The so-called effect device, as the name suggests, applies effect (effect, influence) to the sound. Not only electric guitars, but also many musical instruments, chorus, etc. use it. When you hear the music, it is basically processed And made. Unprocessed music (no, effector) gives people a feeling of imperfection. It can be said that effectors are already indispensable in the composition of music.

Here, we will explain the representative effects used in electric guitars. As an introductory guide to using effects pedals effectively, I hope that while producing high-quality sound, this can be used as a starting point for research on how to use effects pedals in other instruments and the ideal state of effects pedals in the music as a whole. step.

If you can only play guitar, it cannot be called qualified. When playing music and phrases, you must be able to quickly determine the tone that suits your personality. If the timbre and volume are wrong, a good musical phrase will become meaningless and its coordination (unity) will be destroyed.

At present, the variety of effect devices is increasing. In order to meet the needs of rock bands of various genres, the same type of effect devices are divided into many fancy specifications and diversified forms. Some effectors are installed directly on the electric guitar; some are installed in speakers; some are made to be hung around the waist, and most are made of pedal type. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

As we all know, electric guitar players cannot have a momentary interruption (take off their sleeves) while playing, and cannot reach out to adjust the effects unless the music is marked with a rest.

During actual use, it has been proven that pedal-type effectors are the most convenient, especially single pedal-type effectors, which are the most popular. They can be freely combined and changed at will. Common effect pedal brands on the Chinese market include YAMAHA, BOSS, IBANEZ, ROLAND, ARIA, ROCKTEK, ARION ) and the domestically produced YEMA brand (YEMA), etc. There are metal casings and plastic casings, with different shapes, slightly different quality and performance, and price differences. When purchasing, you should listen to them through actual operation. Most effects are related to the electric guitar and speakers used. When purchasing, you must confirm that the electric guitar and speakers are in good condition and adjusted to normal conditions before making a comparison. No matter what brand of effector, in order to adapt to the requirements of various electric guitars and speakers, several main electrical properties are basically the same, such as: power supply voltage DC 9V (battery type 6F22), input impedance 200~470ho. The output impedance is 10k, the maximum input voltage is 1 volt, the maximum output level is 1 volt, the noise level is less than 50 to 110 decibels, and the jack specification is 1 volt. 25mm, current consumption is 1.5~50 mA. Although there will be a large error, if it exceeds a lot or there are abnormalities during listening, you should consider whether it is caused by poor quality.

You should pay attention to the following points when purchasing under amateur conditions:

(1) The appearance is intact and the text is clear.

(2) Each switch, knob, and jack is reliable, and the adjustment is smooth and effective.

(3) The effect is obvious, the sound quality is good, there is no major noise, and the placement is stable (foot-operated).

The functions and characteristics of commonly used pedal effectors are briefly introduced as follows for reference when choosing:

Distortion

Commonly known as the sand sounder. The early French drum (F.) evolved. It is a device that deliberately causes serious distortion of the sound of the electric guitar, turning the sound into a hoarse sound. After the sound of the electric guitar is modulated by the distortion device, it can produce a soft hoarse sound. Or a crisp and harsh sandy sound. The sustained sound is very long to extend the note duration. It is known as the "electric saxophone" and is the most commonly used effect in rock music. It is often used in the intro, mic, ending, and cadenza of songs. It is added to the solo, and is also used to imitate the rhythm of the early and small stringed drum lights, making a "cha, cha" sound. The performance techniques are varied and cannot be listed here. In recent years, this effector has developed new features and has many tricks. There are many. Examples include super-feedback distortion, heavy metal distortion, turbo distortion, tube burst distortion, and strong brightness distortion. The mainstream is that the tone tends to be sharp, hard, bright, strong, and howling; to enhance stimulation.

OverDrive (OverDrive)

Overdrive and exciter use moderate distortion (distortion) to produce wind instrument-like distortion effects and simulate wind instrument timbre.

It is often used to add in the main melody lead, intro, question, ending, etc. of the electric guitar. A tube or compressor (Comvresso) that can produce anything from soft and round to metallic and exciting. It is an effect that can compress high levels, boost low levels, and change or amplify waveforms. Unlike a distortion device, it provides A variety of playing sounds without distortion, and can extend or shorten the duration of notes, and can produce percussive sounds or long sustains.

