New Guitarist Accessories

Troy · December 2005

Hi all,

I have just recently purchased an electric guitar after about 10 years of playing acoustic only.

I am seeking information on what effects i should start thinking about purchasing. What effects do guitar players use the most? I understand that everyone has a different sound and preferances, I am simply seeking the advice of those who have been there before me.

A wah pedal seems to be the most obvious guitar effect to get my hands on. But what else are people into?

Cheers

U-R · December 2005

Troy wrote:

Hi all,

I have just recently purchased an electric guitar after about 10 years of playing acoustic only.

I am seeking information on what effects i should start thinking about purchasing. What effects do guitar players use the most? I understand that everyone has a different sound and preferances, I am simply seeking the advice of those who have been there before me.

A wah pedal seems to be the most obvious guitar effect to get my hands on. But what else are people into?

Cheers

it's all up to you. i guess distortion/overdrive is the most obvious thing, and maybe an echo

Spook Fish · December 2005

U-R wrote:

it's all up to you. i guess distortion/overdrive is the most obvious thing, and maybe an echo

Check out Delays & Fuzz boxes - you can use them together on on there own and they are loads of fun, or as U-R said an Echo unit.

Phasers are the dogs Love spuds too.

All Those Yesterdays · December 2005

Don't do it!!! Don't get sucked into buying a ton of effects, and hide behind effects! Let your fingers do the talking.

Pacomc79 · December 2005

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Don't do it!!! Don't get sucked into buying a ton of effects, and hide behind effects! Let your fingers do the talking.

Hide? If you're hiding behind effects you're using the wrong ones.

Most beginners cannot begin to grasp the subtlety of effects especially compressors it takes a little while to understand everything. It's not supposed to cover your sound it's supposed to augment it. More often than not modulations are overused to completely misused to just sounding like crap. Each effect should be treated as a somewhat new instrument, especially wah. In general, it depends on what you want to do, you may need effects you may not it's essentially personal preference and much depends on your amp, guitar and speaker choices and the tone you are looking for. Outboard effects devices are a tweak to your overall tone, thusly you can spend years (many have) and countless thousands finding even the right capacitors that don't mush up and or color the sound you want. I wouldn't give up on effects, just be prepared to do significant research and development. The only real limits are your wallet and your desire

mogwai · December 2005

I would stick with the natural overdrive of my amp for the rhythm playing. If you want a little more boost while soloing get an overdrive like TS-9. The effects that I enjoy more though is my wah-wah and my delay. Less is more I guess.

FinsburyParkCarrots · December 2005

What style(s) have you been playing on acoustic these past ten years?

JofZ · December 2005

Pacomc79 wrote:

Hide? If you're hiding behind effects you're using the wrong ones.

Most beginners cannot begin to grasp the subtlety of effects especially compressors it takes a little while to understand everything. It's not supposed to cover your sound it's supposed to augment it. More often than not modulations are overused to completely misused to just sounding like crap. Each effect should be treated as a somewhat new instrument, especially wah. In general, it depends on what you want to do, you may need effects you may not it's essentially personal preference and much depends on your amp, guitar and speaker choices and the tone you are looking for. Outboard effects devices are a tweak to your overall tone, thusly you can spend years (many have) and countless thousands finding even the right capacitors that don't mush up and or color the sound you want. I wouldn't give up on effects, just be prepared to do significant research and development. The only real limits are your wallet and your desire

Boy did you nail it, how about a sticky!

Troy · December 2005

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

What style(s) have you been playing on acoustic these past ten years?

What have I been playing? Some Neil Young tunes, Bruce Springsteen, which are mostly acoustic anywas, Pearl Jam of course. A lot of rock & roll standards. A lot of ACDC. Stock standard rock tunes basically.

It sounds like Echo and overdrive are popular. What about some of the more subtle effects such as Chorus? What about flangers and phasers?

Do people use EQ stomp boxes much?

I would like to avoid the money pit of buying a tone of stuff I dont end up using. It is a balance between experimentation in search of your sound and making sensible choices yes?

mccreadyisgod · December 2005

Troy wrote:

It sounds like Echo and overdrive are popular. What about some of the more subtle effects such as Chorus? What about flangers and phasers?

Do people use EQ stomp boxes much?

I would like to avoid the money pit of buying a tone of stuff I dont end up using. It is a balance between experimentation in search of your sound and making sensible choices yes?

Overdrive or distortion is your first purchase, unless your amp already does that. For Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and AC/DC, that's all you'll need.

If you want something to play with, a nice delay/echo pedal would be fun, but keep things simple enough. If you like to play leads or riffs, a wah can come in handy (although it takes a while to really learn a wah pedal).

I'd stay away from modulation for a while... things like Chorus, Flangers, and Phasers are often overused by beginners, and can make your stuff sound cheesy. Once you have a better idea of what you're doing, you can start looking at modulation for some color.

EQ pedals and compressors are usually the hardest, and most subtle, effects to use. They can add a lot when used properly, but your amp's onboard tone controls are all the EQ you need right now.

who's_pearljam? · December 2005

Yup,,, simple overdrive, like a ts-9. That'll give you a little grit, like everyone says, then you can expand from there.
Work on your finger technique like vibrato and bending, and your picking technique. You'd be amazed at how many sounds you can get with your amp and an overdrive.

Either that or just go for this!

:

http://guitargeek.com/rigs/img/f/fripp_robert_1999.gif

mogwai · December 2005

mccreadyisgod wrote:

I'd stay away from modulation for a while... things like Chorus, Flangers, and Phasers are often overused by beginners, and can make your stuff sound cheesy. Once you have a better idea of what you're doing, you can start looking at modulation for some color.

Perfectly spoken indeed!

Pacomc79 · December 2005

My first effect purchase was a wah, mainly because I had distortion and even chorus (I almost never ever used it) on my amp. You can get a ton of different sounds out of a wah if you play with them, one of the more expressive effects, and it can be tricky to match the right od/dist with various amplifiers. Some sound outstanding with tubes and terrible with solid state and the other way around. Essentially the ones that mean the most to your sound are exactly what mig said, OD/Dist. modulation should be used sparingly.

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