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An effects unit, effects processor, or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in electric blues and rock music; dynamic effects such as and compressors, which affect loudness; linear filter such as and graphic equalizers, which modify frequency ranges; modulation effects, such as chorus, and phasers; pitch effects such as pitch shifters; and time effects, such as Reverb effect and delay, which create echoing sounds and emulate the sound of different spaces.
Most modern effects use solid-state electronics or digital signal processors. Some effects, particularly older ones such as and , use mechanical components or . Effects are often used as stompboxes, typically placed on the floor and controlled with footswitches. They may also be built into , instruments (such as the Hammond B-3 organ), tabletop units designed for DJs and record producers, and rackmounts, and are widely used as in such common formats as VST, AAX, and Audio Units.
Musicians, and record producers use effects units during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, bass guitar, electronic keyboard or electric piano. While effects are most frequently used with electric or electronic instruments, they can be used with any audio source, such as Acoustic music instruments, drums, and vocals.
A musician bringing many pedals to a live show or recording session often mounts the pedals on a guitar pedalboard, to reduce set-up and tear-down time and, for pedalboards with lids, protect the pedals during transportation. When a musician has multiple effects in a road case, this case may be called an effects rack or rig. When rackmounted effects are mounted in a roadcase, this also speeds up a musician's set-up and tear-down time, because all of the effects can be connected together inside the rack case.
An is formed by connecting two or more stompboxes forming a signal chain. Effect chains are typically created between the guitar and the amp or between the preamplifier and the power amp. When a pedal is off or inactive, the electric audio signal coming into the pedal diverts onto a bypass, an unaltered dry signal that continues on to other effects down the chain. In this way, a musician can combine effects within a chain in a variety of ways without having to reconnect boxes during a performance.
It is common to put compression, wah and overdrive pedals at the start of the chain; modulation (chorus pedal, flanger, phase shifter) in the middle; and time-based units (delay/echo, Reverb effect at the end. When using many effects, unwanted noise and hum can be introduced into the sound. Some performers use a noise gate pedal at the end of a chain to reduce unwanted noise and hum introduced by overdrive units or vintage gear.
A rackmount effects unit may contain electronic circuitry identical to a stompbox's, although its circuits are typically more complex. Unlike stompboxes, rackmounts usually have several different types of effects. Rackmount effects units are controlled by knobs, switches or buttons on their front panel, and often remote-controllable by a MIDI digital control interface or pedal-style foot controller.
Rackmount effects units are most commonly used in recording studios and front of house live sound mixing situations. Musicians may use them in place of stompboxes, as use of a rack can offer space for conveniently mounting additional rackmount equipment or accessories. Rackmounted effects units are typically mounted in a rack, which may be housed within a road case, a durable case with removable access panels that protect the equipment within during transportation. Because of this, rackmount effect units are not always designed with durable protective features such as corner protectors which are used on stompboxes and amps that are designed to be transported as standalone units.
A tabletop unit is a type of multi-effects device that sits on a desk and is controlled manually. One such example is the Pod guitar amplifier modeler. Digital effects designed for DJs are often sold in tabletop models, so that the units can be placed alongside a DJ mixer, turntables and scratching gear.Bartlett, Bruce; Bartlett, Jenny (2008). Practical Recording Techniques: The Step-by-step Approach to Professional Audio Recording. Focal Press. p. 226.
Some guitar amplifiers have built-in multi-effects units or digital amplifier modeling effects. Bass amplifiers are less likely to have built-in effects, although some may have a compressor/limiter or fuzz bass effect.Eiche. Jon; Fliegler, Ritchie (1993) Amps!: The Other Half of Rock 'n' Roll, Hal Leonard. p. 25, 40, 52, 74.
Instruments with built-in effects include , , and digital synthesizers. Built-in effects for keyboards typically include reverb, chorus and, for Hammond organ, vibrato. Many include an overdrive effect. Occasionally, acoustic-electric and electric guitars will have built-in effects, such as a preamp or equalizer.
