Finding the appropriate guitar pedals can unlock a whole world of sound – from searing Hendrix-influenced distortion to funky wah and time-based effects such as reverb and delay – there is something suitable for every musical genre and style.
Starting out, most guitarists consider three pedals essential. Tuner, drive pedal and delay pedal should be your initial focus as a starting point.
1. Tuner Pedal
As soon as you take a close look at any professional guitarist’s pedalboard, one thing is certain – you will likely spot a tuner pedal. Tuners are an integral component to guitar playing that should serve you throughout your playing career; good tuners provide high accuracy with an easily legible display perfect for beginners. To save space on your pedalboard opt for PolyTune 3 Mini by TC Electronic which has buffered output which helps prevent signal loss over long cables.
Once you’ve become proficient at tuning your guitar with a tuner, the next step should be exploring various sounds. Overdrive and distortion pedals provide beginners with an introduction to different sounds; delay/reverb effects add color while modulation adds flair – whatever genre or playing style you enjoy there will surely be guitar effects that suit you perfectly!
At first glance, pedals may seem daunting in a music store. But the great thing about them is you can build your own collection according to what sounds are important for you – such as rock music where an overdrive pedal like the Tube Screamer or ProCo RAT 2 may work best; or heavier styles of music where a distortion pedal like Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff may fit better.
2. Overdrive
Pedal effects add a distinctive flare to any musical composition, lending it an additional punch of flavor and color. But with so many pedals out there to choose from, finding your starting point can be as challenging as learning new chords.
Beginners should start small when transitioning into playing electric guitar, with essential gain types like overdrive and distortion as their starting points. Add color with time-based pedals such as delay and reverb, adding modulation for movement as needed.
Overdrive pedals produce a crunchiness that forms the base for much of guitar music from blues to classic rock, from blues riffing to classical fingerstyle playing. An Ibanez Tube Screamer or Electro-Harmonix Soul Food are great examples of light overdrive tones; for heavier options like Boss MT-2 Metal Zone and ProCo Rat 2 there are even heavier overdrive models to explore.
Distortion pedals offer more aggressive distortion tones than their overdrive counterparts, producing harder and more saturated sounds that can replicate any style from AC/DC to Arctic Monkeys to Metallica and Slipknot. Beginners may benefit from opting for something in the middle such as an MXR Big Muff or Electro-Harmonix Solar Chug pedal.
Phaser pedals add dimension and depth to any sound, often associated with the psychedelic sounds of 1960s and ’70s rock music; however, they can be applied across genres.
One popular type of effect is the flanger, which creates an eye-catching warped tone perfect for certain genres. Delay pedals are also excellent ways to add atmosphere; multi-effects pedals will give your pedalboard some variety as they offer several effects at once.
3. Distortion
One of the more exciting parts of being a guitarist is exploring effects pedals. No matter how subtle or extreme, there’s always something new to experiment with and see how it enhances your sound. One of the most versatile pedals available today is a distortion pedal; this versatile device offers mild overdrive distortion through to heavy metal distortion effects for you to choose from! To find your ideal distortion pedal it is important to understand what style of music you plan on playing and which genres.
Distortion pedals offer more gain than overdrive pedals and have more pronounced distortion sounds than their counterparts, saturating your signal to create more of a distorted tone. If you play heavy rock and metal music, a high-gain distortion pedal such as Boss DS-1 or Pro Co Rat could be just what’s needed, while for classic rock or blues players looking for slightly distorted tones an overdrive pedal like Ibanez Tube Screamer or Electro-Harmonix Soul Food may work better.
There are also specialty distortion pedals designed to cater specifically to particular genres. If you play funk music, an EarthQuaker Devices Acapulco Gold may be suitable. Featuring an LM308 chip for creating unique distortion effects depending on how loudly you play – subtler when played softly while more dramatic when pushed hard.
If you’re just getting into distortion pedals, I would strongly advise investing in the classic Boss DS-1 distortion pedal. It is inexpensive, easy to find used, and boasts its signature sound which has made it such an iconic model over time.
4. Compression
Compression pedals offer more subtle effects compared to distortion, which may seem murky or thick to new players. Compression works by decreasing louder notes while raising those that are quieter, helping your playing sound fuller and more balanced. Many experienced guitarists use compression in their signal chain because it creates consistent tone as well as aiding with EQing when recording.
Compression pedals are another great starting point for beginner guitarists as they can tighten up your clean/gain volume ratio while adding production-like sheen to your tone. We recommend the MXR Dynacomp, an easy and versatile 2-in-1 compression and distortion pedal; for heavier styles such as metal, prog, or contemporary rock however the Ibanez Tube Screamer or Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Nano may be better suited.
On most guitarists’ pedalboards, you are likely to come across the iconic wah pedal. Used by generations of musicians across genres including rock, blues and similar musical genres – this pedal has long been used by guitarists of any sort! While other pedals may offer different sounds or capabilities – nothing gives your guitar such a distinctive and memorable tone than using one!
5. Delay
A delay pedal makes your guitar sound as though it were making copies of everything you play, with controllable volumes and repeat times for each copy heard, plus adjustable tone of repeats that may sound crispier or tape-like or warmer and digital compared to what they would sound like otherwise. A delay pedal is a fantastic addition to any guitarist’s arsenal as it widens tone, alters rhythm/timing, adds variety and interest – U2, Radiohead, Guns N Roses and Muse would never sound the same without one!
An entry-level analog delay pedal like the Yellow Fall is an ideal starting point for anyone interested in this type of effect. At an affordable price point and offering similar decay times as classic analog delays such as MXR Carbon Copy, this pedal provides beginners with all of the same characteristics that set analog delays apart from their digital counterparts and give them character of their own.
Beginner guitarists might prefer more contemporary digital delay pedals like the Boss DD-3. Although this pedal has been available for over 30 years, many working musicians still consider it one of the top effects pedals available today due to its incredible sound – pristine delays with pleasing overall timbre and an EQ profile that works well in band contexts or studio mixes. While more advanced models offer tap tempo inputs so they can sync their delay times to musical rhythms more closely, basic digital delay pedals allow users to change how many repeats or volume of delays they hear while decay rates as well as tap tempo inputs so you can sync delay times with music rhythm.