People have been making musical effects in strange ways for decades. Did you know that guitarist Duane Eddy once outfitted a 500-gallon metal water tank with a speaker at one end, and a microphone at the other, and used it as a recording chamber? Not to mention that the first guitar effects tools were built directly into the guitar in the 1930s, which made the instrument bulky, heavy, and hard to play?
Then, during the 50s and 60s, the electric guitar’s popularity skyrocketed, making it a main instrument in American pop music production. With the electric guitar, musical effects became easier to produce, and eventually led the way to pedals. For musicians just starting off, often the effects on their amplifiers are satisfactory, but once they feel the need to venture off on their own path and pioneer their own, characteristic sound, they start to feel the need for pedals.
However, there are a wide and eclectic range of different pedals, from acoustic guitar pedals to stomp boxes filled with guitar multi effects pedals for different sounds and different needs. Here’s a short, handy list of some of the different kinds of pedals most guitarists like to use that are manufactured by companies like Walrus audio pedals.
Overdrive and Distortion Pedals.
Walrus audio pedals offer a solid overdrive pedal, that is used to create a heavier distortion effect on the guitar. Distortion creates a warm, dirty or fuzzy sound by compressing the peaks of the sound waves and adding overtones. These are often referred to as gain effects, which refers to the how distorted guitar sounds were first achieved by over-driving tube amplifiers. Two great models are the Walrus audio pedals “Voyager,” and “Mayflower.”
Booster Pedals.
Booster pedals are used to raise the volume of a specific note, or to perform specific distortions to the note as well. These create a distorted sound as well, but it’s a more focused distortion. Although they became obsolete with the advent of the overdrive pedal, they have recently come back into vogue. The “Janus” Walrus audio pedals are some of the best, and newest boosters out there.
Looping Pedals.
Looping pedals are particularly neat, because they let guitarists record a riff to layer other sounds over it. It’s perfect for the musician who wants to solo, but lacks a backing guitarist to perform rhythm.
For any guitarist, Walrus audio pedals are high end models that will deliver a high end sound. Sure, there are other brands, but for a truly characteristic sound, going with Walrus audio pedals is a great choice. If you have any questions about Walrus audio pedals or any other kind of pedal, feel free to ask in the comments. Read more.