Check out this glossary of every different type of guitar pedal and what they do! If you've brushed up on this information, take a peek at our Guitar Pedalboard Tips and Order article to get started on your dream rig. Don't forget that Justin at Songbirds builds custom guitar pedals and takes commission requests!
Follow these links to check out the pedal manufacturers listed in this glossary: Electroharmonix, MXR, Morley, Ibanez, Boss, TC Electronics, Walrus Audio, Earthquaker Devices, Parasit Studio, Digitech, JHS, Meris.
Overdrive: These pedals try to emulate the sound of a tube amplifier breaking up. They frequently use soft clipping to preserve the guitar tone while adding some “grit”. Overdrives can be used to push tube amps into distortion or color the sound of a clean amp (tube or solid state) to sound like a distorted tube amp. Overdrives often sound best when used to add a little color and are the lightest of the distortion pedal options.
Classic examples: Klon Centaur, AnalogMan King of Tone, Marshall Bluesbreaker, DOD250, Boss OD-1, Fulltone OCD, Ibanez Tubescreamer
Distortion: There are countless distortion pedal options available, and they all use primarily hard clipping to create their signature sound. They sound like a tube amplifier cranked and fully breaking up, but can be used to get this effect at lower volumes. Distortion pedals are the medium-ground option for breakup and are the most varied in their colors and tones.
Classic examples: MXR Distortion+, Boss DS-1, Boss HM-2, Marshall Guv’nor, ProCo RAT
Fuzz: The first guitar effect ever, fuzz completely clips the signal and “walls out” the sound with thick distortion. These circuits are relatively simple but can be tweaked to get a variety of tone and flavors. Fuzz is the most intense effect in the distortion family.
Classic examples: Dunlop Fuzz Face, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Electroharmonix Big Muff, Way Huge Swollen Pickle
Compression: Compression is an often necessary utility effect that helps squeeze the sound of the guitar by making the quiet passages louder and the loud passages quieter. This is useful when playing harmonics, tapping, and other techniques that result in overall loss of volume. Some genres, like funk, are shaped around the sound of a tastefully compressed guitar.
Classic examples: Keeley Compressor, Boss CS-1,2, or 3, MXR Dynacomp, JHS Pulp ‘n Peel
Boost: Simply put, boosts make your guitar signal louder. This can be helpful in a live setting during a solo or important passage. Boosts can also push a tube amp into further breakup by saturating the input signal (note: this will not work with a solid state amplifier). Some boosts can add soft clipping to further color the guitar sound or stack with other pedals.
Classic examples: TC Electronic Spark Mini, MXR Micro Amp, Electroharmonix LPB-1
Wah: These pedals can be used to manually induce a moveable filter over the guitar sound, and are iconic in most types of rock. Great for a solo or for a unique tone!
Classic examples: Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Morley Power Wah
Delay: Often called “echo”, delay pedals record the guitar signal and repeat it. While often exploited for ambience and wild effects, basic (and natural-sounding) delay is needed for solos and to give most guitar passages appropriate depth. Delay adds crisp reflections.
Classic examples: Roland Space Echo, MXR Carbon Copy, Dunlop Echoplex, Boss DD-8 (or any number variant)
Reverb: Reverb is the sister effect to delay and is necessary in combination with delay to make most guitars sound natural and full. Reverb is the ambient wash, or reflections, that occur after echos have dissipated. This effect often sounds distant, watery, and warm.
Classic examples: Strymon blueSky, TC Electronic Hall of Fame, Boss RV-6, Electroharmonix Holy Grail
Tremolo: This effect is the rhythmic change in a guitar’s volume. Tremolo can be exploited to make a passage sound choppy or repetitious. Applied with subtlety, tremolo can give extra dimension and shimmer to the music.
Classic examples: Boss TR-2, too many others to count!
Vibrato: Often confused with tremolo, vibrato is the rhythmic manipulation of the guitar’s pitch instead of volume. The signal’s pitch will slightly raise and lower to imitate a soundwave and the natural vibrato of the human voice.
Classic examples: Walrus Audio Julia, MXR Univibe, EQD The Depths
Chorus: A classic effect, especially in 80s rock, chorus delays the sound of the guitar many times, often down to the millisecond, and mixes it with the original signal. This results in a shimmery wash of sound that imitates the effect of multiple guitars playing the same passage at once.
