Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Guitar Effects Pedals Can Greatly Enhance Your Music

By Russell Strider


Musicians have been manipulating the sounds their instruments produce since they were invented. Modifying reel-to-reel tape produced the earliest recorded effects. Starting in the 1940s, these effects were included in tube-based amps. It wasn't until the 60s that guitar effects pedals were developed, resulting from the advent of the electronic transistor.

There are a good number of unique effects on the market for a guitarist to choose from. By far the most common one used is distortion. Although nearly all amps have built-in distortion, employing a pedal provides the guitarist extra control over the process.

Dynamic effects were actually the very first utilized by guitarists. These involve compressors, noise gates, and boost (or volume). Noise gates are able to effectively minimize hum or static and are the complete opposite of compressors, that can make loud sounds quieter and vice versa. Noise gates help make quiet sounds quieter, and will make very unique sounds when combined with other effects. Boost effects do precisely that, by increasing volume.

Time-based guitar effects pedals add more echo or will be able to delay the time it takes for the sound to be heard. A little bit beyond creating echoes, a reverb pedal creates a lot of echoes which lose quality with time. The looper pedal can record a snippet of a song, allowing it to get replayed at a later time. This can be accomplished before or during a performance. Certain pedals allow for a number of loops to be layered, creating a unique sound.

Feedback or sustain, while not always a desirable condition, may be manipulated by the performer to create overtones, which are tones that are slightly higher when compared to the original. Feedback may be difficult to produce and control without the appropriate pedal.

Modulation effects are a large group of effects that use the very same principle, fundamentally changing the volume strength, the pitch, and also the timing. One example is a vibrato. This produces sounds with several quick variations in pitch. A tremolo is very similar, nevertheless, it produces quick variances in volume. Some other modulation effects are chorus and ring modulators.

Filter effects alter the sound's frequency for some great results. A talk box is definitely the most dramatic, enabling the guitarist to make their guitar sound like it's talking. Wah-wah pedals and equalizers are different types of filter effects.

This particular article doesn't cover all the guitar effects pedals on the market, but it does offer an overview of several of the most popular. These types of pedals can be found in stores that sell electric guitars and various other musical instruments, in addition to online or even in local pawn shops. Some shops are dedicated to vintage pedals, which are able to create unique sounds not found in more recent models. These types of pedals make it easy to manipulate sound, creating something genuinely unique.




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