Every Great guitarist have their distinct sound. They achieve this unique sound with a combination of signature guitar, carefully selected amp and a very unique combination of pedals and stamp boxes. One cannot use high gain distortion pedal to get the sound of great B B King.
First one thing a guitar player can do is to study guitar gear used by his most favorite guitar heroes. But one should also have his own sound and for this it is better to visit shop and try out different pedals first hand. But one should also know how to connect one pedal over other and how a pedal sound if its run through another pedal. Let us discuss some basic pedals which are mostly used.
1) Distortion or Over Drive Pedals: Without going to technicality here I will discuss about different sound these padels produce.
Distortion: This pedal gives a crunchy, edgy type of gritty sound with plenty of sustain. It is the basic sound of the classic rock bands as well as heavy rock bands all the way to metal bands. It give a guitar player instant ability to create legendary Rock sound instantly.
Overdrive pedal: This pedal has a more hollow sound, usually less sustain and a more "bluesy" sound. There are many overdrive pedals out there, but the one with the most fame attached to it would probably be the Tube Screamer, by Ibanez. Now a days many companies are making a Tube Screamer type overdrive pedal which are also good in their own rights. Stevie Ray Vaughan used Tube Screamers throughout his career, and made this pedal legendary. If you pludge a Tube screamer directly to a clean Amp and tune the guitar in Eb then one can achieve the legendary sound of Stevie Ray Voughan sound instantly.
2) Compressor: Next I would like to discuss about compressor pedal now. This compress the signal send by your guitar to reduce the dynamic value to the level set by a you (guitarist).
The best use of compressor is to produce country electric guitar sound. You Take a telecaster and plug it through a compressor pedal to a vintage fender Amp and enjoy the evergreen sound of counter guitar.
It is also used extensively in rock music. It take the distortion sound to a new level. It just help to decorate the sound of a distortion pedal.
3) Wah Wah Pedal: I think any serious guitarist know the function and use of wah wah pedal. It take the guitar signal up and down to create a unique human voice like sound. If use properly then wah wah sound is the most decorative sound for a guitarist. One should know when and in which song this sound is appropriate and be expert in using this pedal by foot. One of the best use of wah wah pedal is found in classic instrumental song by Joe Satrianis Summer Song
4) \ Delays: This pedal keep the sound of a signal for sometime. Now a days degital delay pedals are also available in the market. It is a must have pedal for every serious guitarist. It can make the sound of a guitar lead soulful.
6) Flanger, chorus reverb: This a add on effects, may not be proper for every song,
Chorus is an effect that copies the input signal passed to it, modulates the pitch of it by some configured parameters, and stacks it back on top of the original signal. It was basically developed to emulate the sound of two singer singing together.
Flanger effects are "Comb Filters". A comb filter combines a wave with a very slightly delayed version of itself, causing both constructive and destructive interference. The result is that some frequencies are boosted, and some are cut. A graph of the frequency response has evenly spaced spikes, hence the "comb".
Reverb is the effect of playing a sound in an enclosed space, or a simulation of that effect. Every room have its own reverb so in live performance one can create same effect by using a reverb pedal. There are many reverb pedal like Chamber reverb, Plate reverb, spring reverb and degital reverb.
There are other pedals like Booster, Octive, phaser etc. All are very useful and one should have complete knowledge about this.
Now a days Multieffect processor is also used extensively and are good and also getting better. Though some argue that it give a digital sound which is not desirable to many guitar lover. Though it can produce almost all kind of sound.
But pluging all the pedals is also a time taking and need considerable knowledge. Now which one is better Multieffect or pedal-board, the case is still pending in judges court.
First one thing a guitar player can do is to study guitar gear used by his most favorite guitar heroes. But one should also have his own sound and for this it is better to visit shop and try out different pedals first hand. But one should also know how to connect one pedal over other and how a pedal sound if its run through another pedal. Let us discuss some basic pedals which are mostly used.
1) Distortion or Over Drive Pedals: Without going to technicality here I will discuss about different sound these padels produce.
Distortion: This pedal gives a crunchy, edgy type of gritty sound with plenty of sustain. It is the basic sound of the classic rock bands as well as heavy rock bands all the way to metal bands. It give a guitar player instant ability to create legendary Rock sound instantly.
Overdrive pedal: This pedal has a more hollow sound, usually less sustain and a more "bluesy" sound. There are many overdrive pedals out there, but the one with the most fame attached to it would probably be the Tube Screamer, by Ibanez. Now a days many companies are making a Tube Screamer type overdrive pedal which are also good in their own rights. Stevie Ray Vaughan used Tube Screamers throughout his career, and made this pedal legendary. If you pludge a Tube screamer directly to a clean Amp and tune the guitar in Eb then one can achieve the legendary sound of Stevie Ray Voughan sound instantly.
2) Compressor: Next I would like to discuss about compressor pedal now. This compress the signal send by your guitar to reduce the dynamic value to the level set by a you (guitarist).
The best use of compressor is to produce country electric guitar sound. You Take a telecaster and plug it through a compressor pedal to a vintage fender Amp and enjoy the evergreen sound of counter guitar.
It is also used extensively in rock music. It take the distortion sound to a new level. It just help to decorate the sound of a distortion pedal.
3) Wah Wah Pedal: I think any serious guitarist know the function and use of wah wah pedal. It take the guitar signal up and down to create a unique human voice like sound. If use properly then wah wah sound is the most decorative sound for a guitarist. One should know when and in which song this sound is appropriate and be expert in using this pedal by foot. One of the best use of wah wah pedal is found in classic instrumental song by Joe Satrianis Summer Song
4) \ Delays: This pedal keep the sound of a signal for sometime. Now a days degital delay pedals are also available in the market. It is a must have pedal for every serious guitarist. It can make the sound of a guitar lead soulful.
6) Flanger, chorus reverb: This a add on effects, may not be proper for every song,
Chorus is an effect that copies the input signal passed to it, modulates the pitch of it by some configured parameters, and stacks it back on top of the original signal. It was basically developed to emulate the sound of two singer singing together.
Flanger effects are "Comb Filters". A comb filter combines a wave with a very slightly delayed version of itself, causing both constructive and destructive interference. The result is that some frequencies are boosted, and some are cut. A graph of the frequency response has evenly spaced spikes, hence the "comb".
Reverb is the effect of playing a sound in an enclosed space, or a simulation of that effect. Every room have its own reverb so in live performance one can create same effect by using a reverb pedal. There are many reverb pedal like Chamber reverb, Plate reverb, spring reverb and degital reverb.
There are other pedals like Booster, Octive, phaser etc. All are very useful and one should have complete knowledge about this.
Now a days Multieffect processor is also used extensively and are good and also getting better. Though some argue that it give a digital sound which is not desirable to many guitar lover. Though it can produce almost all kind of sound.
But pluging all the pedals is also a time taking and need considerable knowledge. Now which one is better Multieffect or pedal-board, the case is still pending in judges court.
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