Pedal?

Hi there,

(And welcome- don't think I've seen you around before.)

In general, a pedal is a kind of "pre-treatment" for your guitar signal. You run from your guitar into the pedal, and from the pedal into the amp. Depending on the pedal, it can give a lot of different varieties to your sound.

THere are a lot of different pedals out there, though. A lot of folks here will have a lot of ideas, if you could be a little more specific about the sound you want. Is there a particular guitarist, band, or song that sounds sort of like you want to sound? There are a LOT of effects pedals out there.

Another question- what are you playing, and what are you playing it through? (Guitar and amp.) For a deeper sound, some sort of pedal, like an EQ, might help, but often if your sound is too high or tinny, it's down to the speaker. I usually play through a little practice amp with a 6 inch speaker. I'd like a deeper sound, but the speaker just has no bass. No way to get much out of it. If you're using a small speaker, deeper may be hard to come by.

BEst,
Ande

For the amp you have, it will go in between your guitar and amp. Higher priced amps sometime have effects loops, but I'm pretty sure your 10w Fender doesn't. It attaches using the same type of cable as your guitar cable. The "chain" will be guiter -> pedal -> amp where the guitar plugs into.

How it works is basically altering the the electrical signal, which changes the voice of the guitar.

I was thinking about your question on that other thread and Katmetal's answer to your question about the Van Halen song's tone at the beginning. There are many factors that go into that tone. The alternate tuning he mentioned is the first step. Just in case you don't know, that's where some or all of the strings are tuned differently than normal, giving the guitar a different sound than normal. That was the Eb he was talking about.

As far as pedals go, that's where the big bucks come in. If you preuse this From Here To There section of the forum, you'll see a great many pedals being suggested for different things. If you end up getting an amp as you asked about in another thread, the amp you choose may be something called a modeling amp. These amps digitally mimic other amps giving you tone similar to the original. The Cube 30X is one example. Most of these modeling amps have built in effects. These effects take the place of pedals.

So, if you get a good modeling amp, you won't need pedals, in theory. If you find a used Cube 30X, for example, you will be able to get some pretty heavy tones from it without the need for pedals. Now you will not sound exactly like Eddie Van Halen. Technique, of course, is a big thing. Also major factors is he's using thousands of dollars of gear for what you hear. You're trying to do it for a hundred dollars or so. Getting in the ball-park should be your goal.

So, if you get an amp with some more oooompf and some built in effects, tune your guitar to Eb as Katmetal suggests and learn to strike the strings in the fashion that Eddie does and dial in the right tone (combination effects & amp model if using a modeling amp), you should be able to come within a reasonable proximaty of that tone you asked about.

Remember, you will never sound exactly like him, even with all the gear. You can spend $3,000 - $20,000 on his guitar, a few grand on the amp and then another couple of grand for all his pedals plus additional funding for any mods he's done to any of that and still wind up just close. You don't have his fingers. Just like I don't have Keith Richards' fingers. :cry:

Oh, and for just starting out if that's where you are in your guitar journey, a good flexible modeling amp can get you a long way. Quite a wide variety of tones. You may get close to the Eddie tone you're talking about and then decide you want to try out someone else's tone. That's a whole other set of gear most likely. If you go modeling amp with effects, you can probably get close without having to spend any more money. Another route is a plain amp with a multi-effects processor. You can probably find a cheap used one like a Line 6 POD or a Behringer V-Amp 2 floating around for $50-$75. Great for beginners or experienced players alike. Any of it will require some trial and error.

Hope this helps some.

Blueoval, you are asking good questions and getting awesome reponses, for your first few times out. :D

I can not compete at the moment with all the work that's been put in, and advice given. But I do it when I do it?

I just think that you still need the bigger speaker as I suggested, and that's my opinion and experience, plus a Multi Effects.

Now, the Peavey amp that was suggested to you looks like the ticket! It models already, and the price the right. Saves buying a bunch of pedals.

Otherwise, if you find the cash to spend, toys and modellers or effects such as the Line 6 POD for instance, are extremely popular and have earned their reputation. :wink:

There is no one right answer .... thats why we all have so much stuff. :lol: