Guitar Effects

Guitar effects come in many, many varieties, so it's good to know each of the basic types of effects that are available, to make it all less confusing. Later pages will go into detail about each type of pedal.

Distortion- This makes the sound dirtier and is used by most guitarists. Rock musicians especially use this pedal to give their guitar a big sound. Within this category are overdrive and fuzz effects. Overdrive is an effect that boosts the signal, making it louder and giving it some color. Generally these are used to push tube amps at low volumes. Fuzz effects are circuits that just make the sound different. It won't emulate natural distortion, it just makes it fuzzy, hence the name.

Chorus- This effect will make the guitar sound bigger in many cases, especially if a stereo effect is used. It can give the guitar a "wobbly" or "watery" sound when used heavily, or just a gentle swirling effect. Think of "Come as You Are" by Nirvana.

Flangers- This is related to chorus, but gives a different sound. It makes a swooshing time based effect that can give a guitar a really big sound when used on low levels, and give is a sort of psychedelic effect when used on high levels. The most famous example is Eddie Van Halen using a low setting on songs such as "Unchained."

Phaser- Phasers can be confused for flangers sometimes, but they are a different effect. They sweep through different frequency settings so that the guitar has a constantly changing sound. It has similar uses as the flanger, but gives a smoother sound. It is another Van Halen favorite, and has many variations.

Tremolo- This is basically time based volume control. It can be set to extremes to make special effects, or it can give a gentle pulse to your sound. Basically it sweeps between a set low and high volume, at a speed set by the player. The volume levels may or may not be adjustable.

Reverb- This is basically an emulation of the echoe or reverberation of playing in a hall. It generally makes anything sound better, so it is often used by sloppy guitarists to make it seem like they are a little better. It makes the sound more lively, but used in an echoey hall it can turn into a mess.

Delay- Basically this is just what it says. It delays the sound. When you strike the guitar strings, it takes a certain amount of time (which you usually control) before it sounds. Sometimes you hear yourself play right away, then the delayed effect plays, usually quieter. This creates a call and response mechanic.

Wah- A very popular effect for rockers. It does what a phaser does, which is to sweep through different frequencies. However, this is controlled by a rocking pedal, so it can make the guitar make a vocal like "wah" sound.

There is a lot more to all of these categories, but these are the basics. There are also a lot that don't fit into these categories, which you can check for later. You should check out what each of them sound like, and compare some of the similar ones. And check back for detailed posts of each.