Distortion was not an effect originally intended by amplifier manufacturers, but could often easily be achieved by overdriving the power supply in early . In the 1950s, guitarists began deliberately increasing gain beyond its intended levels to achieve warm distorted sounds. Among the first musicians to experiment with distortion were Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf, Goree Carter,Robert Palmer, "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, Present Tense, Duke University Press, 1992, p. 19. . Joe Hill Louis, Ike Turner, Guitar Slim, and Chuck Berry.
In 1954, Pat Hare produced heavily distorted for several recordings (including James Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues"), creating "a grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound,"Robert Palmer, "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, Present Tense, Duke University Press, 1992, pp. 24–27. . accomplished by turning the volume knob on his amplifier "all the way to the right until the speaker was screaming." Link Wray's 1958 recording "Rumble" inspired young musicians such as Pete Townshend of The Who, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, Dave Davies of The Kinks, and Neil Young to explore distortion by various means. In 1966, the British company Marshall Amplification began producing the Marshall 1963, a guitar amplifier capable of producing the distorted crunch that rock musicians were starting to seek.
Warwick Electronics manufactured the first wah-wah pedal, The Clyde McCoy, in 1967 and that same year Roger Mayer developed the first octave effect, which Jimi Hendrix named "Octavio"
/ref> Upon first hearing the Octavia, Hendrix reportedly rushed back to the studio and immediately used it to record the guitar solos on "Purple Haze" and "Fire". In 1968, Univox began marketing Shin-ei's Uni-Vibe pedal, an effect designed by noted audio engineer Fumio Mieda that mimicked the odd phase shift and Chorus effect effects of the Leslie rotating speakers used in . The pedals soon became favorite effects of guitarists Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower. In 1976, Roland subsidiary Boss Corporation released the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the first chorus pedal, created by taking a chorus circuit from an amplifier and putting it into a stompbox. Tribute: Ikutaro Kakehashi and Roland's Impact on Music, Reverb.com By the mid-1970s a variety of solid-state effects pedals including , chorus pedals, and were available.Hunter, D (2004). Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook. Hal Leonard. p. 11–15.
In the 1980s, digital rackmount units began replacing stompboxes as the effects format of choice. Often musicians would record dry, unaltered tracks in the studio and effects would be added in post-production. The success of Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind helped to re-ignite interest in stompboxes. Some grunge guitarists would chain several fuzz pedals together and plug them into a tube amplifier. Throughout the 1990s, musicians committed to a Lo-fi music aesthetic such as J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices continued to use analog effects pedals.
Effects and effects units—stompboxes in particular—have been celebrated by pop and rock musicians in album titles, songs and band names. The Big Muff, a fuzzbox manufactured by Electro-Harmonix, is commemorated by the Depeche Mode song "Big Muff" and the Mudhoney Extended play Superfuzz Bigmuff. Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, George Harrison, They Might Be Giants and Joy Division are among the many musicians who have referenced effects units in their music.
While distortion effects units produce perfectly flattened peaks or hard clipping, overdrive effects units produce soft tube-like distortion by compressing the waveform without completely flattening it. Much like guitar tube amplifiers, overdrive effects units are capable of producing clean sounds at lower volumes and distorted warm sounds at higher volumes.
Notable examples of distortion and overdrive pedals include the Boss DS-1 Distortion, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Marshall ShredMaster, MXR Distortion +, and Pro Co RAT.
A fuzz pedal, or fuzzbox, is a type of overdrive effects unit that clips a signal until it is nearly a square wave, resulting in a heavily distorted or fuzzy sound.Platt, Charles (2009). MAKE: Electronics: Learning Through Discovery O'Reilly Media. p. 257. Fuzzboxes may contain frequency multiplier circuitry to achieve a harsh timbre by adding complex harmonics. The Rolling Stones' song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", with a fuzz effect featured prominently on the main electric guitar riff played by Keith Richards, greatly popularized the use of fuzz effects. Fuzz bass (also called bass overdrive) is a style of playing the electric bass that produces a buzzy, overdriven sound via a tube or transistor amp or by using a fuzz or overdrive pedal.
