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January 18, 2022
Buying Guide: Special Effects
When is a guitar not a guitar? When it's played through one of these special effects! With these tools, you can create fresh sounds that are decidedly un-guitar-like. Turn plucked strings into bowed strings, build three-dimensional textures, or jack your guitar's pitch up to a tone only a dog could hear. These special effects will expand your guitar's vocabulary and take you on a journey of tonal discovery.
Special Effects
Want to make your guitar talk, let your notes ring out forever, or slice-and-dice your riffs? With these extra-special special effects, you can dial in sounds that will make your audience ask, "Is that a guitar?"
Tremolo and Vibrato Effects
The unmistakable warble and shimmer of tremolo and vibrato effects has endeared them to generations of musicians. It's easy to hear why: the warble, whether sped-up or slow, adds an extra dimension to your tone, creating a feeling of depth. Turn on this effect for rhythm parts or leads, and hear the way the pulse of tremolo and vibrato takes run-of-the-mill riffs and makes them unforgettable.
Guitar Synthesizers
A guitar is a medium for creating sounds, just like a keyboard. These guitar synthesizer pedals open up your guitar's abilities, letting you create sounds and tones you might expect out of a vintage synthesizer or a modern keyboard.
Pitch Effects
Shifting your pitch mid-note creates a sliding effect that adds animation and expression to your playing. These pitch effect pedals let you make extreme jumps in pitch, creating a whammy-bar-like effect. Some, like the DigiTech Whammy Pedal, go far beyond the pitch-bending that whammy bars are capable of, letting you make noises you only hear right before breaking your strings!
Rotary Speaker Effects
The immortal sound of the Leslie rotating speaker has graced countless guitar, keyboard, and vocal tracks. Its shimmering, heavenly sound doesn't come easily -- vintage Leslie rigs cost thousands of dollars, are complex to maintain, and are as large as an amp stack. Plug into any of these pedals to get a portable rendition of the classic Leslie rotary speaker sound, with the flexibility to dial in the exact amount you need of this gorgeous effect.
