Guitar Pedals For Beginners - In Less Than 10 Minutes
Summary
TLDRDave from Guitar Zero Hero simplifies the complex world of electric guitar effects pedals in a concise, 10-minute tutorial. He explains the function of each pedal type, from tuning with a tuner pedal to adding depth with drive, distortion, and modulation effects. Using a spaghetti bowl analogy, he illustrates the signal chain, emphasizing the importance of order and balance. Dave also touches on the versatility of multi-effects units and the appeal of individual stompboxes for real-time tone tweaking. His top three recommended pedals for beginners are overdrive, delay, and reverb, providing a solid foundation for shaping a personal guitar sound.
Takeaways
- 🎸 Effects pedals are tools used to shape a guitarist's personal sound and can seem complicated to beginners.
- 🔊 The video aims to demystify effects pedals and explain the most common types within 10 minutes.
- 🎶 Dave's setup uses a clean amp channel, with effects pedals doing the heavy lifting to shape the tone.
- 🍝 The 'spaghetti bowl' analogy is used to describe the guitar signal chain and the role of each pedal.
- 🎵 The tuner pedal should be first in the signal chain to ensure the guitar is in tune.
- 🌟 Drive and distortion pedals add 'meat or spice' to the guitar tone, making it bigger, bolder, and heavier.
- 🎶 Modulation pedals, such as chorus and flanger, add variety to the sound with their unique effects.
- 🔊 Tremolo pedals create a sense of motion by rapidly varying the volume of the audio signal.
- 🕒 Delay and reverb pedals are compared to cheese and garnish, enhancing the overall sound without overpowering it.
- 🔁 A looper pedal captures and repeats the signal, allowing the guitarist to jam along with themselves.
- 🔄 The order of the pedal chain matters and should follow a logical sequence for the best sound.
- 🔌 If using an amp with built-in drive, an FX send and return loop is recommended for time-based effects.
- 🛠️ Multi-effects pedals offer all-in-one convenience, but individual stompboxes provide easier tweaking and understanding.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the video by Dave from Guitar Zero Hero?
-The main purpose of the video is to demystify and explain how effects pedals work and to identify the most common and important effects types for electric guitar players.
What does Dave use as an analogy to explain the guitar signal chain and effects pedals?
-Dave uses a bowl of spaghetti as an analogy to explain the guitar signal chain and effects pedals.
What is the role of a tuner pedal in the signal chain?
-A tuner pedal ensures that the guitar is in tune and should always come first in the signal chain.
What do drive and distortion pedals do to the guitar tone?
-Drive and distortion pedals are designed to make the guitar tone bigger, bolder, edgier, and heavier by clipping the signal and adding distorted grittiness.
How does the chorus pedal affect the guitar signal?
-The chorus pedal splits the guitar signal in two and sets the second signal slightly out of tune and time with the first, creating the illusion of two instruments playing simultaneously.
What is the main difference between a chorus pedal and a flanger pedal?
-The main difference is that the delay of the split signal is much smaller for the flanger pedal, resulting in a swooshing effect due to the cancellation of frequencies as the delay between signals moves.
What does a tremolo pedal do to the guitar's audio signal?
-A tremolo pedal rapidly raises and lowers the volume of the audio signal, creating a sensation of motion.
How does a delay pedal function in the signal chain?
-A delay pedal repeats the guitar signal, allowing the user to specify the mix, feedback, and time between repetitions.
What is the role of a reverb pedal in the signal chain?
-A reverb pedal creates a complex echo by simulating the sound bouncing off natural surfaces in an environment, giving the guitar an atmospheric sound.
What does Dave suggest as the three essential effects pedals for a guitarist?
-Dave suggests overdrive, delay, and reverb as the three essential effects pedals for a guitarist.
What is the difference between using individual stompboxes and multi-effects pedals?
-Individual stompboxes offer simplicity and direct control over each effect, while multi-effects pedals combine multiple effects into one unit, which can be more convenient but potentially more complex to navigate.
How should the order of effects pedals be arranged in a signal chain?
-The order should be tuner pedal first, followed by drive/distortion, then modulation effects, and finally delay and reverb. This order helps to avoid a messy sound and ensures each effect is applied correctly.
What is the 'four cable setup' mentioned in the video?
-The 'four cable setup' is a method where the guitar goes into a tuner pedal, then into additional drive pedals, into the amp for distortion and gain, and then through an FX send and return loop for modulation effects and reverbs, before returning to the amp.