Chorus

Also known as harmony. The sound generator uses a BBD circuit to delay the sound wave and mix it with the normal sound wave, and output it through the main and right channels, so that the sound of the electric guitar moves left and right, soft and broad, like a mixed chorus effect. The output end of the stereo chorus effect is often used to play broken chords or chord accompaniment. Its soft and elegant sound gives people a lyrical feeling.

Phaser. )

It uses the mutual interference between the phase-shifted sound waves and the original sound waves to produce a vibrating, solid and elegant effect. It is different from the chorus instrument in that the sound has a vibrating feel. One of the more effective effects.

Flanger

It is also called a wah-wah device. Its circuit principle is basically the same as that of a chorus, with the addition of a feedback circuit. It is an effector that produces frontal vibration sound. It is different from the chorus in that the sound has a rotating, elegant and late-generation feeling. When it is slow, it sounds like a space dream or a long bell, and when it is fast, it can produce a strong sound of water waves or chicken wah. Such as the sound of jet engines. The sound has many changes and is often used to add special effects to music (song accompaniment) to enhance artistic appeal.

Delay is produced. Reverb or echo effects. There are analog delayers, digital delayers, reverberators, etc. Their principles are basically the same, and they are widely used in stage sound and karaoke. The delay time can be from 50 milliseconds to more than 1 second. The delay used for guitar is generally between 20 and 476 milliseconds. A short time will produce a reverberation effect (hall effect), and a long time will produce an echo (valley effect). After the electric guitar passes through the delay, the sound will be rich, full, and spatial. Echo is often used to add the last note at the climax of an electric guitar performance, so that several reflected echoes appear, like a cry to the valley.

Wah wah (WAH)

It is different from Flange. Its pronunciation is like the sound of a chicken - wow or wow - when it is slow, like a frog's cry when it is fast, and is used for electric guitar playing in a witty and lively way. The music can also be adjusted to sound like a stringed instrument. For example, the song "Govinda" played by the International Chaoyang Electronic Band uses this effect.

Equalize< /p>

Also known as frequency compensator and parametric equalizer, it is used to adjust the frequency response curve of electric guitar. Since the frequency band center of electric guitar is two signal frequency ranges lower than that of ordinary amplifiers. , the general amplifier tone controller cannot adjust the mid and high range of the electric guitar, only a dedicated equalizer can do the job. At the same time, the equalizer can set the tonal state of the electric guitar to express bright and cheerful or deep and generous colors in a certain section of the music. When you need to add it, it is very convenient to just step on the switch.

Tone improvement (TOneB00Ate)

It is a device that improves the high-frequency band of electric guitar, with a jump of 20 decibels. It is different from an equalizer that adjusts the entire frequency band arbitrarily and only boosts the treble. It is often used when leading to highlight the bright and cheerful tone of the electric guitar and emphasize the metallic sound. When using a distortion device to perform the Yingtai cadenza, this effect is added at the same time to create a more intense and bright metallic sound. Octave, a device that can lower the pitch of an electric guitar by one or two octaves to expand the performance of the electric guitar in the bass range and can be played like a telecommunications company.

Volume pedal (PalVolume)

Although there are volume controls on the electric guitar panel or speakers, the purpose of the volume pedal here is different from that of ordinary volume controls. , which is used as an expression pedal. When there are strong and weak sound marks in the music score, such as * " or PPP, etc. You need to use the volume pedal to control the ups and downs of the volume. In the rock electric guitar playing method, there is a volume playing method (volume playing method), which is to use the volume pedal or rotate the volume potentiometer on the electric guitar with the little finger of the right hand to pop up a sound with no sound head and increasing volume, like playing a violin, which is faintly visible. feeling. As long as you know how to use it, it can produce other effects.

Limiter (Timer)

It is used to eliminate overload or bad transients that occur during the transmission of electric guitar signals. When the level is still beyond the value, the built-in voltage Controlled amplifier (VCA) to compress the sound without causing serious distortion.

Noise Gate (NOISE-Gate)

When the circuit wiring is too long and there are too many effectors in series, it can eliminate bad hum and noise and keep the sound of the electric guitar pure and beautiful.