(Part 1 of 2)
Have you ever thought about creating your own effects pedal board? Have you built a effects pedal board, only to discover that your guitar sound has changed? Believe me, you're not the first to run across this problem. In fact, the majority of pedal boards effects will change the tone, and mostly not for the better.
There are several Things to consider when designing and building your pedals. If you've taken care to address critical issues during this process you end up with great guitar tone. If you're not careful you end May with a guitar sound that is not at all desirable.
Here are some things that will its impact on your guitar when you design your pedals.
- Cable length
- The cable types
- True Bypass
- Buffering
- Unity Gain Structure
Over there are more things than this to consider part 2, but for the moment, you're on track for its killer guitar at the design of your effects pedals.
- Cable Length – Try to keep the length of your cables as short as possible. This includes the patch cables between the pedals too. The reason is that your cables are longer, more loss of tone, loss of gain and loss occurs premium.
- Cable Types - Just as the length of your cables can cause loss of tone, can therefore type cables. This is something that is a kind of personal preference, but I would say that Mogami cables Belden will always be an excellent choice. Keep in mind that the larger cable is the first cable used from your guitar to the first effects pedal.
- True Bypass - This can be good or bad as the rest of the pedals in the chain. If your pedals are true bypass, and they are all extinct, you face the problem of all of your cable lengths, adding to a long cable into the front of your amp. It's really bad if you are using vintage microphones with low output and high impedance. You should consider some type of buffer to maintain the stable signal.
- Buffering – Buffering the signal may help in the use of true bypass pedals and microphones vintage, but you have to play with matches. You may encounter problems of signal peaks and sharp peaks depending on where the buffers are placed in the chain. Best solution is to plug your guitar directly into a fixed high impedance which is identical to the input of the amplifier. Then distribute the signal for different effects and amp low-impedance buffered feeds. This will give you the signal level constant, and the characteristics of tone, which unchanged when the effects are added.
- Unity Gain Structure - This is another crucial issue when it comes to balancing your sound. Example: If you used a chorus pedal and a delay pedal these devices are usually unity gain. When you arrive in pre-amps, equalizers and units with gain control, you will need to balance all of their support so that a unit is not stronger than when the other is off or off.
I hope this will give you great insight in the construction of your belongings Personal pedal guitar. If you carefully design and construct your pedal, pedal your effects will sound whenever you plug a high since years and years to come.
Be sure to see Part 2 of Guitar Tone using effects pedals.
If you have questions or comments as detailed below.
Thank you, Bob Molton
For More Great Guitar Tone Tips Go to How To Get Great Guitar Tone
Bob Molton – Guitar Instructional Product Development
Jamey Ice’s 2009 Touring Rig – Pedal Board, Amp, Guitars