Notable examples of fuzz effect units include the: Fuzz Face, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, Shin-ei Companion FY-2, Univox Super-Fuzz, Tone Bender, Z.Vex Fuzz Factory.
While distortion effect units are most associated with electric and bass guitar, they are also commonly used on keyboard instruments (i.e. , Combo organ and , electric piano), as well as drums and vocals.
Boost/volume pedal: When activated, a boost or clean boost pedal amplifies the volume of an instrument by increasing the amplitude of its audio signal. These units are generally used for boosting volume during solos and preventing signal loss in long effects chains. A guitarist switching from rhythm guitar to lead guitar for a guitar solo may use a boost to increase the volume of their solo.Hunter, Dave (2004). Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook. Hal Leonard. p. 23.
Volume effects: Electro-Harmonix LPB-1, Fender Volume Pedal, MXR Micro Amp, Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. Treadle-based volume pedals are used by electric instrument players (guitar, bass, keyboards) to adjust the volume of their instrument with one foot while their hands are being used to play their instrument. Treadle-style volume pedals are often also used to create swelling effects by removing the attack of a note or chord, as popularised by pedal steel guitar players. This enables electric guitar and pedal steel players to imitate the soft swelling sound that an orchestra string section can produce, in which a note or chord starts very softly and then grows in volume. Treadle-based volume pedals do not usually have batteries or require external power.
Compressor: Compressors make loud sounds quieter and quiet sounds louder by decreasing or compressing the dynamic range of an audio signal. A compressor is often used to stabilize volume and alter the sound of a note's attack. With extreme settings of its controls, a compressor can function as a limiter.Hunter, D (2004). Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook. Hal Leonard. p. 23.
Compressor effects: Keeley Compressor, MXR Dyna Comp, Boss Corporation.
Noise gate: Noise gates attenuate hum, hiss, and static in the signal by greatly diminishing the volume when the signal falls below a set threshold. Noise gates are expanders—meaning that, unlike compressors, they increase the dynamic range of an audio signal to make quiet sounds even quieter. If used with extreme settings and combined with reverb, they can create unusual sounds, such as the gated reverb used in 1980s pop songs, a style popularized by the Phil Collins song In the Air Tonight.Louie, Gary J.; White, Glenn D. (2005). The Audio Dictionary, University of Washington Press. p. 171.
Noise gate effects: Boss Corporation.
Equalizer: An equalizer is a set of that strengthen ( boost) or weaken ( cut) specific frequency regions. While basic Hifi often have equalizers for two bands, to adjust bass and treble, professional graphic equalizers offer much more targeted control over the audio frequency spectrum.Rudolph, Thomas; Leonard, Vincent (2001) Recording in the Digital World: Complete Guide to Studio Gear and Software, Hal Leonard . p. 192. Audio engineers use highly sophisticated equalizers to eliminate unwanted sounds, make an instrument or voice more prominent, and enhance particular aspects of an instrument's tone.
Equalizer effects: Boss Corporation, MXR 10-band EQ Pedal.
Talk box: A talk box directs the sound from an electric guitar or synthesizer into the mouth of a performer using a tube, allowing the sound to be shaped into and with movements of the mouth. The modified sound is then picked up by a microphone. In this way, the guitarist is able create the effect that the guitar is talking. Some famous uses of the talkbox include Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", Stevie Wonder's "Black Man", Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart", Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way", Alice in Chains's "Man in the box" and Peter Frampton's "Show Me the Way".
Talk boxes: Dunlop HT1 Heil Talk Box, Bruce Egnater.
