GBO1484.eBook Guide To Effect Pedals

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Welcome Guitarist Guide To Effects
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Guitarist Guide To
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0203 787 9001 www.marketforce.co.uk pages, we begin by acquainting ourselves
We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from
responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The
with how they evolved, in an article written by
paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed
forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The renowned author and effects aficionado, Dave
manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification
and accreditation Hunter. We name the best effected sounds
Disclaimer
All contents © 2017 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part
of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written
of all time, and examine all the main types of
modern effects, with expert buying advice for all
permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in
England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information
contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of
going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information.
You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/ budgets. Next up are how-to guides on building
services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under
our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This
magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. your own pedalboard, placing your effects
Guitarist Guide to Effects Pedals Fourth Edition
© 2017 Future Publishing Limited
in the right order, powering them and more.
Then we take a closer look at the contrasting
pedalboards of a selection of real-life pro guitar
players, before we launch into our definitive
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Finally, we examine the secrets behind the
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Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand
Tel +44 (0)207 042 4000 (London) classic effects setups of five of the greatest
www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442244 (Bath)
© Future Publishing Limited 2017.All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written
guitarists of all time, from Jimi to Jack White,
permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales.The registered
office of Future Publishing Limited is at Quay House,The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1AU.All information contained in this magazine is for and round off the whole shebang with a delve
information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or
inaccuracies in such information. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of
products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Future a licence to
into the insane sounds of crazy, out-there
publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or
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stompboxes. We’re pretty confident that armed
with all this info, you’ll get a little bit closer to that
perfect guitar sound you’re hearing in your head
– enjoy the issue.
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6 14
50 Greatest
The Evolution Of FX
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Dave Hunter exam
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How To… How To… How To…
Perfect Design & Build Power To The
Pedalboard Your Own Pedals!
What goes PedalBoard The vital role of
where is crucial batteries and
Create a gig-ready
to great tone power supplies
DIY effects ’board
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Contents Guitarist Guide To Effects
70 84
Real-lidfes Ultimate Overdrives
Boar
Our definitive tone
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boost, overdrive to essential
al and distortion pe
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Take up this 116 Unsung Heroes
Star Sounds
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The search for the perfect sound has taken
guitar-kind from the primordial swamps of
the first motorised vibrato to the technological
skyscrapers of digital ‘perfection’. As we stand
at the crossroads, with some manufacturers
harking back to a glorious past and
others pressing ever onward, we chart the
unstoppable rise of the stompbox
Words Dave Hunter
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The FX EVOLUTION Guitarist Guide To Effects
A
s much as guitarists prattle on about this glorious built-in tape echo. He sold the first ‘production’ model
enigma we call ‘tone’, the awful truth is that the EchoSonic (less than 70 of these hand-built amps were ever
naked sound of the electric guitar can be a pale, produced) to Chet Atkins in late 1954, and the second to Scotty
soulless thing. Electric guitars are just not perfect Moore in May of 1955. From its first recorded use on Elvis
instruments in themselves; their natural voice needs Presley’s Mystery Train through several hits of the 1950s and
to be screwed up, messed round, and otherwise the early 60s, the slapback echo created by Moore on the
corrupted to elicit anything close to a phat and toothsome tone. EchoSonic set the standards for rock ’n’ roll guitar tone.
Even the greatest guitar-straight-to-amp sounds of rock history Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash sideman
benefited from sizeable dollops of tube distortion, and that Luther Perkins also acquired EchoSonics from Butts, but the
goes for the ‘clean’ ones too. But don’t worry – here in 2015, effect only fulfilled its true potential in the late 1950s when
there are no end of glorious gizmos primed to help us swirl, Market Electronics and then Harris-Teller converted a version of
sweeten or totally detonate that potentially thin reaction Butts’s design into a portable outboard unit. The latter product
between string, wood and magnet. eventually took the Maestro Echoplex name in 1962, and
became one of the best-loved and sweetest-sounding tape
In the beginning echo units of all time. (After inquiring about the origin of the
circuit, Butts was paid a nominal royalty for the use of his
In the early days of electric guitar, if you wanted to alter the design, but he had never patented the echo effect in his
straight sound of the instrument, you had to do it physically. EchoSonic amplifier.) In Europe, makers such as Vox, Meazzi,
Rickenbacker’s Vibrola Spanish electric of the 1930s carried a Binson and Watkins (later WEM) were virtually simultaneously
motor and pulleys to wobble the bridge as desired, while Paul introducing their own tape echoes in the late 1950s and early
Bigsby’s vibrato tailpiece of the 1940s provided much the same 60s, and all of these great devices helped to propagate
effect – albeit ditching the motor and letting the player do the slapback and slightly longer echoes in pop and rock music on
wobbling manually. Another early effect was the seemingly both sides of the Atlantic.
impressive ‘echo speaker’ jack that some amps of the 1940s
and early 50s carried – which was in fact nothing more
impressive than an output for an extension speaker, with a long
The revolution begins
lead, that you were supposed to put in a far-off corner of the Right about this time, the effects revolution was preparing to
stage where it would echo. break out all across the pubescent face of rock guitar thanks to
By the late 1940s, however, tremolo had arrived as the first the wider availability of the transistor, which would help to make
commonly available genuine electronic effect for guitarists. many guitar effects far more portable and trouble-free than the
Fender amps are probably the most famous for tremolo, but cumbersome electromechanical devices that had dominated
models from Gibson, Danelectro and Premier all carried the until the mid-60s. Even so, the evocative echo effect wouldn’t
effect before Fender’s Tremolux arrived in 1955. Around this be able to abandon its tape loop until the mid-70s, when a more
time, fledgling valve-based effects also sprang up as outboard powerful solid-state component turned the effects scene on its
units. Gibson’s GA-V1 Vibrato was one, and other companies head… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
followed suit with similar ‘add-on sonic effectors’, which by the For the early 60s, the humble transistor was space-age
late-50s also included valve-powered spring reverbs. stuff. It sounded as wonderful in a growing number of compact
These echo units, as they were often called, were stompboxes as it did woeful in burgeoning lines of amplifiers.
manufactured by most of the same companies that also
offered guitar amps, although Fender was once again strangely Tape-based echo units
late with the new sound. When the Fender Reverb Unit finally from the 50s and 60s
fetch high prices today
arrived in 1962, however, it was a good ’un: it set the standard
for that lush, wet ‘sproing’ that has defined surf guitar ever
since, and remains the most revered reverb effect to this day.
The sound was a sensation, but some of its early thunder had
already been stolen in the mid-50s by a fully-fledged echo.
This was a more dramatic delay effect, and another
electromechanical design that was even more complicated.
Guitar sensations like Les Paul and Chet Atkins had already
been experimenting with tape echo in the studio by the early
1950s, usually by rolling two large reel-to-reel tape recorders
together with a long loop of tape between them. But accordion
player and amp builder Ray Butts of Cairo, Illinois made the
sound far more portable with his EchoSonic amplifier with
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Guitarist Guide To Effects The FX Evolution
The fuzz’s recorded

debut is still contested
Trying to assign the credit for ‘first fuzz box pedal ready to feed the demand. Sola Sound’s
on record’ makes for a good pub debate: Tone Bender – Jimmy Page’s fuzz of choice –
there’s a lot of support for Big Jim Sullivan’s was one of the first out of the blocks in 1965
guitar track recorded with a custom-built Roger (Sola Sound later became Colorsound, and the pedal
Mayer fuzz on PJ Proby’s 1964 number one Hold Me, while was also badged as the Vox Tone Bender), but Dallas-Arbiter’s
Bernie Watson’s solo on Screaming Lord Sutch’s much earlier Fuzz Face of 1966 has become the most revered, due in no
hit of 1960, Jack The Ripper, has its fans. But there’s little small part to Jimi Hendrix’s use of the pedal.
argument over who brought the first commercially available At this time, all of these units still used the legendary
unit to the market. In an effort to reproduce the sound of germanium transistors: two AC128s or NKT275s in the Fuzz
Grady Martin’s ‘fuzz’ bass solo from Mary Robbins’s 1961 hit Face and a pair of Mullard OC75s in the Tone Bender.
Don’t Worry – which had actually resulted from a faulty preamp Germanium transistors are said to produce a softer, rounder,
channel in the Nashville studio where it was recorded – arguably more musical fuzz than the silicon transistors that
engineer Glen Snotty devised his simple but effective proliferated toward the end of the decade. They were also less
transistorised fuzz circuit. He then passed it on to the Maestro reliable and prone to drift further from spec value than silicon
company, who shipped their radical new Fuzz-Tone pedal to components, which is why when fuzz fans talk of the magical
guitar shops by the thousands in 1963. properties of a vintage fuzz pedal they don’t mean just any Fuzz
As remarkable as it might seem in hindsight, the effect Face, Fuzz-Tone or Tone Bender, but a good one. Find a Fuzz
wasn’t envisioned for rock mayhem, but was instead initially Face with two properly matched germanium transistors and it
marketed to jazzers and session men. Early Maestro ads can sound like the voice of God; land one with a pair of drifting
showed a polite, crew-cut-wearing young gent in suit and tie, or mismatched germanium transistors, and it can sound like
wielding a Gibson ES-345 beneath the legend ‘guttural, mellow, the voice of a dog.
raucous, tender, raw’. Literature from other makers touted the Germanium transistors also powered less tone-corrupting
fuzz’s ability to help guitarists sound like a trombone or a sax treble boosters and plain old boosters (a single Mullard OC44 or
player. When Keith Richards used a newly acquired Maestro an NKT275 gave the fabled Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
Fuzz-Tone to record (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in 1965, the its legendary oomph; that’ll be £500 sir, cheers) and cropped
Fuzz-Tone sounded like nothing heard before, and the effect up in some early wah-wahs and a variety of other effects. They
soared in popularity. gradually gave way to more reliable silicon devices by the late
Soon every kid in Britain had to have a fuzz box, and plenty 1960s and early 70s. Vintage fanatics might claim silicon yields
of home-grown manufacturers got their own versions of the a harder, edgier fuzz, but no shortage of rockers have loved
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The FX EVOLUTION Guitarist Guide To Effects
them for that very reason. Aurally-gifted tone connoisseur Eric respectively) mimicked a Leslie’s Chorale/Vibrato settings, and
Johnson favours a silicone-transistor Fuzz Face, and it’s a safe also showed a way forward for an extremely popular effect that
bet that he sampled more than a few to make his decision. would come into its own in the 1970s.
As for wah-wahs, the magic lies not so much in the
transistors as in the small inductor coil each contains – and for
most vintage-styled tonehounds there is no other inductor than
Phase one
the Fasel inductor, found in the original Italian-made Vox and The simple phasers that emerged in the early- to mid-70s only
Cry Baby Wah-Wahs from the Jen company (in fairness, the hinted at the bounty of modulation effects soon to come. An
silver ‘trash can’ inductors found in some early Cry Baby wahs explosion of swirl, twirl and echo would be enabled by the
have their fans too). The first production wah-wah was improved capabilities and availability of affordable integrated
developed in 1965 by Vox’s American partner, Thomas Organ, circuit (IC) technology, but the first phasers were discrete
as the Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah, named for its imitation of a solid-state devices using field effect transistors (FETs).
then-famous trumpeter’s muted ‘wah’ sound. Both the Vox Although they employ forms of circuitry that would be
Wah-Wah – played by Hendrix and Clapton – and the Thomas considered archaic today, early classics like the one-knob MXR
Organ Cry Baby – Jimmy Page and Mick Ronson – grew from Phase 90 (1972) or the complex Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and simpler
the roots of the Clyde McCoy, but each had subtly different Phasor II (1973 to 74) are still considered some of the nicest-
characteristics. The Vox is known for its pronounced, rounded, sounding of the breed. It’s a Phase 90 that Mick Jones is playing
vocal sound, while the Cry Baby is considered a little more fluid. on The Clash’s Lost In The Supermarket from London Calling,
The octave divider is one of the wilder effects of the sixties. and the same effect on Van Halen’s Ain’t Talking About Love.
This bizarre, dissonant frequency-doubling device was heard Upon the arrival of the IC chip (or simply ‘opamp’), however –
most prominently in the form of Roger Mayer’s custom-made and the larger, more powerful ‘bucket brigade’ chips of the later
Octavia box, famously used by Hendrix on a number of seminal seventies – the modulation market really caught fire. Six TL072
tracks. Mayer never offered the original Octavia as a production dual opamps gave the MXR Phase 100 added dimensions of
model, however, and the effect eventually saw slightly wider use phasing and more control over them than its earlier siblings
in the early 70s in the form of (hear its gurgling swirl in Keith Richards’s playing on Shattered,
The Fuzz-Tone the Tycobrahe Octavia (a

direct copy of Mayer’s), Foxx
and all over the Stones’ Some Girls album).
Electro-Harmonix’s Bad Stone carried a number of opamps
wasn’t envisioned Tone Machine, Fender and provided a deep sound and an impressive range of control,
for rock mayhem, Blender and – an octave-

down effect this time – the
but its simpler Small Stone – with a single Rate knob plus
‘Color’ switch – proved to be the company’s biggest-selling
but was initially MXR Blue Box. Tricky to use pedal of all time. At one point in the mid-70s, E-H was shipping
marketed to jazzers well, inherently monophonic,

and something of an acquired
as many as 8,000 Small Stones each month. Both have
become popular with collectors, but a ‘small sibling’ made a far
and session men taste, an octave effect can bigger sonic impact amid the rediscovery of vintage pedals in
nevertheless yield some the early nineties when Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain recorded his
jaw-dropping results when played right. evocative guitar part for Come As You Are through an E-H Small
The final truly classic effect of the 1960s was the Univox Clone chorus. IC-based chorus pedals like this and others had
Uni-Vibe, made famous by Hendrix, with Robin Trower and evolved a long way from the transistor-based phasers with
Stevie Ray Vaughan in his wake. The Uni-Vibe had been which they shared their sonic roots, and this is the type of
developed for Univox by the Shin-Ei company of Japan to device that has ever since defined what we think of as the
provide an emulation of a rotary speaker effect for portable
electric organs. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Hendrix and others
had already dabbled in the sultry, hypnotic swirl of rotating One control,
speakers via a Leslie cabinet or, very often – though not so many classic
phaser sounds
frequently credited – a Fender Vibratone cabinet, but these
were the kings of cumbersome electromechanical devices. A
Uni-Vibe made the sound truly portable, could be patched in
front of a player’s amp of choice, and added a dose of its own
warmth and shimmer besides.
This totally solid-state effect is actually a four-stage phaser.
Each stage contains a light bulb and photo cell coupling at its
heart, each tuned slightly differently so that a chorusing effect
is produced as the oscillator sweeps the signal across them.
The unit’s two-speed Chorus/Vibrato switch (fast and slow
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The Edge’s playing on earlier U2 albums in particular, and check

out the warmth and musicality in his Memory Man’s analogue
echo sound.
The somewhat metallic, occasionally dissonant sound of
the flanger carried an immense ‘wow’ factor for any guitarist
who sat in his bedroom and fiddled with one for a few minutes
but, as much as it delivers a more deluxe, intense modulation
sound than the gentler phaser, it also needs to be used subtly to
be used well. Classic recorded examples are harder to cite than
Andy Summers and they are for phasers (the intro to Heart’s Magic Man is one
David Gilmour are
fans of the Electric place to go), and the really seminal flanger recordings were
Mistress flanger mostly achieved in the 1960s and 70s with tape flanging. This
effect was used effectively on songs like The Small Faces’
Itchycoo Park and The Eagles’ Life In The Fast Lane. Other
‘chorus pedal sound’. One of the then-young Boss company’s effects that joined the fray in the 70s included a broad range of
earliest pedals offers the seminal example of analogue chorus: overdrive and distortion offerings, along with the funky fringes
the effect yielded a spacious, multi-dimensional stereo effect of the envelope filter (also Q filter, auto-wah or envelope
that gave many 80s tracks a drive and movement that kicks follower) and the talk box (Frampton Comes Alive, anyone?).
these simple arrangements to a higher level (though Andy
Summers, a guitarist often associated with the chorus effect,
in fact used an E-H Electric Mistress flanger on Message In A
Going digital
Bottle, one of the hits that defined his sound). Opamp-based distortions and overdrives offered more
powerful and more tonally versatile versions of extreme or
Charge of the ‘bucket brigade’ subtle valve-amp break-up than could previously be provided
by the basic fuzzes or early so-called distortion pedals such as
While Boss was gaining the kind of early momentum on the MXR’s transistor and diode-based Distortion+ (more a fuzzy
back of the CE-1 that would eventually take it to the top of the overdrive really). Boss’s OD-1 and SD-1, Ibanez’s Tube Screamer
ladder for effects sales worldwide, rivals that had been longer in series, and DOD’s Overdrive Preamp 250 all did impressive
the game were applying bigger, more powerful chips with versions of a tube amp set to the edge of distortion, while the
impressive results. The so-called ‘bucket brigade’ chip finally let Pro Co Rat, Boss DS-1 and a few others cranked the knob well
players leave those high-maintenance (if great-sounding) past it. Both variants have proliferated, with overdrives
Echoplexes and Copicats back home in the gear cupboard. becoming purportedly more ‘realistic and valve-like’ (although
These new components were named for the way they took a an Ibanez TS-9 and then TS-10 seemed to be good enough for
signal at input and handed it along from stage to stage, down a Stevie Ray Vaughan), and overdrives becoming even dirtier and
serious of steps that could be tapped at desired points to more extreme. For an example of the latter, you don’t even have
achieve echo. Utilising this powerful IC’s taps differently, and to listen to an entire track: just dig the famous ‘chunka-chunka’
shifting or modulating them, also enabled flanging, deluxe lead-in and evil, sustaining first chord in the chorus of
chorus sounds and several other advanced effects. Radiohead’s Creep to hear what an early 90s Marshall
Electro-Harmonix launched both its divine Memory Man ShredMaster can do.
delay and occasionally freakish Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter While the powers of the
Matrix in 1976, both thanks to ‘bucket brigade’ chips, and they analogue chip rule distortion
became the company’s fourth and third biggest sellers The so-called sounds to this day, the
respectively. MXR’s Analog Delay was generally considered an
upmarket alternative, and DOD, Boss, Ibanez and others
‘bucket brigade’ advances in digital
technology as applied to
introduced popular variations on the theme. chip finally let music electronics has taken
After digital technology swept delay off its feet from the
mid-80s and beyond, many players looked sentimentally upon
players leave those modulation and delay effects
to new dimensions. Early
the ‘smooth, warm’ sound of analogue delay in the same way high-maintenance units unveiled at the start of
that detractors of the solid-state age shed glowing praise on old
tape echo units. There is an undeniable softness and musicality
(if great sounding) the 80s were universally
billed as being cleaner and
to these analogue delay circuits that certainly makes them ear Echoplexes and higher-fidelity than the
friendly, to the extent that later designers of digital delays often
built in aspects of analogue-like lo-fi reproduction and decay
Copicats back home analogue delays that
preceded them, although
corruption to make their echo effects more appealing. Listen to in the gear cupboard many players troubling to do
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or quieter and more versatile at least, usually with true-bypass

switching to boot. Voila, the now-thriving boutique effects
market was born. Today, we have a vast selection of pedals with
both quality reproductions of long-lost sounds, and original
modern creations sometimes offering modified variations of
those sounds.
Makers like Fulltone, Voodoo Lab, Jacques, Prescription,
Keeley, Analogman and others mostly started off making
reproductions of past classics (the roots of Fulltone’s ’69 Fuzz,
Octafuzz and Deja’Vibe are pretty clear from their names, as
are those of Analogman’s CompRosser, Prescription’s Vibe
The Fractal Axe-Fx is an Unit, Jacques’ Tube Blower, and Voodoo Lab’s Proctavia and
all-in-one preamp, amp
and effects modeller Micro Vibe), but they have also ventured into more
used by many pro bands original territory.
Others such as Lovetone, Frantone and ZVex cop a retro
vibe while pursuing a range of unique designs – the latter, in
an A/B comparison would have to admit that the digital effect particular, offering some sounds and features that are very
wasn’t always sonically preferable. In its primitive, eight-bit much on the fringes of acceptable, more mainstream sonics.
form, digital delay could sometimes be cold and harsh- The ZVex Seek Wah is like the wayward love child of an
sounding compared to analogue, with a nasty deterioration of auto-wah and a tremolo, while the Fuzz Factory begins with a
the sound in its note decay in particular, but what really wowed vintage-style germanium fuzz as a springboard and provides
players was the delay times it was capable of achieving. Delays five control knobs for masterly domination of every conceivable
of a full second, two seconds, and even up to 16 seconds parameter within the circuit; twist them the right way, and the
provided impressive long-echo and looping capabilities, and thing literally plays itself!
pedals like the DOD/DigiTech PDS1000 and PDS2000, Boss Another adventurous maker, Roger Mayer, has stayed the
DD-2 and DSD-2, and Electro-Harmonix 16-Second Digital course from his roots as ‘pedal-maker to the stars’ in the 1960s
Delay threatened to obliterate the humble analogue delays. to remain a respected high-end manufacturer in 2015. Mayer
Digital also reined in the chorus and flanging markets through eschews the term ‘boutique’, although his pedals rival any of
the 1980s and into the 90s, and brought us other wild and the genre for quality of construction; design-wise, he continues
wonderful pedals, like the DigiTech Whammy and a varied to push the boundaries, both in circuitry and sounds.
range of harmonisers and pitchshifters. Sound quality Alongside great originators like Mayer, the impressive works
improved consistently, too, as the technology advanced to the of many members of the boutique crowd, consistently good
16-bit, 24-bit and 28-bit standards. products from the established names, and vintage-style
However, digital technology began to take the effect out of reissues from Ibanez, MXR
the realm of the pedal and into that of the multi-effects (under the Dunlop umbrella)
floorboard or rack unit; plenty of great music has been made and a resurgent Electro-
with these, certainly, but the processing across a range of Harmonix, there are new
different models is sometimes achieved by chips from the makers arriving almost daily,
same component manufacturers, and these units’ sounds can each bringing fresh sounds to
sometimes verge on generic, however powerful they may be. a guitar world you’d have
Pedal fans still get most excited about, well, pedals, and this is thought was totally toned-
still where the collectors, reissue and boutique markets thrive. out. Global manufacturing
In the early 1990s, along with a rising interest in older has resulted in a plethora of
non-master-volume valve amps and lots of simpler, retro-style pedals for all budgets – you
guitars, many players began dragging dusty stompbox-style only need to browse YouTube
effects pedals of the 60s, 70s and early 80s out of closets and to be presented with a world
from under beds and discovering that these old things actually Dave Hunter is author of of effects options.
sounded surprisingly good. A renewed demand for such many guitar titles, Whatever your flavour,
outdated boxes of tricks sent prices of original examples rising including ‘Guitar Effects three good effects pedals
(and of course, when you did lay your hands on one it was often Pedals: The Practical chained together and used
noisy or not functioning properly) so gaggles of young guns Handbook’ (Backbeat with attitude can still provide
with hot soldering irons and crateloads of hobbyist boxes Books, £16.95), available a near-infinite number of
started recreating the things for themselves, and others. In the from all good bookshops. sonic variables. We’ve never
process they often made them even better than the originals, had it so good.
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DISCOVER
Bass Guitar Magazine
Bass Guitar Magazine is also available on

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Clever use of a stompbox can transform
even the most ordinary guitar part into a
classic. Here’s our pick of 50 of the most
imaginative, memorable and exciting uses
of guitar effects on record…
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The 50 Greatest Effected Guitar Sounds Guitarist Guide To Effects
U2
Where The Streets Have No Name
Guitarist: The Edge

Effects used: TC Electronic 2290 Dynamic Digital Delay /
Korg SDD-3000
Find It On: The Joshua Tree (1987)
“Whether it’s a Fuzz-Tone or a wah-wah pedal, if it’s

really happening, it becomes part of the instrument,”
The Edge muses. “I don’t think about playing through
an effect; I think about playing the whole thing.”
This integral approach has ensured U2’s guitarist
has done more than any other modern guitarist to
implant the joys of guitar effects into the collective
© Moviestore Collection / Rex / shutterstock
consciousness. This reached its stadium-filling apex on

Where The Streets Have No Name: those circular
delayed intro arpeggios (0:14 to 0:35) through two
differently timed delays build into partial powerchords
(0:35 to 1:17) then flit between styles until the
arpeggiated coda (4:21) – ushering in years of world-
dominating mainstream success for the Biggest Band
In The World.
Robert Fripp/Peter Gabriel Sweet Smashing Pumpkins The Beatles

Water Music 1/Here Comes Blockbuster Today Think For Yourself
The Flood
Guitarist: Andy Scott Guitarist: Billy Corgan Bassist: Paul McCartney
Guitarist: Robert Fripp Effect used: Shin-Ei Siren/ Effect used: Electro- Effect used: Tone Bender
Effect used: His self- Hurricane Harmonix Big Muff Find It On: Rubber Soul (1965)
designed ‘Frippertronics’ Find it on: The Very Best Find it on: Siamese Dream
Find it on: Exposure (1979) Of Sweet (2005) (1993) Despite
experimenting
This reworking It featured a Corgan’s with a Maestro
of a Gabriel solo main riff nearly JCM800 Fuzz-Tone as
track was a identical to modified for early as the 1963 She Loves
notable early David Bowie’s KT88 valves You sessions, Rubber Soul
instance of Fripp using his Jean Genie, released via the with a Big Muff plugged into saw the first appearance of a
own wah/fuzz/delay/tape same label just weeks earlier, its low-gain input became the fuzzbox on a Beatles
loop set-up known as yet Sweet’s 1973 track signature sound of a still recording: a Gary Hurst-
Frippertronics. While TC stuck in the mind more. astonishing album. Today designed Tone Bender in
Electronics’ digital delays This is partly due to Scott’s would become the band’s combination with Macca’s
later replaced Fripp’s Revox ‘siren’ intro riff created on, breakthrough hit, and when new left-handed
decks, this track remains a yes, a Shin-Ei Siren/ the angelic intro gives way to Rickenbacker 4001 on
pioneering moment in Hurricane pedal. a crashing wave of fuzz, Harrison’s Think For Yourself.
ambient guitar millions of teenagers across
experimentation. the globe still throw shapes
in unison.
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Guitarist Guide To Effects The 50 Greatest Effected Guitar Sounds
JIMI HENDRIX
EXPERIENCE
Purple Haze
Guitarist: Jimi Hendrix

Effects used: Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, Roger Mayer Octavia
Find It On: Purple Haze (1967)
Hendrix’s use of fuzz pedals went back even further.

