Who knows anything about electric guitars? I'm looking for something.

[PaulB]

Right, it's not the guitar itself, because I have a beaut that I love (a cherry read Epiphone) or advice how to play it. What I want is a foot pedal to give me an array of sounds and effects. Now that shops are shut, I can't go in to my local geetar shop and pick the brains of the hairy hippies behind the counter so I'm asking you lot out there for some kindly advice.

This is my first real go at playing an electric guitar and I'm very pleased with my progress and the speed I'm moving with things but all the songs I'm content with are starting to sound a bit same-y so I'm looking for a way to add more interest by giving it some echo or tremolo or delay on the sound (those are my preferred three after browsing the youtube for some knowledge) but I just know there are wiser guitar-heads out there who could provide some experience for a would-be distortionist (it is now).

So all advice eagerly wanted and I'll love you all forever for providing some suggestions.

 

[MntnMan62]

I'm not a guitar player. I'm just a drummer. But my teenage son plays electric bass and has purchased some pedals. There are tons of different effects pedals out there. My suggestion is start with one and see how you like it. Then get another. Which one to start with? I'd start with a Wah Wah pedal. Then once you've got a few you can build a pedal board to put them all on.

 

[SGG on a bike]

Can you give a little more info on your current setup/amp and budget? What you’re after goes from cheap to silly expensive!

 

[Drago]

And what are you using it for? Bedroom practice? Pub band? Stadiums?

If you don't want to spend a lot get a Yamaha Session Cake, download Tonebridge, and for very little cash you've an excellent practice headphone amp with endless effects. Then, with the correct lead, you can send the signal to the Hi Z input on your amp.

 

[winjim]

All. The. Pedals.

View: https://youtu.be/iWRfLuJ_NKw

 

[numbnuts]

Zoom G1on
https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-...-g1on-electric-guitar-multi-effects-processor

 

[Stephen Piper]

There are thousands of guitar effects pedals available either multi effect or stand alone, from expensive boutique to mass produced with brands like boss, zoom, line six being just a few. I have recently acquired a small Roland Cube amp which has built in effects for home noodling, also a sonicake multi effects pedal, which seems good for the money, even though I haven't used it in anger yet as band practices are yet to be allowed under the current covid lockdown.

 

[Seevio]

What's the budget for this?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Is it an Epiphone semi acoustic, like a Casino / Sheraton or similar? They're really well suited to a Boss Blues Driver, it's the only pedal I own and the only one I ever really needed for the style I play. I can get a clean sound or a bit of rock distort through the amp, but a blues sound is a lovely change and so suited to a semi acoustic.

 

[Salad Dodger]

PaulB you have two basic options:
1) a multi effects unit. Lots of effects built into a single box. Convenient to pick up and move about, but in my experience a bit of a wormhole because there are maybe too many options. Each "voice" has several parameters to set for the way the sound builds and decays, and I always found it difficult to settle on one final setting. It was like there was always something better that could be coaxed out of the box, if I could just get all the parameters adjusted correctly.
2) Individual pedals for delay, reverb or whatever effects you are after. A bit more fiddly to daisy chain them together, and putting them in different orders may affect the sound, but it's probably a bit more intuitive to start with. You just switch one on to get the type of sound you are after, then tweak the knobs on that pedal. No screens to work through, or patches to save in preset locations.

I am not qualified to advise on brands or which actual pieces of kit to buy. There is probably a huge amount on YouTube, but bear in mind that the kit is being demonstrated by the manufacturer or a shop (generally). They will employ a really good player, playing a really expensive guitar through a really good amp, and put through a really good processor to achieve a really good sounding demo. Of course they will. It doesn't necessarily mean that your setup will yield such beautiful tones. Don't be taken in by demos!

Good hunting!

 

[Pikey]

I’ve got a zoom, think it’s a g3 I’d be happy to sell. I don’t play any more and it’s sat on a shelf in the garage...

 

[PaulB]

Thanks you all for your valuable contributions, all have given me food for thought.

To fill in some details; I play with two ukulele bands when we're allowed so although I've been pretty much confined indoors now, I do have plans to play guitar with a group, the backbone of which will be my drum/percussion buddy, Simon (that's him with his dog on his knee) who's played professionally before. The guitar is an Epiphone semi-acoustic so the suggestion from Canucks Traveller above helps as does the one from Salad Dodger but I may consider Pikey's suggestion. One last thing, price wise I'm open ended really but don't want to buy something with too many bells and whistles that never get used.

Here's what we last did when we could meet up.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTG7Ssh0iK4

 

[Electric_Andy]

I would suggest buying a used, lower end multi-fx pedal. Spend some time playing about with it and see what sort of sounds you like and would use. A short delay for example was used a lot by Johhny Cash and gives a really good hillbilly sound. Combine that with reverbs etc and you'll get a nice sound.

Chorus is probably something you might use too, and Tremelo. Many of the effects; flangers, phasers, pitch shifters, are more suited when used with distortion/crunch. And certianly things like Wah Wah pedals (or auto-wah) are not what you'd use all the time, probably only in certain parts of certain songs.

Digitech Spacestation and Whammy pedals are a lot of fun but again are very niche and not the sort of thing you'd use for every song, but can produce some lovely sounds if you dial the settings back so they're not too extreme.

When you like what you hear, you can perhaps buy separate pedals for the 3 or 4 things you'd use. Or if you really get used to the tech inside multi-fx units then they can be a lot more handy, as you can programme a lot of different voices into different banks and easily switch between them with your foot. but I could never be bothered.

The thing with buying used is, you can sell it on if you don't like it, it's still "used" and IME you don't end up losing much when you sell it on.

 

[winjim]

I would suggest buying a used, lower end multi-fx pedal. Spend some time playing about with it and see what sort of sounds you like and would use. A short delay for example was used a lot by Johhny Cash and gives a really good hillbilly sound. Combine that with reverbs etc and you'll get a nice sound.

Chorus is probably something you might use too, and Tremelo. Many of the effects; flangers, phasers, pitch shifters, are more suited when used with distortion/crunch. And certianly things like Wah Wah pedals (or auto-wah) are not what you'd use all the time, probably only in certain parts of certain songs.

Digitech Spacestation and Whammy pedals are a lot of fun but again are very niche and not the sort of thing you'd use for every song, but can produce some lovely sounds if you dial the settings back so they're not too extreme.

When you like what you hear, you can perhaps buy separate pedals for the 3 or 4 things you'd use. Or if you really get used to the tech inside multi-fx units then they can be a lot more handy, as you can programme a lot of different voices into different banks and easily switch between them with your foot. but I could never be bothered.

The thing with buying used is, you can sell it on if you don't like it, it's still "used" and IME you don't end up losing much when you sell it on.

I've got an original Boss Dimension C somewhere. They're now going on ebay for something like ten times what I paid for it. Lovely little pedal.

 

[raleighnut]

Why not get one of the Fender Amps with DSP and some effects built in. for around £150 you get something OK for small Gigs and it has a Headphone socket for practicing.

View: https://youtu.be/KafkKR5L_Gs