Effects for Guitar
 

So, I thought of posting this in Tilted Technology, but that seems to be all oriented towards 'computer' tech. I can't locate Tilted How-to anymore, so here it is in music:

I would like to get an effects peddle for my son for Christmas. I figure between $80 to $100 should be good enough for a decent starter.

Does anybody have any advice? I've looked at Long & Mcquade's website, and Behringer seems to be a popular make.

For the record, he plays a Fender knockoff (a Squier Stratocaster) with 2 singles and a humbucker pickup.

The advice would depend on the style of music he prefers best. I can't say much about the technology behind it, but I know a bit about the sound difference.

One simple example is if he likes to play heavy metal vs. alternative/grunge style. The former would benefit from a standard distortion sound, while the latter would benefit from an overdrive sound.

A distortion sound would give you that harder, punchier distortion commonly heard in music by such bands as Metallica.

An overdrive sound gives you a wider, crunchier sound typically heard on, say, the Smashing Pumpkins during the Siamese Dream years. Overdrive was prominently featured in the music of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and other grunge acts.

Listen to the difference:




Of course, you're likely hearing a number of other things processing that music, but the gist of it is there.

And I'm certain the likes of Martian and other actual guitarists out there will be more helpful.

I welcome any corrections or better examples.

I'd pick up a multi effects device (i.e. a digital one) if you can, then he'll have the option of trying all sorts.

There's all sorts of stuff you can do with chorus, phasing, reverb/delay and so on these days in quite small economic packages.

Effects are a great way for him to expand his tonal vocabulary, but what he's going to want or need will depend a lot on his style of music and playing habits. Does he practice daily? Does he play grunge, or blues, or jazz, or metal? Doe he play shows? Is he in a band? Does he do any recording?

Behringer makes decent, affordable gear. My preferred brand is far and away Line6, but to be frank they're way out of your stated price range, and maybe not the best starter.

His current gear is relevant. Many amps come with an overdrive feature built in, although the quality of it varies widely. What's he playing through?

The other thing to consider is signal chain. It's not a major concern, except insofar as if he's new to playing or electric it might be a bit overwhelming at first.

Assuming basic gear and no current effects, I would recommend shopping in this order for a general, all purpose setup:

Distortion
Overdrive
Delay
Reverb
Wah
Volume
Chorus
Flanger

...And the more specific and obscure effects below that (rotary, octavio, etc).

I would advise against compressors or noise gates to start with, unless he plays out and really needs them. Players have the habit of using those two effects in particular as a crutch to cover up sloppy playing; if he has a few years under his belt he'll probably be okay with them, but otherwise give them a miss for now.

The other considerations are pedal boards and power supplies. You can get adapters for any pedal to plug into the wall, but running off mains power can introduce unwanted artifacts in the tone -- generally, 9V batterys are preferred. And if he ends up with more than 4 or 5 pedals, a board to keep everything tidy is pretty much mandatory. You can buy them from the store, but if you're at all handy with a hammer and drill, you can probably build one yourself.

I'll be happy to answer any further questions you have.

EDIT -

I don't disagree with this advice; a multi-effects processor is a great option. Trouble is, they generally start at $150 or so, and if you want a good one you're looking more in the range of $500. Given the stated budget, a few Behringer or Danelectro pedals is a great way to let him explore tonal options on the cheap.

As in most stuff guitar, I agree with Martian, but I would add to simplify your needs here. He'll have lots of fun with just a distortion pedal and a delay pedal. I sure did when I was his age.

As a bassist I don't tend to really dabble in the world of effects although on occasion I have picked up a few pedals to do certain things. For the value I'd have to say danelecto would be the best, they have a great sound and usually sell for around $50. If you want to go a little more high end look into digitech which if recall goes for around $100. I'm not completely sold on them having a better sound then danelecto but they usually have a few knobs along the top that allow a little more variety with the overall sound/volume (which might be a gift for you as well). Digitech also builds a much sturdier pedal comprised of metal and hard plastic so its less likely to break or crack under an over excited foot.

