The remarkable range of electronic possibilities has taken music to incredible levels of melody, tune, and harmony. The devices that make all this possible are versatile and diverse. Devices called effects boxes produce unique effects on guitar sounds.
octavizer
An input musical signal is mixed with a tone that is synthesized. This pitch is one octave higher or lower than the input. This occurs what the octaviser does. Octavizer pedals are available on the following models: Green Ringer, Ampeg Scrambler and Tycobrahe Octavia, and many more.
phase shifter
This effect created by this device is the sound of a plane flying right above you! It was highly sought after in the 70s by pianists and bassists. Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, Dunlop Univibe, and BOSS PH-3 are good examples. These pedals allow you to change the pitch of a musical instrument, generally allowing for a soft tone.
tone changer
The key shifter allows two musicians to play in different keys, without altering the tuning of either instrument. Digitech Whammy Pedal and Boss CS-5 are two popular Pitch Shifter Pedal products.
distortion pedals
This pedal can add new harmonics to a normal electric guitar signal. This will distort the signal and the output will be a more varied sound that cannot be achieved with an electric guitar, just like that. Some of these can produce overdrive. These pedals can
- Increase the amplification greatly
- Reduce the amplification to create a gritty sound
Distortion pedals can
- Turn the input sound into a very warm output (The Ibanez Tube Screamer)
- Turn the input of music into a harsh, abrupt output (the Gibson Maestro Fuzz is an example of such a fuzz box)
- Turn the input into a harsh overdriven output (The BOSS DS-1 from Roland Corporation creates this effect)
- The sound is copied and then transmitted as output, after a delay. The sound can be emitted as one or several repetitions.
- The latter sounds like an echo (Roland Corporation’s BOSS DD-6, Line 6’s Pod2.0, and ToadWorks Redux are some examples of delay pedals)
- Produces some upper octave harmonics (the Roland Bee Baa from Roland Corporation)
Chorus If the delay time is cyclical, very short, and varied, the resulting echo is neither clear nor distinct. Instead, a swirling sound is heard. . If it sounds like many instruments played simultaneously, then it’s called a “chorus” effect. Examples of chorus effects pedals are the Ibanez CF-7 from the Ibanez Company and the BOSS CE-1 from the Roland Corporation)
wah wah This pedal does not let all the incoming frequency pass. By operating the pedal back and forth, you can allow only higher frequency notes or only lower frequency notes to pass through.
The effect thus created makes you think that you can be a person saying “wow”. In the 1960s, the Wah-Wah effect and the fuzz box effect were combined to create a “fuzz-wah” effect! Some of the available brands of Wah-Wah pedals are Dunlop Cry Baby and Vox Wah-Wah.
compressor
The device is more of an automatic volume control. When the input sound gets louder, the compressor automatically lowers the output volume. And for the reverse effect, the volume of the output increases when the music being played decreases in volume.
The evenly maintained volume level gives the impression of more sustained effect for the guitar. A compressor can help to vary other effects like distortion. Some popular brands of compressor pedals are ToadWorks Mr.Squishy, BOSS CS-3, and MXR Dynacomp.
Multi-effects pedals
These pedals allow you to have multiple effects using one setup. Some multi-effects pedals have a provision for the player to create some effects and combine them with those available within the pedal.
The pedal may have provision for programming a variety of effects and storing them separately in different pedals. (Just like you can define user keys on your computer keyboard.) While playing the game, you can choose from a variety of effects to create the exact sound effect you want, when you want it!
Due to the complexity of operating them, multi-effects pedals are generally used by experienced and professional guitarists rather than novice guitarists. The available brands of this device are Digitech RP200A, Line 6 POD XT Live and Boss ME-50.
A good number of guitarists use effects boxes to create distinctive music. Notable among them are David Gilmour, Daniel Ash, Brian May, Thurston Moore and Steve Jones.