GUIDE TO EFFECTS PEDALS

PRINTED IN THE UK £6.99

4

INPUT

6The Evolution Of FX

Dave Hunter examines the history

of pedals to the present day

1450 Greatest Effected Guitar Sounds Our pick of some truly inspirational effects-heavy guitar sounds

on record

26Effects

ExplainedAn introduction to

each of the major

effects types, with

buying advice

52How To…

Pedal Order 101

What goes

where is crucial

to great tone

58How To… Buffers & Bypass

Buffering and True Bypass demystified

60How To…

Design & Build Your Own

PedalBoardCreate a gig-ready

DIY FX ’board

66How To…

SwitchingDevices

Advanced ways to switch in your

effects

68How To…

Power To The Pedals!

The vital role of batteries and

power supplies

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Contents

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OUTPUT

Guitarist Guide to effects

82The 101 Best Stomp Boxes Of All Time… EverOur definitive guide to the best and most desirable effects pedals ever to brave a sticky stage

70Real-life

BoardsWe examine the pedal

setups of five real-life

pro gigging guitarists

114SubscribeTake up this

special Guitarist magazine

subscription offer

116Star SoundsThe classic effects that define six

of the most famous pedal pioneers

128Pedal CrazyA selection of

otherworldly pedals

intent on delivering

sonic chaos

130Memories, Man!

Effects-pedal ads through the ages

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Guitarist Guide to effects The 50 GreaTesT effecTed GuiTar sounds

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Minus The BearKnights

GuiTariST: Dave KnudsonEffEcTS uSEd: Line 6 DL4fiNd iT ON: Planet Of Ice (2008)

With the aid of a

pair of Line 6

DL4s running

independently,

guitarist Dave Knudson

triggers simple repeated

guitar loops like he’s playing a

separate instrument to

create the angular,

mesmerising intro to this

2008 track.

MudhoneyTouch Me i’m Sick

GuiTariSTS: Mark Arm, Steve TurnerEffEcTS uSEd: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, Univox Super-FuzzfiNd iT ON: Superfuzz Bigmuff (1990)

These fuzz

addicts ended

up naming a

compilation

after their two favourite

pedals. Turner’s Big Muff

provides the gnarly abrasion

in their defining song’s

opening riff, before it’s joined

by arm’s Super-fuzz and its

second dose of dirt (0.12).

Black sabbathElectric funeral

GuiTariST: Tony IommiEffEcTS uSEd: Colorsound wah, Rangemaster Treble Booster fiNd iT ON: Paranoid

The Dark Lord’s

first use of a

wah to colour

one of his riffs

into a darker shade of black

came on the band’s second

album, adding articulation to

each note with a

Rangemaster modified by his

roadies for treble boost.

BlurSong 2

BaSSiST: Alex JamesEffEcTS uSEd: Home-made distortion pedalfiNd iT ON: Blur (1997)

It might be one

of the most

air-guitar’d

songs of all

time, but the famous

‘woo-hoo!’ moment (and all

the distorted parts of the

song) are actually played by

bassist alex James, double-

tracking a clean bass part

with a monstrously filthy

distorted one to create a

headbanging wall of low-end

dirt. The fuzz came courtesy

of a home-made distortion

box that has “since got lost”,

according to James.

One morning in May 1965, at a Florida motel, Keith Richards awoke from a dream and – fuzzyheaded – fumbled around, grabbed a guitar and played an idea running through his head into a nearby tape recorder. “On the tape you can hear me drop the pick,” he recalled, “the rest is me snoring.” Yet this germ of an idea soon grew into the Stones’ biggest hit – and with the addition of an early Fuzz-Tone pedal, a hit that forever changed the way guitarists wanted to sound. Yet Richards wasn’t thrilled. “If I’d had my way,” he grumbles, “Satisfaction would never have been released. The song was as basic as the hills, and I thought the fuzz guitar thing was a bit of a gimmick.”

The roLLING sToNesSatisfaction

GuiTariST: Keith RichardsEffEcTS uSEd: Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1fiNd iT ON: 40 Licks (2002)

© D

Ez

o H

oFF

Ma

nn

/ R

Ex

FE

aT

uR

ES

GBZ13.50sounds.indd 20 7/23/13 12:47 PM

27

OUTPUT

28 | Overdrive29 | Distortion30 | Fuzz32 | Boost33 | Compression

34 | Wah 35 | EQ36 | Talk Box

38 | Chorus39 | Phaser40 | Flanger

41 | Vibrato42 | Tremolo43 | Rotary Speaker44 | UniVibe45 | Reverb

46 | Octave47 | Ring Modulation48 | Pitch Shifter49 | Tape Echo50 | Delay

Contents

For newcomers to the wonders of effects pedals, the jargon used to describe them, the sometimes obscure differences between them and even the sheer range on offer can be confusing. Here, we examine each of the main types of effects in turn, and explain what they sound like and the basics of how they work – plus, we offer some buying pointers for different budgets. Time to get stomping…

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INPUT

Which pedals go where? Here are some basic setupsto get you on the road to stomping success

The order in which you place your effects pedals can

have a big effect on your overall tone. This is because

different pedals react differently depending on what’s

coming into them, be that your pure guitar signal or the

effected signal from other pedals. While your pedals’

physical position on the fl oor has practical considerations for

you as a player, it’s their position within the signal chain that is

all to do with sound. The big question: which way is ‘right’?

It’s important to say from the outset that when it comes to

pedal order, no one way is universally ‘right’ or ‘best’. Instead,

it’s more helpful to start with some basic, standard approaches

that can act as a springboard to fi nding your own ideal setup.

Let’s refresh our memories about basic pedal types, in the

context of signal chain order.

