Sometimes known as a stomp box, an effects unit is a small metal chassis used by guitarists, bass or acoustic players to make changes to the clean sound generated by the guitar. They are called effects pedals as they simply sit on the floor and you switch them on or off with your foot. Some such as the 'wah wah' have a large foot pedal so that you can change the sound as you play.
Choosing An Effects Pedal
Whether you play an electric, bass or acoustic guitar there is a bewildering choice of effects available. We would recommend that if you are unsure of the sound effect you want, come along to the Nevada Music store where we have them all set up to try before you buy.
Multi-Sound Effect Units
Effects come in many different styles. You can have a single effect pedal such as distortion, overdrive, delay or reverb where one pedal does a single job or you can go for a multi-effects pedal which has the equivalent of several pedals that can be set up exactly how you want. This provides countless combinations of sound, effects and processing to achieve the particular sound that you are looking for. Once you have the effect you want, most multi-effects units have the ability to save that sound for future use. Most multi-effects devices also offer a tuner facility that allows your guitar to be tuned whilst on stage.
Connecting Guitar Pedals
Effects pedals are usually connected between the guitar and the input of the amplifier using a normal jack signal lead. The stomp box can be switched between 'effect' and 'no effect' by operating a simple footswitch.