Wah-wah pedal: A wah-wah pedal creates vowel-like sounds by altering the Audio spectrum produced by an instrument—i.e., how loud it is at each separate frequency—in what is known as a spectral glide or sweep. The device is operated by a foot treadle that manipulates a potentiometer or other electronic control. Wah-wah pedals are often used by funk and rock guitarists.Schneider, John (1985). The Contemporary Guitar, University of California Press. p. 202.
Wah effects: Dunlop Cry Baby, Morley Pedals, Vox. Vox V846 Wah
Auto-wah or, more generally, envelope filter effects: A filter effect that is controlled by the volume of the input signal. The Boss Book: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Popular Compact Effects for Guitar, 2002, Hal Leonard Corporation The most common filter type used for this effect pedal is the low-pass filter, although many designs include a toggle for band-pass or high-pass filters as well. Additionally, some designs can switch between a down filter mode and an up filter. This effect is commonly used in funk, reggae and jam band music.
Envelope filter effects: Mu-tron, Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Plus, Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Plus DOD Envelope Filter 440. DOD Envelope Filter 440
chorus effect: Chorus pedals mimic the effect and produce naturally, by mixing similar sounds with slight differences in timbre and pitch. A chorus effect splits the audio signal and adds a slight delay and frequency variations or vibrato to one version while leaving the rest unaltered. A well-known usage of chorus is the lead guitar in "Come As You Are" by Nirvana.
Chorus effects: Boss Corporation CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, Electro-Harmonix Small Clone, TC Electronic Stereo Chorus.
Flanger: A flanger creates a whooshing, jet plane or spaceship sound, simulating a studio effect that was first produced by recording a track on two synchronized tape decks and periodically slowing one tape by pressing the edge of its reel (the flange). When the two tapes' are later mixed, a comb filter effect can be heard. Flanger units add a variably delayed version of the audio signal to the original or signal, creating a comb filter or Doppler effect.Louie, G; White, G (2005). The Audio Dictionary, University of Washington Press. p. 153. Some famous uses of flanger effects include "Walking on the Moon" by The Police, the intro to "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" by Van Halen, and "Barracuda" by Heart.
Flanger effects: Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress, MXR Flanger, Boss Corporation BF-3 Flanger.
Phaser: A phaser or phase shifter creates a slight rippling effect—amplifying some aspects of the tone while diminishing others—by splitting an audio signal in two and altering the phase of one portion. Three well-known examples of phaser are the two-handed tapping part on the Van Halen instrumental "Eruption" and the keyboard parts on Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" and Paul Simon's "Slip Slidin' Away".Louie, G; White, G. (2005). The Audio Dictionary, University of Washington Press. p. 288.
Phase shift effects: Uni-Vibe, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, MXR Phase 90.
Ring modulator: A ring modulator produces a resonant, metallic sound by frequency mixing an instrument's audio signal with a carrier wave generated by the device's internal oscillator. The original sound wave is suppressed and replaced by a ring of inharmonic higher and lower pitches or . A notable use of ring modulation is the guitar in the Black Sabbath song "Paranoid".McNamee, David "Hey, What's That Sound: Ring Modulators", The Guardian, London, 9 November 2009.
Ring modulator effects: Moogerfooger MF-102 Ring Modulator.
Tremolo: A tremolo effect produces a variation in the volume of a signal. The tremolo effect should not be confused with the misleadingly-named tremolo bar, a device on a guitar bridge that creates a vibrato or pitch-bending effect. In electronic effects, a tremolo is produced by modulating an instrument's audio signal with a Subaudible tone carrier wave in such a way that generates amplitude variations in the sound wave. Tremolo effects are built-in effects in some vintage guitar amplifiers. The guitar intro in the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" features a tremolo effect.
Tremolo effects: Demeter TRM-1 Tremulator, Fender Tremolux.
Slicer: Combines a modulation sequence with a noise gate or envelope filter to create a percussive and rhythmic effect like a helicopter.
