Guitar Pedal Glossary and Terminology

Bypass - This is often referred to as "True Bypass". A true bypass peal means when the pedal is "off" the signal routed directly through the pedal bypassing any internal electronics and signal modification. Many modern pedals are designed as a "true bypass" pedal.

Distortion Pedals - These pedals distort the tone of the guitar by adding overtones (tones at frequencies greater than the originating tone) to create a sound often described as a "warm" distortion. Sound waves can reshaped or clipped for various distortion effects. Distortion pedals are different than overdrive pedals.

Overdrive Pedals - Overdrive Pedals are similar to distortion pedals however they produce a cleaner sound at low volumes and distort more at louder volumes. Note overdrive pedals do not provide the same level of sustain and gain that distortoin pedals are known for.

Fuzz - A fuzz peal is a form of an overdrive pedal which clips the sound wave until it is nearly square causing a sound described as "fuzzy" Hard Rock and Blues often use Fuzz pedals. Jimi Hendrix often used Fuzz pedals.

Wah Pedals - A Wah, sometimes called a Wah Wah pedal is a unique pedal operated by a large foot treadle similar to a gas pedal that moves a potentiometer or variable resistor which alters the frequency creating a unique effect best described as a "wah" sound.

Delay Pedals - Delay pedals represent a while range of time based effects. The general premise is to capture a signal and replay it at a slight delay from the original signal. A single delay or echo is often called a slap back. Many delay pedals also offer multiple delayed signals.

Reverb - Reverb basically simulates a reverberating echo where a large number of echos gradually decay over time. Early reverb units used springs or metal plates. Digital reverb units signal processing to create multiple voices and decay rates allowing the player to change the reverb tone. 60's surf music relied heavily on reverb.

Looper Pedals - Looper pedals can record and replay passages from a song.

Chorus Pedals - A Chorus pedal will create a "choir" effect by splitting the signal and changing the pitch on part of the signal adding depth to the sound similar to a Choir.

Flanger Pedals - A flanger creates a wooshing sound by using a variable delay. Perhaps one of the most famous uses of a flanger is on the 70's song "Barracuda" buy Heart.

Phaser Pedals - A phaser is a phase shifter pedal that creates an out of phase duplicate of the original sound wave which is often described as a "ripping effect"

Multi-Effects - Multi Effects pedals are simply a pedal which incorporates many effects into a single large pedal. Players who use many effects will often mount pedals on a pedal board. These can be cumbersome to transport and set up. A multi-effects pedal will allow you to get a wide rang of effects in a single pedal. The downside is that if you want effects that are not in your multi-effect are still going to have to buy additional pedals.

Tremolo - A Tremolo pedal will produce a rapid variation on the volume of a note. Tremolo pedals will have a know which allows the player to adjust the speed of the tremolo effect.

Vibrato - Vibrato effects produce rapid variations on the pitch. Many amps have built in vibrato. The player can often vary the rate and the pitch difference.

Compressor - Compressor pedals level out the volume of a note and will increase sustain increasing the duration of a note.

Dirty - Dirty often describes the output of an amp where a wave that has been overdriven and wave tops clipped losing the warmth of a normal note creating a distorted gritty sound.

Clean - Clean often refers to the output of an amp where the waves are symmetrical and unclipped producing "clean" natural sounds.

Stomp Box - Another name for an effects peal which refers to having to "stomp" on the pedal to move the foot switch. A good pedal should not require a player to stomp on it !

Sustain - Sustain refers to the duration of a note. Compressor pedals will increase the sustaing of a note however the actual instrument will also have a big impact on the sustain as well.

Uni-Vibe - This is a famous pedal with a chorus effect often played by Jimi Hendrix. There are a number of modern versions out there including Chicago Iron brand pedals.

Pedalboard - A pedalboard is a board made out of wood, aluminum or plastic that allows players to mount and wire pedals in a semi permanent manner. When a player needs to go to a show or practice a pedal board can save a lot of time by cutting down on setup time and also protecting pedals. Many pedalboards come with a carrying case, either a soft bag or a hard aluminum flight case. We offer the Pedaltrain line of pedalboards and flight cases.

Dry Signal - A signal this is not processed by any effect or equalization. If you are using a true bypass you have a dry signal.

Wet Signal - A signal that is being modified by a pedal(s).

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