Late US bluesman Mike Bloomfield recalled seeing
Jimi using a Maestro Fuzz-Tone (as heard on the
Stones’ Satisfaction) in the summer of 1966, while he
adopted a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face from the pedal’s
launch later that year: hear it sting on Purple Haze
(straight from the intro) and Bold As Love (his
soloing tone suddenly gets filthy at 1:51). Then there’s
© MARC SHARRAT / Rex / shutterstock
the Octavia, purpose-built for Jimi by UK effects

legend Roger Mayer. It first appeared on the stinging
outro solo of Purple Haze and can also be clearly
heard on Little Miss Lover (from 1:19), One Rainy Wish
(starting at 2:10), and the Band Of Gypsys’ Who Knows
(from 6:28).
REM Muse Van Halen

What’s The Frequency, Newborn Atomic Punk
Kenneth?
Guitarist: Matt Bellamy Guitarist: Edward Van Halen
Guitarist: Peter Buck Effect used: ZVex Fuzz Effect Used: MXR Phase 90
Effect Used: Tremolo pedal Factory (built into a custom Find It On: Van Halen (1978)
(make unknown) Hugh Manson electric) Did You Know?
Matt Bellamy’s other
Find It On: Monster (1994) Find it on: Origin Of Ed rubs his palm
favoured fuzz is a Foxx Tone
Symmetry (2001) Machine, a fuzz wah from on the strings
REM’s follow-up the 60s to produce a
to Automatic The opener to sound not
For The People Muse’s second unlike the frenetic crashing of
was laced with album is a waves on to a beach. Always
distortion and throbbing statement of adamant that he tried to get
tremolo. Hear the latter on grandiose intent and a effects from the guitar rather
the opening song (at 0:41), dramatic fusion of Queen’s than be reduced to ‘tap
reinventing Peter Buck’s rock operatics and dancing’, even he had to
signature style in an instant. Radiohead’s guitar admit defeat in this case.
Nice backwards solo, too… contortions. Witness the
gargantuan riff kicking
in at 1:24 with a wall of
FF-induced carnage.
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© Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
RADIOHEAD Peter Frampton

Paranoid Android Show Me The Way
Guitarist: Jonny Greenwood Guitarist: Peter Frampton

Effects Used: Electro- Effect used: Heil Talk Box
Harmonix Small Stone, Find it on: Frampton Comes
Mutronics Mutator Stevie Ray Vaughan AND DOUBLE TROUBLE Alive (1976)
Find It On: OK Computer
Say What!
(1997) Frampton first saw a talk
Guitarist: SRV box used by ‘talking steel
Radiohead’s effects Effects Used: Two wah pedals (likely Vox) guitar’ player Pete Drake,
scientist Jonny Greenwood Find It On: Soul To Soul (1985) while they both played on
writ his ambition large in George Harrison’s All Things
Paranoid Android. Phased Two wah-wahs (one of which belonged to Jimi Hendrix Must Pass. Stevie Wonder,
E-H Small Clone arpeggios himself, ending up with SRV via brother Jimmie) wired Jeff Beck and Joe Walsh
adorn the verses in the together in line are responsible for this torrential tone soon adopted one but the
song’s first movement cascade from Soul To Soul’s opening salvo. Vaughan’s trick effect became Frampton’s
(0:09) before the climax of rocking the pedals in opposite directions created a signature after his then-
sees a killswitched solo fed scything, dense and unpredictable phasing wall of wah girlfriend found one in a
through a Mutronics funky enough to have Hendrix’s fingers (and toes) twitching shop for $150. “It was the
Mutator rack filter and in his grave. best investment I ever
liberally contorted (5:48). made,” he says.
Led Zeppelin Pink Floyd Steve Vai Robin Trower

Fool In The Rain Comfortably Numb Ballerina 12/24 Bridge of Sighs
Guitarist: Jimmy Page Guitarist: David Gilmour Effect used: Eventide H3000 Guitarist: Robin Trower
Effect used: MXR Blue Box Effects Units: Electro- Harmonizer Effects Units: Univox
Find it On: In Through The Harmonix Big Muff Find It On: Passion And Uni-Vibe
Out Door (1979) Find It On: The Wall (1979) Warfare (1990) Find It On: Bridge Of Sighs
(1974)
Page is a master The epitome of Not one for
of getting great soaring solo making do with This track’s
guitar sounds, tone, Gilmour stock psychedelic
but one true used a 1973 equipment, Vai churn comes
‘WTF?’ moment arrived Version 2 ‘Ram’s Head’ Big built a patch from scratch in from a Univox
courtesy of MXR’s oddball Muff distortion/sustainer to order to mimic the flow and Uni-Vibe – sources differ on
Blue Box, which adds fuzz give this track wings, while a movement of the titular what drive tones Robin used,
and a note two octaves below Yamaha RA-200 rotating dancer. Based around but he favoured Dan
the original. It sounds crazy, speaker added subtle pin-sharp, pitch-shifted Armstrong Red Ranger
and but for this solo the pedal modulation. octaves, Eventide still Treble Boost and Fender
would probably have been supplies Vai-constructed Blender octave fuzz during
scrapped long ago. upgrades for the unit to the the mid-70s.
present day.
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© Andre Csillag / Rex / shutterstock

Nirvana
Come As You Are
Guitarist: Kurt Cobain

Effect used:
Electro-Harmonix
Small Clone Chorus
Find it on: Nevermind (1991)
Queen
Immortalised in a haunting
Brighton Rock
riff that became a ‘must-
learn’ for any fledgling Guitarist: Brian May
© Ian Dickson / Rex / shutterstock
grunge guitar antihero, Effect used: Echoplex EP-3

the Small Clone, with the Find It On: Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
depth switch hard-wired by
Cobain’s guitar tech to the Unlike May’s live solo piece, this example uses just one
‘up’ position, provided single repeat rather than two set equidistant to build up
watery textures to mirror harmonies. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury used this
the album’s shimmering latter set-up during vocal sections of Prophet’s Song on the
sleeve art. band’s next album, A Night At The Opera.
Tool Yes Guns N’ Roses Alice In Chains

Wings For Marie Part 1 Owner Of A Lonely Heart Welcome To The Jungle Man In The Box
Guitarist: Adam Jones Guitarist: Trevor Rabin Guitarist: Slash Guitarist: Jerry Cantrell
Effects Used: Gig-FX Effects Units: MXR Pitch Effects used: Roland Effects used: Talk Box
Chopper Transposer SRV-2000 Stereo Reverb? Find It On: Facelift (1990)
Find It On: 10,000 Days Find It On: 90125 (1983) Find it on: Appetite For
(2006) Destruction (1987) Cantrell utilised
Trevor Rabin’s the Talk Box’s
For 10,000 striking solo Much of the head-turning
Days’ eerie, sound derives gear Slash used tone to
spiralling from an MXR to record AFD is maximum effect when
two-part Pitch Transposer set to a fifth shrouded in creating the memorable hook
17-minute centrepiece Jones harmony. His guitar was mystery, and the delay used that kicks in over the rhythm
was influenced by producer routed to two amps: one for at the very start of Welcome section groove (0.11),
Joe Barrei’s pedal expertise, clean signal, the other for To The Jungle is no exception. bringing a darker edge to its
and employed the tremolo effected tone. Slash can only remember he legacy in rock.
speed express pedal used a ‘common’ rackmount
manipulation of the Chopper, studio echo unit, but some
with Gig-FX integrating claim it’s the ‘secret delay
custom modifications mode’ on an SRV-2000
especially for Jones. Stereo Reverb that can be
heard cascading through the
start of this rock classic.
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THE WHITE STRIPES

Seven Nation Army
Guitarist: Jack White

Effects used: DigiTech Whammy
Find It On: Elephant (2003)
Seven Nation Army’s intro might be catchy enough

to be sung by beered-up sports fans the world over,
but despite appearances to the contrary, it’s not
actually a bass guitar creating the foot-stomping
low-end riffery, but some clever effects wizardry
from Jack White. The White Stripes were a strictly
guitar and bass two-piece, so in order to replicate
the four-string sound, White fed his Kay
hollowbody and
played slide in open
Did You Know? tuning through a
© Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock
White rates this riff as one of
his best: “If I ever got asked
DigiTech Whammy
to write the next James Bond pedal set on the
theme,” he says, “that would sub-octave mode
be the riff for it.” He was
asked: it wasn’t the riff.
– et voila, instant
terrace classic!
Russian Circles Racer X Steely Dan Philip Sayce

Carpe Fire Of Rock Green Earrings Blood On Your Hands
Guitarist: Mike Sullivan Guitarist: Paul Gilbert Guitarist: Elliott Randall Guitarist: Philip Sayce
Effects Used: Akai Head Effects Units: Modified Effects Units: Mu-Tron Effects Units: Arbiter Fuzz
Rush A/DA Flanger Bi-Phase, Foxx Tone Face
Find it on: Enter (2006) Find It On: Technical Machine octave fuzz Find It On: Peace Machine
Difficulties (1999) Find It On: The Royal Scam (2009)
The first track (1976)
on the Gilbert opens A ‘67 Fuzz Face,
instrumental this track with a Elliott Randall’s featuring
alt-rock trio’s whammy-style swirling tone on germanium
debut sets Sullivan’s agenda; pitch bend. This this track’s NKT 275
using a tapped part looped to striking effect was achieved barbed second transistors, was used on the
build a crescendo over. The using a mod for the A/DA solo was achieved with a track’s solo with a touch of
Head Rush has long been his Flanger’s ‘Enhance’ Mu-Tron Bi-Phase pedal, with wah. Sayce sets both
preferred tool, for its (regeneration) control that one ‘rate’ control set to fast, controls almost full for
responsiveness. gave extra latitude for the other to a slow sweep. sizzling lead tone.
adjustment.
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THE ROLLING STONES

Satisfaction
Guitarist: Keith Richards

Effects used: Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1
Find It On: 40 Licks (2002)
One morning in May 1965, at a Florida motel, Keith

Richards awoke from a dream and – fuzzyheaded –
fumbled around, grabbed a guitar and played an idea
running through his head into a nearby tape recorder.
“On the tape you can hear me drop the pick,” he
recalled, “the rest is me snoring.” Yet this germ of an
© Dezo Hoffmann / Rex / shutterstock
idea soon grew into the Stones’ biggest hit – and with
the addition of an early Fuzz-Tone pedal, a hit that
forever changed the way guitarists wanted to sound.
Yet Richards wasn’t thrilled. “If I’d had my way,” he
grumbles, “Satisfaction would never have been
released. The song was as basic as the hills, and I
thought the fuzz guitar thing was a bit of a gimmick.”
Minus The Bear Mudhoney Black Sabbath Blur

Knights Touch Me I’m Sick Electric Funeral Song 2
Guitarist: Dave Knudson Guitarists: Mark Arm, Guitarist: Tony Iommi Bassist: Alex James
Effects used: Line 6 DL4 Steve Turner Effects used: Colorsound Effects used: Home-made
Find It On: Planet Of Ice Effects used: wah, Rangemaster Treble distortion pedal
(2008) Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Booster Find It On: Blur (1997)
Pi, Univox Super-Fuzz Find It On: Paranoid
With the aid of a Find It On: Superfuzz Bigmuff It might be one
pair of Line 6 (1990) The Dark Lord’s of the most
DL4s running first use of a air-guitar’d
independently, These fuzz wah to colour songs of all
guitarist Dave Knudson addicts ended one of his riffs time, but the famous
triggers simple repeated up naming a into a darker shade of black ‘woo-hoo!’ moment (and all
guitar loops like he’s playing a compilation came on the band’s second the distorted parts of the
separate instrument to after their two favourite album, adding articulation to song) are actually played by
create the angular, pedals. Turner’s Big Muff each note with a bassist Alex James, double-
mesmerising intro to this provides the gnarly abrasion Rangemaster modified by his tracking a clean bass part
2008 track. in their defining song’s roadies for treble boost. with a monstrously filthy
opening riff, before it’s joined distorted one to create a
by Arm’s Super-fuzz and its headbanging wall of low-end
second dose of dirt (0.12). dirt. The fuzz came courtesy
of a home-made distortion
box that has “since got lost”,
according to James.
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The Police
Walking On The Moon
Guitarist: Andy Summers

Effects used: MXR Dyna-
Comp, Electro-Harmonix
Electric Mistress
Bon Jovi Find It On: Regatta De Blanc
(1979)
Livin’ On A Prayer
Guitarist: Richie Sambora This classic

Effect used: Heil Talk Box Foo Fighters example of
Find It On: Slippery When Summers’
Generator
Wet (1986) rhythm
Guitarist: Dave Grohl tone is
Bon Jovi oozed classic rock Effects used: Heil Talk Box based around a flanger
from every pore, and for Find It On: There Is Nothing Left To Lose rather than a chorus and he
Livin’ On A Prayer, Sambora (2000) used the very first version
decided to dredge up the of the Mistress for the
talk box, an effect unheard Dave Grohl’s not the first guitarist to abandon oral hygiene recording. The pedal utilises
for a decade. “When I concerns to bring the Talk Box’s vocal sound to a record, but ‘bucket brigade’ devices, an
brought it up, everybody in Generator’s opening riff is one of the most memorable. integrated circuit that
the band started laughing at Wrapping his gums around a piece of surgical tube, Grohl let formed the core of most
me like I was a goofy Bob Heil’s magic box bounce the sound around his mouth – pre-digital modulation
bastard,” Sambora recalls. many drunken impersonations followed… pedal-based effects.
Green Day ZZ Top KT Tunstall John Martyn

Boulevard Of Broken Cheap Sunglasses Black Horse And The I’d Rather Be The Devil
Dreams Cherry Tree
Guitarist: Billy F Gibbons Guitarist: John Martyn
Guitarist: Billie Joe Effect Used: Maestro Ring Guitarist: KT Tunstall Effect Used: Vox Wah,
Armstrong Modulator Effect Used: Akai E2 Head Electro-Harmonix Big Muff,
Effect Used: Linn Find It On: Deguello (1979) Rush Maestro Echoplex
AdrenaLinn Find It On: Eye To The Find It On: Solid Air (1973)
Find It On: American Idiot Gibbons put a Telescope (2004)
(2004) “Fender fake” Acoustic
(used for its KT Tunstall’s fingerstyle
The Linn whammy bar) performance of player John
AdrenaLinn is through a Ring Modulator Black Horse Martyn
capable of all into a Marshall Major with And The Cherry pioneered the use of the
kinds of clever a blown valve to produce Tree on Later… With Jools Echoplex to create acoustic
sonic mischief, and one the metallic tagline on Holland music show was atmospheres, and this
provides the sequenced each verse. tremendously effective. haunted, psychedelic
tremolo effect for the intro riff Building her vocals, acoustic reworking of a Skip James
on Green Day’s huge hit from Did You Know? and rhythms through the blues uses the tape echo
their American Idiot album. Billy Gibbons once chained Akai E2 Head Rush Delay/ together with Vox wah and
together eight Bixonic Looper, she left the audience Big Muff fuzz to create a
Expandora distortion units
speechless, and catapulted rhythmic tour de force.
herself to stardom.
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Rush
© Dezo Hoffmann / Rex / SHutterstock

Spirit Of Radio
Guitarist Alex Lifeson

Effects used: Electro-
Harmonix Electric Mistress
Find it on: Permanent Waves
(1980)
Alex Lifeson’s rig has grown

Did You Know?
For their recent Time
in proportion to Rush’s back The Shadows
Machine Tour, Rush’s stage catalogue, but his
Apache
cabs incorporated video pedalboard was once a
displays and CO2 steam jets fairly a modest affair. And Guitarist: Hank Marvin
for one of the great flanger Effects Units: Meazzi Tape delay
moments in rock, he looked Find It On: Apache (single, 1960)
to the classic Electric
Mistress to provide the key The rippling delay sounds on Apache, which influenced a
tonal tool for the hammer- generation of young players and created a haunting sound
on and pull-off fest that is that would define Hank and the Shads forevermore, came
this song’s instantly from an Italian drum-operated mult-head tape echo unit that
recognisable intro riff. Marvin acquired from singer Joe Brown.
The Cult Bloc Party Cream Elvis

She Sells Sanctuary Octopus Tales Of Brave Ulysses Hound Dog
Guitarist: Billy Duffy Guitarist: Russell Lissack Guitarist: Eric Clapton Guitarist: Scotty Moore
Effect Used: Boss pedals Effect Used: Audio Kitchen Effect Used: Vox Wah Effect Used: Ray Butts
including DD-2, DM-2 (custom pedal) Find It On: Disraeli Gears EchoSonic amp with tape
Find It On: Love (1985) Find It On: Four (2012) (1967) echo
Find It On: Elvis’ Golden
Then-gothic The distinctive The day before Records (1957)
rockers The and catchy, writing this
Cult struck gold hi-fi, ray song, 60s Despite The
with this gun-style guitar hotshot King having to
stunning guitar intro: guitarist introductory riff uses two Eric Clapton had discovered a sing this to a
Billy Duffy put his trusty delays at different tempos Vox Wah pedal at Manny’s in top-hat wearing
Gretsch White Falcon – and come courtesy of a New York, which featured on Bassett hound on national TV
through every effect he had unit which creator Audio this single and Cream’s as a form of moral penance,
on his Boss pedalboard, Kitchen is currently sworn to classic White Room. this cover lit the Elvis
including flanger, delay, secrecy on, according to the touchpaper. Guitarist Scotty
chorus and phaser, to company website. Moore’s trademark slapback
produce a timeless riff. delay coats the song in
tape-echo honey.
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RAGE AGAINST
THE MACHINE
Killing In The Name
Guitarist: Tom Morello

Effects used: DigiTech Whammy
Find It On: Rage Against The Machine (1992)
He’s a guitarist who has made his reputation with the

© Will Ireland / Classic Rock Magazine / Rex / shutterstock
incredible sounds he can make on a guitar with just his

hands, but that certainly doesn’t mean Tom Morello
has shunned effects in his work with Rage Against
The Machine and Audioslave. For the former’s
vehement calling card, he used a DigiTech Whammy
for the solo break (3.52). Setting it two octaves up,
Morello pushed the Whammy’s expression pedal
forward and back, but his technique still remained
vital; it’s the tremolo picking that gives Killing In The
Name’s solo its climatic crescendo.
Joe Walsh Smashing Pumpkins The Smiths John Mayer

Rocky Mountain Way Starla How Soon Is Now? Bigger Than My Body
Guitarist: Joe Walsh Guitarist: Billy Corgan Guitarist: Johnny Marr Guitarist: John Mayer
Effect Used: Homemade Effect Used: Mu-Tron Effect used: tremolo (Fender Effect used: Linn
Talk Box Bi-Phase Twins), AMS harmoniser AdrenaLinn
Find It On: The Smoker You Find It On: Pisces Iscariot Find it on: Hatful Of Hollow Find it on: Heavier Things
Drink, The Player You Get (1994) (1984) (2003)
(1973)
The Mu-Tron The throbbing, The signature
This classic- Bi-Phase has swampy intro intro riff of
rock radio two ‘sweep riff was played Mayer’s hit
staple was generator’ through two came to him
among the first controls and two phasers, pairs of Fender Twins while he when he visited New York
to use the talk box effect on plus a footpedal control; it and producer John Porter guitar shop Rudy’s to try out
electric guitar (3:11). Walsh was used by Smashing manually adjusted the a Rick Turner guitar and
used a homemade unit but Pumpkins for swirl tremolo rates until they Roger Linn’s sequencer-style
soon collaborated with throughout their Siamese coincided. And then Marr put effects box, the AdrenaLinn.
engineer Bob Heil to make Dream era, and can be heard a harmonised slide wail over “I found this combination of
the commercial Talk Box, at freakier moments on epic the top. “I wanted an intro the beat and the arpeggiator:
later to become synonymous guitar jam, Starla – a fine that was almost as potent as I’d never heard a guitar do
with Peter Frampton. example of how to use effects Layla,” he says, “when it plays that before…”, he said. It was
to create drama. in a club or a pub, everyone his breakthrough hit, and he
knows what it is.” was on his way to stardom.
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For newcomers to the wonders of effects
pedals, the jargon used to describe them,
the sometimes obscure differences between
them and even the sheer range on offer can
be confusing. Here, we examine each of the
main types of effects in turn, and explain what
they sound like and the basics of how they
work – plus, we offer some buying pointers for
different budgets. Time to get stomping…
Contents
28 | Overdrive 34 | Wah 38 | Chorus 41 | Vibrato 46 | Octave
29 | Distortion 35 | EQ 39 | Phaser 42 | Tremolo 47 | Ring Modulation
30 | Fuzz 36 | Talk Box 40 | Flanger 43 | Rotary Speaker 48 | Pitch Shifter
32 | Boost 44 | UniVibe 49 | Tape Echo
33 | Compression 45 | Reverb 50 | Delay
27
OUTPUT
Overdrive
The singing tone of an amplifier on the edge of breakup… in a box
Usage Tip
If you want a heavy overdrive sound,
set the ‘gain’ or ‘drive’ control high
and the ‘level’ or ‘output’ lower.
For more of a clean boost effect,
do the opposite
1 The fabled Ibanez Tube Screamer has a very

strong midrange frequency punch. This
helps your guitar cut through in a busy band
‘mix’. It also works well for solo boosts
2 Overdrive is a versatile sound, and

guitarists from pop, country, rock, blues
and even jazz backgrounds will have at least
one on their board
3 The best overdrive pedals will offer a range

of gain levels that range from a clean boost
type of sound (very low overdrive, but with a
hike in volume), though to a thicker, more
driven and harmonically-packed sound
What it sounds like Best Of Breed

Fuzz, distortion and overdrive are three types of gain effects which are easily confused with each
Budget
other, as they all ‘distort’ a clean guitar signal in different ways. Overdrive is the mildest of the
EHX Soul Food
three types, and as the name suggests, the effect attempts to recreate the effect of a valve
www.ehx.com
amplifier being ‘overdriven’, creating those warm, slightly crunchy rhythm sounds (think AC/DC)
and the singing, sustaining lead tones (think Stevie Ray Vaughan) that our ears have become Mid-Price
accustomed to for over half a century of blues and rock guitar. Fulltone Obsessive
compulsive drive
How it does it www.fulltone.com
Boutique
The key factor that distinguishes an overdrive effect from fuzz and distortion has to do with the
Free The TOne SOV-2
specific way that it distorts a signal. When a signal becomes distorted, the peaks of its waveform
www.freethetone.com
are ’clipped’. Overdrives flatten these peaks more gradually than other types of distortion, and
this smooth, ‘soft clipping’ type of distortion emphasises even-order harmonics, which we hear
as smooth and warm break up in the guitar sound.
Overdrive is among the most popular pedals, with countless models available from a plethora
of manufacturers. The resultant tones can vary wildly depending on their component choices and
indeed the other gear they’re paired with with. Consider blues legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan and his
use of the Ibanez Tube Screamer. Now bring to mind Edward Van Halen and the Boss SD-1 used
as part of his fabled ‘brown’ sound rig. It’s great fun to experiment with many different types.
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EFFECTS EXPLAINED Guitarist Guide To Effects
Distortion
The snarling, aggressive bite that gives rock and metal its edge
Usage Tip
As with all overdrive, distortion and
fuzz boxes, try using your guitar’s
volume control to regulate the
amount of distortion and volume.
This can be very effective for moving
between rhythm and solo sounds
1 At low volumes, you may find you need high

levels of distortion to get plenty of sustain.
As you turn up to gig levels, you may find it
beneficial to back off on the distortion a bit,
to retain clarity and cut in your sound
2 What’s the difference between overdrive

and distortion? In technical terms, they’re
the same thing. Soncially, overdrive sounds
‘softer’ and ‘rounder’, while distortion sounds
‘harder’ with more edge and aggression
3 Some techniques are greatly facilitated by

distortion, including pinch harmonics,
right-hand damping, two-handed tapping and
legato lead playing

Evil, loud and edgy! Distortion – in all its menacing, jagged glory – is the sound of a guitar signal
Budget
possessed. The first distortion boxes were the fuzzes that arrived in the 1960s; they were
BOSS DS-1
uncomplicated and unforgiving beasts. Since then, we’ve come to think of distortion in a more
www.bossus.com
modern sense thanks to more refined sounds and circuits that have been developed since those
tonal pioneering days. Distortion underpins everything from The Rolling Stones, to Jimi Hendrix, Mid-Price
to Nirvana, to the heaviest of modern metal. Mesa/boogie
throttle box
How it does it www.mesaboogie.com
Boutique
Unlike overdrive – which derives its smoothness from even-order harmonics and softer, more
PROVIDENCE SDT-2
gradual clipping of waveforms – distortion is extreme. It is a harder, more jagged waveform Stampede DT
clipping, emphasising the jagged peaks and odd-order harmonics to create a sound that entirely www.providence-ltd.com
changes the guitar’s character, replacing it with the pedal’s own.
While distortion pedals have played their part in some of the heaviest sounds ever created,
including the earth-shaking riffery of Metallica and the like, pedals like Marshall’s ShredMaster
and ProCo’s Rat have served the differing sonic requirements of indie noiseniks such as
Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, not to mention Jeff Beck and David Gilmour’s
filthier moments. The workmanlike Boss DS-1 and DS-2 have proved their worth among the pros,
serving up the gain and sustain for virtuoso instrumentalists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
29
OUTPUT
Fuzz
The 1960s effect that launched a thousand riffs is still going strong
Usage Tip
Blues-rock star Philip Sayce tells us
how to set up the perfect fuzz sound:
“With the Fuzz Face, I would put
both knobs on full, and even if you
weren’t playing, it’d be like that
ocean sort of sound! So then I’d just
roll both back until that hiss goes
away, and there it is”
1 Although primitive fuzz circuits produced an

inflexible wall of sound, fuzz quickly
developed into a highly playable and dynamic
effect enhanced by the interaction of the
guitar’s volume control and pick attack
2 The germanium transistors used in

vintage-sounding fuzz pedals are sensitive
to environmental factors, and variables such
as their gain and frequency response can
drastically alter the character of the distortion
they create. No two fuzzes are the same!
3 Where you place your fuzz in the signal

chain has a significant bearing on overall
tone, so experiment with different orders

Among the first transistorised guitar effects, the fuzz has a disarmingly simple circuit – but it’s
Budget
actually a paradoxical changeling that can travel beyond filthy, yet can still be rounded and warm;
Electro-Harmonix
is generally woolly and thick, yet can also be spiky and angular. However you describe its sound, Little Big Muff pi
though, stomp on one and it remains devastatingly effective. Its structure (and integrity) has www.ehx.com
remained fundamentally unchanged since the moment Keith Richards stepped on his Maestro
Fuzz-Tone to mimic the horn part he had in mind for (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in May 1965. Mid-Price
Dunlop FFM-1 Jimi
hendrix fuzz
How it does it face MINI
www.jimdunlop.com
The fuzz torch passed quickly to Jimi Hendrix, whose experiments with Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Faces
modified by Roger Mayer literally set the tone for what was to come. The key component of a fuzz Boutique
pedal’s character is the type of transistors it uses – Hendrix used fuzz pedals with two key types, Zvex fuzz factory
germanium and silicon, to produce softer and woollier, and harsher yet clearer tones respectively. www.zvex.com
Modern fuzz units range from meticulously accurate vintage reproductions, to supercharged
boutique creations like the Z Vex Fuzz Factory, which expands on the classic tonal palette by using
internal feedback loops, and enabling the user to vary component bias and voltage to sculpt the
sound. Every guitarist should own at least one fuzz pedal!
30
INPUT
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on your PC or Mac!
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Available digitally on these devices
Boost
Louder is obviously better – but it’s not as straightforward as it seems
1 Boost is often placed first in a signal chain,

to increase the unadulterated guitar signal
at source rather than magnifying aspects of
the signal further down the line. However…
2 …in recent years, more and more players

are taking to using a buffered boost as the
last pedal in a chain of different effects, to
restore a good, strong signal at the optimum
Usage Tip
impedance before it hits the amp Try a booster if you just want a little
bit ‘more’ of your current sound,
3 Some boosts are engineered to alter

specific frequencies, such as the fabled
treble booster, used to such great effect by the
without going as far as an overdrive
or distortion pedal. They’re great for
a slight hike in volume, or for
likes of Brian May and Rory Gallagher pushing your amp into drive

Unlike overdrive, distortion and fuzz, boost pedals are most often marketed on their
Budget
‘transparency’ or ‘neutrality’ of sound. That means they amplify your signal, but have little or no
Mooer Audio Flex
effect on the fundamental sound or EQ of your core tone. The perceived effect is a ‘thickening’ of Boost
your guitar’s tone right across the frequency spectrum. You will also notice enhanced playing www.mooeraudio.com
‘feel’ and dynamics under your fingers, even if this is harder to detect with some circuits (and
guitar and amp combinations) than with others. A boost is also an effective way to push an Mid-Price
on-the-edge-of-drive valve amp into thicker, natural-sounding overdrive. Some dual-function xotic eP booster
overdrive pedals build this function into the unit as a bonus feature. The late, great Stevie Ray www.xotic.us
Vaughan once opined that he wished there was just one button that said ‘more’. A booster is
Boutique
about as close to that as you can get in a pedal.
FREE THE TONE FB-2
FINAL BOOSTER
How it does it www.freethetone.com
A simple booster increases level of the signal strength hitting your amp. It doesn’t clip it into
distortion and it doesn’t alter the EQ. That said, some booster pedals do offer other functions
such as bass and treble attenuation, for example, while others only boost certain frequencies –
the treble booster is a good example. As always with effects pedals, what starts out as a simple
concept, ends up in a plethora of options! Try a few out and see which works best for you.
32
INPUT
Compression
Compression is the great leveller – quite literally!
Usage Tip
For the most compressed sound, set
the sensitivity (compression) knob
high and the output low. For a clean
boost, do the opposite
1 Compressor pedals affect the volume of your

signal in a dynamic way: they respond to the
incoming signal strength attack and
compensate either up or down. As a result, they
can alter the feel and response of the playing
experience significantly
2 Compression isn’t just for guitars: it’s used

extensively in many aspects of recording
other instruments and vocals, not to mention
while mixing and mastering
3 Many compressor pedals have only a few

controls. The most common are ‘threshold’
(the point at which the compression effect
comes into play); ‘ratio’ (how aggressively it
affects the signal); and ‘level’ (the overall
output volume)