Vibrato: Vibrato effects produce slight, rapid variations in pitch, mimicking the fractional semitone variations produced naturally by and violinists when they are prolonging a single note. Vibrato effects often allow the performer to control the rate of the variation as well as the difference in pitch ( depth). A vibrato with an extreme depth setting (e.g., half a semitone or more) will produce a dramatic, ululating sound. In effects, vibrato is produced by mixing an instrument's audio signal with a carrier wave in such a way that generates frequency variations in the sound wave. Guitarists often use the terms vibrato and tremolo misleadingly. A so-called vibrato unit in a guitar amplifier may actually produces tremolo, while a tremolo arm or whammy bar on a guitar produces vibrato.Mangum, E; Stubbs, D (2000). Dod Presents 100 Superstar Guitar Sounds on a Stompbox Budget. Hal Leonard. p. 94.Fischer, Peter (2000), Rock Guitar Secrets, Mel Bay. p. 164.
Vibrato effects: Boss Corporation.
A harmonizer is a type of sophisticated pitch shifter that combines the altered pitch with the original pitch to create a two or three note harmony based on the original pitch. Some hamonizers are able to create chorus-like effects by modulating of small shifts in pitch.Izhaki, Roey (2007). Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools, Focal Press. p. 470.
The first mass-market digital pitch shifter was the DigiTech Whammy, introduced in 1989. It creates a "strange and artificial" sound, with distinctive "wobbly" artifacts. Its users include Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Matt Bellamy of Muse, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Jack White of the White Stripes. Guitar World described the Whammy as one of the most iconic guitar pedals.
Delay/echo: Delay/echo units produce an echo effect by adding a duplicate to the original signal at a slight time delay. The effect can either be a single echo (called a slap or slapback), or multiple echos. A well-known use of delay is the lead guitar in the U2 song "Where the Streets Have No Name", and also the opening riff of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.Hubner, David; Runstein, Robert (2009). Modern Recording Techniques, Focal Press. p. 508.
Delay effects: Boss Corporation DD-3 Digital Delay, MXR Carbon Copy, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, Line 6 DL4, Roland RE-201.
Looper pedal: A looper pedal or phrase looper allows a performer to record and later replay a phrase, riff or passage from a song. Loops can be created on the spot during a performance (live looping) or they can be pre-recorded. By using a looper pedal, a singer-guitarist in a one person band can play the backing chords to a song, loop them with the pedal, and then sing and do a guitar solo over the chords. Some units allow a performer to layer multiple loops, enabling the performer to create the effect of a full band. The first loop effects were created with reel-to-reel tape using a tape loop.
Reverb effect: Reverb units simulate the spacious sounds produced naturally in a huge stone cathedral (or other acoustic space such as a hall or room). This is done by creating a large number of echoes that gradually fade away in volume or "decay". One early technique for creating a reverb effect was to send an amplified signal of the music via a speaker to another room with reflective surfaces, such as a tile bathroom, and then record the natural reverberations that were produced. A plate reverb system uses an electromechanical transducer to create vibrations in a plate of metal. Spring reverb systems, which are often used in guitar amplifiers, use a transducer to create vibrations in a spring. Digital reverb effects use various signal processing to create the reverb effect, often by using multiple feedback delay circuits. Rockabilly and surf guitar are two genres that make heavy use of reverb.Hubner, D; Runstein, R (2009). Modern Recording Techniques, Focal Press. p. 508.
Reverb effects: Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail, Fender Reverb Unit.
EBow is a brand name of Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California, for a small, handheld, battery-powered resonator. The Ebow was invented by Greg Heet, as a way to make a note on an electric guitar string resonate continuously, creating an effect that sounds similar to a bowed violin note or a sustained pipe organ note. The resonator uses a pickup – inductive string driver – feedback circuit, including a sensor coil, driver coil, and amplifier, to induce forced string resonance. The Ebow brand resonator is monophonic, and drives only one string at a time.
