What Guitar Effects Pedals Are Trying To Achieve

Most professional guitarists don’t create their sound with just a guitar and an amp. They use a professional guitar effects pedals, distortion, chorus and delay. Multi effects pedals can produce the sound that you want or you could use dedicated guitar effects pedals. Let’s take a look at those three effects.

Distortion

Distortion is the most used of these three effects. It has the most impact on the sound of an electric guitar, in fact. Just what type of distortion and the level required depends on the genre. A crunchy sound is usually applied to heavy metal and a warmer sound for blues. It’s use is minimal in country as it requires just enough for a clean sound.

Delay

This is a reverb-style effect and like distort, is highly used. Think of the boomy sound that a large room creates and the more bright and distinct sound a small room makes. You’ll hear the sound when it first made itself known and then the sound that reflects off the walls. The sound gives an indication as to the size of room that you’re in. Although the sound isn’t quite as distinct, it sounds very much like reverb.

Chorus

The function of this effect is to split the sound as well as adding a delay, albeit a slight one, to one of the signals. When two guitarists are performing simultaneously, there will uniformly be one slightly out of synch with the other. The chorus recreates that sound so effectively you’re hearing the sound of a chorus. It gives the effect of two guitarist’s performing resulting in a thicker sound.

The sound that you hear when you hear the tones of an electric guitar will at some point make use of at least one of these effects. Rock and heavy metal are synonymous with this sound. These effects can be used to create a sound all of their own and inspire the next generation of guitarists as has happened ever since these effects came into being.

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