What do guitar pedals do?

Guitar pedals can alter your sound in very subtle ways or can change your sound into something entirely different. The scale of the effect is determined not only by the type of guitar pedal used, but by altering the settings on the pedal itself.

How do I choose the right pedal?

Choosing the right pedal can be daunting, there's a lot of different categories and hundreds of options to choose from. First of all, understanding the kinds of music you like to play and the effects commonly used in those genre's can help with establishing the kind of pedals you need.

Which guitar pedals are most popular?

Wah and looper pedals have proved to be a firm favourite over the years. Kirk Hammett, Dimebag and Slash have all used wah as part of their sound (and even have signature models) and players continue to use this effect to add extra style to solos and lead riffs. The looper is very popular with experimental artists and solo performers, with people like Ed Sheeran and Tash Sultana showing how songs can be built up using these pedals.

Do guitar pedals make a difference?

Yes. Guitar pedals make an enormous difference to your guitar sound. Pedals are one of the most important factors in defining your sound, they can have such a huge effect on your sound that without them your tone could be completely unrecognisable, especially when you utilise effects such as distortion, wah and fuzz.

What is the best way to arrange guitar pedals?

Generally speaking, most players will put their tuner first, then wah pedal, followed by compressor and then any drive pedals. This is then followed by modulation effects (chorus, flanger etc) and finally ambient pedals such as reverb and delay. While this order works best for most players, there are no rules and experimenting with this has been the key to some guitarists finding their signature sound. If your amp has an effects loop, it is also common for the modulation effects to be added there for a more natural sound.

Do you get different effects pedals for guitar and bass?

Many effects pedals work well for both guitar and bass however there are models that have been designed with guitar or bass in mind. An example would be the Crying Bass from Electro Harmonix which has a low-pass filter to keep the natural low end frequencies. Overdrive pedals also have both bass and guitar models but some bassists have found that the guitar models do a great job at helping them cut through in a mix by lifting the tone and adding definition. As is normally the case with pedals, it is often down to experimentation and personal preference.

How do I connect a pedal?

The connections for use with almost all guitars, effects pedals and amplifiers are the standard 1/4" jack to jack instrument cables. If you are using one pedal then you'll need 2 cables - one from the guitar to the pedal then one connecting the pedal to the amp. Adding another pedal to this chain would require another cable, and so on. If you are using a pedal with a battery, remember to disconnect the cable from the input jack when not in use to prevent the battery from draining!

Guitar Pedals | guitarguitar

Ex-Demo

MXR X Third Man Hardware Double Down (Ex-Demo) #AC67W346

£189.00 £199.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Special Offer

Thermion Uprising Dual Booster Pedal

£139.00 £179.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Cioks DC10 10 DC Outlets Power Supply

£209.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Cioks Flex 1002 Split Flex 1002 Adapter 10cm

£4.50

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

£179.00 £199.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

New Arrival

BOSS CS-3 Compression Sustainer (Pre-Owned) #MI13544

£59.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

£109.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Truetone 1 Spot Pro XP5 with Power Supply

£129.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Truetone 1 Spot Pro8 Output Expansion Box with Power Supply

£159.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Strymon PS-124 Power Supply

£29.99

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

£29.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Ordo OP-8 Isolated Power Supply

£49.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

£179.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

BOSS IR-2 Amp and Cabinet Modeller Pedal

£159.00 £179.00

Get it Saturday, Jun 21

In Stock

Stores Nationwide

Shipping Worldwide

Free Next Day Delivery

Sell your Guitar

Expert Advice

Guitar Pedals

Filter

MXR X Third Man Hardware Double Down (Ex-Demo) #AC67W346

Thermion Uprising Dual Booster Pedal

Cioks DC10 10 DC Outlets Power Supply

Cioks Flex 1002 Split Flex 1002 Adapter 10cm

Cioks Flex 1015 DC Plug 15cm

Cioks Flex 1030 DC Plug 30cm

Cioks Flex 1050 DC Plug 50cm

Cioks Flex 1080 DC Plug 80cm

Cioks Flex 1533 Daisy Chain 50/30/30cm

Cioks Flex 2030 DC Plug 30cm - Centre Positive

Cioks Flex 2050 DC Plug 50cm - Centre Positive

Cioks Flex 4030 Line6 2.5mm DC Plug 30cm

Cioks Flex 4050 Line6 2.5mm DC Plug 50cm

Cioks Flex 4080 Line6 2.5mm DC Plug 80cm

Cioks Flex 8800 Parallel Current Doubler 10cm

Cioks Flex 3050 DC Plug 2.5mm 50cm

D'Addario XPND Pedal Power Battery Kit

BOSS CS-3 Compression Sustainer (Pre-Owned) #MI13544

Fender Bassman Compressor Pedal

Aguilar TLC Compressor

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power X4 18V Expander Kit

Walrus Audio Canvas Power 22 Link

Voodoo Lab Dingbat Medium Power Package Pedalboard with Pedal Power 3

Truetone TT-TVD 1 Spot Voltage Doubler

Truetone 1 Spot CS11 Power Block

Truetone 1 Spot Pro 5 Output Expansion Box

Truetone 1 Spot Pro XP5 with Power Supply

Truetone 1 Spot Pro8 Output Expansion Box with Power Supply

Strymon PS-124 Power Supply

Mono Power Supply Small

Mono Power Supply Medium

Mono Power Supply Large

Ordo OP-6 Micro Power Supply

Ordo OP-8 Isolated Power Supply

Ordo OP-12 Isolated Power Supply

MXR M242 ISO Brick Pro

Catalinbread Carbide Distortion

Catalinbread Sidearm 70 Overdrive Pedal

Catalinbread Airstrip Console Preamp Pedal

BOSS IR-2 Amp and Cabinet Modeller Pedal

Keep up with our latest offers, news & events