Guitarists use compression pedals ingeniously and creatively – whether it’s to provide the long
Budget
sustain for soaring, expressive lead notes, to increase the percussive punch and attack that’s
Behringer DC9
come to characterise funky rhythm, or to even out the dynamics of country chicken pickin’ and
www.behringer.com
fingerpicked chord-melody styles, these unassuming and deceptively simple boxes have been
used in the true spirit of ‘effects’ pedals; to add character to a guitar part, and create an impact. Mid-Price
MXR dyna comp
How it does it www.jimdunlop.com
Boutique
Compression was originally a studio effect designed to dynamically cut the wayward level peaks,
and boost the level troughs of a recorded part. Compressor pedals may be simplified versions, Keeley Compressor
with fewer distinct controls and simpler components than their studio components, but their www.robertkeeley.com
principal function remains the same. There’s no shortage of variations on the theme, however,
and while they may seem superficially similar when viewed on a workbench, certain vintage
compressors (the MXR Dyna Comp, the Ross Compressor, the Orange Squeezer) have endured
on pedalboards, been perpetually cloned, and have assumed almost mythical properties in the
minds of guitarists over the years.
33
OUTPUT
Wah
This expressive filter effect is why pedals are called pedals
Usage Tip
It’s tempting to rock your wah in
time to the song’s tempo, but
intriguing effects can be created by
rocking in counter-rhythm, or simply
by leaving the wah in one position
1 The classic wah design uses a mechanical

pot in conjunction with the pedal. Others use
optical circuits with fewer moving parts
2 Some wah pedals add extra fuzz or

distortion to the circuit, and signature
models are ‘tuned’ to star players’ preferences
3 Use your wah with care – it may be the

best-selling pedal of all time, but it’s also
the victim of overuse and can sound somewhat
clichéd if it’s used all the time

Ask any non-guitar player to imitate a guitar, and the chances are they’ll make a sound not
Budget
dissimilar to that of a wah-wah pedal. It’s understandable – not only does the wah-wah’s sound
vox v845
loosely resemble the human voice, but ever since Eric Clapton embroidered the descending riff of
www.voxamps.com
Cream’s Tales Of Brave Ulysses with one in 1967, the effect has become synonymous with
electric guitar itself. Whether it’s the theme from Shaft, the intro to Jimi’s Voodoo Child (Slight Mid-Price
Return), or the heavier approaches of Michael Schenker or Kirk Hammett, the wah’s ululating dunlop cgb95F cry
sweep makes an instant and powerful connection. Throw in the wah’s ability to create percussive baby classic
emphasis and rhythmic variety, and you have a pedal that’s a go-to choice for many a guitarist. www.jimdunlop.com
Boutique
How it does it fulltone clyde
deluxe wah
The wah is a band-pass filter which creates a frequency peak which moves up and down the www.fulltone.com
frequency spectrum in response to the position of the rocker pedal. When this frequency peak
corresponds to the frequencies of the signal being passed into the wah – the signal from your
playing – the characteristic wah sound is the result. Different wah pedals have different ‘voicings’
or resonant responses, and some vintage models are favoured for the perceived uniqueness of
voice their components bestow.
34
INPUT
EQ
Bass, middle, treble and everything in between
Usage Tip
Experiment with using your EQ
pedal before and after characterful
effects (drives, for example) in your
signal chain, to reduce, emphasise
and sculpt particular frequencies
1 The ‘scooped’ EQ beloved of thrash and

hard-rock guitarists, but often difficult to
translate to live performance, is easily
visualised with an EQ pedal – see left!
2 Your amp may have all the tone controls

you feel you need, but you can’t access a
radically altered setting at the stomp of a
switch: the EQ pedal can

EQs can sound radically different depending on how they’re set, so perhaps it’s better to discuss
Budget
what you might want to use them for. First, how about an overall level and midrange boost for
behringer eq700
solos? Alternatively, you could use your EQ pedal to even out discrepancies in tones when
www.behringer.com
switching guitars; adding thump and low end to your Strat when switching from a Les Paul, for
example. Feedback – either a friend or a foe in our world – can be conjured or calmed using your Mid-Price
EQ pedal. It can also be used to create a strongly constrasting effect: setting your EQ pedal to Boss ge-7 equalizer
a very mid-scooped (metal), or a pseudo through-the-telephone sound (hi mids, low bass and www.bossus.com
treble), can add a dash of sonic variety. EQ changes effectively place your guitar in a different
higher end
area of the overall band mix; out of the way of the vocals or other guitars, for example.
mxr kfk1 10 band
equalizer
The graphic equaliser enables you to select certain frequency groups and either boost or cut
them. We’re all familiar with slider-based graphic EQ interfaces from older generation hi-fis and
the like, and many EQ pedals adopt this format, rather than the rotary controls that are standard
fare on our guitar amps. Each of the (most commonly) six or 10 sliders corresponds to a band of
the frequencies selected to best suit the key frequency hotspots for electric guitars.
35
OUTPUT
Talk Box
Tube in the mouth, pedal on the floor. We should talk…
Usage Tip
Talk Box effects work best on
melodies with sustained notes, so
when you first get one, familiarise
yourself with the effect by
methodically working up and down
scales, filtering each held note with
vowels as you go
1 It may look like a primitive dental apparatus,

but the Talk Box is an ingenious piece of
bio-engineering for guitar
2 The sound doesn’t come out of your guitar

amp. Instead, it goes into the Talk Box, gets
pushed up the tube and then fed down your
vocal microphone into the PA
3 The Talk Box was one of the first

guitar-specific effects of its kind, but steel
player Alvino Rey had combined his guitar
sound with his wife’s voice using a throat
microphone back in 1939, on the song
Singing Guitar

Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way, 1973. Peter Frampton’s Show Me The Way, 1975. Bon Jovi’s
mid-price 1
Livin’ On A Prayer, 1986. The uninitiated might assume those sounds are from some kind of
heil HT-1 talkbox
wah-wah, but the blend of guitar tone with human vowel sounds (via the tube in the mouth!)
www.jimdunlop.com
moves it one human interaction further. Walsh is said to have created his with a homemade unit,
before working with engineer Bob Heil on one of the first commercial versions, the Heil Talk Box. Mid-Price 2
Since then, many players have used the Talk Box to great effect, imbuing their solos and hooks mxR talk box
with an eerie human vocal realism. www.jimdunlop.com
boutique
How it does it framptone talk box
The original (Heil) Talk Box design actually plugs into the speaker output of your amp. Notes www.framptone.com
played then come back up the tube and into your mouth, where you physically shape the sounds,
just as you do with normal speech. Except in this case, you move your mouth, but you don’t make
any sound. The guitar sound then comes back out of your mouth and goes down your mic to the
PA system. More modern designs, such as the MXR Talk Box, have a built-in amplifier and
speaker. This means they can sit in line with your effects pedals like any other: no need to plug
them into the speaker output of your amp.
36
INPUT
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Chorus
The smooth shimmer effect that adds width to your tone
Usage Tip
For subtle effects, set the depth
medium/high and the speed (rate) to
minimum. For more sea-sickness,
increase both rate and depth. Woah…
1 The ‘depth’ controls the amount of ‘sweep’ in

the pedal’s waveform, resulting in the
perceived intensity of the chorus effect: how
‘deep’ the chorus goes
2 The ‘rate’ controls how fast the waveform

repeats, resulting in the perceived speed
and pitch variation of the effect
3 Analogue choruses are considered

‘warmer’ than their digital counterparts;
but digital chorus units typically offer much
more control, and additional parameters

Chorus is related in sound to flanger and phaser, in that it relies on phase cancellation to create a
Budget
characteristic swirling sound. It differs in sound from those effects, however, because rather than
electro-harmonix
create a sweeping frequency change over time, it simulates the narrower variations in pitch and nANO clone
timbre that typically happen when a group of similar instruments or vocalists perform the same www.ehx.com
part in unison. The resulting shimmering, sometimes warbling fluctuation can be heard on songs
such as Guns N’ Roses’ Paradise City and Nirvana’s Come As You Are, and can range from a Mid-Price
dreamlike ambience to a rapid wobble. 12-string guitar can also be broadly simulated using boss ce-5 chorus
ensemble
chorus. It was used heavily in the 1980s, so can sound dated if you’re not careful.
www.bossus.com
How it does it Boutique

strymon ola
Though analogue and digital choruses work differently, broadly speaking, a chorus pedal takes an chorus/vibrato
incoming guitar signal, divides it into two halves designated ‘dry’ and ‘wet’, and treats the wet half www.strymon.net
with a series of targeted delays and pitch modulations, before blending this ‘wet’ signal back in
with the dry signal. The rate and depth knobs typical of most chorus pedals enable you to control
how much modulation there is on the pitch and delay time of the effect, changing the subtleties of
its character. There are many variations on chorus, with units offering different filter parameters
and stereo output.
38
INPUT
Phaser
A psychedelic bath of trippy modulation
Usage Tip
The faster you set the rate control of
your phaser, the more the effect will
change from cycling swirl to flutter.
Try extremes of both, throughout
various depth settings, to unearth
some classic 70s sounds
1 Phasers vary in complexity; classic Phaser

pedals such as the MXR Phase 90 have only
one control, for speed, where others add
controls such as resonance to alter the
character of the effect’s frequency peaks
2 Phasers can be used for rhythm as well as

single-note arpeggios and lead playing, and
have proved a popular effect with funk players,
as well as heavy rockers

The earliest phaser effect, the Uni-Vibe, was developed to create a sound akin to the Doppler-
Budget
esque movement of a rotary speaker. Phasing sounds like a swirling, psychedelic sweep, with a
belcat PHS-505
detectable cycle between different frequencies (warm and bassy, trebly and hollow, for example). Phaser
It was a popular 70s pedal board addition, bringing texture and movement to both rhythm and www.belcat.com
lead parts. Brian May’s playing on Sheer Heart Attack and Edward Van Halen’s Eruption both
typify the effect. Mid-Price
mxr ’74 vintage
phase 90
A phaser splits a signal into two: one half remains unaltered, while the other half of the signal Boutique
oscillates around the entire frequency range, sending the two halves out-of-phase with each pigtronix envelope
other. This creates peaks and troughs at points in the cycle, and the waveforms cancel each other phaser
out to varying degrees during the process. Users control the parameters of the oscillation, and www.pigtronix.com
therefore vary the number of peaks and troughs in the overall cycle, using a speed control. The
overall effect is a sweeping, variable swoosh that’s more pronounced than a chorus.
39
OUTPUT
Flanger
Is your sound ready to take off to jet-like altitude?
Usage Tip
Try setting the speed of flanger so
that the complete modulation starts
and finishes either every two or four
beats of your song
1 ’Resonance’, ‘regen’ or ‘feedback’

settings control the amount of
signal that’s returned to the circuit
and reprocessed, enhancing the
frequency peaks and troughs and
resulting in a more intense sound
2 Flanger is incredibly versatile,

and can range from cold,
metallic, slow sweeps to wobbling
harmonics and whooshing
jet-engine sounds
3 Rock titans Edward Van Halen

and Paul Gilbert are just two
players who have used flangers to
superb effect. They both have
signature pedals as a result

Anything from a jet taking off at one extreme, to a slower, ‘wobblier’ version of the phaser that’s
Budget
thicker and more machine-like at the other. Though it’s often associated with rock and metal
mooer eleclady
players from Van Halen to Metallica, one of the best examples of the flanger effect ever analog flanger
committed to record is The Cure’s A Forest, which according to its producer, Mike Hedges, www.mooeraudio.com
features up to seven units at once!
Mid-Price
How it does it ibanez af2 Paul

Gilbert airplane
flanger
The flanging effect was popularised when studio producers took two reel-to-reel tape machines
www.ibanez.com
and played an identical vocal part, but ran a finger along the flange of one of them to vary its
speed. Flanger pedals operate along roughly the same lines as phasers: the difference being that Boutique
a flanger offers more control over the timing of the peaks and troughs in the relationship between HARTMAN analog
the two halves of its signal: the ‘notches’ (peaks) in a phaser’s signal are non-linear, ie unevenly flanger
spaced; a flanger’s are linear, and sweep up and down the frequency spectrum in related www.hartmanpedals.com
harmonic series, resulting in a denser, more harmonically rich effect. Regeneration controls
common to flangers also allow you to feed back part of the output signal, creating chunky,
metallic overtones.
40
INPUT
Vibrato
How about some wobbling fluctuations in pitch?
Usage Tip
Setting vibrato to slow speeds can
produce some ethereal, dreamlike
sounds, especially when used over
sustaining arpeggio notes or ringing
chords. Faster speeds have a more
obvious wobbling effect
1 Depth and speed are typical controls on a

vibrato pedal. Depth controls the extent of
the pitch modulation, while speed determines
how fast that modulation occurs
2 Two-in-one pedals such as Carl Martin

TremO’vibe continued the tradition of
associating the vibrato and tremolo effects in
guitarists’ minds
3 Some analogue delays include an option for

pitch modulation in the repeats of the notes
you play. Not strictly vibrato, but it still helps to
create that vintage, ethereal texture

Vibrato was first introduced in early guitar amplifiers from Magnatone, Gibson, Fender and Vox.
mid-price 1
What it doesn’t sound like is tremolo. Let’s say it here: vibrato is modulation in pitch, while tremolo
electro harmonix
is modulation in volume. The reason for the confusion is down to historical mislabelling: Fender’s The worm
Synchronized Tremolo fitted to the Stratocaster, for example, is in fact a vibrato unit. There was www.ehx.com
more confusion with various amps, but that’s another story. Confused? Think of the vocalist’s
vibrato, or what you do with your fretting hand when you use vibrato on notes. You’ll never be Mid-Price 2
confused again – vibrato is about pitch, not volume. Famous users are as diverse as Blur’s tc electronic
shaker vibrato
Graham Coxon, through to blues legend Robert Cray.
www.tcelectronic.com
How it does it Boutique

diamond vibrato
Similar to chorus but without the delay element, vibrato takes your guitar note and modulates its www.diamondpedals.com
pitch up and down at a consistent rate, that you can set on the pedal. The other key difference is
that where chorus mixes the modulated signal with the dry signal, vibrato is usually 100 per cent
wet: the entire signal is effected, not just part of it.
41
OUTPUT
Tremolo
Throbbing or choppy, this is about volume ups and downs
Usage Tip
Try setting your tremolo pulses in
time with the music. This can be
particularly effective with on/off
staccato sounds
1 Depth and rate are the typical controls for a

tremolo effect; ‘depth’ for the amount of
volume cut, and ‘rate’ for the speed at which it
happens. Some tremolos also have a ‘wave’
control which makes the volume ups and
downs smooth or sharp; from gentle ups and
downs, through to sudden on/offs
2 Blues-rock titan Joe Bonamassa often has

a faint tremolo effect running on one of his
live amps all the time. Weird but true!

Tremolo is the classic, oft-heard effect of a guitar sound’s volume cutting in and out at a variety of
Budget
speeds. It’s exemplified by surf guitar sounds and more recently revived by The Smiths’ How
belcat trm-507
Soon Is Now?, Radiohead’s Planet Telex, REM’s What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? and countless tremolo
others. Volume up and down, in time: it’s as simple as that. www.belcat.com
How it does it Mid-Price

Electro-harmonix
Super pulsar
Tremolo has been around since the 50s and was popularised by players like Dick Dale as part of
www.ehx.com
the US surf music craze. The most superficially straightforward of all the modulation sounds, it
alters only the volume of a signal, switching it on or off, or moving it up and down, according to Boutique
user preferences for speed, depth and waveform: eg how quickly, how much and how smoothly empress tremolo
the volume goes from minimum to maximum levels in the tremolo’s cycle. Some pedals, such as www.empresseffects.com
the Boss TR-2, have a Wave control: sine wave settings produce a smooth rise and fall, and square
waves produce a harsher, choppier character. Modern units add stereo functionality, and enable
you to control the ‘rhythm’ of the unit’s pulse or lock it to tempo.
42
INPUT
Rotary Speaker
The rotating-speaker organ effect that was hijacked by guitarists
Usage Tip
Add a foot-operated expression pedal
if your pedal accepts one. This will
enable you to vary the speed of the
rotary speaker simulation, in order
to emphasise certain notes and
passages in your playing
1 Modern rotary speaker simulators in pedal

form have their work cut out, but there are
some exceptionally well-engineered stabs at it,
including the Strymon Lex, Boss RT-20, the
Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere and the
Fulltone Mini-Deja Vibe, among others
2 Genuine rotary speaker cabinets are bulky,

expensive and hard to maintain, so the
pedal route is the way to go for most players
3 Most good rotary speaker simulator pedals

have some ability for external control of
the speed. This was a feature on old Leslie
cabinets, for example: fast and slow rotation

The Leslie speaker cabinet is a cumbersome beast that’s as literally physical as effects get.
mid-price
Designed for use with the organ and closely associated with the Hammond sound, the sonic
hardwire tr-7
possibilities of the Doppler effect created by the spinning parts which sit behind the cabinet’s two tremolo & rotary
speakers were quickly seized upon by guitar players. The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, www.hardwirepedals.com
and later David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others all stuck their guitars through the
rotating speakers of a Leslie, or Fender’s Vibratone, a guitar-specific variant on the Leslie 16 boutique 1
introduced in 1967. There are many examples of its sound, but the definitive recorded example strymon lex
has to be Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1984 song, Cold Shot, which positively swims in throbbing www.strymon.net
Vibratone pulse.
Boutique 2
hughes & kettner
How it does it tube rotosphere mkii
www.hughes-and-kettner.com
The classic Leslie had a rotating horn arrangement on its treble speaker, and a rotating drum
around its bass speaker. The physical movement of the two caused the complex sound
modulation. Fender’s Vibratone, meanwhile, had a single 10-inch guitar speaker with a 15-inch
rotating Styrofoam cylinder around it. Speeds were variable: off, slow or fast. Pedals simulate all
of this in the analogue or digital signal-processing domains.
43
OUTPUT
UniVibe
The king of vintage modulation pedals, as used by Jimi
Usage Tip
The ‘best’ place for this is
after your overdrive effects
in terms of signal path, but
do try it before as well to
hear the difference
1 Later Uni-Vibe-alikes added a stereo output,

to spread the effect across a mix or stage
2 Chorus is the beloved thick,

rotating-speaker-esque setting, and
Vibrato produces quavering pitch variation
3 The speed of the Uni-Vibe effect was

controllable via a footswitch

Machine Gun by Band Of Gypsys is Jimi using the Uni-Vibe to the max. He builds an astonishing
mid price
wartime soundscape with his guitar, and the rotating modulation of the Uni-Vibe adds a surreal,
voodoo lab
ghostly dimension – especially when combined with the squelch of fuzz, the howl of feedback, micro vibe
and the frequency emphasis of his wah. Other guitarists who have used the Uni-Vibe’s singular www.voodoolab.com
take on the rotating Doppler effect include David Gilmour, whose use of it on Breathe’s chords
and arpeggios was a defining moment in prog rock. boutique 1
fulltone MINI
dejavibe
How it does it www.fulltone.com
Japanese company Shin-ei developed the Uni-Vibe in the 1960s to emulate the Leslie speaker Boutique 2
cabinet, and while in construction it is technically classed as a phase shifter, it goes about its effectrode TUBE-VIBE
business in an unusual way. Inside the transistorised circuit are four bulbs/photo cells which www.effectrode.com
pulse in conjunction with a low frequency oscillator to create the phase-shifting effect: these
filters are staggered, rather than aligned as in a normal phaser, and this creates the idiosyncratic
character of the Uni-Vibe’s modulation. The Uni-Vibe has been cloned and reworked by countless
manufacturers, and the Uni-Vibe name is now owned by Dunlop, which makes various updated
versions. Finding a unit that uses real photocells is becoming increasingly difficult following
recent RoHS legislation.
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INPUT
Reverb
This quintessential guitar effect adds warmth, space, character and class
Usage Tip
You don’t need to keep your reverb
pedal on continuously, on the same
setting, for a whole gig, or even song.
Think of ways to drop it in and out
and vary it – use it as an effect rather
than a component part of your sound
1 Many reverb pedals attempt to simulate the

classic spring reverb sounds of vintage gear
2 Digital modelling technology has provided

a further option for ambience aficionados.
TC Electronic’s Hall Of Fame offers 10 different
reverb types in one stompbox
3 Many amplifiers – particularly diminutive,

lunchbox-style heads – come without
built-in reverb, meaning a reverb effect is your
next port of call

Guitar reverb is a surprisingly varied effect, but then that’s because reverb is meant to simulate
Budget
the reverberations and reflections of sounds as they bounce off surfaces and decay as they’re
mooer shim verb
absorbed. This ‘sense of space’ is what we perceive reverb contributes to a guitar sound, and
www.mooeraudio.com
types of reverb are often named after the spaces they emulate (cathedral, hall, room etc).
Although it’s used on practically every recorded sound you hear, reverb’s heyday as a guitar Mid-Price
effect was the surf guitar craze of the 60s – when guitarists such as Dick Dale would use lashings tc electronic hall
of it (along with the steady amplitude waves of tremolo) to conjure up images of the crashing of of fame reverb
waves. Blackface Fender guitar amps just aren’t right without it! www.tcelectronic.com
Boutique
How it does it eVentide space
www.eventide.com
Early reverb sounds were created by placing microphones in physical spaces (such as echo
chambers, oil drums, and on metal plates with pickups attached to capture vibrations). Later, the
spring-reverb chamber we know and love became a standard feature on many amps: literally a
number of long, thin springs along which your signal passes, in a small metal tank. The advent of
the ‘bucket-brigade’ chip that prompted a revolution in compact analogue effects made it
possible to create the reverb pedal, and add controllability for tone, character and even
modulation to its basic signal. Now digital signal processing (DSP) makes almost anything
possible: teeny tiny pedals can kick out massive, expansive reverbs!
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OUTPUT
Octave
Jimi liked his up, others like them down. Why not have both?
Usage Tip
If your octave pedal is not polyphonic
(many aren’t, especially vintage
ones) you’ll only be able to play single
notes. If you try chords, it’ll turn into
a great big horrible mush
1 Octave above is the Purple Haze sound, but

modern units (and some vintage ones, such
as the MXR Blue Box) offer bassist-in-a-box,
multiple octave-down settings too
2 Drive and Tone are typical additional

controls on an Octave pedal
3 It may be associated with fuzzy lead

sounds, but clean octave sounds can also
yield intriguing atmospheres – particularly on
bluesy or funky single-note runs

Jimi Hendrix’s solo in Purple Haze, played with a driver in front of Roger Mayer’s early Octavia
Budget
effect, is still one of the most arresting effects moments in the whole of music. The addition of
joyo jf12 voodoo
notes generated an octave above the lead line creates a rich, warm, otherworldly tone that octave
perfectly suits the song’s psychedelic theme. Though used sparingly by today’s guitarists, www.joyoaudio.com
Jack White’s riffs on Blue Orchid and Seven Nation Army prove that the octave effect can still
elevate a sound beyond its original remit, and take simple riffs to a much higher plane. Mid-Price
T-REx octavius
How it does it www.t-rex-effects.com
Boutique
The Octavia’s octave effect was achieved through what Mayer describes as “electronic mirror-
roger mayer octavia
imaging techniques, which respond to the feedforward inputs of the player.” This doubling effect
www.roger-mayer.co.uk
created the impression of a second note, and the effect could be varied depending on the player’s
pick attack. Modern variants on the effect add control over fuzz, and introduce various types of
modulation control, including ring modulation, into the effect. Boss’s OC-3 Super Octave, among
others, adds polyphonic octave capabilities so you can get octave effects on chords too.
46
INPUT
Ring Modulation
Because sometimes you just have to sound like a robot
Usage Tip
Using low settings of the blend knob
can enable more subtle modulations,
unless all out metamorphosis is what
you’re after – in which case, turn it
up and experiment away
1 Higher pitches of the carrier wave create

resonant, hollow sounds; lower settings
tend towards industrial glitch and stutter
2 The ring modulator is a difficult beast to

harness, but has almost unlimited potential
to transform your sound, particular with an
expression pedal

The ring modulator is a denizen of the synthesiser realm, and when applied to the guitar signal, is
Mid-Price
an often extreme effect that ranges from musically intriguing to downright debased. When used
way huge ringworm
in conjunction with fuzz, as in Black Sabbath’s Paranoid solo, ring modulation can further mangle
www.jimdunlop.com
and contort the inherent stability of your tone. Ring modulators also create synth-like bell tones,
percussive effects, and the metallic clangs familiar from futuristic sci-fi special effects. boutique 1
zvex ring tone
How it does it www.zvex.com
Boutique 2
Ring modulators splice your signal with an oscillator signal, called a ‘carrier wave’, and the
resulting multiplication creates enhanced and cancelled frequencies. Varying the pitch of the moog moogerfooger
ring modulator
carrier wave results in very distinct types of ring modulation, and many ring mods enable you to
www.moogmusic.com
select the carrier-wave type (sine, triangle, square and so on) with a corresponding change in
harmonic interactions, and therefore overall character of the output. The blend control present
on most units enables you to emphasise more or less of the original signal source. Variations on
the ring modulator pedal add control over which part of the frequency range the effect operates
on, random settings, expression pedal control, and even a step-sequencer.
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OUTPUT
Pitch Shifter
Shift and glide a note impossibly high or low, or create harmony parts
Usage Tip
Combine pitch-shifting pedals with
delay and tremolo for eerily
uncharacteristic guitar sounds; or
pitch-shift chords to add unexpected
glissando to rhythm parts
1 Not all pitch shifters have expression pedals

built in. Whether integral or add-odd, they’re
extremely useful as they enable you to bend or
shift notes as you play them
2 Some harmonisers can automatically

decode and follow the musical key in which
you’re playing, and provide sympathetic
harmonies on-the-fly

At one end, pitch shifting can be as simple as using a device to create note harmonies as you
play, or indeed transposing your guitar or bass to another key entirely. At the other end, it’s the Mid-Price
otherworldly noise of bending and squealing, demonstrated no better than by Rage Against The digitech whammy
Machine’s Tom Morello in the solo to Killing In The Name. Names such as Eventide and DigiTech 5th generation
(Whammy) dominate the genre. The latter – used by Morello – was a revelation, as it offered www.digitech.com
guitarists a new and cost-effective way to glide notes within a given range using a pedal control.
Boutique
David Gilmour’s stratospheric Strat on Marooned is another example of its use. Octave pedals are
eventide pitch
pitch shifters too, as are the kind of complex harmoniser units used perhaps most notably by
factor
Steve Vai – listen to Ballerina 12/24 from Passion And Warfare.
www.eventide.com
How it does it
Pitchshifting has come a very long way since the days of The Beatles’ tape experimentation.
Digital processors and algorithms in the latest pitch-shifting products are phenomenally powerful
and fit into smaller and smaller pedal housings. The fifth-generation Whammy, for example, has
10 Whammy settings and nine harmony settings, and enables you to instantly shift all six strings
to a different drop or capo tuning. Eventide’s PitchFactor, meanwhile, offers a raft of different and
often unique takes on pitch-shifting effects, including arpeggiators, diatonic harmonising, and
pitch-and-delay effects.
48
INPUT
Tape Echo
The lustre of slowly decaying repeats, the analogue warmth…
Usage Tip
A lot of people would say ‘don’t’
when it comes to using real tape
machines. These days, they’re often
confined to studios because of their
rather fragile – and therefore
expensive-to-maintain – nature
1 The Echoplex had an Echo Sustain Control

which enabled repeats to play back on
themselves in a feedback loop
2 Artists such as John Martyn, David Gilmour,

Andy Summers and Brian May pushed the
possibilities of tape echoes to their limits
3 The multiple ‘heads’ you can see on this

Copicat enable you to have multiple delays
running at once: instant Hank Marvin!

Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine guitar, or indeed music in general, without some control over
Boutique
repeating notes. Delay is ubiquitous: as players, we’ve become so spoilt for choice that it’s easy to
Fulltone tube
forget delay was once a hard-won effect, albeit with mindblowing musical potential. Despite its tape-echo
primitive origins, the sound of tape echo effects is still seductive to guitar players. That’s probably www.fulltone.com
because they’re intertwined in the DNA of recorded music: as soon as the earliest units came out,
they were used by the likes of Scotty Moore (the Echo-Sonic amp, with built-in tape delay, on
Elvis’s Mystery Train). Each successive evolution was championed by popular guitarists of the
day, and the lush wow and flutter and progressively warping, degrading repeats of Echoplexes,
Echomatics, Echorecs, Copycats and Space Echos made their way onto countless records, in a
diverse range of genres. Tape usually sounds warm, fat and like time past. At the time of writing,
Fulltone and T-Rex are the only companies making a genuine tape echo unit, new.
How it does it
Studio experimentation with echo and delay in the 50s led to a demand for tape-based
mechanisms for creating echo effects, including the ‘slapback’ delay beloved of rock ’n’ roll and
rockabilly artists. Tape echo units work by recording audio to a loop of magnetic tape, which then
passes over several playback heads before being erased. Adjusting the distance between heads
adjusts echo (delay) times.
49
OUTPUT
Delay
Analogue and digital delays will keep you coming back, time and again
Usage Tip
You owe it to yourself to set up
two amplifiers (borrow a
friend’s) and experiment with
the stereo settings on
inexpensive modern delay units
such as the DL-4, the Flashback
or Vox DelayLab. Limitless fun
and experimentation awaits…
1 A delay pedal’s basic controls are level

(volume), delay (time) and repeat (number
of repeats), or many a variation thereof
2 Some units offer the ability to

progressively modulate the tone of the
repeats, creating fluid, changing delay tails
3 Increasingly, modern delay pedals come

with a looper function, enabling you to build
up repeating layered phrases during live
performance, and save the ones you like

Play a note – the pedal records it, then repeats it either once or multiple times at a predetermined
Budget
time spacing. From the tape units of old, through analogue BBD (bucket-brigade device) chips
joyo jf33
and on to ever-more sophisticated DSP (digital signal processing) technology, delay is used in analog delay
everything from early rock ’n’ roll to the very most modern rock and pop. Some modern www.joyoaudio.com
stompboxes attempt to provide the warmth and majesty of analogue and tape delays alongside
the crisp and pristine clarity of versatile digital delays, with a range of lo-fi emulations, modulated Mid-Price 1
sounds, and special effects such as ping-pong and reverse, in between. In short, guitarists have BOSS DD-3
never had such advanced time machines at their disposal. bossus.com
Mid-Price 2
How it does it tc electronic
flashback
Analogue delays appeared in the 70s in stompbox form, using the aforementioned BBD chips. www.tcelectronic.com
Classics of the time included the Boss DM-2 and the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, both lauded
today for the warmth of their repeats. Come the 1980s, digital delays migrated from expensive Boutique
rack systems to pedalboards, and their analogue-to-digital signal processing enabled much strymon TimeLine
longer delay times, crisper repeats and greater possibilities for manipulation. By 2000, when www.strymon.net
Line 6 released its truly classic DL4, the ante had been well and truly upped: today, a wealth of
delays compete for our guitar leads, from the futureproof, upgradable TC Electronic Flashback to
the truly pro-engineered Strymon TimeLine and countless boutique Pandora’s boxes.
50
INPUT
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Guitarist Guide To Effects perfect pedalboard
perfect
pedalboard
52
INPUT
Here’s what you need to consider to get your pedals to play nicely
together on your ’board. Plus, FX-pert Daniel Steinhardt explains the
ins and outs of five high-performance pedal layouts
T
he order in which you place your effects pedals drive or distortion, put the most distorted pedals first, and
can have a big effect on your overall tone. This the least-distorted pedals last. This means the lower-gain
is because different pedals react differently sounds effectively ‘boost’ the heavy distortions, whereas if
depending on what’s coming into them, whether you put them the other way around, you just end up with an
that’s your pure guitar signal or the effected over-gained, indistinct mess. Again, try it.
signal from other pedals. While your pedals’
physical position on the floor has practical Modulation effects
considerations for you as a player, it’s their position within These are your choruses, vibratos, phasers, flangers and so
the signal chain that is all to do with sound. The big question: on. This is where the strongest disagreement occurs
which way is ‘right’? Alas, when it comes to pedal order, no between players, in that some prefer their modulations
one way is universally ‘right’ or ‘best’. Instead, it’s more before drive and distortion, and others the other way around.
helpful to start with some basic, standard approaches that As a very general rule, more extreme, vintage-type
can act as a springboard to finding your own ideal setup. modulations work better before drive and distortion; more
Let’s refresh our memories about basic pedal types, in the clarity, less mushy weirdness and so on. More modern
context of signal chain order. pedals – especially anything with a buffer or digital circuits
– generally works better after drive and distortion.
Volume / dynamic effects
These are volume pedals, tremolo, compressor; they take Reverbs & delays
your signal and affect its level. They tend to come first in your There are two common placements for reverbs and delays.
signal chain because you generally want those dynamics to If you’re using them in-line with other pedals, put them very
happen before more involved or extreme signal changes. last in line: the thinking being, you want to echo and
Some players put their volume pedal last in line for a kind of reverberate the sound of everything that’s come before.
‘master volume’ control on the floor; indeed, there are The other approach is to use these pedals in your amplifier’s
different kinds of volume pedals with different impedances effects loop, if it has one. Most amps’ effects loops sit
to better suit being either first or later in line. between the pre- and power-amp sections. Patching your
reverbs and delays in there keeps them clearer and cleaner
EQ & filter effects sounding, instead of getting lost in a melée of noise.
Most commonly, this would be a wah-wah pedal. They tend
to be first in line for many players (second if they’re also Wet/dry rigs
using a volume pedal). As an experiment, try putting an You’ll often hear the terms ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ used when
overdrive and a wah-wah on the floor. Start with the discussing effects. Wet simply means ‘effected’, while dry
overdrive first in line, then swap them around and compare means ‘unaffected’. Wet/dry rigs came to prominence
sounds. What you’ll notice is the wah tends to sound much predominantly in the 1980s along with stereo rack systems.
more pronounced when it comes after the overdrive. Some The essence was that you’d have the middle, centre speaker/
players really like it that way; most tend to prefer the wah amp just putting out your dry signal (usually including wah
before the drive. and distortion), while a separate left and right, stereo rig
would handle your delay and reverb effects and perhaps your
Drive & distortion effects modulations too. It doesn’t have to be fully stereo – you can
The range of drives and distortions out there is endless. also achieve great sounds by having a simple wet/dry
‘Standard’ practice is that they come after volume and EQ two-amp set up.
effects, but before modulations and reverbs/delay. There are Most players tend to think of drives and distortions as part
exceptions – vintage-style fuzz pedals can really struggle of their core tone, so leave them in the ‘dry’ rig. Nothing is set
after wah-wahs, for example, but by and large, start by trying in stone – and experimentation is definitely key to finding the
your drives and distortions after wah wah. One extra tip that order that suits you best. At the very worst, it’s a whole load
many players find useful is that if you’re using more than one of fun finding out!
53
OUTPUT
Guitarist Guide To Effects Perfect pedalboard
Standard Layout
Our first pedalboard layout is a good place to start if you’re after a
general-purpose ’board with a bit of everything – from wah to delay –
while flattering the tone of each pedal
5 4 1
3 2
OUT IN
5 . STRYMON EL CAPISTAN 4 . BOSS CE-2 CHORUS 3 . FULLTONE FULL-DRIVE 2 2 . DINOSAURAL OTC-201 OPTICOMPRESSOR 1 . VOX V846-HW WAH
T
o kick off, we asked Daniel Steinhardt, pedalboard guru phasers sound most natural before overdrive. If you put them
at TheGigRig, to assemble a do-it-all rig: there’s wah, after, the effect can sound more pronounced and artificial –
compression, drive, modulation and delay. Why arrange but if the phaser is in front, the overdrive is clipping the
those pedals in this order? phasing, so it sounds warmer and part of the overall tone.
“We start with the wah,” Daniel explains. “It’s one of the Chorus works better after overdrives. A sweet-sounding
oldest effects, and it’s like an EQ spike that you can sweep chorus, such as the Boss CE-2, can get mushy if it’s before
across the frequencies. It works best ‘seeing’ the impedance the overdrive. But if you’re having just a light overdrive to add
directly from your guitar’s pickups. Wah pedals can work great a bit of edge, chorus goes perfectly after that. At the end, we
after buffers as well – every wah is different – but as a have our delays and reverbs, the reason being that if you put
starting point, having the guitar go straight into the wah is your delay before your overdrives, the repeat on the delay
fantastic. That also goes for envelope filters. We’ve put a becomes overdriven, so you get a mushy sound.
compressor after the wah. The right compressor gives you a “It’s the same reason players put delays in the effects loop
lift in all the right frequencies. It’s the most under-used of their amplifier, so the preamp of the amplifier is going into
‘boost’. With mild settings, they work brilliantly. The reason the delay, then out of the delay and back into the effects
we’ve placed the compressor before the overdrive is, if you return of the amplifier. That way, the entire [dirt-generating]
put the compressor after it, that lovely top-end and preamp section of the amplifier is before the delay. “That’s not
harmonics from the overdrive pedal can be reduced. We’ve to say that a delay going into a dirty amp can’t sound great,
placed the chorus after the drive – but not all modulation though: Steven Wilson doesn’t use an effects loop and just goes
pedals go best after overdrives. There are no ‘rules’, but straight into the front of the amp – and he sounds amazing.”
54
INPUT
perfect pedalboard Guitarist Guide To Effects
Driving drives: Steinhardt argues that the opposite

way around yields great results.
but that gets tamed down by the
natural compression in the low-gain
HIGH OR LOW GAIN FIRST? “I keep coming back to this: pedal. However, if I swap that around
So what’s the best order to arrange lower-gain pedals first, cascading up and take the clipping and warmness
your overdrive pedals in? to the higher-gain pedals. Why? Well, from the low-gain overdrive pedal and
Do high-gain pedals come first – if you take a really high-gain overdrive push it into the high-gain pedal, it
or should it be the other way round? pedal and put a low-gain overdrive embellishes the harmonics and the
Many opt for the more traditional after it, you’ve got a huge amount of compression that I’ve already got
highest-gain-first approach, but Daniel gain and nastiness with the first pedal, going with the low-gain pedal.”
Multi-overdrive layout
What’s the best way to arrange your pedals if you want more than
one overdrive? We find out how to stack gain without the pain…
I
n this scenario, I’m going to put a treble booster before So when you kick that on with Fender-style American amps,
everything,” Daniel explains. “It’s a very interesting pedal which tend to have a slight mid-scoop, it brings those mid-
– really, it should be called an upper-mid-frequency booster. frequencies up. But if you stick a mid-hump pedal on an amp
People hear the term treble booster and instantly think ‘it’s that already has a big mid hump in it, it can get a bit gnarly.
not for me’. In actual fact, especially for solo sounds when you “Last, there’s an old 70s Big Muff. It’s a distortion/fuzz tone,
want to cut through the mix, they can be absolutely fantastic. but it is still very dynamic, any one of these pedals into it will
“Next, we’ve got a compressor, because a treble booster into sound great. The way we’ve set this board up allows us to stack
a compressor is a very interesting sound. Some people like it overdrive pedals in a flexible way,” Daniel explains. “If I go from
the other way round. Alternatively, using the compressor on its the low-gain Cruiser overdrive into the medium-gain Eternity,
own as a form of boost into the drive pedals that follow will give I get a really fat hybrid between distortion and overdrive. And if
you more sustain, clarity and clout. I go from the Eternity into the Big Muff, the resulting tone is
“Next, there’s a low-gain overdrive, which is the Lazy J Cruiser fatter again. You might not always want that, though, which is
– a very dynamic, low-gain overdrive pedal. After that, we’ve got why you’ve got the treble booster before all of those: it shelves
an original Lovepedal Eternity. That’s a medium-gain drive, with those bottom-end frequencies to allow you to get an aggressive
a mid-humped sound. Overdrives have different frequency focus for solos. Stacking drive pedals in this way is a wonderful
shapes – the Tube Screamer, for example, has got a mid hump. way to find unique tones.”
5 3 1
OUT
2 IN
4
5 . ELECTRO-HARMONIX BIG MUFF 4 . LOVEPEDAL ETERNITY 3 . LAZY J CRUISER 2 . DINOSAURAL OTC-201 OPTICOMPRESSOR 1 . PLOSIVE MAY TREBLE BOOSTER
55
OUTPUT
4
5 2
OUT IN
3
5 . STRYMON EL CAPISTAN DELAY 4 . PRO CO RAT SILICON FUZZ 3 . THE GIGRIG PROTOTYPE GERMANIUM FUZZ 2 . ANALOG MAN BEANO BOOST 1 . VOX V846-HW WAH
Fuzz-First Layout
Make no mistake, fuzz is the problem-child of the pedalboard. We explain
how to design your ’board to avoid provoking tantrums from this powerful
but temperamental effect…
I
f you use fuzz pedals in your rig, fuzz. The booster’s output impedance is might still want both on your ’board.
especially germanium-transistor high enough to work well into the But if you want to use a germanium
models, pedalboard placement is germanium fuzz but low enough so that fuzz as well, you need to make sure
critical. Here, Daniel Steinhardt of it’ll still work well with other pedals on that it is right at the front of the ’board
TheGigRig assembles an effective, the ’board. where it can ‘see’ the guitar’s output
fuzz-heavy ’board that won’t sacrifice “Swapping these two around can also impedance directly.”
tone to impedance issues. work well but this is my preferred order.
“The most important thing to be aware It’s okay to have a true-bypass wah in
of with fuzzes is impedance,” Daniel front of both in this case, too, but what I’d
explains. “There are two main sorts of avoid on this ’board is having any pedal
fuzzes: we have silicon-transistor fuzzes containing an ‘always-on’ buffer going
and we have germanium-transistor into the germanium fuzz. The input
fuzzes. The earliest fuzz pedals were built impedance of the germanium fuzz is too
around germanium transistors, such as low to work well with buffers before it: if
the NKT275 Fuzz Face that was a big part you do that, the tone becomes very
of Hendrix’s sound. They can sound brash. Not all germanium transistor
amazing but they have issues. Firstly, fuzzes have that problem – some do
they’re very sensitive to changes in have a higher input impedance. But as a
temperature. There’s at least one studio general rule, they will not work as well
I know of in New York that keeps their with buffers before them as a silicon-
Fuzz Faces in a fridge! But the biggest transistor fuzz will: silicon-transistor fuzz
thing that germanium fuzz pedals are effects, like the Pro Co RAT on this board, Eric Johnson favours
late-60s silicon fuzz
sensitive to is impedance changes. usually play nicer with other pedals – but
tone, but germanium
“So, here, we’re using a germanium they have a very different character, fuzz also has its fans
treble booster to boost into a germanium tonally, to the germanium fuzz, so you
56
INPUT
Multi-delay Layout
From slapback echo to floaty soundscapes, if it’s atmosphere you’re after,
you’ll want a delay pedal on your ’board. Here, we examine how to use
various delay effects together
T
ape delay was one of the first 18-volt delay and it’s gorgeous: lots of last in line, we have the Eventide H9,
effects, and in some ways they still headroom, very warm and not as bright which is a modern digital delay that does
haven’t improved on that sound,” as the more modern delays; you can have everything. For me, digital delays don’t
reflects Daniel Steinhardt of quite a lot of effect in the mix, but it have the character that the old analogue
TheGigRig. “Tape delay is an instrument always sounds musical and right. But you delays have – but you can do so much
in its own right when you find a good one. won’t get that modern, hi-fi digital delay with programmable pedals like this. You
The issue is, they’re very tricky to sound – the repeats always sound can choose from different delay engines
maintain on the road. Even Eric Johnson progressively darker. – from ping-pong delays to deep reverb
stopped using tape delays and started “After that, we have an Analog Man delays – and also do things like modulate
using Memory Mans for that reason. ARDX20. I use it 90 per cent of the time and even harmonise the output.
“The Hiwatt Custom Tape Echo we’ve and it’s my meat-and-potatoes analogue “The more powerful units are also good
put on the ’board here is the closest I’ve delay: with the added AMAZE0 unit, it’s for approximating lots of different delay
come to a road-worthy tape echo. But if like a really great-sounding Memory Man sounds in one box. For example, on tour,
you’re going to put any tape delay on with tap tempo. It has two separate delay you might need to try to conveniently
your pedalboard, you need to be aware settings, so you can have a slapback replicate the sounds of an album on
they don’t travel well, and you need to delay and a long delay in one box, which which many dozens of delay pedals were
have a bit of tech savvy to keep them is handy, plus it’s really low-noise. used. So, Steve Vai’s new touring board
running. Before that, we have a couple of “If you need to play a note that won’t will have two Eventide H9s on it, and a lot
other delays. First is an original Ibanez darken and degrade with each repeat, of the sounds that he gets in the studio
AD-80 vintage analogue delay. It’s an then you’re looking at a digital delay. So, will be attainable, in a small package.”
2
1
4
OUT IN
4 . EVENTIDE H9 HARMONIZER 3 . HIWATT CUSTOM TAPE ECHO 2 . ANALOG MAN ARDX20 1 . IBANEZ AD-80 ANALOG DELAY
57
OUTPUT
5 3
4 2 1
OUT IN
5 . LAZY J CRUISER 4 . MXR PHASE 90 3 . ELECTRO-HARMONIX SMALL STONE PHASE SHIFTER 2 . SWEET SOUND MOJO VIBE 1 . GERMANIUM FUZZ
Modulation-rich layout
Atmospheric and swirling, phasers and other modulation pedals can lend
your tone movement, warmth and colour – plus a dash of psychedelic magic
O
n this ’board, we’ve got many different kinds of classic than if they were placed at the front of the ’board. So, if that’s
modulation effects: from MXR phasers to Uni-Vibe-style not your thing, you could experiment with having a pedal similar
effects, plus some fuzz and drive pedals to show how to the Mojo Vibe in front of the fuzz. This [Mojo Vibe] is a
you can integrate those as well. Once again, careful true-bypass pedal, so when it’s switched off, the germanium
pedal placement is paramount if you want optimal tone. fuzz will still be ‘seeing’ the impedance directly from your
“Generally, phasers and phaser-based effects, including pickups, which helps it to operate correctly. But you certainly
Uni-Vibes, sound better when they’re placed before any other don’t want any kind of buffered pedal in front of it.
pedals on your ’board,” Daniel Steinhardt, of TheGigRig, “From model to model, phasers can sound quite different –
explains. “They sound more organic and ‘part of your tone’ that generally sounding deeper and richer the more stages they
way. But again, we have a complicating factor here, in the form have: for example, a two-stage phaser, such as an MXR Phase
of a germanium fuzz that must go right at the front, because of 45, will sound subtler than a four-stage [EHX] Small Stone
the impedance issues we discussed before. Because the vibes phaser, and so on. Finally, phasers and Uni-Vibes tend to
and phasers have to go after the fuzz, they are going to sound a integrate better with the sound of overdrive if they’re placed
bit more pronounced and artificial when used with the fuzz before conventional gains, which is why the Cruiser is last here.”
Buffered pedals What we term ‘buffered pedals’,

however, continue to add buffering to
Daniel Steinhardt. “The problem of
pedals with buffers is what happens to
vs True-bypass your signal even when the effect is off, the signal when that pedal is
So, which is better for your tone? as opposed to true-bypass pedals, bypassed. One is generally fine, but
A buffer is a 1:1 amplifier stage. It helps which simply direct your signal across more than two can start to eat away at
preserve your signal through the a short length of wire from input to the tone. But if you’ve got loads of
cables of your rig, preventing loss of output, with no intervening circuitry, true-bypass pedals on your ’board and
treble frequencies due to capacitance. when the pedal is off. “If I’m not putting no buffers at all, you can lose high-end
Even true-bypass pedals use buffering the pedals in individual loops on a due to capacitance, so up to two
components when they’re on, as they switcher, I don’t use more than two buffers – or pedals that are buffered
need them to generate their tone. buffered pedals on a ’board,” argues when bypassed – can be beneficial.”
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Practicalities
Five things you need to know about fixing, taping and tying. Or, in other
words, how to fasten your pedals to the ’board effectively…
1. Cable ties are your friend 4. Velcro is for wimps

They cost about 8p for 15 million
from ScrewFix or similar, but the
If you’ve not come across 3M Dual
Lock yet, you’re in for a VERY
TOP five PEDALBOARDS
Our pick of the pre-made ’boards to mount
humble cable tie is invaluable. Use exciting weekend. Velcro works
your prized pedals upon. Other sizes are
’em, snip ’em off, use more: no brilliantly for the first two or three
available…
mess, no fuss. Take care on the on-and-offs, but soon wears and
sharp edges when you becomes less effective as time Stagg UPC-535 £29.99
cut them to length, goes on. The more robust Dual Excellent value-for-money
and make sure you Lock or similar – you’ll see it option, comprising rudimentary
haven’t tightened advertised as ‘Pedalboard Tape’ ABS plastic case with metal trim
them where they can stress – lasts much, much longer and is and lid-cum-’board. The hinges,
a knob or flange… ahem… super strong to boot. The only clasps and the like are not a patch
downside with using either it or on more expensive ones, though.
2. Non-slip rubber is not just for Velcro is that it can make a mess board space: 53x32cm
the bedroom on, or peel off, labels from the back
If you do go the cabletie route, you of your pedals. Beware of T-Rex ToneTrunk 42 £129
might find your pedals still wobble Velcro-style fastenings that have High-quality, metal-frame ’board
about a bit, if they’re slippery on weak backing adhesive: these may with oval cut-outs instead of
the bottom and/or don’t have actually come unstuck from the straight bars like the PedalTrain range.
rubber feet. A little bit of bottom of the pedal more readily Comes with Velcro and soft carry bag.
rubberised anti-slip mat – than the Velcro itself will pull apart board space: 42x32cm
available from Maplin, Homebase once fastened.
and the like – cut to size Diago Showman £119
between pedal and ’board will A pedal-packed ’board Plywood construction case
work wonders. is useless if there’s no and lid-cum-’board with quality
room for patch cables
catches, hinges and corners. Nice
3. Gaffer tape leaves horrible ‘polyweave’ covering, too. Again, the
sticky crap everywhere Velcro’s included.
So use it with caution. It might be board space: 75x35cm
brilliant for well, everything, ever,
but think twice about covering Gator G-Tour Small £149
your pedalboard with it. Gaffer Tour-grade flightcase
tape + beer = stickymageddon – and ’board in one, with
you have been warned. shock-absorbing foam interior.
5. Gimme some room, jack Take it on the road with confidence.
When planning your pedalboard Comes with 3M Dual Lock, too: pro!
and getting ready to attach things, board space: 43x28cm
make sure you’ve left enough
room to plug and unplug your PedalTrain Grande £375
patch cables. You might need to Need gigantic? This wheeled,
swap a pedal out, change a lead, or flightcase’d beast sits at the
– following the advice of guitar top of the industry-standard range,
systems guru Pete Cornish – clean and also benefits from lots of useful
your connections to ‘free the tone’ and practical accessories.
once in a while. Same goes for board space: 106x40cm
power leads.
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From guitar to pedalboard

Think just any old cable will do? Think again, because the way your cables
interact with your pedalboard forms a crucial part of your sound
T
here are two basic types of cables: patch cables and
signal cables. Patch cables are short, and designed to
link your pedals together, while signal cables connect
your guitar to your pedalboard, or the ’board to the amp.
Not all cables will sound the same, however, and with a wealth
of high-quality options to choose from it pays to tailor your
cabling to your exact needs.
From guitar to pedalboard

“The cable running from the instrument to the pedalboard is
the most important,” Daniel Steinhardt of TheGigRig argues.
“In analogue terms, there is so much information going down
that cable, and if you lose anything [tone-wise] at that point,
before the signal even reaches your effects or your amp, there’s
no getting it back. So your instrument cable needs to be able to
handle all the frequencies, and normally it should be fairly low
capacitance, too.
“Be aware, though, that just because a cable is ‘low
capacitance’ doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to sound great for
your setup. There are exceptions: for example, Brian May
famously used a long curly cable that was high-capacitance,
and which would normally be very dull-sounding. But if you
The more pedals there are on your
think about the kind of guitar Brian was playing, and the sort of
’board, the more important the
amp he was playing, if he had used a really bright-sounding quality of your patch cables is
cable it probably would have sounded quite harsh.
“So that curly cable is actually a big part of his sound, helping
to control the level of top-end from the guitar. But if you have a there are also great solderless designs: I’ve found the current
warmer-sounding guitar, a brighter cable might work better. So Evidence Audio ones unbeatable, but there’s other great
it’s really important to try a bunch out and see which one’s right solderless alternatives out there.
for you.” “If you have a buffer on your ’board, however, you’ll be less
affected by capacitance issues. Imagine your guitar’s signal
From pedal to pedal flowing in your cables is like the water flowing in a garden hose.
“The more pedals there are on your ’board, the more important Every bit of extra load on your signal reduces the pressure in
the quality of the patch cables is. If you’ve spent a lot of money the hose. Well, a buffer acts like a pump that increases the
on your pedals and other cables, don’t try and save a bit of pressure in the hose and pushes that signal through any
money buying rubbish patch leads, because it’s just not worth resistance. I find that placing a buffer after your overdrive
it. If a patch lead goes down in a gig it can be a nightmare to pedals works best.”
troubleshoot. Also, if you have a bunch of true-bypass pedals
and you don’t have a buffer on the board, that’s when the From pedalboard to amplifier
quality of the patch cable is über-important. “You might choose to use a very specific type of signal cable for
“Each extra cable that you add between the instrument and this application, depending if the ’board is all true-bypass or has
the amp adds a bit of capacitance load to your signal, which can a well-placed, always-on buffer. For example, I use an Evidence
sap your top-end. So to minimise the impact of that – especially Audio Lyric HG cable in this role. That cable is quite dark, but
if you’re using all true-bypass pedals – you should invest in the I use it directly after a buffer that restores top-end to my signal,
best-sounding patch cables that you can get. There’s a lot of and so that actually balances things out. But, again, you should
really good ones out there: soldered cables are the norm, but try a few to get an idea of what best suits your needs.”
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One For All

Let’s hear it for the unlikely return of multi-effects to the pedalboards of the
nation, with gig-simplifying combinations of classic tones
T-Rex SoulMate £540 Carl Martin Quattro £499

When this arrived, we all Another all-analogue, multi-
wondered why it had taken so pedals-in-one approach, this
long. So, in one ’board you get an combines a compressor, two
overdrive, distortion, delay, overdrive modes, chorus and an
reverb, boost and tuner, derived echo (delay) unit with tap tempo.
from some of T-Rex’s top pedals. You get the option of a loop insert
It’s all analogue, and includes an between the drive and the chorus
effects loop insert after sections for adding more pedals,
distortion/before delay to add and with no presets mode, it’s
more pedals. You can use it as always WYSIWYG on the top
five separate pedals, or choose to panel. There are plenty of classic
program 10 preset sounds. tones available here, for sure.
EHX Tone Tattoo £189 Strymon Flint £279

There are three pedals in one Now a staple of so many pro
here: EHX’s Metal Muff distortion, ’boards, Strymon combines the
Neo Clone chorus and Memory best in analogue and digital signal
Toy analogue delay. They all work processing, not least here with
independently and are wired in vintage-flavoured reverb and
series in the order above. The tremolo in one box. Drawing on
Metal Muff is much more models of six classic ’verbs and
versatile than its name implies, tremolos, the Flint lets you mix
so this would be a good choice for them in any combination and
pretty much any rock, pop or manipulate all key parameters.
heavy blues player looking for You can route the effects in either
these effects in one box. order for awesome ambience.
Pigtronix Disnortion £149 Line 6 M9 £339

