PEDAL GUIDE
Don't know where to start with purchasing guitar pedals or are unsure of what certain types of pedals do? Here's your one-stop guide!
DRIVE
Arguably the quintessential type of guitar pedal, drive pedals add dirt and grit to your sound. There are three main subcategories to this; overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Overdrive is created by soft clipping and has a cleaner sound when played at lower levels, as opposed to the hard clipping of distortion which has a more consistent drive. Fuzz is a much warmer and more vintage tone.
MODULATION
Modulation is a broad subcategory of pedals that takes a certain characteristic and changes it. Examples include chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo and vibrato. Modulation is also popular in multi-FX pedals which have many effects built into a single unit.
BOOST
Boost pedals are similar to overdrive pedals; they increase the volume of your sound, although without increasing the gain. This is a must-have tool for bringing the level up during a guitar solo, although it is a nice addition for tone-shaping in general.
WAH
Wah-wah is one of the most iconic guitar effects, lending the instrument a dynamic, vocal-like quality. Popularised by Jimi Hendrix and also used by iconic players such as Slash and Kirk Hammett, the signature wah is controlled by the player's foot - although an autowah pedal is a great compact alternative.
PITCH
As suggested by its name, pitch pedals raise or lower the original pitch of your signal. Popular pitch shift pedals include the Digitech Whammy, used by guitarists such as Tom Morello and Jack White. Octaver pedals are also popular due to their ease of use and ability to thicken up your sound at a moment's notice.
DELAY
Delay pedals take your signal and repeat it. This can be used to add textures to your tone, whether an ambient piece or to add to the intensity of a shredding solo. There are also several subcategories of delay pedals, including analogue, digital and combos with reverb.
REVERB
Reverb simulates the sound of reflections in physical space, such as a chamber, hall or room. This is a great way to add ambience and texture to your sound, and although many amps feature a reverb setting, with a pedal you can tweak the settings to your heart's content.
COMPRESSOR
Compressor pedals reduce the dynamic range of your sound, making the quieter sounds louder and the louder sounds quieter. While the effect it has on your sound isn't immediately obvious, these pedals can make a difference in many scenarios, from enhancing a solo in a live setting to providing that spanky single coil sound guitarists such as John Frusciante have become well-known for.
UTILITY
Utility is an umbrella term for pedals that don't directly affect your sound but serve additional purposes. Examples are tuners, line selectors and noise gates. These pedals aren't the most exciting, but will benefit many players' guitar rigs.