Use a Guitar Pedal
Guitar pedals, sometimes called effects pedals, effects units, or "stomp boxes," are small electronic units that alter your guitar's sound in a specific way. Traditionally, guitar pedals are used to produce special effects such as wah-wah, delay, tremolo, chorus, flanger, distortion, and fuzz. However, it is also possible to use effects pedals to control volume, equalization, and other basic aspects of your guitar's tone. Learning how to use a guitar pedal means choosing the pedal you want, connecting it properly, and learning to use its controls.
Steps
- Choose a guitar pedal to use. Effects pedals are perhaps the most infinitely customizable aspect of playing electric guitar. Pedals are available that produce just about any type of tone or special effect imaginable. If you are new to guitar pedals, consider buying one of the most popular types: a distortion pedal. This type of pedal will allow you to switch between clean and distorted tones using only your foot.
- Power the guitar pedal. Nearly all guitar pedals give you 2 options for power. The most portable solution is to fit them with a 9-volt battery. To avoid the inconvenience of replacing batteries, you can plug the pedal in using its included AC adapter, but note that this can quickly create a mess of cables if you are using multiple pedals.
- Plug the pedal in. To insert the guitar pedal into the signal path, run a quarter-inch (6 mm) cable from your guitar to the input jack on the pedal. Then, run a cable from the output jack on the pedal to your amp's input jack. Most guitar pedals are designed to consume power any time they have something connected to their input jack, so when you finish playing, disconnect the cable to conserve battery life.
- Turn your guitar amp on. The amp should only be turned on after all the cables have been connected. Doing otherwise can cause damage to the amp's circuitry.
- Set the guitar pedal's knobs to their default positions. Begin by setting the pedal's knobs to the positions that will affect the tone the least. For most pedals, this will mean setting the knobs at 0 or at unity, meaning halfway between 0 and 10. Engage the pedal by pressing the foot switch with your foot.
- Adjust each knob in turn to determine how it affects your tone. Begin playing your guitar, and experiment with each of the pedal's knobs. The function of each knob will be labeled, and a detailed description of what it does can be found in the pedal's owner's manual. However, the best way to get to know your guitar pedal is by adjusting the knobs yourself and playing your guitar to see what kind of tone is generated.
- Make quick changes between modulated and unmodulated signals. Once you have set the knobs to produce a desirable effect, you can make quick changes between your guitar's tone by pressing the foot switch. In fact, this is the entire purpose of guitar pedals - to allow you to make quick changes without needing a spare hand. An example application of this technique would be using a clean tone during a song's verse, and engaging a distortion pedal during the chorus.
Tips
- The order in which you connect multiple pedals will affect the overall sound generated. In general, the more dramatic an effect a pedal has on your guitar's tone, the later it should be placed in the signal path.
Things You'll Need
- Guitar pedal
- 9-volt battery
- Electric guitar
- Quarter-inch (6 mm) cable
- Guitar amp