I bought all my pedals back in nineteen hundred and spelling mistake, and used to play a no-name fender Precision bass clone (which I lost in a move), and a Hohner B2A Steinberger copy (which I still have).

My pedals were all bought second hand and were mostly BOSS.

I had (in rough order of acquisition)

Distortion
Digital Delay
Super Chorus
Phaser

As you can tell - I was rather enamoured with the prog rock genre and the playing of Chris Squire on the Tormato album... </shame>

Boss huh? Never actually tried those, do they produce a decent sound or wind up muting a lot of tones? I've found digitechs grunge pedal in particular softened way too much on the low tones and kind of killed the low end appeal of a bass.

It's been a while since I've purchased a pedal but I used to run the Digitech Grunge and Danelecto distortion pedal through a Fender Jazz Bass and Hartke 2500 amp. It just snarled so nicely and added a really mean sound under the guitar and really helped out with the noisy Sonic Youth kind of stuff I was into at the time.

The coolest thing I liked to do with a pedal was run the distortion through my upright bass and attack it with a bow....the sound just spiraled out of control into something I can't quite explain but it really thickened up some of the songs we were doing.

Fun stuff but I guess at heart I'm an old school fellow and just love the sound of a bass all on its own.

this is great stuff guys... Thanks for the comparison Baraka. The trend seems to be what is he interested in playing. Well, he has a preference for metal, but bluesy stuff from the '70's and prog from the 70's (he actually spent a lot of time trying to replicate some Jan Akkerman tabs after hearing some Focus).

He also likes HIM, Chilli Peppers and Rise Against. So he's all over.

With respect to his kit, I did get him a fairly decent Line6 amp a month ago. It came loaded with effects as well. He practices daily, and takes lessons weekly at a local guitar store (The Twelfth Fret).

Here's what I had my eye on:


http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/6356/


http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...md_X-V-AMP.jpg

99.00 CDN
Heres one great looker"and thats just the beginning! The X V-AMP is a floor-based unit not only featuring the best V-AMP models of celebrated guitar amplifiers and speakers, but also providing the most desirable stomp box simulations combined with a multi-mode expression pedal.

16 amp models with or without cabinet simulation, compressor, noise gate, EQ, modulation effects , delay and reverb are at your disposal"use up to 11 effects simultaneously for a total of unbelievable 61 effects! The 24-bit high-resolution stereo multi-effects processor includes not only one but four models of first-class stomp box simulations of each of the following: chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, rotary speaker, pitch bend effects and many more, giving you a total of 32 stunning modulation effects.

A special acoustic simulation and an amp bypass function are also included. The expression pedal is freely assignable for real-time control of effects or wah/volume control. Naturally, a power supply is included. All in all, the X-VAMP offers a combination of features that is simply tough to beat!

Related Items V-Amp 2 - $145.00 V-Amp Pro - $230.00

I'm assuming the amp belongs to the Spider series. It's a good choice, and I endorse it wholeheartedly.

As for the effects modeler you linked, I have no experience with that particular model. A quick glance at reviews tells me that it's easy to use, but not the most robust unit ever made. Should be fine for practice, as long as he's gentle with it.

From the sound of things, that modeler you want to get seems like a pretty solid option. When I first started looking into effects and how they could benefit my sound, I picked up a $50 Digitech multi-effect modeler. It definitely wasn't a gig-worthy unit, but it was fun to fuck around with and it got me used to what the different effects could do for me.

This was my point. You can invest hundreds in individual performance ready effects, and not find the sound you're after, or you can do what I did and spend a few tens here and there on second hand kit to try, but for a sampler gift, a new multi-effect is a good idea.

This is all great input, and helps me to focus in on what is good, nice to have vs necessary. I would like to pick up the one I pictured above, but the store is out of stock. I want to do something nice for my son as he just finished a long month of school in addition to applying for universities for next year.

Good thing I have a week to look before Christmas.