Here is our ultimate guitar effect pedal dictionary for some of the phrases we use on the JOYO website, if you are just getting into the world of electric guitar and effect pedals, then this guitar effect pedal cheat sheet will hopefully give you a quick overview of some of the words guitar effect geeks might use. This terminology is not just for dummies, we go into more detail on product pages and try and explain what these pedals do and sound like.

 

So check out the guitar effects by type and take a listen to some of the great demos of effects we have online. If you need any help, get in touch or leave a comment below :)

 

Amplifier Simulation

Amp sims recreate the sounds of classic guitar amplifiers made, but instead of a heavy amp to lug about or take up room, the tones are recreated by a guitar effect pedal.

 

Bass Effects

Its all about the bass, whilst modulation and spacial effects work very well across all types of instrument, overdrive and distortion really needs to account for those lower frequencies.

 

Chorus

Chorus divides the original signal and adds it back into the original (lightly modified) adding richness to the sound. Its a classic and sounds as good now as it did in the 80’s.

 

Compression

Even out volume of notes, or add sustain, compression is the most subtle guitar effect but will become one that can improve the sound of your playing.

 

Delay

Delay generates an echo that returns and repeats depending on the setting. The repeated sound is a precise copy of the original that you play, and the volume of the echo weakens with each repetition. Achieve Shadows slapback styles with a short time setting, or go for pink floyd echo trippy-ness.. Distortion Distortion is even more aggressive than overdrive, has a longer reverb and can be reliably found in all metal genres.

 

Equalisation

You definitely know equalisers from HiFi players. They serve to amplify or reduce certain frequencies such as bass, midrange and treble. These effects strengthen/weaken the frequency in the given range of roughly o +- 12 to 20 decibels.

 

Flanger

Sounds like a plane whooshing about your head.

 

Fuzz

Fuzz is a more aggressive style of compressed distortion using an excessive amount of gain to push your guitar signal beyond its limits

 

Amp Head

A head is simply the name for an amplifier without a speaker. Your friends won't have heads on top of amps, they'll have heads on top of speakers (with the head driving the speaker). The "basic guitar amp" also known as a combo tends to be an amplifier and speaker combined in one cabinet.

 

Loopers

Record, overdub, play along with yourself, repeat.

 

Modulation Effects

Modulation is a category of effects that do not intend to change drive or distort but manipulate the sound in a particular way so phaser, flanger, chorus, tremolo etc would all be considered modulating effects.

 

Multi Effects

A multi effect pedal will contain many guitar effects inside one unit that can be adjusted and saved.

 

Noise Gates

In simple terms it is the opposite of a compressor, which squashes signals above a threshold, such as loud attacks from the start of musical notes, noise gates squash out signals that register below the threshold. So reducing noise from noisy pedals or high gain amps.

 

Octave / Pitch Effects

These pedals can drop your notes down or push them up higher where your fingers cannot reach. The Octave pedal mixes the input signal with a synthesised version whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original. ... Hendrix used an octave-fuzz pedal

 

Overdrive Effects

Overdrive effects simulates the ‘overdriving’ of a tube amp, with the resulting sound of the electric guitar being characteristically a bit ‘cracked’ and ‘gritty’. Overdrive took hold in music during the 1960s, it warms up your clean guitar tone without distorting it.  

 

Patch Cables

These are the shorter cables that join your guitar effect pedals together. They are a 6.35mm mono cable, exactly the same as a guitar lead.

 

Pedal Controllers - PXL

A lot of pedals? Try changing 5 pedals at once without falling over. A pedal controller allows you to program all of that in.

 

Phaser Effects

Phaser effects change the volume in the chosen frequency band while also adding to the original signal its phase shifted copy. In practice, it seems as if the phaser is breathing.

 

Guitar Effect Power Supply

That thing with a plug on it, you can get a single power supply, a daisy chain, a multi power supply, filtered, isolated...

 

Reverb

Reverb is one of the most frequently used effects in music, guitars, keyboards, vocals the effect delivers a spacial sound ranging from a small room up to a large hall.  

 

Tremolo

Tremolo is one of the oldest effects, and thanks to its simple technical realisation, it is often built into guitar amps. The effect regularly adjusts volume and strength of the signal, the speed of which can be adjusted. When set properly, a nice, swinging and pulsating effect is achieved without changing the resulting character or height of the sound.  

 

Volume & Expression Effects

Fade in, Boost it, crank it up, okay turn it down…. Fade out… in stompbox pedal format or wah pedal style..

 

Wah

A wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". Auto wah or manual wah wah to get your funk on.

 

Don't be a dummy, If you dont know, ask us, and if we don't know we are pretty good at making stuff up..