Outlines
🎸 Introduction to FX Pedals
Dave from 'Guitar Zero Hero' introduces a guide for beginners to understand the world of FX pedals for electric guitars. He explains that effects pedals can seem complicated due to the variety available but aims to simplify their function in under 10 minutes. Dave's setup includes an electric guitar, a clean amp channel, and various effects pedals to shape the tone. He uses the analogy of a bowl of spaghetti to describe the guitar signal chain, with the clean tone as the plain noodle and pedals as various toppings that add flavor. He emphasizes the importance of the tuner pedal for in-tune guitar playing and discusses the role of drive and distortion pedals in adding 'meat or spice' to the guitar tone.
🔊 Exploring Modulation and Time-Based Effects
The script continues with an exploration of modulation pedals, starting with the chorus pedal, which splits the signal to create an illusion of multiple instruments. The flanger pedal is similar but with a smaller delay, producing a 'swooshing' effect. Tremolo is introduced as a volume-based modulation that varies the signal's volume to create a sense of motion. Dave then discusses delay and reverb pedals, likening them to cheese and garnish that complete the 'meal' of the guitar tone but warns against overuse. He explains how delay repeats the signal and reverb creates a complex echo, both of which are crucial but should be used sparingly. The video concludes with a mention of a looper pedal, which captures and repeats the signal for jamming. Dave also touches on different setups, such as using the amp's built-in drive or an FX send/return loop for time-based effects, and concludes with a preference for overdrive, delay, and reverb pedals, inviting viewers to ask questions in the comments.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Electric Guitar
💡FX Pedals
💡Signal Chain
💡Tuner Pedal
💡Drive and Distortion Pedals
💡Modulation Pedals
💡Chorus Pedal
💡Flanger Pedal
💡Tremolo Pedal
💡Delay and Reverb Pedals
💡Looper Pedal
Highlights
Dave from Guitar Zero Hero aims to demystify effects pedals for beginners in less than 10 minutes.
Effects pedals can shape a guitarist's personal sound.
A clean amp channel provides the base tone for effects pedals to work on.
Tuna pedal should be the first in the signal chain to ensure the guitar is in tune.
Drive and distortion pedals add meat or spice to the guitar tone by adding distortion.
Different drive pedals cater to various music styles, from mild overdrive to heavy metal.
Modulation pedals like chorus, flanger, and tremolo add additional ingredients to the guitar tone.
Chorus pedal creates an illusion of two instruments playing simultaneously.
Flanger pedal produces a swooshing effect due to small delay between split signals.
Tremolo effect rapidly raises and lowers the volume of the audio signal.
Delay and reverb pedals are like cheese and garnish, completing the guitar tone.
Delay pedal repeats the signal with adjustable mix, feedback, and time between repetitions.
Reverb creates an atmospheric sound by simulating echoes in large spaces.
Looper pedal captures and repeats everything before it for jamming.
The order of the signal chain matters for achieving a balanced sound.
Amps with built-in drive and distortion can be used with modulation and delay effects through an FX send and return.
Multi-effects pedals combine various effects into one unit for convenience.
Individual stompboxes offer simplicity and direct control over the guitar tone.
