Buying Advice for Guitar Effects Pedals
We know that tattoos can be addictive. After you get your first, you’re dreaming about the next piece of amazing skin art. The same goes if you’re a guitarist. Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) can kick in, and before you know it, you’ve got 7 guitars hanging on your wall and a growing pedalboard that reflects your obsession for collecting effects pedals. What you can buy depends on your skill level and your budget. The great thing about distortion pedals and other effect pedals is even if you live in a small house or apartment, you can always find the room to add another gem to your pedalboard. Having said that, effects pedals don’t take up much room, and let’s face it, a new pedal is typically cheaper than a new guitar!
Tips when buying guitar effects pedals
Different guitar pedals will fulfil different tone requirements and styles, so the kind of guitar effects pedals you buy is always a personal thing. If you like a direct tone that is uncoloured you might keep it simple with compression and overdrive pedals. If you want something more different with modulations, delay pedals and decay, then you also need to consider the order in which pedals should be used, as well as what type. If you are playing on a budget then the best units that are good value for money are multi-effects pedals. having said that, you may some sacrifice some functionality and tone. Keep in mind too that the more you have going on between the amp and your guitar, the more likely complications might occur.
A good example of a distortion pedal – Gamechanger Audio Plasma
There are a lot of pedals out there but a good example of distortion pedals is the Gamechanger Audio Plasma. It boats a revolutionary approach to overdrive and distortion with an improved method of achieving signal clipping. instead of circuits, transistors or vacuum tubes, Gamechanger use high voltage charges within a xenon-filled tube!
A good example of a delay pedal – Strymon Timeline
If you have been recently looking at potential delay pedals a good example is the Strymon Timeline. It requires a 9V power supply and comes with a large range of delay types and functions. As well it has a 30-second looper stereo, and onboard memory that can store 200 presets (rewritable) in two 100 banks. The range of onboard sounds includes pitch-shifted modes, along with authentic sounding tape and analog sounds. It is a delay pedal with good balance, a range of delays and control options.
Conclusion
When buying pedals for your guitar you can really go wild! Rather than rushing into buying many all at once, consider one or two at a time so you can experiment with their effects and how they change your sound. You might find you prefer certain types of pedals over others.