Other handheld and mounted guitar and bass resonators have been on the market since the early 1990s, produced in Germany under the SRG brand, which ceased production in 2016, and were available in both monophonic (one string at a time) and polyphonic (multiple strings at a time) models, which included multiple onboard trigger switch effects, such as HPF (high pass filter) for enhancing harmonics and producing feedback effects, and LPF (low pass filter), producing a bass boost with a cello sound on heavy gauge strings. Later EBow models, such as the plus Ebow, contain a mode slide switch on the back, which allows the player to either produce just sustain or overtone feedback in addition to sustain. Pedals such as the Boss DF-2 and FB-2 use an internally generated signal matched to the pitch of the guitar that can be sustained indefinitely by depressing the pedal. Many compressor pedals are often also marketed as "sustainer pedals". As a note is sustained, it loses energy and volume due to diminishing vibration in the string. The compressor pedal boosts its electrical signal to the specified dynamic range, slightly prolonging the duration of the note.Hunter, Dave (2004). Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook. Hal Leonard. p. 25. This, combined with heavy distortion and the close proximity of the guitar and the speaker cabinet, can lead to infinite sustain at higher volumes.
Pitch correction/vocal effects: Pitch correction effects use signal-processing algorithms to re-tune faulty intonation in a vocalist's performance Brice, Richard (2001). Music Engineering, Newnes. p. 413. or create unusual vocoder-type vocal effects. One of the best known examples of this is Autotune, a software program and effect unit which can be used to both correct pitch (it moves a pitch to the nearest semitone), and add vocal effects. Some stompbox-style vocal pedals contain multiple effects, such as reverb and pitch correction.
Simulators: Simulators enable electric guitars to mimic the sound of other instruments such as acoustic guitar, electric bass and sitar. Pick up simulators used on guitars with single-coil pick ups replicate the sound of guitars with humbucker pick ups, or vice versa. A de- is a bass guitar effect that simulates the sound of a fretless bass. The effect uses an envelope-controlled filter and voltage-controlled amplifier to "soften" a note's attack both in volume and timbre.
Bitcrusher filters: Bitcrushers rely on conversion of the audio signal into a digital format (ADC) and the reduction of sound fidelity by utilising bit (and sometimes sample) rates low enough to cause significant colouration and filtering within the audible frequency range.
Leslie speaker are specially constructed amplifier and used to create special audio effects by rotating the speakers or a sound-directing duct to introduce the Doppler effect and other sound reflections. The rotating speaker baffle creates a chorus-type effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ but is used with a variety of instruments as well as vocals. The Hammond/Leslie combination has become an element in many genres of music. The Leslie Speaker and the Hammond Organ brands are currently owned by Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation.
The Korg Kaoss Pad is a small touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor for audio and musical instruments, made by Korg. The Kaoss Pad's touchpad can be used to control its internal effects engine, which can be applied to a line-in signal or to samples recorded from the line-in. Effects types include pitch shifting, distortion, filtering, wah-wah, tremolo, flanging, delay, reverberation, auto-panning, gating, phasing, and ring modulation. The Kaoss Pad can also be used as a MIDI controller.
Some boutique pedal manufacturers include: BJFE, Pete Cornish, Emlyn Crowther, Death By Audio, Robert Keeley, Roger Linn, Roger Mayer, Strymon, T-Rex Engineering, ToadWorks, and Z.Vex Effects.
Guitar amplifiers and electronic keyboards may have switch pedals for turning built-in reverb and distortion effects on and off; the pedals contain only a switch, with the circuitry for the effect being housed in the amplifier chassis.Chappell, Jon; Phillips, Mark (2005). Guitar for Dummies, For Dummies. p. 187. Some musicians who use rackmounted effects or laptops employ a MIDI controller pedalboard or armband remote controls to trigger sound samples, switch between different effects or control effect settings. A pedal keyboard uses pedals, but it is not an effect unit; it is a foot-operated keyboard in which the pedals are typically used to play .
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