Dave recommends overdrive, delay, and reverb as essential effects for most guitarists.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey guys dave here from guitar zero hero
so if you're starting out on the
electric guitar or you're fairly new to
the world of gear and more specifically
fx pedals it all might seem a little bit
complicated especially with the sheer
number of pedals out there so in this
video i'm going to demystify and explain
in simple terms how effects petals work
and the most common and important
effects types in less than 10 minutes so
by the end of this video you'll be able
to go out there and understand which
effects pedals that you need to look for
in order to shape your personal sound so
in my setup today i've just got my
electric guitar running through a clean
amp channel and the effects pedals will
be doing all the heavy lifting here the
amp will just provide the bare tone or
the blank canvas for us to shape
so if you listen to my guitar right now
it's a clean tone nothing special about
it
[Music]
my favorite way to explain and describe
a guitar signal chain and effects petals
is by using a bowl of spaghetti as an
analogy
so our clean tone coming from our guitar
amp is our plain spaghetti noodle it's
fine to eat but at this stage it's just
a little bit bland first things first
before we add any toppings we need to
make sure that the pasta is cooked so
that's our tuna pedal in this case which
should always come first in our signal
chain to ensure that our guitar is in
tune next up are our drive and
distortion pedals which are designed to
make your guitar tone bigger bolder
edgier and heavier
they add meat or spice to our guitar
tone by clipping their signal and adding
that distorted grittiness that you hear
in rock blues and metal
so here i've got an overdrive i've got a
distortion and i've got a metal pedal
and they all work in a similar way the
only difference is how meaty or spicy do
you want your pasta sauce mild
[Music]
[Applause]
hot
[Music]
or face melting
[Music]
hmm
now the right drive pedal for you will
just depend on the style of music that
you're playing
after our drive pedals we typically get
to modulation pedals think of these as
our additional or miscellaneous
ingredients on our spaghetti things like
olives mushrooms sun-dried tomatoes
they're not to everyone's preferences or
tastes and you definitely don't want to
overdo them but in certain circumstances
delicious
the first modulation pedal i've got here
is the chorus which takes our signal and
splits it in two and sets the second
signal slightly out of tune and time
with the first creating the sound and
illusion of two instruments playing
simultaneously so let's take a listen to
chorus
[Music]
[Applause]
the next modulation pedal i have is the
flanger pedal which
operates almost identically to the
chorus pedal but the main difference is
that the delay of the split signal is
much smaller in this case for the
flanger and as a result you get that
swooshing effect which is the result of
frequencies being cancelled out as that
delay between the signals moves so let's
listen to the flange
[Music]
our next modulation pedal is tremolo a
volume based modulation so a tremolo
effect rapidly raises and lowers the
volume of our audio signal and that
creates the sensation of motion so let's
take a listen
[Music]
[Laughter]
[Music]
so that's it for modulation pedals
typically next up in our signal chain
are delay and reverb pedals i like to
think of these effects petals as the
cheese and garnish to our bowl of
spaghetti they really make the meal
complete in most cases but beware not to
use too much otherwise it will overpower
your dish and it'll be too cheesy delay
is first up and it simply takes your
signal and repeats it again and again
with the delay you can specify how loud
you want those delays to be that's the
mix
how long you want those delays to keep
repeating the feedback
and the time between those repetitions
which is typically called the delay
[Music]
now typically after the delay is a
reverb a reverb happens when sound
bounces off natural surfaces in an
environment to create a complex echo and
it's most notable in large empty spaces
like a churchill it can be used to give
your guitar an atmospheric sound and is
probably one of the most common effects
used on guitar so let's take a listen
[Music]
now remember delay and reverb are
important ingredients but don't overdo
them finally on my signal chain here is
a looper pedal i've got this at the very
end so it captures everything coming
before it and repeats it again and again
for me to jam along with think of it
like a bottomless bowl of pasta
[Music]
do
[Music]
so those are the basics of a standard fx
pedal signal chain and you of course
don't need all of them as well you can
just have one two or three it's
completely up to you now the order of
your chain matters as well
just like you wouldn't put your cheese
and sauce on the bottom of your bowl you
shouldn't start with reverb and delay
before the drive pedals that will just
result in a messy sound now this
particular setup assumes that your amp
is just providing a clean tone now if
you want to use the drive and distortion
built into whatever amp you have that's
absolutely fine too
in this case though if you wanted to use
modulation and delay and effects pedals
you would ideally run those through an
fx send and return which is a dedicated
loop at the back of your amp for these
time-based effects in a setup like this
your guitar would go into a tuner pedal
and then into any additional drive
pedals that you want like a boost
and then that would go into your amp
your amp would provide the distortion
and gain
and then at the back of your amp you
would have an fx send which would then
route to your modulation effects and
reverbs
and then out of there back into your fx
return that's what you would call the
four cable setup because you need four
guitar cables in order to actually get
that running in this video i've used
individual stompboxes for each effect
but you can also get multi-effects
pedals which have all these effects
combined into one unit those multi-fx
units are great some people find them
confusing though and individual
stompboxes is just a little more simpler
to understand what you see is what you
get right in front of you and a lot of
guitarists out there do enjoy just being
able to tweak their tone right in front
of them without going through any menus
or having to go through software in
order to do so so i hope you enjoyed
this fx pedal 101 guide obviously
there's other effect types out there but
the ones i outlined today are the most
common i've used the boss pedals in this
video but other brands will more or less
have their own versions of the same
effects if i had to choose three it
would be overdrive delay and reverb for
me personally if you have any questions
then leave them in the comments below
otherwise i'll see you guys next time on
guitars already hero cheers
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