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What guitar pedals should I get first?

Updated · By the Suede Social desk

The answer

Get a tuner pedal first, then one overdrive. Those two cover most of what you need at practice and on stage. Add a delay or reverb third, and skip reverb if your amp already has it. After that, buy for sounds you hear in songs you love, one pedal at a time.

A first board, in order

Four pedals, wired the standard way.

  1. 01GuitarYour signal starts here.
  2. 02TunerEvery practice, every gig.
  3. 03OverdriveFrom light grit to a push for solos.
  4. 04DelayRepeats for leads and space.
  5. 05ReverbSkip it if your amp has reverb.
  6. 06AmpWhere the chain ends up.

Build your first board in this order

  1. 01Start with what you ownYour amp may already have a drive channel, reverb or built-in effects, and a modeling amp or multi-effects unit has plenty. Spend a week with them. Whatever you keep reaching for points to your first pedal.
  2. 02Get a tuner pedalYou will use it every time you play. A pedal tuner sits on the floor, reads clearly on a dark stage, and on most models mutes your sound while you tune. A clip-on tuner is fine at home.
  3. 03Add one overdriveAn overdrive is the most flexible first effect. At low gain it adds grit to a clean amp, and with its volume up it pushes an already driven amp harder for solos. Learn every knob on it before you buy a second drive.
  4. 04Then delay or reverbBoth add space around your notes. Delay repeats what you play; reverb makes it sound like a bigger room. If your amp has reverb built in, start with delay.
  5. 05Follow the songs you loveYour next pedals come from your ears. A buzzy, saturated lead is often fuzz. Shimmering, watery clean parts are chorus. A sweeping, swirling sound is phaser or flanger. Pulsing volume is tremolo. Buy one, live with it, then pick the next.
  6. 06Sort out power at the second pedalOne pedal runs fine on a 9V battery or a single pedal adapter. Once a second pedal arrives, one pedal power supply beats a pile of batteries. The power supply guide covers what to buy, and the pedal power database lists what each pedal draws.

Spend less, learn more

  • Buy used. Durable classic pedals change hands all the time, and a used pedal usually resells for close to what you paid if it turns out not to be for you.
  • Compare pedals at the same volume. A louder pedal always seems better for the first few seconds. Match the levels, then decide.
  • Plan before you buy. Lay out the chain on The Board and check the power in the power planner.

Common mistakes

  • Buying five pedals in a week. You learn a pedal by living with it, one at a time.
  • Skipping the tuner. Every other pedal sounds worse out of tune.
  • Buying a compressor first. Its effect is subtle, and it is hard to hear before you know what to listen for.
  • Living with hum after adding a digital pedal. A digital pedal on a daisy chain can add hum or whine; if it does, give it an isolated output.
  • Buying a pedal to fix a guitar problem. Buzzing strings and tuning trouble are setup issues, and a setup fixes them.

Words used here

Overdrive
A pedal that adds mild to medium distortion, like a tube amp turned up.
Fuzz
A thick, buzzy, heavily clipped kind of distortion.
Delay
An effect that repeats what you play after a short gap.
Reverb
An effect that adds the sound of a room, a hall or a spring tank.
Multi-effects
One unit with many effects, and often amp sounds, inside. Usually saves sounds as presets.
Pedalboard
A flat board that holds your pedals and power supply so you can set up in one move.

Tools for this

First Year · the forum

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Suggested title: “What pedal should I get next?”

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