical. Used with a lower-wattage amp, they’ll tend to ‘push’ the amp’s preamp and power valves into clipping and so you’ll hear an attractive blend of pedal- and amp-generated crunch tones. In that scenario, a classic technique is to turn the pedal’s level up but its gain down to yield a punchy-but-warm tone that contains plenty of the amp’s own voice. Amps that have more headroom will reveal more of the pedal’s intrinsic drive tone – but can project that sound with stunning clarity and force. Low-gain overdrives are cousins to clean boosts, but they also form an important category of drive effect in their own right: the fabled ‘transparent’, low-gain overdrive. Essentially, these kinds of…

TONE TIP British amps such as Marshall JCM800s or Vox AC30s often have a strong midrange, while the spankier American amps of Fender, with their sparkling highs and glassy bottom end, can benefit from a bit midrange help. Understanding the core tonal balance of your amp is key to selecting the right overdrive pedal to achieve a balanced overall tone. Indeed, if balance is what you want to achieve, of course… What hasn’t been said about this emerald jewel of the pedalboard over the years? Launched around 1980, the original TS808 Tube Screamer had a small, square-ish footswitch, solid black knobs and a slightly narrower enclosure than the more common TS9 that followed in 1981 and a slew of later variants, each of which has – many would argue –…

David Gilmour, Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons. No slouches, tone-wise, and all united in their use of the Butler Audio Tube Driver pedal, which stands alone among our selection here in having a single 12AX7 valve at the heart of its drive tone, a component more commonly found in the preamp of the average valve amp. The pedal is also unusual in having been engineered by BK Butler, who also designs high-end home and car stereos. “It’s a very well-known, very dynamic sounding overdrive pedal that reacts like the preamp of a valve amp,” Daniel Steinhardt comments. “But it also has quite a tightly defined, even sharp, voice – which is why it helps with cutting through in solos, and which is why it appeals to players such as Eric Johnson.”…

Though they stand in the long shadow of Marshall’s towering stacks, the Milton Keynes company’s drive effects are by no means poor relations, though many of its pedals took the voicing of its heavy-hitting amps as an inspiration. Many players who took up the guitar in the 1990s will undoubtedly feel a wave of misty-eyed nostalgia, then, as they gaze upon the no-frills black metal enclosure and distinctive wedge shape of the Guv’nor high-gain overdrive, which has made its way to us here thanks to an extraordinarily kind and prompt loaner from one of Daniel Steinhardt’s regular customers. Released along with the low-gain Blues Breaker and middleweight Drive Master in the early 90s, the Guv’nor was almost the hottest of the bunch (the aptly named Shred Master had even more…

Adrian Thorpe “IT USED TO be that I would stack low-gain pedals into high-gain pedals. But over time I’ve come to feel that it actually sounds better if you have a lower-gain or a less-clipped pedal coming after a higher-gain pedal. If you’ve got a higher-gain pedal that’s quite compressed in nature, what you would want is to run it into a second drive pedal that’s relatively uncompressed. You can then use [the second pedal] to tweak the EQ and add volume without changing the character [of the first pedal]. It’s like blending amplifiers to a degree, although it’s a little bit different because you’re in series rather than parallel. But I’d definitely prefer a higher gain pedal and then a lower gain pedal. “A second point is that stacking…