The Uses of Guitar Effects Pedals

If you are into playing the guitar, then you surely must have heard of guitar effects pedals. Another popular name for these guitar effects pedals is actually the stompbox. By definition, a guitar effects pedal is actually an electronic effects unit used by a lot of musicians, especially the ones who play the guitar. This unit has a housing made of metal or plastic chassis. Guitar effects pedals are used to modify the sounds generated by electric guitars. But what exactly do guitar effects pedals alter? The timber of the electrical signal, for one thing, is altered by the guitar effects pedal. The quality of the sound produced is also altered.

The typical set of guitar effects pedals is capable of giving such effects: distortion, chorus, fizz, reverberation, overdrive, flanging, wah-wah, pitch shifting, otherwise known as phaser. Whatever effect you want to achieve, these guitar effects pedals are the top choice of guitarists. This is because the pedals are very convenient to use. The operative word here being pedals, it is clear that all the guitarist has to do is stomp on the pedal accordingly, to get the particular effect he wants to have. Some guitar effects pedals come with a treadle called a potentiometer. The potentiometer is operated by rocking the treadle in a back and forth motion.

In connecting guitar effects pedals, two 2-conductor cables are needed. These instrument cables should have ¼" jack plugs as well. The input jack is placed on the right side of the instrument, and the output jack is on its left. With this placement, the signal goes from right to left. This is the typical setup of guitar effects pedals. But these guitar effects pedals can also be connected to each other, as if in a chain. All that has to be added to the equation is the guitar amplifier's Direct Inject line-level tap jack. This setup makes things more convenient, especially for a band that has a lot of guitarists. This type of band would usually have a bass guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a rhythm guitarist.

But you should also be careful with the use of guitar effects pedals as well. You see, when there are too many guitar effects pedals used in the equation, this would actually introduce noise into the music generated. There's also that irritating humming sound in the background. Should this happen, you actually have the option of using a noise gate pedal. This device decreases that unwanted noise from the equation.