All About Guitar Pedals

Many teenagers who are fond of rock music have a great desire to have their own electric guitar. They dream of learning how to play this musical instrument, creating a group, becoming popular, performing at world venues. Unfortunately, not everyone succeeds in gaining fame, and playing the electric guitar is becoming a hobby. Even so, "room" guitarists are upgrading their musical instruments by complementing them with various effect pedals.

It is extremely important for every guitarist to achieve the perfection of the sound of the melody being played. This is exactly the kind of effect you can get with the stompbox. However, before rushing to purchase such an unpretentious addition for a guitar, you need to get acquainted with the design features of this device, find out what the varieties are, and clarify the list of functions that the models you like are equipped with.

Every year modern manufacturers of musical instruments release to the market new electronic devices that allow converting a guitar signal beyond recognition. The traditional shape of a guitar pedal is a small metal box with cable connectors on each side and effect controls on the display.

Colloquially, musicians refer to an effect pedal as a guitar gadget.Each individual gadget model is characterized by certain possibilities of sound distortion, so that any musician can imagine himself as a famous rock idol. Most musical equipment companies often create multifunctional guitar pedals. They can boost solos, soften bass and give rhythm guitar an acoustic effect.

Today, musical instrument manufacturers have developed a wide variety of guitar pedals, which, according to the principle of sound processing, belong to different groups.

• Heine's... The gadgets belonging to this group are characterized by severity, since they work with the sound of the maximum volume.

• Dynamic gain... These gadgets are designed to process sound with a response of different volume levels.

• Gates... In the music field, they are called shumodavs. They are able to control the signal without reducing the sound range.

• Tone... The actions of these pedals are aimed at changing the volume of the frequency range.

• Modulating... With these gadgets, the musician creates an emulation of overdrive, which gives the guitar sound a special expression.

• Emulating... Unique gadgets that can create many different effects. For example, echo, sound delay, and even the tonality of an acoustic guitar.

According to the information provided, it becomes clear that the list of lotions is very diverse. And besides the groups, they are divided into several more categories.

Guitar pedals that allow you to create a triple sound effect. When pressed, the sound intensity increases, and when the pressure of the foot on the pedal decreases, the effect strength decreases and gradually fades away. Just such a device was used by Jimi Hendrix when performing his compositions.

A fatal lotion capable of cut off the sound being played. This effect is most commonly used in rock and metal compositions.

Due to the rounded cutoff of the upper turns of the sinusoid, the presented kind of lotion smoothly attenuates the level of the audio signal in amplitude. This effect is appropriate in calm rock ballads.

A specific gadget that can transform the sound as quickly as possible. It is often used as a signal amplifier, which is very popular with musicians who distort signals at low volume. These pedals are often used by lead guitarists when playing their parts.

Devices that create nonlinear sound conversion using transistors. They ensure complete elimination of the signal envelope, resulting in an organ-like sound.

Modern connoisseurs of new musical equipment, having tested each new gadget, leave reviews about it. Users describe in detail, down to the smallest detail, what effects the devices have, what is special about them, tell whether the device is comfortable to use, and most importantly - how high-quality the sound is. Based on such comments, it was possible to compile a rating of the best pedals for electric guitars. The top 5 recognized lotions included models from foreign manufacturers and one Russian company.

Zoom is the global market leader in musical instruments and accessories. Every year, the brand releases more and more new gadgets, equipping each individual model with unique features. However, the best pedal to date is the ZOOM MS-50G pedal. This device is able to reproduce 6 variations of effects in one moment. And it is not at all difficult to operate the device, there are 3 control buttons on the case.The display shows information about the installed options, and thanks to the presence of a USB port, the owner of the device can change the system firmware.

The important advantages of this model are:

• high emulation;
• the device works due to a USB connection to the mains, a charged battery or AA batteries;
• the owner of the lotion can independently control the consumption of energy consumed.

The disadvantages include only a few points:

• the complexity of operation for beginners;
• there is extraneous noise when the USB is connected.

With this gadget, every electric guitar owner will be able to transform the reproduced sound, so that it will have the maximum similarity to the sound of an electric piano. If necessary, the guitarist can adjust the volume of individual fragments of the melody using a slight movement of his foot. There are 11 recording cells in the body of the product. A power adapter is included as an accessory.

Important advantages of the lotion are:

• compact size;
• the presence of the overdub function.