Volume / dynamic e� ectsThese are volume pedals, tremolo, compressor; they take your

signal and affect its dynamics in terms of level. They tend to

come fi rst in your signal chain because you generally want

those dynamics to happen before more involved or extreme

signal changes. Some players will put their volume pedal last in

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GUITARIST GUIDE TO EFFECTS

53

OUTPUT

line for a kind of ‘master volume’ control on the fl oor; indeed,

there are different kinds of volume pedals with different

impedances to better suit being either fi rst or later in line.

EQ & fi lter e� ectsMost commonly, this would be a wah-wah pedal. They tend to

be fi rst in line for many players (second if they’re also using a

volume pedal). As an experiment, try putting an overdrive and a

wah-wah on the fl oor. Start with the overdrive fi rst in line, then

swap them around and compare sounds. What you’ll notice is

that the wah tends to sound a great deal more pronounced

when it comes after the overdrive. Some players really like it

that way; most tend to prefer the wah before the drive.

Drive & distortion e� ectsThere’s a colossal variety of drives and distortions available.

‘Standard’ practise is that they come after volume and EQ

effects, but before modulations and reverbs/delay. There are

exceptions – vintage-style fuzz pedals can really struggle after

wah-wahs for example, but by and large, start by trying your

drives and distortions after wah wah. One extra tip that many

players fi nd useful is that if you’re using more than one drive or

distortion, put the most distorted pedals fi rst, and the least

distorted pedals last. This means the lower-gain sounds

effectively ‘boost’ the heavy distortions, whereas if you

put them the other way around, you just end up with an

over-gained, indistinct mess. Again, try it.

Modulation e� ectsThese are your choruses, vibratos, phasers, fl angers and so on.

This is where the biggest area of disagreement tends to occur

between players in that some prefer their modulations before

drive and distortion, and others the other way around. As a very

general rule, it’s often that more extreme, vintage-type

modulations tend to work better before drive and distortion;

more clarity, less mushy weirdness and so on. More modern

pedals – especially anything with a buffer or digital circuits –

generally works better after drive and distortion.

Reverbs & delaysThere are two common placements for reverbs and delays. If

you’re using them in-line with other pedals, put them very last in

line: the thinking being, you want to echo and reverberate the

sound of everything that’s come before. The other approach is

to use these pedals in your amplifi er’s effects loop, if it has one.

Most amps’ effects loops sit between the pre- and power-amp

sections. Patching your reverbs and delays in there keep them

clearer and cleaner sounding, instead of getting lost in a melée

of noise and confusion from other pedals. Again, plug in and

hear it for yourself.

Wet/dry rigsYou’ll often hear the terms ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ used when discussing

effects. Wet simply means ‘effected’, while dry means

‘unaffected’. Wet/dry rigs came to prominence predominantly

in the 1980s along with stereo rack systems. The essence was

that you’d have the middle, centre speaker/amp just putting

out your dry signal (usually including wah and distortion), while

a separate left and right, stereo rig would handle your delay and

reverb effects (diagram 5), and perhaps your modulations too.

It doesn’t have to be fully stereo – you can also achieve great

sounds by having a simple wet/dry two-amp set up, as shown

in diagram 4.

Whether you consider drive and distortion effects as part of

the ‘wet’ sound is up to you. Most players tend to think of drives

and distortions as part of their core tone, so leave them in the

‘dry’ rig. Nothing is set in stone – and experimentation is

defi nitely key to fi nding the order that suits you best. At the very

worst, it’s a whole load of fun fi nding out!

PEDAL ORDER 101

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60

inPuT

Fancy building your own, custom-designed pedalboard? We walk you through the basic steps

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Guitarist Guide to effectsHow To Design & BuilD Your own PeDalBoarD

61

ouTPuT

Before we start any of this, it’s worth saying that

buying a purpose-made ’board will be quicker, far

more convenient and potentially less expensive

than the DIY method. That said, there’s a good

feeling of achievement involved in making

something from scratch, so here goes…

First, decide what pedals you want on your

’board – it might be something completely custom and

specific, or you may want something with more versatility to

enable pedal changes over time.

Get your pedals and lay them out on a surface, including all

the interconnecting signal and power cables. Arrange them as

you’d want them to be on your pedalboard, making sure the

switch positions, pedal orientations and so on make practical

sense when you’re playing. Take care when placing pedals very

close together – can you get the jacks in and out? Do you need

to? Will there be room to upgrade any of your existing pedals?

When you’re happy, take a quick photograph or three to

remind you how it’s all arranged, and measure the extent of

your sprawl. Where is your power supply going?

You now know how big the ’board surface needs to be. Write

the measurements down! Now it’s time to design the ’board

itself in terms of materials, shape and structure. If doesn’t have

to be wooden and rectangular, but that is probably the most

practical/easy solution, especially if this is your first attempt

(and you’re not a welder).

Pre-Planning TiPsConsider this before you design your ’board

Are you planning on putting something under the

’board, such as your power supply? If so, you need a

way of creating space underneath, high enough to keep

whatever is under there off the floor.

If you don’t want to put anything underneath, it’s still a

good idea to have some feet on the bottom of your

’board to help stop it from slipping around the floor, and also

so you can get your fingers underneath when you go to pick

it up. It’s helpful to have the ’board angled up at you slightly.

Higher at the back, lower at the front.

How are you going to transport it? If you have a bag or

case in mind, in might influence the dimensions of the

’board right from the outset.

GBZ13.build.indd 61 7/23/13 12:56 PM

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GUITARIST GUIDE TO EFFECTS EFFECTS PEDAL ADS FROM THE ARCHIVES

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