Foot Pedals

Foot pedals, also referred to as effects pedals or "stomp boxes," can be some of the most interesting pieces of gear that an electric guitar player will acquire. Pedals are one easy way to effectively change the sounds that your electric guitar is capable of producing, allowing you to get a much wider range of sounds out of a single guitar and amp. While there are an enormous number of different types of effects pedals available, this article looks at some of the more common guitar effects that can be created through the use of foot pedals.

While an electric guitar can be plugged directly into an amp, for those guitarists who use an effects pedal, their guitar plugs into the pedal, which then plugs into the amp. The guitar makes the same sounds that it would make without an effects pedal, but when the pickups transmit the electronic information through the effects pedal, the information is altered on its way to the amp. The sound that comes out of the amp speakers is based on this altered electronic signal. The specific alteration, of course, is dependent upon the effects pedal used.

Foot pedals generally only produce one effect, or one variety of effect. It is possible to chain several effects pedals together to enable a guitarist to have several effects at their disposal, but this can get unwieldy. A better option for those guitarists who want a much wider range of choices for their effects is an effects processor, which can combine a great number of effects into a single device. For most non-professional guitarists, though, foot pedals will cover the majority of their needs.

Effects pedals can be used to alter the dynamics, frequency, or tone of a guitar's sound, and they can also be used to create time-based effects. Each of these categories of effects deserve a bit more explanation, so that their applications can be better understood.

Pedals that affect the dynamics of sound can be used to increase or diminish the range of the signal. Those which increase the range, often called expanders, allow more quiet notes or chords to be better heard. Those which diminish the range, called compressors or noise gates, keep unwanted sounds, such as feedback or hiss, from being amplified. Other dynamics pedals can increase the tremolo, which gives the tone produced a sort of wavering quality, as though the same note was being played rapidly and repeatedly.

Pedals that change the frequency of a guitar's sound are usually designed to change the pitch either up or down. Moving the pitch down produces a lower sound, while moving the pitch up produces a higher sound. If the pitch is moved up too much, it can give a sort of "chipmunk" effect, reminiscent of the voices of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Other frequency related pedals change the vibrato, which is similar to the tremolo. In fact, many guitarists use the terms tremolo and vibrato interchangeably or incorrectly, and similarly not all effects pedal manufactures make this distinction accurately.

Tone based effects pedals have a much wider range of types. Some of these pedals simply allow for a volume based boost, or equalize the tones produced by the guitar. Others allow for basic distortion or overdriven sound, which are both effects that consciously push the upper limits of an amplifier's capabilities. Finally, the wah-wah pedal, which makes a guitar's tone sound similar to a human voice, falls into the category of tone based effects pedals.

Time-based effects is probably the largest category of effects pedals, ranging from pedals that simply delay or reverberate the sound, to those which produce more unique effects. Echo and chorus effects are fairly understandable to most readers, but effects like flanging and phase shifting (also known as phasing) require more explanation. Flanging splits the signal into two separate signals. One of the signals is then played back as normal, while the other signal is time delayed by a random and ever-changing amount. This effect can be heard in a wide array of songs, including "She's in Parties" by Bauhaus or "Barracuda" by Heart. Phase shifting is similar to flanging, as flanging is simply a specific type of phasing. The major difference is that phasing picks out specific frequencies which are time delayed, rather than time delaying a copy of the signal. A good example of phase shifting can be heard in "Octopus's Garden" by The Beatles, which has an underwater-like quality to portions of the guitar parts.

Other effects pedals allow simulation of acoustic guitars or various amps, as well as a wide range of other effects. The above listed effects are simply some of the most commonly used effects that can be found in foot pedals. As technology has advanced, more and more effects have been combined into effects processors. This has hardly made foot pedals obsolete, however. For most non-professional musicians, as well as many guitarists who perform live, effects pedals are the best and easiest way for these people to change the sound of their guitar in a wide variety of ways.