The users did not reveal any drawbacks of this device.

The peculiarity of this model is in the ability to create compressed film echo and crystal clear sound... Its design has 3 playback heads, capable of providing 7 different sound combinations. And thanks to the use of modern nanotechnology, the pedal is able to modulate signals, if necessary, make them attenuated.

This gadget belongs to professional musical equipment. Accordingly, in the near future it will be possible to see it near the feet of famous musicians. The main advantages of the device are:

• compactness;
• ease of use;
• the purest reproducible sound;
• nice value.

No minuses were found for this device.

Unique device with balanced and unbalanced connectors. The design also features effects loops, inconsistent modes, and a crossfade function that allows the musician to discover new nuances in the sound of his electric guitar. Users note that when switching effects, smooth transitions occur... No breaks or cuts to the melody.

The advantages of this model are:

• ease of use;
• the ability to get the purest sound;
• mobility;
• portability;
• elegance of forms.

But the disadvantages include the high cost.

The Russian manufacturer of musical instruments Yerasov has long been popular among domestic rock performers. From the first days of its appearance, the company has established itself as a reliable manufacturer of quality equipment for the professional work of musicians.

This electric guitar pedal model produces the mild, gentle distortion of an overdriven tube amp. Self-tuning allows musicians to find the sound that suits a particular melody and customize the accompaniment effect of the song. The advantages of this model are:

• ease of use;
• the possibility of exploitation by beginners;
• Beautiful design;
• high quality.

There can be no talk of shortcomings.

Any store-bought guitar effects pedal comes with a specific package... And what is interesting, each manufacturer and each model has a different accompanying set. Only a power supply is provided for budget models, and even a cover for the power button is attached to expensive devices.

You should pay attention to the presence of the power supply first of all. In principle, no electric tool or appliance works without this device. In the case of guitar gadgets, the power supply solves the issue of low voltage, which affects the quality of the color of the sound.

Most manufacturers try to make guitar pedals in aluminum or plastic cases. Aluminum as a material has increased resistance to mechanical stress. The plastic case is less reliable, although it is made of a reinforced compound. In case of damage to the case, the owner of the lotion can go to the store for a new box or make it on his own. In a plastic construction, you will have to glue the inside of the case with foil so that it shields.

Another important part of the design is the button. In the kits of some models, there is an additional cover for the pressure element. Most often, it is the push-button mechanism that suffers from constant exposure to the foot. Sometimes musicians don’t wear sneakers, but grinders, which are distinguished by reinforced inserts, which increases the mechanical effect on the device.

And also the package contains a cable and patches. Some models are supplied with 2 cords. In some kits, patches are completely absent. They have to be purchased separately. To connect one pedal, it is enough to use several cables supplied with the device. And to connect the circuit, you cannot do without patch connectors.

After purchasing an electric guitar, you should not rush to the music store and buy the first effects pedal that comes across. It is not a fact that the owner of a musical instrument will not lose interest in strings and chords in a month. And to send the purchased instrument and lotion to the attic, the cost of which is equal to a third of the price of a guitar, is somehow unpleasant. Before purchasing, in principle, any additional equipment, you need to learn how to play the guitar, and only after realizing that a sufficient amount of time will be devoted to music, order a gadget.

Finding the right stompbox can be tricky, however. A musician will probably want to have all possible functions in one device, only universal gadgets do not yet exist. The only common characteristic between the gadgets sold today is the ability to record the played melody so that the musician can listen to the composition and identify shortcomings.

It is not difficult for experienced musicians to choose the right gadget. First of all, they study the power parameters of the device. The standard for guitar pedals is 9 volts, but there are models that require more voltage.

Each set of the effect pedal contains an instruction, which shows a diagram of connecting the device to an amplifier and a guitar.

• Before you engage in connecting lotions, all equipment must be de-energized. Otherwise, a short circuit will be created, which will lead to rapid damage to the equipment.
• You need to connect your guitar to the input jack. Many lotion models have input and output connectors. The musical instrument and pedal are connected with a cable. The main thing is not to mix up the polarity.
• Now you need to connect the pedal to the combo. This is also done using the supplied cable.
• Amplifier must be turned on and set the required level of work on it.
• Then the pedal activation button is activated. However, you must first lower all effect levels to zero.
• You can start testing new equipment... Be sure to check and adjust the built-in effects. Somewhere lower the sound, and somewhere, on the contrary, increase it.