Must Have Pedals for Beginners

As a beginning guitar player one thing that always generates a lot of excitement is the use of a guitar pedals. When you use a guitar player you can get a lot of unique and fun sounds and this is all part of the experimenting process as a new player. Guitar pedals can be confusing, so here’s some basic pedals you should have as a beginner.

Distortion/Over Drive Pedal

When you’re a new player you often can’t afford a good guitar amplifier and many of the cheaper amplifiers produce very poor distortion. If you want to play rock then you need a good distortion pedal. This pedal will also make a poor amplifier sound a bit better so it’s tolerable to play from. There are all types of distortion pedal to choose from and there’s a pedal for different genres too. For example, if you like playing heavy metal you will want a distortion pedal that produces thicker distortion.

If you enjoy playing older rock from the 60s and 70s you’ll probably want a fuzz style distortion pedal. Examples of beginning pedals to buy would be the Boss DS-1 and the Ibanez Tube Screamer. Before you buy any distortion pedal, try it out in a guitar store.

Wah-Wah

One of the best pedals you could possible buy is the wah-wah pedal. This pedal allows you to create a lot of fun sounds and it’s a very classic pedal used in tons of songs. You hear wah-wah in the styles of Jimi Hendrix, Kirk Hammett, Eric Clapton and tons of other players. One you start rocking the wah back and forth you won’t want to stop. A wah can really spice up your solos too.

Chorus Pedal/Delay

This pedal can help give you a thicker guitar sound but don’t turn it up to high or it tends to not sound that great. This pedal is one you can do without as a beginner but it’s always nice to have. If you play acoustic guitar through an amplifier a chorus pedal can give you some nice overall sounds. A delay can help to give your sound more thickness too as it repeats notes.

Tuner/Noise Gate

A noise gate pedal is a great pedal to own if you have a cheap amplifier that makes a lot of noise. This pedal can cut down on the noise quite a bit and it’s nice to have. A tuner pedal is also a good option to buy as it will help keep you in tune. And it’s perfect to add to your pedal board.

Digital Multi Effects Box

Digital effects have come a long way from the early days and you should have at least one digital effects box. These allow you to get a wide variety of sounds in one compact box. They often have a lot of preset classic sounds you can begin to use right away and as a beginner they can give you a lot of nice sounds. The main drawback is that for every great sounds you find with them there’s an equal number of poor tones too.

Guitar pedals are a lot of fun and don’t be afraid to experiment with them. These pedals can help mold and shape your overall sound and your musical identity.