This Disnortion pedal crams We’re veering into digital
overdrive, fuzz and octave-up all multi-effects here, but the M9’s
into one unit, and each effect is pedal-type layout and stompbox
selectable independently. The inspiration warrant its inclusion.
octaver is the first in the chain, So, you have a dizzying array of
wired in series, while the classic stompboxes, simulated
diode-clipped fuzz and overdrive digitally in programmable format.
are in parallel so they don’t What you lose in analogue
cascade into one another. The sound/circuit integrity, you make
fuzz has a number of really useful up for in massive flexibility,
EQ curves to make it sit how you versatility and programmability.
like with the overdrive. Sambora With a looper and tuner included,
and Jimi? Oh yes! there’s a lot in here.
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Fancy building your own, custom-designed pedalboard?
We walk you through the basic steps
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How To Design & Build Your Own Pedalboard Guitarist Guide To Effects
B
efore we start any of this, it’s worth saying that to be wooden and rectangular, but that is probably the most
buying a purpose-made ’board will be quicker, far practical/easy solution, especially if this is your first attempt
more convenient and potentially less expensive (and you’re not a welder).
than the DIY method. That said, there’s a good
feeling of achievement involved in making
something from scratch, so here goes…
First, decide what pedals you want on your Pre-planning tips
’board – it might be something completely custom and Consider this before you design your ’board
specific, or you may want something with more versatility to
enable pedal changes over time. Are you planning on putting something under the
Get your pedals and lay them out on a surface, including all ’board, such as your power supply? If so, you need a
the interconnecting signal and power cables. Arrange them as way of creating space underneath, high enough to keep
you’d want them to be on your pedalboard, making sure the whatever is under there off the floor.
switch positions, pedal orientations and so on make practical If you don’t want to put anything underneath, it’s still a
sense when you’re playing. Take care when placing pedals very good idea to have some feet on the bottom of your
close together – can you get the jacks in and out? Do you need ’board to help stop it from slipping around the floor, and also
to? Will there be room to upgrade any of your existing pedals? so you can get your fingers underneath when you go to pick
When you’re happy, take a quick photograph or three to it up. It’s helpful to have the ’board angled up at you slightly.
remind you how it’s all arranged, and measure the extent of Higher at the back, lower at the front.
your sprawl. Where is your power supply going? How are you going to transport it? If you have a bag or
You now know how big the ’board surface needs to be. Write case in mind, in might influence the dimensions of the
the measurements down! Now it’s time to design the ’board ’board right from the outset.
itself in terms of materials, shape and structure. If doesn’t have
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Guitarist Guide To Effects How To Design & Build Your Own Pedalboard
4
3
5
Plywood can be very expensive, so it’s worth checking out the

ready-made shelving in stores such as B&Q. We’re using a
pine shelf kit (1) for £6.48… they come in almost perfect
dimensions, and the edges are already finished, too!
2) Cut the front, underside raising rail to length.
Make sure each surface is clean, dry and free of dust, then glue
and screw it in place (3). It’s a good idea to drill guide holes (4) 6
before you screw anything to help prevent the wood from
splitting (5).
Repeat the process for the rear raising rail. We stumbled across
these radiator-hanging brackets (6), and liked the strength they a chance the whole thing could snap with a hefty step, so we’ve
add to the design: less so the weight. chosen to add this strengthening strut (7), using the leftover
wood from the front rail, across the grain. Using your original
Now, pine isn’t very strong in the direction of the grain. There’s design/photograph, place all your pedals on the ’board (8)
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What materials?
Thoughts on weight, strength and ease of use…
MDF / particleboard
9 Upsides: Solid, sturdy, easy to cut and work. Not as
expensive as plywood
Downsides: Very heavy; looks awful when it chips /
gets worn at the edges; not a good material for screwing
anything into
Plywood
Upsides: Stronger and lighter than MDF (assuming
same thickness), easy to cut and work, holds the
screws strongly
10 Downsides: Expensive; can be too flexible – 12mm
thickness as a minimum
including all your connecting leads, power leads and so on. Solid softwoods (eg pine shelving)
Upsides: Lighter than ply or MDF; cheap; easily
If you’re using Velcro, you can skip forward to applying accessible in almost pedalboard-ready sizes
whatever finish you’ve chosen (step 13). We’re going to use Downsides: Not as strong as ply; can easily split along
cable ties, however, so that means drilling holes in the the grain
appropriate places. So, draw around your pedals in pencil (9).
This isn’t so smart if you’re constantly pulling different pedals Solid hardwoods (eg mahogany)
on and off. Upsides: Looks lovely, easy to cut and work
Downsides: Expensive; not as strong as ply; it’s harder
One by one, decide the best location for your pedal-securing to find
cable ties and drill the appropriate holes (9). You could of
course do this after you’ve finished the ’board, but we’re going Metal (eg steel / aluminium)
to do it now (10). Upsides: Super strong; can be very light if design is
right; looks great when well finished
Now, if you’re putting your power supply underneath, you need Downsides: Hard to work / weld; potentially expensive
to think about how that will be fixed on: we’re using 3M Dual
Lock. Also, the wires for each pedal need to get from the
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Guitarist Guide To Effects How To Design & Build Your Own Pedalboard
Our Shopping List

(And what we ended up
buying…)
Main board for the top surface

(B&Q Value Pine Shelf Kit,
£6.48)
Bits for raising the board off

the ground
(B&Q pine stripwood,
£3.24, B&Q pine
stripwood, £1.99, B&Q
radiator bracket, £4.98)
Feet 12
(B&Q Appliance Feet, 11
£3.98)
Finish / paint
(Wood primer paint,
£5.98, Copper Hammerite
1 litre, £17.98)
Non-slip material
(B&Q Non-Slip Mat,
£4.98)
13
Grand total: £49.61 14
Tools we’ll need

n Saw
n Electric drill
n Paintbrush
n Various screws
n Screwdriver
n Cable ties underneath to the top. More holes… (11)
n Wood glue
When you’ve positioned each pedal and drilled all your holes,
put it all together and make sure everything is where it should
be. No need to cable tie at this point, but do make sure the cable
15
ties will at least pass through the holes okay (12). If you’ve
missed something, fix it!
Once you’re confident that everything is fixed and all the

necessary holes are drilled, you can go ahead and start your
16
finishing process. The easy option is to just paint or spray it
black. However, we’re going for something a little different...
Prime the wood (13) with an appropriate primer, and leave to

dry according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
When the primer is dry, apply your top coat(s) as per the paint’s
instruction. We’ve gone for hammer-finish metallic copper
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Fixing Your Pedals To The ’Board

Your main options explained
Velcro
The go-to solution for most ’boards. Upsides are that it
maximises versatility because you can coat the ’board
with say, the female strips, then stick the male side to
your pedals. That means you can add and remove
pedals at will. The main downside is that the more you
pull pedals on and off, the more the Velcro loses its
stick. Also, a lot of people don’t like sticking things to
the bottom of their pedals because it can pull decals/
stickers off when you remove it.
3M Hook & Eye (eg, Dual Lock or similar)

The next step up from ‘normal’ Velcro. Much stronger
and more reliable. Far better in every respect, in fact.
There are a few variants available – we really like the
Power-Grip brand stuff.
Cable ties
Cable ties are second only to Gaffer tape in their
universal usefulness. From mending a fence to
reattaching severed limbs, there’s almost nothing
they can’t do. For pedalboards, the upsides are that
they’re immensely strong and trustworthy, and you
don’t have to stick anything to your pedals. Downsides
are that they can foul pedal controls if you’re not
careful; you need to drill through the ’board in exactly
the right places; and it’s a pain in the butt taking pedals
17 on and off.
If you go the cable-tie route, you will also need
something non-slip between pedal and ’board. Either
good rubber feet, or something else rubbery.
Hammerite (14). We probably could have got away without the

primer when using Hammerite, but hey…
When the paint is dry, build up your ’board. For the pedals that
don’t have good rubber feet, we’re cutting little rubber non-slip
mats (15) to sit between the pedal base and the top of the
pedalboard.
When the cable ties are tightened (16), it will all be super snug
and the pedals won’t move around: this may seem like overkill,
but in the heat of battle on stage, it can make all the difference.
This pedalboard also includes a separate switching device

(TheGigRig QuarterMaster 6). We’re attaching that with 3M
Dual Lock, not cable ties (17).
Done? Superb! Now play…
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Simple square nine-volter, or plug into the National
Grid? Those pedals need some power…
F
or many players who use just two or three simple
pedals and have no convoluted pedalboard to deal
Number of outputs
with, batteries work just fine. Yes, they’re expensive, How many outputs do you need in total?
but there’s no brain work involved in extra cables, It’s worth bearing in mind that not every pedal may need its
how to connect them, power requirements and so on. own output, because it’s possible to ‘daisy chain’ multiple
Add one or two power-hungry pedals to your pedals off a single power outlet, as long as the voltage, polarity
collection or fix anything down to your ’board, and current-draw requirements are satisfied.
however, and you’ll soon find yourself searching for a reliable
mains adaptor or power supply to deliver those pedals the juice
they need. Here’s what you need to know…
Voltage
How many volts does the pedal(s) require?
Most pedals need nine volts, some require 12, others 18. Also
look for the word ‘regulated’. This means that the power supply
is ‘stabilised’ for varying current draws. Unregulated power
supplies aren’t ideal for guitar effects. It’s also worth saying
that one nine-volt supply can drive as many nine-volt pedals as
you like, depending on the total current draw. So…
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POWER SUPPLIES & BATTERIES Guitarist Guide To Effects
Current Isolated outputs?

What is the current draw in milliamps? Cutting out the noise
A normal overdrive pedal might be as little as 9mA, where a One key feature of high-quality pedal power supplies is that
feature-packed digital delay or modulation effect may need up they will often have ‘isolated’ outputs. This means that each
to 150mA or more. individual power outlet will be electrically isolated from the
If you’re using more than one pedal, add up the total current others, which helps solve problems in terms of extraneous
draw of all your pedals, and make sure your chosen supply can noise and interference that can occur in lesser supplies.
put that out as a total. Also be sure to check the maximum
current for each separate outlet on the supply. For example, the
supply might be capable of delivering 1000mA in total, but only
Size and design
200mA maximum per outlet. That would be fine for the Will it fit on your ’board?
majority of ‘normal’ pedals, but if you’re daisy-chaining multiple This might seem overly simplistic after the technical
pedals off a single outlet, you need to be sure you’re not asking considerations that we’ve considered so far. Nevertheless, it’s
for more than it can deliver. important: will it fit? Less obvious concerns are the position and
orientation of the supply’s connections. Can you plug
Connection type everything in and out when it’s in position?
What type of plugs/pins are required?

You’ll need to make sure that whatever plugs/leads come with
Power supplies: closing thoughts
the power supply will fit into the sockets on your pedals. If you take into account all of the considerations here, choosing
Common types are the Boss-style ‘barrel’ plug (though they’re a power supply for your pedals becomes a much less onerous
not all the same size!) and a mini jack plug. Some pedals have task than just hitting it cold. The quid pro quo for being
their own bespoke plugs, so do check. knowledge-rich is that you may well end up slightly cash-poor!
The depressing truth is that if you have mixed voltages, high
Polarity current pedals and/or different polarity requirements – and

you want isolated outputs – the right power supply almost
Centre-negative or centre-positive? certainly won’t be cheap. It’s all too easy to be tempted to
Most pedals require a centre-negative supply. This will either be skimp on this critically important part of your rig, but tread ye
stated in words in the manual, or illustrated with a diagram on with caution down the path of cheap and nasty: buy cheap, buy
the pedal itself. twice. If you’re anything like us, it’s also likely that you’ll be
This is centre negative: expanding your pedalboard over time, not reducing it, so a
This is centre-positive: dedicated, do-it-all power supply is a sound investment.
It’s important you use the right polarity (and voltage) adaptor
and leads, otherwise your pedal may be damaged. Over to you…
Three good power supplies
T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon MXR DC Brick Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus
Max current output: 1500mA Max current output: 2000mA Max current output: Info n/a
Max simultaneous outlets: 5 Max simultaneous outlets: 10 Max simultaneous outlets: 8
Current per outlet: 300mA Current per outlet: Up to 1200mA total Current per outlet: 9/12v x 4 100mA; 9v
Voltage provision: 9v DC, 12v DC, 18v from 9V outlets. Up to 800 max from x 2 250mA; 9v x 2 100mA
DC, 12v AC 18v outlets Voltage provision: 9v DC, 12v DC, 18v
Isolated outputs: Yes Voltage provision: 9v DC, 18v DC DC, 12v AC
Extras: Conversion leads for voltage Isolated outputs: No Isolated outputs: Yes
doubling, polarity changes, Line 6 pedals Extras: Limited selection of conversion Extras: Conversion leads for voltage
and more included leads doubling, polarity changes, Line 6 pedals
and more included. Includes battery ‘sag’
voltage feature
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Guitarist Guide To Effects real-life pedalBOARDS
Join us onstage as we check out real-life pro pedalboards belonging to

gigging guitarists: they reveal the thinking behind their pedal choices, and
their boards’ inner workings
Dave Knudson
Minus The Bear
Minus The Bear guitarist Dave Knudson shows us how he
recreates his mind-bending tapped and looped studio
parts onstage using one serious pedalboard. Here, he
explains how he’s refined it over time…
Seattle’s experimental indie quintet Minus The Bear are

an ambitious lot, even by the usual standards of the US
Shot: December 2012 alternative scene. Their sophisticated sound combines
Guitars: PRS Goldtop McCarty, unusual time signatures with complex and densely textured
PRS Custom 24
Amps: Fender Twin, soundscapes. Guitarist Dave Knudson builds fearsome loops
Mesa/Boogie Lone Star using up to four DL-4 pedals and two RC-3 Loop Stations,
supporting the catchy, poppy hooks that have become the
band’s trademark over a decade together.
minusthebear.com
Hear It Here
Minus The Bear Infinity Overhead (2012)
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real-life pedalBOARDS Guitarist Guide To Effects
1 2
1 Line 6 DL4 x4
It’s hard to ignore the bank of Line 6’s most famous delay
modeller sitting on Dave’s ‘board. He uses all four of his DL4s
3 Boss RC-3 Loop Stations
How much looping does one man need? Well, apparently,
this much looping: in addition to the four DL4s, Dave has a
to record, manipulate and trigger the legion of complicated pair of Boss RC-3s on his ’board, which he uses to trigger
guitar loops that can be found in almost every Minus The Bear pre-recorded loops.
song. “If the song allows you to, I prefer to record the loops “Some of the samples I can get away with having stored
while the song is playing. Most of the loops I record are either ahead of time – like the sample of Into The Mirror – that’s one
at normal speed or double-time, so most of the time [I record of the ones I play off there, or the crazy sample at the end of
them in] half-speed so that when I take the [loop] speed up it Ice Monster that’s really intense – stuff that would take me a
goes into double-time or whatever. The DL4s work especially while to recreate live. For those kinds of things, I think that
well for re-triggering the beginning of the sample – y’know, works great.”
the really jittery, stuttery, one-shot stuff. That feature has
made the DL4 a staple of my rig. Because of the way the
songs are written, that stuff is kind of a necessity now.” 4 Barber Tone Press
While Dave also has a Boss CS-3 to keep things even on
his recorded loops, when it comes to playing his intricate
2 ZVex Box Of Rock

Despite being primarily known for clean tapping in the
early days of the band, when Dave brings the filth, which he
tapping parts live, only this expressive boutique compressor
will do. “The Tone Press just levels everything out, especially
with the tapping stuff – it can kinda get lost in the
does more than ever on 2012 album Infinity Overhead, he mix,especially the low strings, so you just hear the high
turns to a little multi-knobbed box from boutique effects notescoming through, tapping-wise. It levels all that stuff out,
maker ZVex. “I mainly use the boost section of the pedal. I just so on songs like Pachuca Sunrise or Absinthe Party At The Fly
love the way it brings out some of the chimey-ness and the Honey Warehouse, where there are a lot of high and low notes
upper-harmonic tonalities, especially in combination with a competing, this kind of flattens everything and brings it to a
nice tube amp, like a [Fender] Twin, which I obviously use on a nice level.”
lot of stuff. It just makes any amp sound better, and adds a
whole bunch of extra character. Plus, when you have a
pedalboard chain as long as mine is, I’m sure there’s some
audio deterioration along the way, so it’s good to sometimes
sparkle up the sound if it gets a little dull.”
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Kim Thayil Grammy Award-winning alternative rockers Soundgarden

are kingpins of the famous Seattle scene. After over a
Soundgarden decade away, they released their sixth album King Animal
to widespread acclaim. Lead guitarist Kim Thayil and his
guitar tech, Josh Evans, gave us the lowdown on his
stadium-sized pedal setup.
Soundgarden formed in 1984, and achieved worldwide fame

alongside fellow Seattle alternative bands Pearl Jam, Nirvana
and Alice In Chains in the 90s. Their 1994 release
Superunknown saw them reach the peak of their fame,
winning Grammy Awards for their singles Black Hole Sun and
Spoonman. Always developing their sound, the band used
tricky time signatures and a variety of open tunings in their
hard-hitting, dramatic, dark rock sound.
www.soundgardenworld.com
Hear It Here
Soundgarden King Animal (2012)
Shot: January 2013

Guitars: Guild S-100, Guild S-300
Amps: Mesa/Boogie Electra
Dyne and Tremoverb combos
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1 T-Rex Reptile delay

Kim: “Chris gave it to me. Lately, with this album, I’ve
noticed there’s a lot more use of the delay pedal. I became
5 Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Josh: “The signal goes to the wireless and comes back to
here. Kim kicks this on and off when he wants to get a lot of
fond of it when writing By Crooked Steps and then Worse feedback. On other songs where he’s got a lot of gain and the
Dreams. So, now I’m using it on some of our older songs live pickups can get a little microphonic, especially in a couple of
with selected parts of solos like Slaves & Bulldozers and Black the older Guilds, this helps keep that under control.”
Hole Sun.”
2 Ibanez CS9 chorus

Josh: “That’s been in Kim’s chain for a long time – it’s an
6 Dunlop Custom Audio Electronics MC404 Wah
Josh: “We use it on the yellow setting, which is a little
brighter. Kim likes to use it to get a real kind of screamy sound
analogue chorus, really warm and not cheesy-sounding at all. out of it.”
He’ll use it on a lot of the older songs.”
3 MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC402

Boost/Overdrive
7 Providence PE C-2
Josh: “This is the newest addition. It’s a [Voodoo Lab]
Ground Control-type rig in a box, but it lives here on the
Josh: “This is really great, because it seems to keep the pedalboard, so if we need to tweak any knobs or settings we
character of each guitar and amp but drive it harder with a can do it here.”
little distortion, unlike something like a Big Muff or Tube
Screamer that has its own sound.”
8 Boss DD-7 Delay
Josh: “This is a new addition – it’s set on reverse. Kim
4 Electro-Harmonix Micro POG

Josh: “This is used for an octave effect.”
uses that on the solo to Rowing.”
9 Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MKII

Josh: “That’s the one labelled BHS – Kim calls it the Black
Hole Sun machine. It’s that Leslie effect on that song."
1 2 3 4 5
7
8
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Philip Sayce
This Welsh-Canadian blues-rock guitarist is one of the
most explosive guitar players ever to torture a
Stratocaster – and as his pedalboard proves, he’s an
uncompromising tonehound to boot.
Philip Sayce’s four solo albums, beginning with 2009’s Peace

Machine and progressing to 2012’s riotous Innerevolution,
have progressively confirmed that in him, the proud lineage of
high-octane blues that runs from Hendrix through Stevie Ray
is alive and kicking a decade into the new millennium. Sayce’s
songwriting is evolving apace, but never at the expense of a
searing tone that begins at a vintage ’63 Strat and progresses
through a pedal board loaded with classic effects. Sayce’s use
of fuzz is particularly sophisticated, even though it can at
times sound downright primitive – and if you like your blues
played with power, amazing tone and intensity, you should
investigate further.
philipsayce.com
Hear It Here
Philip Sayce Steamroller (2012)
Shot: October 2011

Guitars: 1963 Fender
Stratocasters
Amps: Late-60s Fender Super
Reverb, Mystic Mother,
Fender Vibratone rotating
speaker cabinet
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1 KR Musical Products Megavibe

“That’s made by a guy in San Diego, California. It’s based on
the 60s Univox Uni-Vibe model, as used by Hendrix. I often
5 Klon Centaur
“They cost a thousand bucks on eBay! I use it for most of
my overdrive stuff now, more than the Tube Screamer
combine it with my Echoplex on slow songs.” actually, but I’ll occasionally combine the two for some
feedback craziness.”
2 Cesar Diaz Texas Square Face

“That’s his germanium Fuzz Face. He built them for Stevie
Ray Vaughan. I made it in his basement with him. He had a 6 Chicago Iron Octavia
“A fantastic Tycobrahe Octavia remake. I’ve played
huge bag of transistors. We went through them all!” original ones and they may have a little bit more spookiness,
but this gets 9.9 out of 10. It’s the best I’ve heard.”
3 Maestro EP-3 Echoplex

“It’s a mid-70s model. It sometimes works and sometimes
doesn’t. They’re very sensitive to heat, but when they work 7 Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face
“I actually have a couple of old Fuzz Faces, but I have my
there’s no other sound like it. The old ones have kind of a BC183L silicon one with me on this tour. That’s my favourite
spookiness to them.” of the silicon transistor models. It was made in October ’68.”
4 Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer

“You have to go through a bunch because they don’t all
sound the same. A couple of them will sound good; some will
8 Vox ‘script’ Clyde McCoy wah
“I bought 20 vintage wah pedals. It’s like a sickness!
I narrowed it down to where I just kept a couple and this is my
sound thinner. Just because I like one doesn’t mean you will.” favourite one. This one’s pretty squawky.”
8
7
5
6
4
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Shot: September 2011

Guitars: Cherry Les Paul Custom
1957 Reissue
Amps: Verellen Meatsmoke,
Loucks heads
Mike Sullivan Looper Tip

“My advice is learn to use
Russian Circles it with a drummer live as

soon as you can. It’s
always important to play
Guitarist Mike Sullivan creates a colossal post-rock sound with drummers, but for me
with his instrumental trio, Russian Circles, by adding it was vital. I could loop on
textures and layers using looper pedals and a variety of my own all day long and it
esoteric effects. Here, he walks us through his tech-savvy would sound just fine,
pedalboard… but the minute you’re
interacting with another
Chicago instrumental trio Russian Circles formed in 2004, human being and they can
and over the course of their four studio albums, Enter, Station, hear what you’re doing,
Geneva and Empros, they’ve developed a dynamic sound that things are different. It’s
contrasts heavy, complex passages with more delicate and the same with the writing
quieter movements. Guitarist Mike Sullivan uses loopers and process: drummers are
a gamut of pedals, combining them with heavy riffery and awfully loud by nature so
rhythmic two-handed tapping to create an ever-changing it’s good to realise, ‘I’ve
wall-of-sound live experience. got to play a lot louder’.
www.russiancirclesband.com But you can also do great
things with ambient noise
Hear It Here and loopers – it’s a more
Russian Circles Empros (2011) forgiving use of a looper.
Looping allows a lot more
freedom with the guitar
– you can accent yourself.”
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9 8
11 10
2 1
4
6 5 3
1 Fulltone OCD
“That’s another overdrive. I use several distortion pedals
in the studio and if there’s too much gain, nobody wins.
7 DigiTech JamMan Looper
“You can store pre-recorded samples and loops, which is
useful if I need more time tuning or an interlude didn’t go as I
It becomes a mud-fest and I get dirty looks from my planned. Sometimes I’ll use it for set interludes when I have a
bandmates.” lot of tuning to do.”
2 Fulltone PlimSoul
“I’m a big fan of the PlimSoul [overdrive], a Fulltone pedal
with the ability to cover all kinds of ground. I use that a lot on
8 ZVex Fuzz Factory
“The band is named after an ice-hockey move and [ZVex]
has illustrated that on the pedal for me. It’s a disgusting-
the new album.” sounding pedal – I don’t know if I use it tastefully or not, but I
certainly have fun with it.”
3 MXR Micro Amp

“It’s simply used to bump up the guitar signal here and
there, mainly for heavier moments.” 9 Boss TR-2 Tremolo
“I use that for a segment in the song Youngblood.”
4 Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy

“I use this for a shorter delay.” 10 Fender PT-100 Tuner
“I’ve found the Fender tuner to be more efficient
onstage.”
5 Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb

“I use it at various points in the set and adjust it
accordingly for different songs.” 11 Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
“I’ve never been a big fan of tap tempo with delays, so I’m
on my hands and knees between songs, working out where
6 Akai Head Rush E-2 Looper

“With certain loopers, it’s difficult to feel exactly where
they start and stop recording. There’s no down and up motion
the delay needs to be. It’s important to have the delay match
the tempo of the song. It’s an easy oversight but very relevant
to the overall feel and keeping things rhythmic.”
with this pedal – it’s instantly recording and there’s no
discrepancy for me.”
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Mike Einziger
Incubus
This alt-rock effects experimentalist has refined his pedal
board to cope with a no-holds-barred signature style
evolved over two decades of touring and recording. 4
Californian alt-rock act Incubus may have sold millions of

records and enjoyed US chart success with a string of singles,
but the band’s sound has always been underpinned by the
skills and tonal experimentation of guitarist Mike Einziger – 3 3
despite having mutated from funk-rock beginnings to
incorporate various rock styles. Nowadays, darker and more
spacious soundscapes are the order of the day, with keyboard
sounds supporting the atmospheric guitar work.
www.incubushq.com
Hear It Here
Incubus The Essential… (2012)
Shot: November 2012

Guitars: Ernie Ball Music Man
Albert Lee HH
Amps: Mesa/Boogie Dual
Rectifier, Mesa/Boogie
Trem-O-Verb combo
1 Boss PH-2 Super Phasers & MXR EVH90 Phase 90

“The two Super Phasers are set differently: one is set at a
higher speed, almost like a rotary effect; and the other is set
to a very wide, sweeping, almost flange-like sound. I use these
in pretty much every song. The MXR was put in there by one
of my old guitar techs, Larry Melero, who was a crazy Van
Halen fan. I use it all the time.”
2 Holy
Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay & Electro-Harmonix
Grail reverb
“During Megalomaniac, I use this Boss reverb and also the
Holy Grail reverb sometimes. I use both of them together if I
want a real brittle, dark-sounding reverb, like on Pendulous
Threads. They carry a lot of the higher frequencies through
and they become kind of harsh sounding, making it very dark,
which I really like.”
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2 1
7
5
3 Electro-Harmonix Micro Pog & BOSS OC-2 Octave

“This POG is great. It gives you an octave above as well as
the sub octave. When you play a chord through it, it doesn’t
6 Danelectro Reel Echo
“This is probably my favourite pedal. It is awesome. You
know all this dubstep-type stuff that people are trying the
get the notes jumbled. It will actually harmonise the whole delay rate without effecting the pitch, and I haven’t ever found
chord, which is really cool. I’ve been using it a lot during Sick another delay that does that. I use it during the Pistola solo.
Sad Little World, like when I play a solo in the middle of that There’s some weird stuff happening on there – and it's all
song. I also use it during In The Company Of Wolves and that’s from this pedal.”
another place I use the Octave a lot. I use [the Octave] during
the verse sections of Privilege.”
7 Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
“You can get some really wild things to happen with this
4 Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer

“I use this a lot when I’m playing solos, like on the song
Pistola. I'll click on this and it makes things go to 11, basically.
pedal just by messing around and changing the feedback and
the delay. It can get really out of control, actually, and blow
your amp up if you aren’t careful! A lot of the time, I’m just
When 10’s not quite enough, that’s what I use. I don’t have 11 really experimenting with this and the [Reel Echo], specifically
on my amps, so this is the 11 pedal!” running them through the wah. It ends up sounding like an
analogue synth filter section. The guys in my band tease me a
5 Dunlop Cry Baby

“This is one of the first pedals I ever started using. A lot of
times, I actually use it set at a midway point so you get this
lot of times because sometimes I end up losing control of the
thing. I call it ‘spilling the paint’!”
really throaty sound: I do it during the bridge section of

Megalomaniac, in Adolescents, during the bridge section of
Are You In? and during the guitar solo in Here In My Room
with a slow phaser and a delay as well.”
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Guitarist Guide To Effects real-life pedal BOARDS
PERFECT PAIRINGS
Like the Fuzz Face and wah-wah under the dancing feet of Mr James
Marshall Hendrix, or the combination of vintage amp tremolo and reverb,
the marriage of certain effects can trigger a creative tidal wave. Here, we’ve
put our heads together with the pros in order to recommend some must-try
combinations for your ’board…
Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie, Primal Scream)

