Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Oct. 15 2002, 17:35 |
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Absolutely anything you want...
Not a very helpful answer, perhaps, but I believe it's the truth. There are all sorts of effects available, and there's nothing to stop you using any of them.
As a guide, some are more popular than others, and some are going to work better than others with certain types of guitar.
There are loads for electric guitar...absolutely loads...They range from things which perhaps just alter the character of the sound subtly, to things which mangle the sound out of all recognition.
Overdrive/distortion is probably the most commonly used effect. Depending on the type, it can give the guitar a sustaining violin-like character, or make it sound like a fly trapped in a milk bottle. Mike uses it extensively - there are loads of examples in his music, I'll name the solo from Far Above The Clouds as one of them (not for any particular reason, really...).
Another commonly used effect is reverb, an effect which simulates the sound of playing in a particular space (a concert hall for example). Reverbs go all the way from the super high quality units found in studios, which can provide a fairly lifelike simulation, to the spring reverbs found in many guitar amplifiers, which are famous for their boingy twanginess (and can make funny springy sounds when kicked  ). I personally prefer not to use reverb at the amplifier stage, but instead would add it afterwards at the mixing stage (whether that's the mixing stage of a recording or a live performance). When playing live without a PA, I find that the venue more often than not has enough natural reverb of its own, and any artificial reverb added can just make the guitar sound indistinct, when the idea is really to have it cutting through.
Another effect that's used a lot with electric guitar is the wah wah pedal - that's basically a kind of pedal controlled filter, which produces a vowel-like 'wah' sound as the pedal is rocked backwards and forwards. A wah will give all of those 70s funk type sounds, as well as being a favourite of players like Jimi Hendrix. Again, Mike uses one a lot - the guitar in Let There Be Light would be one example, and a lot of his overdriven solos use one as well (it's what he uses to take the sound from fairly muted to sharp and cutting while he's playing).
There are loads of other types...I'd be here all night if I was to mention them all. The best thing would be if you took a look at some effects manufacturers' websites, or went along to a shop to take a look at some.
Acoustic guitars can present a 'problem' with effects for performance, in that you need a way of getting the sound of the guitar into the effects box from the guitar. That's not a huge problem, as many acoustic guitars are available with a built in pickup which will let you plug straight in to the effects of your choice. The other way would be to use a microphone, which can be more fiddly, but gives a more natural sound. A natural sound may not be what you're after, though, if you're working with effects - sometimes the more synthetic sound that a pickup gives can be better suited to use with effects.
Players tend to be fairly conservative when using effects with acoustic guitar - chorus (which gives a kind of shimmery effect, which can fatten the sound out a bit) is a commonly used one, and reverb as well, but others are less commonly used. You can in theory use anything, though. Even overdrive/distortion is possible, though it can lead to problems with feedback unless you take great care (covering over the soundhole can help). Wah wahs don't, in my experience, tend to sound terribly good with the fairly thin sound of an acoustic guitar.
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