Classic examples: MXR Analog Chorus, Boss CE-2, Walrus Audio Julia
Phaser: Also popular with 80s through current rock, phasing results when the waveform of the incoming guitar signal is copied, then mixed with a slight phase shift, or delay. This can be manipulated to sound like a slow roll or motion in the audio field, like aliens invading from outer space, or everything in between.
Classic examples: MXR Phase 100, Ross Phaser, Boss PH-3, EQD Grand Orbiter
Flanger: Flanger and phaser have a lot of common ground as the effects are similar. However, more pitch shifting and detuning are possible with flanger. This often results in a chewy, psychedelic pulse that helps the guitar leap to the forefront of the mix.
Classic examples: Morley PFL*, Morley CFL*, Electroharmonix Electric Mistress*, Boss BF-3, MXR M117*
The examples with the * are vintage and expensive due to their use of a rare chip, the SAD1024. This chip truly is the peak of flanger performance. Modern replicas like the Electroharmonix Neo Mistress are 95% there for a fraction of the price.
Rotary: These pedals try to imitate the sound of a rotating speaker, or Leslie cabinet. They aren’t super common, but you may find them used by your favorite bands on certain songs or for specific passages. Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix, for example, used rotary sounds frequently.
Classic examples: Uni-Vibe (any replica of the original, optical circuits are far superior in this case)
Synth: This section encapsulates a variety of pedals and effects that transform the guitar sound into that of a synthesizer. These pedals include bit crushers, saw wave, triangle wave, and more. One of my favorite small pedal manufacturers for synth effects is Parasit Studio.
Classic examples: Meris Enzo, Electroharmonix Synth9
Ringmod: A unique effect that is seldom used, ring modulation results when the guitar signal is loosely latched on to a predetermined “carrier pitch”. This causes glitchy, detuned, and often dissonant sounds that are well suited for new age, industrial, and crazy solo applications.
Classic examples: DOD Gonkulator, Moogerfooger, Electroharmonix Ring Thing
Filter: A broad category that includes gems like Auto-Wah, filter pedals vary the EQ of the guitar signal. They can sound like a cocked wah pedal, a repeating voice, and more. These are great for unique solo sounds or riffs that need to be a little out of left field. Auto-wah is used heavily in certain styles like Reggae.
Classic examples: Qtron, MuTron, Morley Auto-Wah, Pearl Vorg Warp Sound
EQ: This type of pedal is vital for all guitarists as it fundamentally shapes the sound of the signal. Gain, compression, and often the entire audio field can be altered to imitate a live amp or often replace the need for an amp when using a DI setup.
Classic examples: Boss GE-7, MXR M108S, JHS Color Box
*Preamp and Cab Emulation pedals often have a lot of overlap with EQ, and many multi-effect pedals exist in the same box that can do all three. The Humboldt Simplifier is an excellent example.
Noise Gate: This pedal is often necessary for metal, hard rock, and high-gain applications as thick distortion raises the noise floor of the guitar signal. Noise gates cut out the hiss and lower the noise floor when the guitar isn’t being played, and during quiet passages.
Classic examples: Boss NS-2, EQD The Warden, Donner Noise Gate
Octave and Pitch: This is a broad category that encapsulates any pedal that fundamentally changes the pitch of the guitar signal. Octave modulation is possible in analog format, especially in the vintage octave fuzz examples. Digital packages allow the guitar to be tuned or detuned to specific intervals like fifths or thirds.
Classic examples: Digitech Whammy, Electroharmonix Pitch Fork, Boss OC-5, EQD Rainbow Machine
Tuner: Every guitarist needs a tuner pedal, or some kind of tuner ability, in their signal chain. The classic example that has stood the test of time is the Boss TU-3, but any comparable and reliable pedal will do the job.
Left: See a handy example of a soundwave (blue) and the ways that it is altered by clipping. Soft clipping (yellow), used commonly in Overdrive and some Distortion pedals, compresses and clips the highest peaks and lowest valleys of the waveform to add grit and dirt to the signal. Hard clipping (red), used in Distortion and some Fuzz pedals, chops considerable portions of the signal which results in thick audio distortion. Some fuzz pedals completely clip the peaks and valleys of the wave, resulting in a square wave (rectangular) shape.