Analogue delay with Dr Scientist Reverberator
“This is really useful live, but especially in the
studio, or for making rough demos. You know
how rehearsal rooms and studios, when
sound-proofed, can be super dead-sounding?
That sound can be good for some things, but
it can also leave your recordings a bit flat and
lacking atmosphere. Adding a bit of rockabilly-
style shimmer from an analogue delay and then
plugging into the Reverberator can really add more character
to the sound of even a rough recording.
“However you set them, you create the feeling of a much
more ‘live’ sounding room, or if you set the reverb much
higher, a sound closer to a huge hall. You can use any decent
analogue delay for this, I’d say. I have a cheap MXR copy that
sounds really good. It only cost me £25. It’s digital, but
sounds more analogue. The cool thing about the
Reverberator is it has a level control, so you can drive your
amp harder with it by turning it up, if high volume’s a problem.
“I really love the sound of the Tom Waits album Real Gone,
featuring Marc Ribot’s brilliant guitar playing. Crank up your
valve amp with these two pedals and you can create a bit of
that mood. It’s such a great sound.”
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff with Colorsound Power Boost
Daniel Steinhardt on Gilmour’s secret weapons:
“David Gilmour used a Big Muff with a Colorsound Power
Boost. Everyone thinks Gilmour used a Big Muff. Well,
no, actually, that sound is a Colorsound Power Boost into
a Big Muff. It’s that combination. But you need a really good
Power Boost and a really good Big Muff, and then you can go
on for days. But I’ve got nothing but respect for the guy; he’s
tried everything and really experimented. So, yeah, stacking
overdrive pedals is a wonderful way of finding unique sounds.”
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real-life pedal BOARDS Guitarist Guide To Effects
Elliott Randall (Steely Dan) Ace (Skunk Anansie)

Foxx Tone Machine with Electro-Harmonix Big Muff with DOD Buzz
Mu-Tron Bi-Phase Box Ibanez ST-9 Super Tube Screamer with
Pearl OC-07 Octaver
“I love to find ‘out there’
sounds. There are many great echoes, “My first Perfect Pairing would be the original
overdrives, wahs, compressors, and so on, and I’m 1967 Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, coupled with the
comfortable using most of them to achieve maximum rare and insane DOD Buzz Box (developed with King Buzzo
appropriate effect. But since my quest has always been from The Melvins). This combination produces insane and
‘the lost chord and the lost sound’, I’ve always loved devices gnarly fuzz-drive with almost random harmonics and octaves.
that allow me to bridge the gap between guitar and synthesis. You can obtain a monster solo or riff tone with a super-original
“Give me a Foxx Tone Machine and a Mu-Tron Bi-Phase. sound! A recording classic, used on Yes It’s F**king Political
I can move between the most subtle of conventional sounds on Stoosh – on the riff and solo.
(gentle phase/chorus/Leslie and slightly overdriven ‘rocky’) “Next up is the old and rare Ibanez Super Tube Screamer
all the way to a very powerful synthesiser. The Bi-Phase from the late 70s to early 80s, coupled with the 80s Pearl
comprises two 90 degree phase shifters, which can work Octaver. This is the stuff that super-fat monster riffs are
independently or in tandem to produce 180 degrees of phase. made of. The Tube Screamer can drive the amp tone to
It can also do delicious stereo panning. There’s a choice of fat and hot without losing the character of it, while the
two waveforms, individual speeds (clocks) on the phasers. octave pedal has two octaves down, as well as
I could go on – it’s a major synthesis component. one up to blend in for super massiveness.
“The Tone Machine goes between being a conventional fuzz “I used it on the track Intellectualise My
tone, and with the flip of a switch, its circuitry produces the Blackness, on the Paranoid And Sunburnt LP.
octave above; and if that wasn’t enough, in this mode it I’ve used it many times in the studio, and it has
becomes a bona fide ring modulator! The mid 70s rocked in remained a live classic in my ’board for the last
terms of producing original warm analogue boxes.” 20 years!”
Joe Satriani
Electro-Harmonix POG with Neunaber Wet Reverb
“Right out of the box, EHX’s POG is a pedal that screams,
‘Write a song with me now!’ That’s pretty much what I did
when I first plugged it in, and the result was Super Colossal.
Send it into a Marshall, cranked up, or even a small vintage
Fender amp, and it makes your guitar sound like Jon Lord’s
Hammond organ. A nice pairing is a delay or reverb that gives
it a space of its own, just a little more depth and ambience.
For delay, I’m partial to my own Vox Time Machine pedal, but I
will restrain myself from mentioning my signature gear. My
favourite digital reverb pedal is the Wet pedal by Neunaber.
It’s compact in size, but huge sounding. These two pedals
together provide me with hours of fun and inspiration. Check
them out – you will not be disappointed.”
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Tone Tips BuyING ADVICE Tech Insights
A tone-tweaker’s guide to essential boost,
Ultima
overdrive & distortion pedals
Overd 84
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Ultimate OVERdrives Guitarist Guide To Effects
ate
rives 85
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Guitarist Guide To Effects Ultimate OVERdrives
The setup
A brief word on what this guide is about – and what it
isn’t – plus a look at how we put the runners and riders
of our Ultimate Overdrives guide to the test
W
e’ve got a confession to make here. If you’re Let’s also say a word about an important class of pedals this
expecting a complete list of the best guide doesn’t cover: fuzzes. We decided these are so
overdrive pedals you can buy, this isn’t it. important, yet so distinct that they’re deserving of their own
There are so many excellent and worthy separate guide. Some famous pedals, notably the Electro-
drive pedals out there that it’s inevitable Harmonix Big Muff, straddle genres of pedal and could
some didn’t make it onto our list, so please arguably have found a place in this guide, too. But we decided
don’t feel aggrieved if you don’t see your to leave that particular big-hitting box for a more fuzz-focused
personal favourite here, or the latest greatest thing that’s all the guide. So Muff fans, we’re sorry and beg your indulgence for the
rage on the forums. Instead, we’ve selected 12 epochal moment. Its time will come.
overdrive, boost and distortions pedals that either represent a
moment when the game changed, or a drive effect at the peak The Experts
of its engineering evolution. To aid us in our quest, we’ve enlisted both Daniel Steinhardt of
Don’t get us wrong, however: each pedal here is a stone- TheGigRig, and veteran Guitarist gear reviewer Mick Taylor.
cold classic and together, they represent an awesome Daniel builds pro-grade pedalboards for everybody from Steve
spectrum of dirt-dealing tonal possibilities. But the primary Vai to Ed O’Brien of Radiohead. His company, TheGigRig,
thing we hope you’ll take away from this guide is a surer sense creates some of the very best tone-sculpting gear going,
of how legendary types of drive effect can be used with the rest including the G2 switching system that we’ve used here to
of your rig, as well as putting forward a choice list of benchmark rapidly A/B the pedals, amps and guitars in this guide. Mick,
effects by which the standard of other pedals can and should meanwhile, is a former editor of Guitarist and majordomo of our
be measured. Q&A gear-fettling column. He’s picked apart the tonal attributes
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Make sure you watch

the video of Daniel
Steinhardt and Mick Taylor
that accompanies the
features throughout this
supplement to hear all
this classic gear in action.
To access the video, go to
http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
“Because effects often perform differently with different combinations

of guitars and amps, we’ve brought together a cross-section of classic
hardware to test our ultimate drives”
of more classic pedals than he’d care to remember, but still has quintessential gig-worthy Fender combo, the 22-watt ’65
a powerful thirst for discovering new stompbox sounds to add reissue Deluxe Reverb, here in special-run ‘Bordeaux Blues’
to his appreciation of the field. Together, Daniel and Mick host spec, with Jensen P12Q driver. To bring it all together
That Pedal Show, an excellent weekly video blog on how to get seamlessly, we’re using the excellent TheGigRig G2 switching
the best from your effects. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it unit, permitting seamless transitions between effects and the
out on YouTube – it’s an education. various items of hardware in play today.
The guitars are equally choice, covering a gamut of classic
The Hardware tones: a 2003 Custom Shop 1963 NOS Telecaster in Candy
Because no effect is an island – often performing radically Apple Red with rosewood fingerboard; American Vintage
differently with different combinations of guitars and amps – Stratocaster with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups; a
we’ve brought together a cross-section of classic hardware to John Mayer Signature Stratocaster tuned to E b , a Custom
test our ultimate drives through. For amps, we have a carefully Shop ’58 reissue Sunburst Les Paul Standard; and last but not
fettled Vox AC30 that belongs to a very famous prog-rock least, a Gibson Memphis 50th Anniversary ’63 ES-335 reissue.
guitarist, a Marshall JTM45 and 2x12 cabinet to represent the So, the amps are on and warmed up, and the guitars are
bridge between British and American amp tone, and finally, the ready for action. Gentlemen, to your drives.
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TonecTeipreasons,
dan
For impe tor treble
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Ge rm ano Boo
rs su c h as the Be front
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a buffe se tre b
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shrill and l to add focu
s
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bo o press e
to a com
and edge e .
amp to n
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Analog.man Beano Boost

Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor discover what treble boosters are
really for with this classic Germanium-transistor unit
T
he first class of drive effects Daniel and Mick have It was a tough choice, but for our Ultimate Drives line-up,
nominated for ‘Ultimate’ status belong to what might Daniel has plumped for the Beano Boost by well-respected
broadly be termed boost effects. That is, they offer an Connecticut effects maker Analog.Man, founded by tone guru
increase in perceived volume when engaged plus a Mike Piera, as a leading example of a modern Rangemaster-
flattering tonal colouration – but don’t sound as ‘dirty’ as style treble boost. This micro-enclosure pedal has a small
higher-gain overdrive pedals. footprint but retains the original’s point-to-point wiring rather
Among boosts, the Dallas Rangemaster is legend. Beloved of than PCB construction. A number of varying but period-correct
guitarists ranging from Eric Clapton to Rory Gallagher, it NOS transistors, including Newmarket NKT275s and Mullard
remains the quintessential Marshall-baiting, blues-rock OC44s, have been used in this model to date. It can also be
booster. Think of Clapton’s lead tone on Hideaway on the switched to emphasise either upper mids or frequencies more
Bluesbreakers’ ‘Beano’ album and you’re getting the idea. in the centre-ground of midrange, also like the original.
Developed by the Arbiter Group in the mid-60s, the
Rangemaster utilised a single Germanium transistor to provide Sounds
the boosting mumbo. “Let’s have a listen to the Beano Boost into the Marshall
Highly sought-after, original Dallas Rangemasters are JTM45,” Daniel says, taking up his Tele. “It reminds you of
nonetheless hard to find and are rather archaic by modern sounds from the 60s and you can hear it’s not just treble that it
standards of usability. The boxy enclosure, with front-mounted provides. Because all of the bottom-end frequencies of the amp
controls and a hard-wired output cable, works better when are still there – but the pedal is pushing the upper mid and
placed atop an amp than on the floor. Since that’s not how most treble frequencies into overdrive.”
players use effects these days, a number of contemporary “There is a guitar that needs to be played with that,” Mick
makers have manufactured treble boosters that come in a says, referring to the Gibson Custom Shop ’58 Les Paul ’Burst
more usable package. reissue that’s the kind of guitar Clapton might have used in his
However, as Daniel Steinhardt of TheGigRig observes, the pre-Cream Bluesbreaker days. Plugging it into the Beano Boost
term ‘treble booster’ is a misnomer that shouldn’t put you off and the Marshall, a savage but warm saw-blade tone leaps out.
trying this useful type of boost effect, which is far more musical “It’s a really honky, dark-sounding tone,” Mick observes. For
and less shrill than the term might suggest, giving bite and comparison, Daniel tries the same combination with the AC30
focus back to amp tones that have become bloated by high with more mid-focused but equally wild results. As an
volume or gain settings. experiment, Daniel and Mick try the Les Paul into the EP
“Yes, treble boosters such as this Beano Boost do boost Booster first, then the Beano Boost. This time, the tone is much
upper mid and treble frequencies,” Daniel Steinhardt explains. harsher and more metallic. “There’s a very good reason that it
“But it works really well in conjunction with an amp that is really now sounds awful,” Dan says. “The Beano Boost uses a
compressed, because the frequencies that the treble booster is Germanium transistor. And Germanium transistors need to
pushing become a lot more focused and sensitive and can then ‘see’ the inductance and impedance from your pickups. If they
form an amazing sound.” ‘see’ a buffer at the input, they sound awful!”
Like this? Try these…

Keeley Java Boost £129 BSMAmbassador Treble Booster £POA
Robert Keeley is one of the finest builders and modders out German maker BSM makes numerous interesting
there and his hand-built modernised take on the variations on the treble booster theme, but this Germanium
Rangemaster is a beauty, offering an original Rangemaster transistor model gives a flavour of the Rangemaster, as well
voicing – plus both mid-boost and full-range settings for as maybe a few other late-60s treble boosts of note. BSM
extra versatility. also uses only NOS German components for that extra
www.robertkeeley.com touch of period authenticity. www.treblebooster.net
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Xotic Effects EP Booster

Dynamic duo Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor explore what a good boost
pedal can do for you with this Echoplex-inspired modern classic
I
n the days before effects pedals were as numerous as they Marshall, which has lots of bottom end – because the booster is
are today, top players would find tonal advantages in now also pushing up those lower frequencies – you’ll notice it
unusual places. The Maestro Echoplex EP-3 tape delay unit got a bit mushy straight away.”
is best known, of course, for its vintage echo sounds. But as Switching from the Tele to the Strat and performing the same
players such as Jimmy Page and Brian May have found, its comparison with the booster on through the two amps, Mick
internal preamp circuitry has a very flattering effect on tone, and Dan comment on the “bonkers” amount of low end the
too. Daniel Steinhardt of TheGigRig explains: Strat generates from the JTM45 when the EP Booster is
“A lot of guitar players liked the sound of the Echoplex even engaged. “That low end is not always useful – but the fact that
with the echo turned off. There’s something very special about we’ve been able to use the booster to produce that amount of
that circuit.” bottom end from an amp that produces about 30 watts is a
While a few makers, notably including Dunlop, have made wonderful thing.”
good clean-boost effects based on that principle, one pedal But Dan adds that it’s sometimes better to take advantage of
that we’ve seen time and again on the pedalboards of tone- the flattering tonal colouration that the EP Booster, and other
conscious pro players such as David Grissom is the EP Booster effects like it, can add without cranking the pedal’s level control
by Xotic Effects of Los Angeles, which forms the second of our right up – which can overwhelm amps with lots of low end, such
Ultimate Drive selections. Hand-wired, offering up to +20dB of as the JTM45.
boost, it’s a little more versatile than its compact, single-knob “For example, if I turn this EP Booster down to unity gain –
layout might suggest, thanks to internal DIP switches that allow unity meaning the same volume level as if it wasn’t switched on
users to tailor gain levels and add ‘bright’ or ‘vintage’ emphasis – it does still add something, it does still colour the sound
to its sound. compared to the un-effected sound of the amp. It isn’t a
A true-bypass design, its classic role is nonetheless as an completely, clearly clean boost and that’s the quality of the
‘always-on’ booster that colours your tone slightly, while adding Echoplex preamp circuit that a lot of guitarists such as Jimmy
a little bit of extra warmth, volume and girth to your amp’s Page liked. It’s ace!”
natural voice. Switching over to a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul and a
Gibson Memphis ES-335, to see how the EP Booster works with
Sounds the fatter sound of humbuckers, Mick and Daniel soon find that
“When you play the EP booster into the AC30 and then the it summons an absolutely immense but well-defined voice from
Marshall JTM45, you notice that it’s a full-frequency boost,” the AC30.
Dan comments, and then demonstrates what that means with “What I love about that sound is that it’s so focused – even if
his Fender Custom Shop Telecaster. “The AC30 has prominent you were turned down in the mix [of a live performance or
mids, so the booster pushes those mids up until the amp studio recording], you’re going to hear every note you play,”
saturates really nicely. But as soon the booster goes into the Daniel adds.

Dunlop EP101 Echoplex preamp £107 MXR M133 Micro Amp £86
From renowned US effects makers Dunlop, now celebrating Not a clone of the Echoplex circuit, the Micro Amp
its 50th year in business, the EP101 claims the same Field nonetheless deserves a mention here as the quintessential
Effect Transistor circuitry and signal path as the original ‘always-on’ clean boost that wakes up and fattens your
tape-echo unit had. Build quality is excellent, and the EP101 amp’s tone, or adds up to +26dB of volume for solos if used
is also a little cheaper than the Xotic unit and has a wider, in the conventional clean-boost role. It’s built like a truck,
more stable footprint on your pedalboard. And it’s got that affordable and there’s a Custom Shop ‘Plus’ version that
retro logo, too. offers EQ controls, too.
www.jimdunlop.com www.jimdunlop.com
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BoSS BD-2 Blues Driver

It’s the original ‘transparent’, low-gain overdrive – Daniel Steinhardt
and Mick Taylor crank it up to find out what all the fuss is about
L
ow-gain overdrives are cousins to clean boosts, but they certain amount of that drive tone is being created in the pedal
also form an important category of drive effect in their itself. But it’s very warm and very natural.”
own right: the fabled ‘transparent’, low-gain overdrive. Mick adds that Strat players often get on well with the Blues
Essentially, these kinds of pedals take the same Driver, because the pedal tends to gently balance out the
ingredients that make a clean boost appealing – such as the Strat’s toppy sound.
fact that when they are engaged, you can still hear plenty of the “Because it’s got that little bit of mid-hump, it does give
natural tone of your amplifier and guitar – but they add just a you a bit of extra girth. So on the hollow position four on a
little bit more colouration and compression than a straight Strat, turning on the Blues Driver gives you a Robert Cray-style
boost might. For example, where clean boosts can sound a little tone, where it has lots of punch but you can still hear the
abrupt and stark sometimes, low-gain drives give you a little guitar. Switch from the AC30 to the Marshall and you veer into
more flattering sustain and punch instead, for those warm, Clapton territory.”
bluesy solos.
Given the number of forum-worshipped, boutique low-gain “It doesn’t colour the sound too
drives around, it may seem unusual that our expert testing pair
of Daniel and Mick have opted for the humble Boss Blues Driver much… Used with the Les Paul and
as our exemplar of great low-gain drive. But it shouldn’t be the AC30, you can hear that all the
forgotten that Boss compact pedals formed many of the tonal
templates for plenty of boutique effects since the 80s, and the natural frequencies of the guitar and
Blues Driver is an undeniable classic. amp are there, but the Blues Driver
“For me, it was an important pedal,” Daniel says. “When
Boss produced this, a lot of blues players – who’d previously just lifts the mids a little”
been using handmade boutique things – started using these on
their ’boards instead, for the reason that it’s a transparent “It’s interesting that the AC30 is breaking up earlier than the
overdrive. And what I mean by that, is that it doesn’t colour the Marshall when the Blues Driver is engaged,” Daniel adds. “So
sound too much.” we’re hearing the overdrive in conjunction with the amplifier,
being driven harder, whereas the Marshall is retaining it’s clean
Sounds headroom better than the AC30.”
“Used with the Les Paul and the AC30, you can hear that all the While the vanilla Boss Blues Driver is a great pedal in and of
natural frequencies of the guitar and amp are there, but the itself, we’ve picked out this Robert Keeley-modded specimen
Blues Driver just lifts the mids a little,” Daniel observes. “It’s as the perfect example of what this design can be at the
nothing like the amount of mids a Tube Screamer provides, absolute apex of its refinement.
though, but it was – and is – fantastic for just boosting an “It doesn’t change the sound greatly,” Mick observes of the
amplifier that’s working and giving it a little bit more edge. But Keeley-modded version. “But the noise floor is improved,
it’s definitely an overdrive pedal, not a clean boost, because a among a few other things.”

Free The Tone Red Jaspe £239 BOSS BD-2W Waza Craft Special Edition £129
Designed by ex-Providence engineer Yuki Hayashi, the Red The Japanese pedal giant joins the boutique party with its
Jasper is a woody, organic low-gain drive with progressive ‘Waza Craft’ range of up-spec’d versions of Boss favourites.
features such as its Holistic Tonal Solution bypass and In the case of this pedal, revamped ‘all-analogue discrete
buffer circuit. The main attraction for us is its sweetly gritty amplifier circuitry’ and fatter ‘custom’ voicing modes are
but mellow tone, though. Not cheap. the goodies.
www.freethetone.com https://uk.boss.info
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INPUT
Analog.man King Of Tone

One of the most talked-about boutique overdrives in the past decade
comes under Daniel and Mick’s scrutiny
T
he King Of Tone overdrive started life as an attempt
to get away from the ubiquity of the mid-heavy Ibanez Sounds
Tube Screamer sound and get back to a more detailed, “We’re going to try this pedal with the Strat first, into the AC30,”
organic style of overdrive that didn’t obliterate the sound Daniel says. “You can hear there’s a little bit of midrange push
of the player’s guitar, but still provided more sustain, gain and there but what happens a lot of the time when you push the
flexibility than a basic boost might. Daniel Steinhardt of midrange is that you have to give up a lot of top end and low end
TheGigRig explains. frequencies. So, yes, it does push the midrange by a hair,
“For me, this is one of the most important pedals of the past similar to the way the Blues Driver does. But despite that, the
10 years. Analog.Man has fine-tuned the idea of having an top end is so crisp and the attack is so quick. One of the big
overdrive and a boost pedal in one box,” he says. “It works with things with overdrive pedals is what we call the transient
the sound of the guitar and doesn’t alter its frequencies too response, which is the way the transistors work with the initial
much – but just sounds fantastic.” attack of the note. And the King Of Tone for me just nails it. It’s
“In some ways, this is our rule-breaker,” Mick chips in. such an important part of the sound.
“Because quite often, we say that your choice of amp and “The King Of Tone and the Strat into the Marshall, however,
guitar is critically important in terms of matching them up with sounds special, too. But if you then swap the Strat for a Tele
the right pedal. But the King Of Tone will work with pretty much with the Marshall, it sounds awesome,” he adds, playing a little
any guitar and amp.” at volume to show off the size, clarity and formidable bite of the
Daniel agrees, adding: “I’ve had this particular pedal on my tone that this particularly ferocious combination of guitar, amp
’board for a decade now and I’ve had lots of guitars. And and pedal yields.
everything else has moved around, but that works with “I’m going to say something contentious,” Mick adds. “If
everything, so it’s a real testament to how flexible this thing is.” you’re ever in a big venue listening to a band, that guitar sound
While it owes a few strands of its DNA to Marshall’s is often made by some sort of modelling sound straight into a
Bluesbreaker OD, Ibanez’s Tube Screamer and other effects, PA. What you’ve just played
the King Of Tone overdrive has its own technical and tonal is the absolute antithesis of that sound. That’s the kind of sound
identity. It has seen several revisions and each of its two drive that gets you chucked out! [laughs]”
channels has an internal DIP switch that allows the player to “It’s so raw,” agrees Dan. “But what I love about it is that you
alter its clipping characteristics between clean boost, overdrive hear the guitar. With some modelling stuff, you end up
and distortion modes. wondering, ‘What are they actually using?’ It takes away some
With this in mind, it still weighs in at the lower end of the gain of the individual character. But with this setup, all of the
spectrum, generally speaking, and many rightly think of it as harmonic content from the instrument is simply amplified. It’s
sitting at the ideal tonal midpoint between the natural, more fantastic. The Telecaster actually sounds louder than the Les
transparent feel of a clean boost and the smoother, plumper Paul with this pedal, because it’s less compressed, but the King
sustain of a Tube Screamer. Of Tone sounds good with every guitar we’ve got here.”

ThorpyFX Gunshot Overdrive £184 Fulltone Full-Drive2 FD2 MOSFET £119
Military-trained engineer Adrian Thorpe has produced This affordable dual-channel, boost-to-overdrive pedal has
something really special with his Gunshot OD, which bags of adaptability and offers the choice of either
enables blending a mid-rich TS-style voice with a more mid-hump ‘Vintage’ voicing or a ‘flat-mids’ mode, plus
amp-like, mid-scooped ‘Calibre’ gain stage. A rich variety of MOSFET or ‘normal’ clipping modes.. www.fulltone.com
drive tones emerges from the interaction between these
contrasting gain stages, ranging from nuanced boosts to
rip-snorting leads. http://thorpyfx.com
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Premium Drives
Check out this selection of classic and boutique drive stompboxes,
for the keen-eared tone connoisseur
Free The Tone Keeley Electronics

Gigs Boson GB-1V £222 Luna Overdrive II £189
This high-end, high-ticket The main man for modding
overdrive from Yuki Hayashi’s classic effects-pedal designs
Free The Tone stable seeks to has his own roster of pedals
fit the ‘sounds natural/does – and the Luna Overdrive
everything/has enough gain’ earned itself //Guitarist//’s
ideal. It does so admirably, by coveted Gold Award. It’ll do
offering a range of usable blues, no problem, but the
tones from slight fattening to extra edge, bite and
full, singing drive. A must- distortion means it can cover
audition alongside modded more – it’s among the
Tube Screamers and OCDs. best-sounding distorto-
www.freethetone.com drivers we’ve ever heard.
www.robertkeeley.com
J Rockett Archer £149 Crowther Hot Cake£149

The best value Klon-alike on A pro favourite, this was
the market. It’s based on a designed to leave your guitar
silver Centaur owned by J and amp’s character largely
Rockett co-boss Chris Van unchanged; ladelling on drive
Tassel, and is the result of a (and presence midrange) in
collaboration with Klon the desired quantities. The
designer Bill Finnegan. The drive begins as a cleanish
collaboration faltered but the boost, goes through
Archer remained, going on to medium-fat and on to a
great success. There’s also squashy, harmonically
the gold Archer Ikon model, packed powerhouse. Unique.
using up-specced diodes www.crowtheraudio.net
rockettpedals.com
Suhr Shiba Drive Durham Electronics

Reloaded £179 Durham Electronics £219
The Shiba Reloaded tweaks Raunchy! Designed for Charlie
the overdrive circuit of Suhr’s Sexton, guitarman for Bowie
lauded 2009 original for a and Dylan, this racy-sounding
more amplifier-like drive with clean booster offers blooming
a tighter lower end character, bass and plenty of presence,
and the small matter of 50 with three compression
per cent more gain on tap. settings. If you want to preserve
The result is one of the most the sound of your amplifier’s
naturally playable overdrives natural drive, then start your
around, with a choice of quest here; it also comes in
‘smoothness’ settings. compact form.
www.suhr.com www.durhamelectronics.com
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Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer

Daniel and Mick reveal how to get the best from the daddy of all mid-
frequency boosting overdrives, the Ibanez Tube Screamer
W
hat hasn’t been said about this emerald jewel of the for testing purposes. Mick, meanwhile, has picked up a John
pedalboard over the years? Launched around 1980, Mayer signature Strat from a few years back and begins testing
the original TS808 Tube Screamer had a small, it out.
square-ish footswitch, solid black knobs and a slightly “Without the Tube Screamer, that’s a very ‘scooped’ sound,”
narrower enclosure than the more common TS9 that followed says Daniel. “You’ve got a warm bottom end, and a very crisp
in 1981 and a slew of later variants, each of which has – many top end. But when you hit that with the Tube Screamer you
would argue – a tangibly different tonal character from the suddenly get the midrange back… and there it is! When you play
original 808. the Marshall JTM45 on its own, you can hear that it already has
In terms of electronics, the JRC4558D dual-chip op-amp is lots of midrange present. So if you add the Tube Screamer to it,
famously synonymous with the early TS808’s sound, although it sounds awesome, but now the midrange is really pushed
other op amps were also used freely throughout the TS family [forward in the mix].”
of drives, while small differences in the spec of resistor “So that’s why the Tube Screamer works so well with those
components also do their bit to separate the various versions of American-voiced amplifiers,” Daniel continues. “Where there’s
the Tube Screamer from one another. No matter the spec, the naturally a bit of a mid-scoop, the midrange push of the Tube
raison d’etre of all TS tone is the same, however, as Mick and Screamer just evens it out.”
Daniel explain. Switching to the humbucker-equipped ’58 reissue Les Paul
“This is my favourite overdrive pedal of all time,” Mick alters the balance of things once again, as Daniel
confesses, “because Stevie Ray Vaughan used one,” he says, demonstrates.
laughing. “And of course, he typically played a Fender “The Les Paul already has a lot more midrange than a Strat,”
Stratocaster, into Fender amps. And, basically, the Tube he says. “Even though this one has low-wind pickups that don’t
Screamer put back all of the midrange that was naturally have that crazy mid-push that a lot of Les Pauls do.”
missing from that combination.” Mick is impressed.
Anyone tempted to play the TS snobbery card should note, “That sounds blooming great!” he says of the commanding,
however, that according to effects expert and archivist Dave girthy tone that now emerges from the Fender combo with the
Hunter, photographic evidence indicates that Stevie Ray Les Paul and Tube Screamer.
Vaughan used TS808, TS9 and the less-fancied TS10 variants “We’ve got it set up as a lot of people like to set Tube
over the years, suggesting that he either thought there wasn’t Screamers,” Mick adds, “With the level high and the overdrive
much to choose between them or that they were getting knob low. So it gives you a bit of a boost-y thing.”
progressively better. Daniel agrees, and adds: “With the Tube Screamer, when you
start pushing the overdrive control up it can get a little bit
Sounds unruly, shall we say. As soon as you turn it above noon, you’re
“Fender amplifiers represent the classic American sound,” just compressing the tone more. The sound everyone knows
Daniel says, indicating the reissue ’65 Fender Deluxe Reverb and loves is really achieved with the overdrive knob just shy of
with a Jensen driver with “sizzling highs” that we have on hand 12 o’clock.”

Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer reissue £185 Maxon OD-9 Pro+ £149
With used prices for original units soaring, Ibanez Maxon was the electronics company Ibanez chose to
eventually succumbed to the inevitable and reissued the develop its effects in the early 80s. Maxon now offers the
original 808 with JRC4558 chip. Arguably the warmest OD-9 Pro+, and argues it’s an improvement, offering
Tube Screamer in the family, the reissued Ibanez 808 is not subtler compression and more headroom thanks to the
cheap, but comes straight from the horse’s mouth. option to run it at a higher internal operating voltage of 18
www.ibanez.com volts. www.maxonfx.com
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klon centaur
Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor enter the realm of
legend with the fabled Centaur…
I
t’s the most hyped overdrive pedal of all time – so what’s so of mid push that each pedal generates. “The Klon is clearer
special about this rather plain-looking stompbox that’s been sounding,” he notes.
cloned and coveted more than any other boutique drive? Switching to the Klon with the Marshall, Daniel says: “What
Although it’s often spoken of as the ultimate ‘transparent’ the Klon does is, it has that quick transient response: it grabs
overdrive, it actually has something of a mid-hump like the the note very fast so you can hear more of the attack, but is
Ibanez Tube Screamer, although its classic role is to be used at voiced very similarly to the Tube Screamer.”
low-gain settings like a clean boost, to drive your amp’s natural “Everyone says that you can hear more of your guitar with
voice a little harder. the Klon,” Mick reflects. “And I think that’s probably true,” he
Designed by Bill Finnegan in 1994, it has several neat continues, switching to the Gibson ES-335 with the Klon, going
features that contribute to its reputation as the all-time into the Marshall. The pair compare the Klon and the Tube
heavyweight of low-gain overdrives, including elevated internal Screamer with this setup again.
voltage that allows for extra headroom and clarity, and a gain “Can you hear that the Tube Screamer is a bit softer?” Daniel
control that cleverly adjusts the EQ profile as gain is increased, asks. “That is why people love the Klon – it just helps with that
to consistently ensure the optimum tonal range for the level of attack a little bit. We’re using it right now as an overdrive, but
dirt being applied. the other thing about the Klon is, people use it more commonly
“When this came out, it was immediately picked up by a lot of as a boost. So let’s turn the gain down.”
well-known artists,” Daniel Steinhardt observes. Mick adds that Turning down the Klon’s gain yields a tone that is chunkier
John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, David Grissom, Warren Haynes and edgier than the Marshall’s straight clean tone, but still clear
and Philip Sayce are just a few of the notable players who have and well-defined. But that’s not the only useful purpose for a
favoured it. boost-configured Klon. Next, Daniel combines it with a BK
“So, what is it about the Klon?” Daniel asks. “Well, it’s really Butler Tube Driver, with the Klon first in line and the Tube Driver
interesting how much of the guitar is still present in its sound. It second, to produce an ultra-punchy, far-carrying lead tone that
doesn’t sound like a pedal.” recalls the sound of David Gilmour.
So, used singly or stacked, the Klon’s clarity, natural feel and
flattering mid-push make it a more subtle tool than the Tube
Sounds Screamer. But is it worthy of all the hype?
To illustrate the point, Daniel and Mick pair the Klon with the Well, you’ll have to try one yourself to decide. Certainly, its
Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue that’s on hand. To start off with, creator would prefer that it’s judged on its own merits:
they set the Klon up to work as a classic overdrive, with the gain frustrated with the ‘cult of Klon’ that has seen prices for used
relatively high. original Centaurs soar above £1,000, Bill Finnegan produced a
“It’s still got that mid-boost thing,” Mick observes, as we take cheaper, offshore-built version, the Klon KTR, in 2012, that was
in its chunky but extremely well‑defined voice through the actually emblazoned, at his behest, with the words: ‘Kindly
Fender. Daniel then switches over to the Ibanez TS808 Tube remember the ridiculous hype that offends so many was not of
Screamer, the classic mid-boost pedal, to compare the amount my making.’

Lovepedal Kalamazoo £150 Electro-Harmonix Soul Food £40
The circuitry is different, but boy, can the Kalamazoo sound If you don’t fancy paying over a grand for a real Klon,
a lot like a Klon! The kind of drive that boosts and Electro-Harmonix’s Klon Centaur-inspired Soul Food is
accentuates the sound of your guitar, rather than ludicrous value for money. No, it’s not double-take identical,
swamping it, there’s bags of clarity and punch on offer here but it does a nice job of providing the kind of flattering, clear
and a useful four‑pot control layout. boost that made the big K so hyped.
www.lovepedal.com www.ehx.com
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LovePedal Eternity Drive

A meticulous makeover of the Tube Screamer concept has turned this mid-
rich overdrive into a classic, as Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor discover
O
ne of the great things about so-called boutique effects Screamer, notably bottom-end grunt. “A lot of people on the
makers is the way that talented independent designers forums got them, looking for that sound from Fender amplifiers
can take a well-known mass-production pedal as a [in which the overdrive pedal replaces the ‘missing mids’]. I’ve
starting point, then refine the concept until they have been using this with Voxes and a whole bunch of different
something that’s a classic in its own right. Such is Lovepedal’s things and it does have that clear midrange push. But if you’re
Eternity Drive. doing a solo, it’s just fantastic.”
Designed in Michigan by Sean Michael, it’s a medium-gain To illustrate the point, Mick takes up his Eb-tuned John Mayer
overdrive with pronounced mids, in the style of the Tube Stratocaster and plays the Eternity through the Marshall
Screamer, but with some added benefits. Daniel Steinhardt of JTM45 this time, producing a smooth but punchy drive that is
TheGigRig explains: harmonically detailed and sweet as a nut.
“This is a very important pedal, one of the first pedals to “That’s killer,” comments Daniel. “Very natural compression,
explode onto the forum scene,” Daniel says. “It was one of the harmonic content… all of the things that you want from the
first boutique drives that was really embraced and became a Tube Screamer. But with just a little bit more love there,
staple for a lot of people. This one here is one of the first series, especially in the bottom end. And it stacks really well with other
which was handwired by Sean himself. pedals, too.”
“The thing about Sean is that he’s got an amazing set of ears While there are many versions of the Eternity to date, such as
and he’s a killer guitar player,” Daniel adds. “So he tweaked and the Roadhouse, E6 and Burst, Daniel recommends the Kanji
tweaked this until he got it right, then sent it out to a few people variant as a good starting point for those new to the series.
and they got back and said, ‘This is the pedal I’ve been
searching for my whole life.’”
“This is a very important pedal, one
Sounds of the first pedals to explode onto
“If we listen to the Tube Screamer first into the Fender Deluxe,”
Daniel continues, “then compare it to the Eternity Drive, you
the forum scene. It was one of the
can hear it has a little more harmonic content and a little more first boutique drives that was really
bottom end than the TS808.”
Picking up the theme, Mick adds that the Eternity Drive has
embraced and became a staple for a
qualities that many players found lacking in a stock Tube lot of people”

Providence Red Rock OD-1 overdrive £216 EarthQuaker Devices Palisades £229
Want a bit more bottom end from your TS? Need to fatten It said it would never make one, but having caved in and
up spindly single-coils? Try the Red Rock, from Japanese released a Tube Screamer-inspired pedal in 2014, the
maker Providence. The company says it’s optimised to give quirky Ohio maker has pulled out all the stops with the
extra body to the sound of single coils, but we’ve found it Palisades, which offers several extra layers of tweakability
works great with humbuckers as well. It has elevated over a stock TS, including a choice of several different
internal voltage for extra clarity, while the buffered boost voicings from classic 808-style drive to harmonically rich
circuit at the input helps you fine-tune the way the pedal MOSFET and Schottky diode clipping for a fuzz-like tone.
interacts with your amp’s preamp stage, making it easy to The Palisades also has two channels – a lower-gain channel
dial in chunky drive with any rig. Smooth and creamy, it’ll with a wider range of dirt and a higher-gain channel with a
yield Larry Carlton-style Room 335 tones all day. more focused range. Is it the most flexible TS-style pedal
www.providence-ltd.com ever? Try it and decide yourself. earthquakerdevices.com
103
OUTPUT
104
INPUT
Butler Audio tUBE DRIVER

It’s the choice of legends from Floyd to ZZ Top, and it gets phenomenal
punch from a single valve, as Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor discover
D
avid Gilmour, Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons. No slouches,
tone-wise, and all united in their use of the Butler Audio Like this? Try these…
Tube Driver pedal, which stands alone among our
selection here in having a single 12AX7 valve at the heart Vox Straight Six Overdrive £129
of its drive tone, a component more commonly found in the There aren’t too many drive pedals that feature real
preamp of the average valve amp. The pedal is also unusual in valves inside, partly due to the problems of generating
having been engineered by BK Butler, who also designs sufficient plate voltage in a stompbox for it to sound
high-end home and car stereos. good. However, Vox’s Tone Garage series is a notable
“It’s a very well-known, very dynamic sounding overdrive exception. We like the company’s dynamic, detailed
pedal that reacts like the preamp of a valve amp,” Daniel Straight Six overdrive that houses a single 12AX7 valve
Steinhardt comments. “But it also has quite a tightly defined, and offers a bright voicing switch for cutting, Tube
even sharp, voice – which is why it helps with cutting Driver-style lead tones. They can be snapped up for
through in solos, and which is why it appeals to players such very decent street prices at the moment, too. It’ll even
as Eric Johnson.” work off six AA batteries!
www.voxamps.co.uk
Sounds
“Into the Marshall with the EQ flat, it sounds quite natural,” Blackstar HT-Drive £129
Daniel observes, as Mick summons a tight, biting but sustaining Blackstar blazed a trail with a range of valve-driven
lead tone from it that’s balanced out nicely by the Marshall’s effects in slightly oversized enclosures, which operate
ample bottom end. Activating a Klon in front of it adds a bit at high internal voltages for maximum valve
more compression and thickness, but, thanks to the Tube performance. With cascading gain stages, thanks to
Driver’s hard-edged voice, definition is retained. No matter utilising both sides of the dual triode 12AX7 valve, the
which way the Tube Driver is used, however, it’s clear it has HT-Drive also sports a speaker-emulated output for
considerably more teeth than most of the other pedals here, convenient home studio use.
with that very valve-like ability to slice through where www.blackstaramps.com
transistors might squash and soften tone.
The stock four-knob Tube Driver is handmade by BK Butler,
who quotes a build time of a few days and signs each unit.
Some added flexibility is also possible with his modded version,
which features a fifth control for variable bias – and BK Butler
The Tu
Tone Tip
says this more complex version has been taken up by many of examp be Driv
le of a er is ju
his best-known clients. The mod costs extra, but it does unlock comb drive p st one
ination edal th
best o with ot at wor
a greater range of gain from the pedal’s single valve. British rder to her ov ks well
argues arrang erdrive in
users should also note that although a 220 to 240-volt version that: “I’ e your s. So w
to this ve trie overdr hat’s t
: lower- d it eve ive ped he
is available for no extra charge, all Tube Drivers are shipped gain p ry way als in?
pedals edals fi a nd I ke D a niel
with US plugs fitted, requiring an adaptor to be used. . Why? rst, ca ep com
Well, if scadin ing ba
and pu you ta g u p ck
t a low ke a re to the
amou -gain o ally hig higher-
nt of g verdriv h-gain gain
“It’s a very well-known, very tamed
down
ain and
b y
nastin
e after
ess wit
it, you’v
e g
overdr
o t this h
ive ped
al
Howev the na h the fi
dynamic sounding pedal that reacts and w
er, if I s
wap th
tural c
at arou
ompre
rst ped
ssion in al, but
uge
that ge
armne nd and the low ts
like the preamp of a valve amp. But then I p s
ush it in
s fro m the
low-ga
ta ke that lit
-gain p
tle bit o ed al.
to the in over f clippin
it also has quite a tightly defined, and en
larges
the ha
h igh-gain
pedal,
d rive peda
l and
g
rmonic it emb
even sharp voice – which is why it that I’v
e alrea
dy got
s and th
going w
e com
ellishe
pressio
s
n
helps with cutting through in solos” low-ga
in ped
al.”
ith the
105
OUTPUT
Tone Tip
Screamer
Just as a Tube
oiced
ak mids in US-v
helps replace we that
role for pedals
amps, there’s a cie s that
f certain frequ en
gently shelve of ps,
of. Marshall am
have too much
your amp might , have a lot of
d-back cabinets
used with close at might feel
d while th
bottom end – an t of
eful to have a lo
s not always us
empowering, it’ ortion pe da ls
your sound. Dist
pillowy bass in ul in making
n be us ef
that trim bass ca ting
lean and penetra
your tone more
itarist’s best
– mids are a gu
friend, after all.
106
INPUT
Pro co RAT
Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor enter the dark sewers of high-gain drive
tone to confront the infamous RAT and find out how to make it squeal
B
ratty, over-the-top, with a narrow sweet spot, the RAT is
definitely the wild child of the pedals we’ve assembled Like this? Try these…
here. Designed by Pro Co’s Scott Burnham, the RAT
uses a duo of silicon diodes to bring the hurt, making it Pro Co DeuceTone RAT £229
far less sensitive to placement at the front the signal chain Is too much gain never enough for you? Time to try this
than, say, the germanium diodes of the MXR Distortion+ that two-RATS-in-one, twin-channel unit from Pro Co, which
inspired it. has some fairly out-there capabilities, including the
Due to quirks in the resistor spec, the RAT has huge option to cascade one RAT into another to create a
amounts of gain on tap, with the LM308N op-amp pushed into veritable maelstrom of distortion. Featuring an
clipping itself when the pedal’s gain control is dimed. That all-analogue signal path, it’ll also let you select between
hasn’t stopped subtle, intelligent players such as jazz giant the Vintage and later Turbo RAT voicings, plus two
John Scofield from favouring the RAT, which was originally newer guises: the Clean and Dirty RAT. You can chop
made between 1979 to 1987. Part of its flexibility results from and change how these voicings are used across the two
its powerful treble-tweaking EQ that lends it a more treble and channels, and the whole glorious mess is contained in a
mid-voiced character. bomb-proof steel enclosure – making this the ultimate
“It’s a high-gain overdrive bordering on fuzz-y,” Daniel rodents’ nest. In case all that isn’t lurid enough, the
Steinhardt explains. “But the pedal’s filter control was new at graphics glow in the dark!
the time. So let’s switch between the OCD and the RAT and www.procosound.com
you’ll hear what I mean with the filter control.”
Mooer Black Secret Distortion £42
Though geared more towards slavish imitation rather
“That’s why some people equate the than sonic innovation, a small army of micro-enclosure
RAT with being the ‘Tube Screamer’ Mooer pedals has found its way onto players’
pedalboards in recent times. Mooer’s closest
of distortions: it has that really equivalent to the RAT, the Black Secret, has a crisp
pronounced midrange and shelves trebly edge, riding atop fountains of gushing gain. The
pedal’s two voicing modes (Vintage and the off-the-wall
off those bottom-end frequencies” Turbo) and Filter EQ control leave little doubt as to
whose homework Mooer has been peeking at in class.
Still, it’s small, solidly built for the price point, and cheap
Sounds as chips.
“Immediately, you’ll notice that the bottom end is not as full as http://mooeraudio.com
the other ones,” Daniel comments after a few moments of
thrashy, trashy sonic assault through the Marshall JTM45.
Switching to the AC30 reveals an even more aggressive, distortion pedal that cuts through and trims off a little low-end
mid-led edge. flab from your tone. Although both of our experts are keen to
“That’s why some people equate the RAT with being the stress, as always, that there are no absolute rules – only
‘Tube Screamer’ of distortions,” he adds. “It has that really preferences and choices.
pronounced midrange and shelves off those bottom-end Despite the relatively short production span of the original
frequencies. When you want to be heard and you don’t want all RAT, a later, revived production phase in the 90s has led to the
that bottom end, the RAT is a great choice.” current RAT 2 incarnation, with slightly different voicing due in
Mick adds that: “It partners better with a Marshall-type amp part to the inclusion of an LED indicator to show when the pedal
than it does with a Fender type amp, right?” Daniel agrees, is switched on. The original version had no LED indicator light,
reflecting once again the value of a balanced pairing of an amp like many 70s-era effects, a ‘non-feature’ that was repeated on
with abundant, possibly overwhelming bottom end with a the reissue-format ‘Vintage RAT’ for the sake of authenticity.
107
OUTPUT
Tone Tipused about the

are conf
A lot of people ive and
tween overdr
difference be ain
them. “The m
how to apply
distortion and t,” sa ys Da niel
rmonic conten
difference is ha overdriv e pe da l, it
f you look at an
Steinhardt. “I harmon ic s, an d
t of even-order
produces a lo ly. D is to rtion
soun ds ve ry warm and love
consequently harmonics,
u even-order
ls, by co ntrast, give yo in there as
peda er’ harmon s ic
t also so m e more ‘odd-ord ay th at the
bu r. The w
sounds angrie
well and it just f, or ‘clip pe d’, is a
eform is cut of
top of the wav m or e
t sounds a lot
lot sharper. “I co ncept,
the sa m e
s still
aggressive. It’
st more
though, but ju
and an gr ier.”
108
INPUT
BoSS ds-1 distortion

Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor get nasty with the original distortion
pedal to find out why this familiar orange brick is still a benchmark
T
he orange case of the Boss DS-1 is probably the most subtly differently. “The thing with the DS-1,” Daniel says, “Is that
recognisable in all pedal-dom, thanks not only to the it has a lot of bottom end. Imagine again that you’re that young
ubiquity of Boss compact pedals in the 1980s, but also kid and you plug this into your little amp at home and it sounds
because it was, and is, a favourite of some landmark huge. But if you then plug it into something like the Marshall
hard-rock players, such as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, who you JTM45,” he trails off… Loud, malevolent gain tones thick with
might imagine would turn to more boutique offerings. However, pinched harmonic squeals follow. “It’s a big, fat, angry sound,”
the DS-1’s combination of ample bottom end and aggressive Daniel concludes and Mick agrees, adding: “If you were playing
mids have made it a classic match with high-gain heads and an 80s hair-metal guitar like an Ibanez or a Jackson or
closed-back cabinets, which together send jagged chunks of something like that, a lot of that midrange would be scooped
sonic masonry flying. out even more, especially if you had some crazy ‘idiotbucker’ in
“Imagine – it’s 1980 and there’s some hair‑metal tune on the the bridge position,” he jokes.
radio and everywhere, there are guys in their bedrooms saying, “It’s very aggressive-sounding,” Dan comments. “And that is
‘How do I get that [shred] sound?” Daniel Steinhardt says. “So with the distortion actually set quite low, but the level high.”
Boss brought out the DS-1, which is a very angry-sounding
distortion pedal.”
The DS-1 was launched in 1978, and its characteristic Like this? Try these…
hard-edged clipping is generated by a diode-based gain circuit.
The op-amp fitted was originally a Toshiba TA136AP unit but BOSS DS-1X £109
this changed to Rohm, Mitsubishi and New Japan Radio If you like the DS-1, you should definitely give this
alternatives in later production versions. Although its classic next-generation update a try, as it’s a really interesting
orange styling looks unchanged at first glance, there have been proposition. The big new feature is its Multi-
a few small revisions over the years, for example in the Dimensional Processing, which translates in real-world
placement of the DS-1 model name relative to the word terms as a precise, ultra-detailed tone that seems to
‘Distortion’ emblazoned above it. occupy a wider space in the stereo image. Crisper,
hotter and more expansive-sounding than its older
Sounds brother, trialled back-to-back, it makes the original DS-1
Our experts start off with the AC30 and the ’58 Les Paul reissue seem flat and lacking in sparkle, though its voice is very
– the mid-rich Vox and Marshall being most suited to handling modern so it’s not one for retro-heads, who may prefer
hard-rock distortion tones among our three test amplifiers. Robert Keeley-modded versions of the original if they’re
After a few joyful minutes of not-entirely-grown-up riffage, Mick craving more bottom end than stock units.
observes: “I’ve just got to say this: that’s the best-sounding http://uk.boss.info
DS-1 I have ever heard!” Daniel concurs and adds: “This
particular DS-1 belongs to Dave Gregory [formerly guitarist with Free The Tone Heat Blaster £345
XTC and now Tin Spirits] and he bought it in the 80s, and used A distortion pedal for people who don’t like distortion
it on most of the XTC stuff with pedals then. It’s a corking- pedals, the Heat Blaster uses a JRC072D op-amp here,
sounding distortion pedal.” in conjunction with red LEDs for the clipping (most
“Every one I’ve heard since then sounds thinner,” Mick pedals use diodes) that grant a little more headroom
muses, and Dan adds that the newer ones do seem to be voiced and less squidgy compression than found in many
distortion pedals, cutting down on fizz and maximising
“Imagine – it’s 1980 and there’s some texture and character. The useful low and high cut
hair‑metal tune on the radio and controls will also help you find an ideal balance with
your amp. It’s the polar opposite of the template set by
everywhere, there are guys in their the DS-1 in some ways, and some will prefer it for that
bedrooms saying, ‘How do I get that very reason.

www.freethetone.com
[shred] sound?’”
109
OUTPUT
110
INPUT
Marshall the guv’nor

Big Jim Marshall left his mark on more than just an iconic series of amps.
In its Guv’nor from the 90s, Marshall turned in a very cool distortion pedal
T
hough they stand in the long shadow of Marshall’s
towering stacks, the Milton Keynes company’s drive Like this? Try these…
effects are by no means poor relations, though many of
its pedals took the voicing of its heavy-hitting amps as Empress Effects Heavy £259
an inspiration. Many players who took up the guitar in the Like tweakable distortion? This Empress Effects unit
1990s will undoubtedly feel a wave of misty-eyed nostalgia, does what it says on the tin, with gusto. It’s a dual-
then, as they gaze upon the no-frills black metal enclosure channel design with oodles of gain on tap, plus a
and distinctive wedge shape of the Guv’nor high-gain Guv’nor-like three-band EQ for sculpting the living rock
overdrive, which has made its way to us here thanks to an of your high-gain tone. There’s also a noise gate to keep
extraordinarily kind and prompt loaner from one of Daniel unwanted noise to a minimum, while the pedal has a
Steinhardt’s regular customers. relatively small footprint on your ’board for a twin-
Released along with the low-gain Blues Breaker and channel design.
middleweight Drive Master in the early 90s, the Guv’nor was http://empresseffects.com
almost the hottest of the bunch (the aptly named Shred
Master had even more beans) and was, in its way, quite Wampler Triple Wreck £239
progressive as a piece of 90s pedal design – and has since American tones more your kind of thing? Take a look at
proven to be a major inspiration to latter-day effects makers. Wampler’s Triple Rec, whose name hints at the
“There are lots of really great distortion pedals that owe their hard-edged US metal-amp lineage it was inspired by.
existence to this thing,” Daniel Steinhardt comments. Like the Empress Heavy, it has a three-band EQ to give
“I remember reading Guitarist back in the day and seeing definition to the abundant gain on tap and help you
ads for that pedal, and just wanting it so bad,” Mick adds, match it with the tone of your amp, vintage and modern
speaking for lots of players out there. voicings, and a boost switch to step up the aggression
on demand.
Sounds http://wamplerpedals.com
“The Guv’nor was a unique circuit,” Daniel resumes. “Back in
the day, this was Marshall broadening its horizons, and as well
as quite a special circuit, it also has this three-band EQ instead
of a single tone control, so the Guv’nor was something you The fa
Tone Tip
well w ct this
ith a c pedal
could dial in to suit pretty much any amplifier. So let’s have a amp n lean b works
ods to ase to so
listen to it with the Les Paul into the Marshall JTM45.” towar an em ne set
ds am erging up on
ps tha trend the
Predictably, Marshall into Marshall yields a tidal wave of headr t are d in am
oom a esigne p desig
commanding, bass-heavy drive, although the amp itself is set Fende nd act d to p n:
r’s up as a b rovide
Victor rated lank c plenty
up to run quite clean. y’s V4 Mike L anvas of
uses a 0 hea andau for eff
lot of p d are g Hot R ects.
“That is fat,” Mick comments, admiringly. “It’s huge, isn’t it?” edals o o d exam o d DeVille
base t and lik ples – ML or
adds Daniel. Running it, next, into the AC30 trades a little one o e the w if you’r
consid f warm a e a pla
er wh - bu t-pow y th ey gel yer th
low-end mumbo for smooth-but-searing lower mids. But the ether erful, togeth at
in eve your c opener wit
overall impression here is one of bottomless power and a n part urren s o h the
nersh t amp u nding
speak ip with has en amps
smooth but well-defined voicing. ing, th effect ough , then
clippin e lowe s such shunt
“Interestingly enough, the Guv’nor is a little bit softer than r the o a s th to wor
g and utput, th e G uv’no k
with a comp e mor r. Gen
some distortions on the attack,” Daniel says. “It’s not harsh. drive p ressio e of th erally
e n you’l e a
pedal dal. If l hear mp’s o
But it works brilliantly into an amplifier that’s quite open. Now, with e you w when wn
xtra c ant to you p
try an larity h ea r t ush it
that pedal into an amplifier that’s dimed, is a little bit too amp t and p h e voice
hat’s v roject of the
compressed. But with a lovely big clean sound on the amp, it’s oiced ion, ho
and w to sup wever
fantastic. Because it simulates natural amp compression – it’s hich h p ort eff ,
as ple ects,
headr n t y o f
great. But although this is less aggressive than some of the oom.
pedals here, it still has all the high-gain range.”
111
OUTPUT
Tone Tip ve
are designed to ha
Drive pedals that ap s the
ance fo rm pe rh
amp‑like perform
class of drive
and progressive
most interesting must be said
today. Although it
effects available effect that’s
aking a solid-state
that the idea of m when it’s probab
ly
d like a valve amp,
designed to soun p anyway, is jus t a
ed into a valve am
going to be plugg ), Te ch21 and a host of
pler (see be low
little strange. Wam eful inspiration fo
r
s have all found us
coat-tailing clone r. We’d stick ou r ne ck s
ger ones, howeve
little boxes in big the brigh t, rich
pedals that copy
out and say that the most
ps are of ten
chime of Vox am add pep,
ing the chance to
successful, offer onic
and a bit of harm
lively upper mids
ps.
detail to duller am
112
INPUT
FULLTONE ocd overdrive

Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor get obsessive about what’s arguably
the most flexible and usable distortion pedal that there’s ever been
L
os Angeles-based effects maker Mike Fuller is very much a
maverick genius of the effects world. When he’s not racing Like this? Try these…
vintage Ford Mustang sports cars, he’s under the bonnet
of a new effects pedal, tweaking, refining, innovating and Wampler Thirty Something £255
generally sculpting great sounds. Though it’s hard to pick a Wampler seems to have a great handle on getting
single ‘winner’ from among his many successful drive pedals – amp-like performance from stompboxes and it’s
which are often lateral-thinking evolutions of classic designs created a number of excellent pedals that take classic
– the pedal that you’ll see owned (and cloned) the most is his amps as their inspiration. The Thirty Something, also
excellent OCD. Somewhere between a hottish overdrive and an produced as the Ace Thirty, is intended to mimic the
all-out distortion, some of the complex, chimey graduation into chiming British gain tones of the Vox AC15 and AC30
drive that’s found in smaller British amps such as the Vox AC15 combos, with a Headroom switch to toggle between
also forms part of its crisp but pliant tonal character. two styles of breakup inspired by those amps. Internal
“This is another distortion pedal that the internet blew up gain trim pots allow you to optimise it for either
about, when it came out,” Daniel says. “It’s a fantastic-sounding single-coil pickups or hotter humbuckers, without
thing. If you imagine when Boss was making the DS-1 they were losing the chimey charm Wampler was shooting for.
making it to a price-point; by comparison, what Fulltone did was http://wamplerpedals.com
they simply started making their stuff with the best-quality
components they could.” Tech21 SansAmp Character series Liverpool V2
£154
“This is another distortion pedal that Eagles’ legend Joe Walsh is a big fan of this SansAmp
take on the Vox sound, enthusing in issue 356 of
the internet blew up about, when it Guitarist that: “The key knob is Character, and when
came out. It’s a fantastic-sounding you move that, it’ll go from a Vox Beatle sound to the
other extreme, where it sounds like a Plexi. This is a
thing… What Fulltone did was they secret I shouldn’t be telling you, but it’s the best pedal
simply started making their stuff I’ve ever come across,” he told us.
www.tech21nyc.com
with the best-quality components”
bass. He takes up Daniel’s Fender Custom Shop Telecaster to
The OCD, Fuller says, was something he designed for himself investigate the theory.
that he reckoned would prove popular with other players, and “I think a Strat’s gonna sound too thin with any of these
so it has. A front-mounted switch allows users to either select distortion pedals,” he says. “I think we need to go with a DS-1
the more transparent, boost-like drive tones of the pedal’s Low and the Tele bridge pickup into the Marshall first,” he proposes,
Peak mode or toppier, louder performance when High Peak before launching into some exploratory riffing with that
mode is selected. The pedal’s tone control, meanwhile, rolls off combination. Switching to the OCD directly afterwards for
high end without affecting bass frequencies. Its excellent comparison reveals some more points of difference. Daniel
dynamics and detailed articulation also make it one of the most notes the OCD is “definitely tighter in the bottom end, and also
amp-like of drive pedals. “Let’s compare the OCD to the DS-1 that midrange is more pronounced”.
into the AC30,” Daniel proposes. An excellent idea… “Certainly with this guitar [the Tele], it brings more of the
aggression that I would associate with a distortion pedal,” Mick
Sounds says. Daniel adds that the tone control range on the OCD is
A short but intense period of high-gain play follows, as Mick and quite broad, “because most of the time, people are playing
Daniel evaluate the OCD’s performance. “Again, the OCD is these with humbuckers. Those are more compressed than
very ‘angry’ but there’s more midrange in there than with the single coils, so Fulltone has made sure that there’s an amount
DS-1, it’s more even,” Daniel argues. Mick, meanwhile, wonders of tonal range in there so it still sounds nice and edgy used with
if the OCD has more midrange than the DS-1, or simply less a humbucker.”
113
OUTPUT
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October 2017 33
Over the following pages, we look
in more depth at the classic pedal
choices of five star players to find
out how inventive use of effects
became a crucial element of their
signature soundscapes
© Michael Ochs Archives / redferns / getty
1969 WOODSTOCK
setup:
Vox V846 Wah
Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face
Univox Uni-Vibe
Jimi wows the crowds Marshall 100-watt 1959SLP
with his trusty effects Super Lead x2
close by, in 1970
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Star Pedal choices Guitarist Guide To Effects
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi’s driven experimentation and unrivalled sonic imagination
saw him use his effects to redefine the boundaries of guitar – with
a little help from his friends…
J
imi Hendrix was of course a unique talent, but there simulator. In the studio especially, Hendrix, Mayer and his
were a number of significant factors that made his guitar engineers would use whatever means they had at their disposal
tone unorthodox, even before it reached his pedals. The to capture the sound they wanted, and this resulted in many
first was that he would restring his Stratocasters upside and continuous modifications, reorderings and revoicing of the
down; this meant the ‘speaking’ length of the bass and basic components of his gear setup, from guitar to speaker cab
treble strings would be reversed, and the resonant chambers and beyond.
of the Stratocaster would be in a different location to the
normal setup. Hendrix also used a custom string gauge and
tuned his guitar lower than concert pitch.
FX guru Roger Mayer, Hendrix’s collaborator and friend, has
FX Focus
also pointed out that when it came to live playing, a simple chain Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face
of effects that was highly controllable using the guitar’s volume Hear it on: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
knob would offer Jimi creative freedom on stage. “His setup ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ (throughout),
was made for the live performances, which have a different ‘Are You Experienced?’, (1967)
focus, both sonically and – more importantly – in musical The Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face used live by Jimi came with
freedom and variation from the [recorded] songs,” Mayer told different transistors: Hendrix used both germanium and silicon
www.guitargeek.com in 2011. “So, put another way, the live versions. A fuzz aficionado, he also used many units built by
shows were deliberately different from the studio work, and Roger Mayer, including his famous Axis Fuzz, on various studio
could vary infinitely from day to day in a total free-form way.” recordings and with Band Of Gypsys.
The pedals that enabled this freedom were established
early on: a Vox Wah-Wah pedal, going into a germanium- Roger Mayer Octavia
transistor-based Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, with the occasional Hear it on: The Jimi Hendrix Experience ‘Fire’ (1:22),
addition of Roger Mayer’s own Octavia octave-doubling effect, ‘Are You Experienced?’ (1967)
and – from 1969 onwards – the Univox Uni-Vibe rotary speaker This distinctive frequency-doubling pedal began
Roger Mayer’s sonic partnership with Hendrix. Jimi used it
throughout his recording career on songs as varied as Fire and
Little Wing, and he also used one live on occasion.
Uni-Vibe
Hear it on: Band Of Gypsys ‘Machine
Gun’ (throughout), ‘Band Of Gypsys’,
(1970)
Hendrix’s Woodstock performance of The Star-Spangled
Banner elevated the Uni-Vibe to legendary status, and its
expressive, dynamic swirl was employed throughout the Band
Of Gypsys album, to devastating effect.
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Guitarist Guide To Effects Star pedal choices
Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Texan blues legend’s love of Hendrix and pursuit of tone led to some
intriguing and experimental effects choices – but no matter what he played
through, there was no mistaking Stevie Ray’s style
S
tevie Ray Vaughan’s tone was more varied than many morphing phase shifts caused by the two pedals’ interactions
casual listeners realise. Though his guitar and amp – all while performing the song, of course.
setup remained fundamentally the same throughout Live, Vaughan’s pedal setup was stripped-down and
his career, he was perpetually refining his sound, functional. Besides the ever-present TS9 and TS10 Tube
culminating in the 32 amplifiers at his disposal during Screamer and judiciously employed Vox wah, he added a
sessions for his final Double Trouble album, In Step. When he variety of Hendrix-flavoured effects to his live setup over the
really pushed the boundaries, however, and stepped far years, including a Roger Mayer/TychoBrahe Octavia and Dallas
outside of the high-octane Texas blues remit, he was capable Arbiter Fuzz Face.
of using his effects as imaginatively as anyone – while always
retaining the instantly recognisable character of his playing.
His second album, 1984’s Couldn’t Stand The Weather,
featured many such moments. The guitar solo on the album’s
FX Focus
title track (2:47) and throughout hit single Cold Shot both Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9
feature the Fender Vibratone, a rotating speaker in a sturdy cab Hear It On: ‘Superstition’ (3:10 to end), ‘Live
specially voiced for guitar, while on his sensational Hendrix Alive’ (1986)
cover Voodoo Child (Slight Return), he uses his Vox V846 Wah SRV favoured Ibanez’s Tube Screamer (TS-9 initially,
to skilfully and dynamically channel the spirit of his idol more later replaced by the TS-10) to drive his harem of Fender
effectively than anyone has before or since. Vibroverb, Super Reverb, Dumble Steel String Singer and
Say What!, from Soul To Soul (1985), found him operating Marshall Major valve amps into distortion. “I use the Tube
two wahs at once throughout the whole of this funky Screamer because of the tone knob,” he told Guitar World in
instrumental workout, coaxing crunchy attack, luxuriant 1983. “That way you can vary the distortion and tonal range.
sustaining notes and exploring rich seams of overlapping, You can turn it on slightly to get a Guitar Slim tone, which is
how I use it, or wide open so your guitar sounds like it should
jump up and bite you.”
Vox V846 Wah

Hear It On: ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’
(throughout), ‘Couldn’t Stand The Weather’
(1982)
Vaughan had several Vox wahs, but his pride and joy (ahem)
was the 60s Vox V846 pedal that his brother, Jimmie Vaughan,
was given by Jimi Hendrix (after Jimi broke Jimmie’s during a
show where they were both on the bill). Listen to Say What!
l-o-u-d for a masterclass in wah dynamics.
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1985 live setup:
MXR Loop Splitter
Vox V846 Wah
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Dumble Steel String Singer
Marshall Major
Fender Super Reverb x2
Fender Vibroverb
Fender Vibratone
SRV’s live pedal setup

was stripped down
and functional, but
still expressive
© Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank / rex features
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The Edge sees pedals
and effects as an
integral part of his
creative approach
Edge’s onstage board

for the 360° Tour:
Durham Electronics SexDrive
Boss CS-3 Compressor
Sustain
DigiTech Synth Wah Pedal
Death By Audio Harmonic
Transformer
Death By Audio Fuzz Gun
Electro Harmonix POG
Line 6 DM4
© Sipa Press / REX / Shutterstock
Death By Audio Soundwave

Breakdown
Boss Noise Suppressor NS-2
Boss EQ GE-7
Skrydstrup Bufferooster
Boss FET FA-1 Drive Breaker
… Plus 29 other units in an

understage lair!
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The Edge
U2’s ‘scientist’ has the greatest effects setup of all time – and
it’s so complex, guitar tech Dallas Schoo has to help operate it
from an understage base
E
dge is very guitar-specific,” Dallas Schoo told Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
MusicRadar in 2009, during setup for a 360° Tour show Here it on: U2 ‘I Will Follow’ (throughout)
in New York. “Last night, he used 21 different guitars for ‘Boy’ (1980)
24 songs.” If you think that’s over-the-top, wait until you The key ingredient in The Edge’s early style,
see his pedal board. U2’s live show is rock ’n’ roll on a the Deluxe Memory Man is all over U2’s first two albums, and
totally unprecedented scale. During performances, Schoo not was used until the 1990s. “I just got totally into listening to the
only manages the changeovers between guitars, he also sits in return echo, filling in notes that I’m not playing, like two guitar
a pit under the stage and watches his employer like a hawk for players rather than one; the exact same thing, but just a little
any cues through a six-inch window; because while The Edge bit off to one side,” he said in the It Might Get Loud
has a pedalboard and changes his own settings, when he goes documentary. “I could see ways to use it that had never been
walkabout on the vast stage, many of the gigantic, iconic FX used. Suddenly everything changed.”
sounds you’ll hear at a U2 gig are switched in by Schoo.
While we’re discussing what is undoubtedly among the Korg SDD-3000
most complex stage setups ever created, three factors remain Here it on: U2 ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ (0:00-0:35)
constant – one is a 1976 Gibson Explorer; the second, the ’64 ‘The Joshua Tree’ (1987)
Vox AC30TB which 95 per cent of the guitarist’s presets go These rackmounted delays, used in tandem, and the TC
through, and the other is the pair of rack-mounted Korg SDD Electronic 2290s he uses live, create The Edge’s signature
2000s delay units, responsible for the gargantuan sounds of guitar part: the cyclical intro to Where The Streets Have No
Where The Streets Have No Name, Pride (In The Name Of Love) Name from The Joshua Tree.
and With Or Without You. He told Guitar Player in 2000: “Even though they are digital,
While Edge’s modern-day set-up could be the subject of a they have a warm and musical tone. I find most digital gear very
book all of its own, there are some seminal effects that helped hard to deal with, because the natural musical quality of the
define his sound throughout the band’s meteoric rise. guitar is compromised. It takes all the beautiful texture away
and replaces it with this glassy, artificial sound. That makes it
FX Focus tough to get inspired.”
Ampeg Scrambler
Here it on: U2 ‘Kite’ (2:24)
‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ (2000)
The Boss SD-1 and Elecro-Harmonix Big Muff
were The Edge’s early distortion and fuzz, but his palette has
widened to include a spectrum of rackmounted, multi-effect
and pedal-based drives. All That You Can’t Leave Behind is full
of great distorted tones: Kite’s fuzzy solo is courtesy of a 1964
Gretsch Country Gentleman into a rare Ampeg Scrambler.
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Guitarist Guide To Effects Star pedal choices
David Gilmour
David Gilmour has provided the heartbeat of Pink Floyd’s
world-conquering sound, and an ever-expanding arsenal of
almost every imaginable effect has taken centre stage
W
hen David Gilmour joined Floyd in 1968, his gear time. But for all of his exploration of technology, it’s clear where
mirrored that of erratic frontman Syd Barrett, and he believes his sound originates.
included Syd’s own Tele, Selmer amps, a “One thing about my guitar sounds… I think I could walk into
Wah-Wah, a DeArmond volume pedal, a Fuzz any music shop anywhere and with a guitar off the rack, a
Face, and a Binson Echorec II. Flash-forward to couple of basic pedals and an amp I could sound just like me,”
Pink Floyd’s 1994 Pulse tour, and his Mission Control-esque he told Guitar World in 1988. “There are no devices, customised
live setup of more than 10 guitars, complex switchable effects or otherwise, that give me my sound. It comes off my fingers.”
chains and rackmounted units (summarised below), and a
veritable wall of Hiwatt amplification including two Doppola
rotating speaker cabs, has steadily evolved into one of the
most sophisticated guitar sounds ever assembled.
FX Focus
Gilmour’s setup evolved along with Floyd’s increasingly Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
grandiose musical ambitions, and voraciously incorporated and Hear it on: Pink Floyd ‘Comfortably Numb’ (2:04)
melded cutting-edge advances in guitar effects and studio ‘The Wall’ (1979)
technology. By 1972, the year before Dark Side Of The Moon, Gilmour has used the Big Muff, and custom-made
his effects were mounted in a custom cabinet, and had variations thereof, since he was introduced to Electro-
expanded to include two Binson Echorecs, two Fuzz Faces, a Harmonix’ fuzz overlord in the mid-70s. Comfortably Numb,
Big Muff, an MXR Phase 90, a Crybaby, an Electric Mistress with what’s widely regarded as the best solo of all time,
Flanger and Orange treble and bass booster. By the mid-1970s, features the effect; and the first solo in Money features a
he’d turned to FX builder Pete Cornish to create a custom rack Sovtek version.
system, and later added a Bob Bradshaw pedalboard switching
setup: as Floyd’s gigs became gargantuan and theatrical in Univox Uni-Vibe
scope, his stage setups followed suit. All of this makes Gilmour Hear it on: Pink Floyd ‘Any Colour You
perhaps the most technologically advanced bluesman of all Like’ (1:19)
‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ (1973)
Gilmour loved the Uni-Vibe so much, his guitar tech Phil Taylor
rebuilt it in rack form, and added the iconic logo.
Binson Echorec 2/PE

Hear it on: Pink Floyd ‘Echoes’ (intro) ‘Meddle’ (1970)
Gilmour inherited the Binson Echorec 2 tape echo when he
first joined the band, but managed to exploit it to its full
potential until retiring it in 1977 in favour of MXR digital delays.
“I was tired of cleaning it and needed something more reliable,”
was his reasoning. It’s just about visible in the shot on the
facing page…
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Gilmour with a few of
his favourite things, at
Hyde Park in 1970
1994 PULSE/Division
Bell tour:
Boss MZ-2
Pete Cornish P2
Chandler Tube Driver x2
ProCo RAT II
Sovtek Big Muff
Pete Cornish SS-2
Boss GE-7 x2
Jim Dunlop/Heil Talk Box
Digitech Whammy 1
© Michael Putland / Getty
Ernie Ball volume pedal

Ernie Ball expression pedal
Boss CS-2 compressor
MXR Dynacomp
Ibanez CP-9 compressor
Plus extra rack units
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White Stripes-era
pedal board:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
MXR Micro Amp
DigiTech Whammy
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
Electro-Harmonix POG
Jack White mixes

lo-fi and hi-tech gear
to forge his direct,
powerful sound
© DAVID BUCHAN/REX/Shutterstock
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Jack White
The White Stripes may have only been a two-piece, but that didn’t stop
Jack White using everything at his disposal – especially effects – to get his
elemental message across
M
ichigan garage-rock duo Jack and Meg White of his repertoire. Guitars with effects built in seem to be a rockstar
The White Stripes formed in 1997, and by the fixation – The Edge has built a Fernandes Sustainer into one of
release of 2003’s Elephant, their brand of blues, his, Muse’s Matt Bellamy has Hugh Manson guitars with Kaoss
punk and garage-rock in a raw and unadulterated Pads, Fuzz Factory, Phase 90s and other effects onboard – and
red, white and black colour scheme saw their White is no exception. His Gretsch ‘Triple Green Machine’ has
popularity peak with the single Seven Nation Army. Its riff, an MXR Micro Amp, a light-activated theremin and a retractable
adopted as an anthem for sports crowds everywhere, typified microphone, no less. For The Raconteurs, he added an
Jack White’s deceptively complex approach, using a Kay Electro-Harmonix Bass Balls pedal, a tremolo and some
Hollowbody tuned to open A (though the song is in the key of custom effects to his copper-themed board.
E) and a DigiTech Whammy IV tracking the low octave
underpinning its sound into a mix of a vintage Silvertone 610
combo and a Fender Twin amp. The title track from the Stripes’
final album, Icky Thump, saw White experimenting with his
FX Focus
Whammy and Big Muff and an Electro-Harmonix POG to DigiTech Whammy
create unhinged, otherworldly lead guitar squalls (from 3:14). Hear it on: The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’,
The White Stripes split in 2011, and White’s other projects, ‘Icky Thump’ (3:14) guitar solo
which include the classic-rock orientated Raconteurs, The Originally inspired by Tom Morello’s use of the pedal
Dead Weather (in which he primarily plays drums) and his own in Rage Against The Machine, the Whammy’s octave effects
varied solo work, have see n a variety of customised and classic have become inseparable with White’s sound.
guitars, and (often colour-coordinated) pedal setups added to
Electro-Harmonix POG
Hear it on: The White Stripes ‘I’m Slowly
Turning Into You’, ‘Blue Orchid’, ‘Icky
Thump’
White told Guitar Player: “I think I was the first person to
record with one on the White Stripes song Blue Orchid.
Electro-Harmonix sent me one as a present when we were
recording Get Behind Me Satan. Blue Orchid came out two
weeks after the session, so it had to be the first song to feature
the POG. I use it to add the first and second octaves below,
and one octave above the root note. It’s four of the same
note simultaneously.”
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Guitarist Guide To Effects unsung heroes
Unsung Heroes
We join Dan Steinhardt of TheGigRig to discover why these four
pedals – all uncelebrated gems – deserve a great deal more praise
Professional MKII GE-7 Equalizer

By Pigdog Pedals By Boss
“So this is an example of a pedal by Pigdog Pedals in London. The “The GE-7 by itself is really great, but you can also get them modded
amount of work and research and knowledge that’s gone into it is – Analog Man does mods for them, for example – just to make them
astonishing. He doesn’t just use the best components available a bit quieter, but they are so handy to have. Why? Well, if you’re a
but he’s used original transistors from the MKII Tone Bender. All touring musician and you don’t necessarily know what amp you’ll
the transistors are matched and then everything is tested by ear. be given on the night, and let’s say they’ve given you an old Marshall,
But also, this pedal [which replicates the MKII Tone Bender] you can just pull out any frequencies that you don’t want to hear.
works beautifully with buffers. So the guy’s a genius. Or if you’re used to playing Voxes and you’ve been given a Twin, you
“The original Tone Bender was a very important pedal in the need to add a hump in the mid-range. For that, this is wonderful. Or
history of guitar tone. From Clapton to Mick Ronson, and of let’s say you’ve got a distortion pedal but you need to tame down
course Jimmy Page… the Tone Bender had a massive influence the bottom end a little, then you can put the EQ behind the
on the sound of guitars. But again, it was a really temperamental- distortion pedal. It’s a trick that’s been used by a lot of the top guys,
sounding pedal. Lots of people have tried to come up with really because if you’ve got the EQ pedal in the loop with a distortion pedal,
good Tone Benders. It’s not a difficult circuit, and there are lots you can shape the sound of the signal that’s going into the
of good-sounding ones out there, but it is a very sensitive circuit, distortion, so it’s great just for tailoring tone. For example, I’ve got a
and I’ve never heard one sound anything like this Pigdog pedal. pedal here, which is a 2CH Dynamic Distortion from Lehan Labs. It’s
That sort of quality can only come from someone who is amazing, but the bottom end is just a little bit too big by itself. My
absolutely obsessed!” sound is very focused, and whenever I stick the Dynamic Distortion
on it’s just ridiculously trouser-flapping. But if I put the GE-7 before it
and then just pull down the bottom end, it’s perfect.”
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unsung heroes Guitarist Guide To Effects
Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz Mu-Tron Phasor II

By Rose-Morris/Shin-ei By Musitronics
“Back in the very early 70s, companies such as Shin-ei “Everyone knows the Mu-Tron III, which is the envelope filter to
would make fuzz pedals for whoever wanted to sell fuzz have, but the Mu-Tron Phasor II is a wonderful-sounding phaser
pedals under the name of their own guitar shop or what that has the depth and rate of a normal phaser, but also has this
have you. So in that period, the Rose-Morris shop in feedback control here which gives it an almost flanger-like quality,
Denmark Street commissioned a bunch of fuzz pedals feeding some of that signal back in – so it’s a unique-sounding
which were known as the Duo-Fuzz. Now, usually they phaser. They’re very rare but I heard one years ago and started
would use whatever components they had to hand to hunting for one, because it was just a sound I had not heard
build fuzzes for various customers – but for some reason anywhere else. It’s from the same ‘family’ as the Bi-Phase, but the
the Rose-Morris Duo Fuzz was just perfect. It couldn’t Bi-Phase is a massive big thing, with parts of the same circuit in it.
have been planned that way – and it has a sound unlike But this is unique because they’ve included that feedback circuitry.
any other fuzz pedal. Just perfect. They are 120 volts, so you’ve got to get the adaptor and all that stuff,
“Originally, I got this pedal for about £80, and now but as a thing to have in the studio, they’re absolutely remarkable.”
they’re going for £500. The big tell is the enclosure, which
Dan Steinhardt of TheGigRig builds to-die-for
is sort of wedge shaped and with the two controls on the
pedalboards for some of the world’s most
side. I was very lucky because I saw that, and recognised sonically-demanding guitarists, including Steve
the enclosure, but the label had actually fallen off. They Vai and Steven Wilson. He’s played, repaired or
are harmonically the most dstinctive-sounding fuzz ever. owned just about every effects unit worthy of the
name, from vintage classics to boutique beauties.
Really wonderful. Steve Hackett used these and it’s all
To find out more about Dan and his work visit
over The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.” www.thegigrig.com
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Guitarist Guide To Effects Pedal Crazy
Experimental, wacky – or just plain scary? If you want a dash of

sonic insanity in your signal chain, here’s a selection of some of the
most outlandish stompers ever devised…
Truly Crushsound
Beautiful Disaster Farmer’s Mill
www.deviever.com/fx/truly-beautiful-disaster www.crushsound.com/farmers-mill
£275.15 £300
When Guitarist received the Truly Beautiful Crushsound describes its (rather large) box
Disaster for review, we promptly sent it back, as “the sound engineer’s nightmare” – and the
assuming it was broken. We were assured it sound it makes as “like a burning guitar cable”. If
wasn’t – it was supposed to sound like that. that sounds like sonic heaven to you, then you’ll
Oscillating fuzz with a feedback loop and a love the Farmer’s Mill’s ability to create anything
photosensitive eye, it’s fuzzier than a rockstar’s from scratchy vinyl to full-on broken stuttering
memory of the 1960s, and famous users include chaos. Plus, it only operates when its switch is
My Bloody Valentine, Silversun Pickups and Wire, depressed, enabling you to summon and dismiss the
among others. ‘electric mud’ at will.
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Pedal Crazy Guitarist Guide To Effects
Moog
MoogerFooger
www.moogmusic.com
$299 to $599
The genius that was late synth legend
Bob Moog lives on in the MoogerFooger
range of specialised, boutique
soundshapers from the company
that bears his name. The range
EHX HOG2 Harmonic consists of all kinds of analogue

effects modules: examples
Octave Generator include the classic Lowpass

Filter for vintage Moog electro
madness; the Ring Modulator
www.ehx.com
for robot uprisings, clanging
Mike Matthews has been pioneering effects gongs and spaced-out
since the 60s, and his Electro-Harmonix range oscillation; and the Cluster
packs more hidden weirdness than a Syd Flux for self-oscillating
Barrett record. The brand-new HOG2 is a chorus and flange
multi-talented box capable of 10 controllable modulations. Any pedals
harmonies, with ways to create synth-like that come with a Training
filters and textures, alter pitch, freeze notes DVD gets our vote.
or chords, produce glissando slides and
more. Hook up an expression pedal and
dive in…
Godley
ZVex Creme Gizmotron
Lo-Fi Loop Junky www.mu-tron.org
£discontinued
z-vex.com
This short-lived hexaphonic motorised guitar-
£319 (hand-painted version) effect gadget was invented by Godley and
Loopers come and go, but the Lo-Fi Loop Junky’s trick Crème of 10CC in 1973, to try and simulate
is to add all-analogue hiss, crackle, pitch warble and violin and slide effects when attached to a
other artefacts to your loops until they sound as though standard electric guitar’s bridge. Its six keys
they’re being played on your nan’s broken Walkman. each contained a serrated wheel, which when
Despite its lo-fi credentials and sound, it features True activated would continuously bow the string at
Bypass, and will preserve a revered loop for up to varying levels of dynamic sensitivity. It can be
100 years, even without a battery. How they tested heard on 10CC’s I’m Not In Love, and Led Zep’s
that, we don’t know – but future generations will In Through The Out Door. It looks and sounds
definitely love the Lo-Fi Loop Junky. exactly what the 1970s felt like.
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Guitarist Guide To Effects Effects Pedal Ads from the archiveS
130
INPUT
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Guide To
PEDALS
HOW TO
Get the best from your effects
Build a pedalboard
Order your pedals
Power your ’board
FAMOUS PLAYERS & SOUNDS

The 50 greatest guitar
effects sounds
Real-life rigs examined
Iconic player-pedal combos
PEDALS PEDALS PEDALS!

Essential boost, overdrive
and distortion pedals
Expert tone tips
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AND MUCH MORE!

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Over

The fuzz’s recorded

The Fuzz-Tone the Tycobrahe Octavia (a

for rock mayhem, Blender and – an octave-

marketed to jazzers well, inherently monophonic,

The Edge’s playing on earlier U2 albums in particular, and check

Print, digital and print/digital bundle offers at

or quieter and more versatile at least, usually with true-bypass

Bass Guitar Magazine is also available on

Guitarist: The Edge

“Whether it’s a Fuzz-Tone or a wah-wah pedal, if it’s

consciousness. This reached its stadium-filling apex on

Robert Fripp/Peter Gabriel Sweet Smashing Pumpkins The Beatles

Guitarist: Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix’s use of fuzz pedals went back even further.

the Octavia, purpose-built for Jimi by UK effects

REM Muse Van Halen

© Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

RADIOHEAD Peter Frampton

Guitarist: Jonny Greenwood Guitarist: Peter Frampton

Led Zeppelin Pink Floyd Steve Vai Robin Trower

© Andre Csillag / Rex / shutterstock

Guitarist: Kurt Cobain

grunge guitar antihero, Effect used: Echoplex EP-3

Tool Yes Guns N’ Roses Alice In Chains

THE WHITE STRIPES

Guitarist: Jack White

Seven Nation Army’s intro might be catchy enough

Russian Circles Racer X Steely Dan Philip Sayce

THE ROLLING STONES

Guitarist: Keith Richards

One morning in May 1965, at a Florida motel, Keith

Minus The Bear Mudhoney Black Sabbath Blur

Guitarist: Andy Summers

Guitarist: Richie Sambora This classic

Green Day ZZ Top KT Tunstall John Martyn

© Dezo Hoffmann / Rex / SHutterstock

Guitarist Alex Lifeson

Alex Lifeson’s rig has grown

The Cult Bloc Party Cream Elvis

Guitarist: Tom Morello

He’s a guitarist who has made his reputation with the

incredible sounds he can make on a guitar with just his

Joe Walsh Smashing Pumpkins The Smiths John Mayer

1 The fabled Ibanez Tube Screamer has a very

2 Overdrive is a versatile sound, and

3 The best overdrive pedals will offer a range

What it sounds like Best Of Breed

How it does it www.fulltone.com

1 At low volumes, you may find you need high

2 What’s the difference between overdrive

3 Some techniques are greatly facilitated by

What it sounds like Best Of Breed

How it does it www.mesaboogie.com

1 Although primitive fuzz circuits produced an

2 The germanium transistors used in

3 Where you place your fuzz in the signal

What it sounds like Best Of Breed

1 Boost is often placed first in a signal chain,