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!