Effected: Effects are Colors

I remember being equal parts excited and confused as I starred at the huge boss pedal display at the guitar center in Boston.  All those colored little boxes, all those weird names.  “A Phaser?  What the hell does that do?”  I was always tight on cash so rolling the dice on effects was not something I was willing to do. 

Maestro Boomerang

The only effect that I had ever used was my dad’s Maestro Boomerang Wah.(Which kicked huge ass by the way)  I loved having the option of changing my sound beyond what my fingers were doing.  I experimented with it every way I could imagine.  At the time I really sucked but the boomerang still made being a bad player fun. That wah turned what would be an hour of playing into several hours which in turn got me much better.  If a wah could do that, what could other effects do?  I wanted to know but had no idea where to begin.
This is an introduction to a series of articles that I am putting together to help guide you through complex and exciting world of effects.
What effects do you need?
It all depends on what you have and where you want to get to.  Is your fender combo not cutting it for metal.  You need a distortion pedal.  Want to add more flavor to your solos?  Try a wah pedal.  Want to add more texture to your rhythm playing?  A chorus pedal might do the trick.
A great place to start is to listen for tones  from your favorite guitarists that turn you on and research what effects they’re using.  When I was starting out there was no Internet, so I had to rely on hearsay and what I read in magazines.  Today there are many resources and forums that can really help your search.

Effects can really enrich your tone.  Think of it as an artists palette.  Effects are colors which can be blended to enhance a painting.  Great works of art have been created using one color and hundreds of colors.  Effects are only as necessary as the artists decides that they are.
Effects can also be great songwriting tools, allowing your notes to change form and behave differently which may inspire you in ways not possible without them.
Can’t seem to find a spark in that bridge section?  Maybe all it needs is a little chorus.  Want to  thicken up that solo and  fill the room with sound.  Put a long delay with a slow phaser on staff.(I borrowed “on staff” from my good buddy http://comedians.jokes.com/vince-averill)
Having different effects to screw around with can make boring practice more fun.  Delay and phasers are a great way to work on your timing by experimenting with different rhythms against the speed of the effect.  Also, with the right concoction, effects can do a great job of covering up shortcomings in your playing giving you more confidence.  All of these factor into the most important thing for any player:  More Time With The Guitar In Your Hands.
 On the very first day of our lesson, my student Anya was experimenting and having fun with simple power chords and the minor pentatonic scale minutes after she learned them with the help of long delay and swirling modulations.  She’s hooked day one!

Line 6 Spider

Amplitube

Today, guitar effects are very affordable wether it’s an amp with built in effects, a multi effects pedal or computer software.  Take advantage of these powerful tools.
You may run across certain type of player that trashes the use of effects.  “All a real player needs is a guitar and an amp.”  Yeah, so I guess Hendrix isn’t part of your elite club.  “Sorry Jimi, maybe if you had manned up and stop using your wah and Octavia then you could be part of our dick-measuring contest.”  
Sorry, but if you’re not down with Jimi, you’re probably not that good.

My contempt aside, in my upcoming posts I will be explaining guitar effects one “family” at a time.
    Dynamics: Compressors, Noise Gates, Boost
    Clip: Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz
    Modulation: Chorus, Tremolo, Vibrato, Phaser, Flanger, Ring Modulators,
    Delay: Slapback, Effected Delays, Long Delay, Reverse Delay, Multi-head, tape, plate
    Reverb: Room-based delay, Digital Reverb, Spring Reverb, Effected or Enhanced Reverb
    Filter: Wah, Q-filters,Voltage controlled filters, High pass, Low pass, and synths
    Pitch: Harmonizers and Whammy
It’s good to each individually as some effects are combinations of two or more families.

Octavia

Octavia- Octave with Fuzz

Memory Man and Memory boy- Delay with modulation.

We’ll start to get into all the deets next time.
Get ready to geek it up!

Beginner Guitars: Acoustic vs. Electric

One of the biggest questions I get from beginning guitarists is, “Should I start out on an acoustic or an electric?” While this is a much-debated question, I am of the firm opinion that the single most important factor of improving your ability on the guitar is simply how many hours have the damn thing in your hands.  You should aim for the instrument that you just can’t put down.  A new player wants instant gratification.  Many will find that the most fun and easy instrument to play that they can get their paws on is an electric guitar.  

I was clueless when shopping for my first guitar so when I was firmly told, “You need to play acoustic for a few years before you play electric.” I didn’t question it. I instantly loved playing but was a bit frustrated at my lack of skill and all that I could think about was getting an electric.  I was 15, I wanted to rock out!  I liked acoustic music but it was only about 10% of what I wanted to play at the time.  So, I would sit on the corner of my bed and butcher Sabbath riffs on my dreadnaught.  It got old quick.

Finally, I got a black SG special and I didn’t even have an amp yet!  I would just strum metal tunes on it and plug it into my dad’s fender 1x12 when I could get away with it.  I was instantly better.  It was so much easier to hold down barre chords, bend notes.  I also discovered that distortion and reverb are great tools for covering up how much you suck.

One of the biggest checks in electric’s pro column is cost.  Although much better playing acoustics are now available in the entry-level price range, they will never play as easily as a comparatively priced electric.  One of the factors for better playability is action.  Action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard.   Due to the thinner strings and more adjustable design, electrics are just easier on the fingers.  Another reason lies in the generally much thinner neck of electrics.  Most electrics have a smooth access to at least 22 frets making traveling up the neck fast and comfortable.

These days you don’t even need an amp to have a great time on an electric guitar.  With a simple and affordable midi-interface you can turn any computer in to something that blows Guitar Hero out of the pond.  You can record, jam over mp3s and play along with YouTube lessons.  Apple’s GarageBand comes standard on all Mac’s has a very guitar friendly interface which allows you to choose from models of classic amps and effects.  Using effects is a great way to make practice interesting and to make simple playing sound huge and powerful, which in turn builds confidence.  I wish that I could have afforded effects when I started after witnessing how much better they made me simply by making the playing more fun.

True, there is a feeling and tonality that only an acoustic guitar can deliver.  An acoustic instrument is a living, breathing thing with a voice all it’s own.  Also, having the freedom to travel and not having to worry about a power outlet is a pretty sweet thing.  I absolutely love playing acoustic but could never enjoy it the way I do now without first learning on an electric.
In the end I feel you should start on an acoustic if the vast majority of what you wish to play is acoustic music.  If you want to rock and start on an acoustic, you’ll spend all your time sitting on the edge of your bed trying to piece together Eruption unplugged.  Lame!