Which Guitar Effects Do I Need For My Style Of Music?

By Derk Stiepelmann

In the effects world, there are no rules you have to adhere to – anything goes to get the sound you want to achieve, so take this article only as a starting point.

Generally, there are three basic sounds categories that you will need – some styles might only need two or even just one. You will then add certain effects to these three basic sounds to alter the sound, make them more spacious etc.

• Clean Sound – this term refers to a sound that is not overdriven or distorted. To make the clean sound more interesting, you might use various combinations of modulation effects like Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and effects that add space to your sound like reverb and delay. The combinations of effects you use, might change from song to song.

• Crunch Sound – back in the day, a clean sounding amp would start to “crunch” when the amp was turned up to a higher volume and naturally produce an overdriven sound.

• Lead Sound – this term refers to a sound with more “gain” (distortion) for your guitar solos.

In the past, to get the most distorted sound out of your amp for your guitar solo, you would have to turn the amp´s volume all the way up, which was not exactly practical for many reasons. Today many amps have different inbuilt channels to give us these sounds, for example: a clean, a rhythm and a lead channel. So what had to be done by turning up the amps or using different effects pedals in the past, can now be done by simply switching amp channels with one click of a button.

Blues

Clean Sound:
Use a tube amp like a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a bit of reverb from the amp. You might also want to use a compressor too to tighten the sound up a little bit.

Crunch Sound:
To get a crunch sound, you can push your amp by turning up the volume knob until it breaks up or use an Overdrive Pedal like an Ibanez Tube Screamer or a Boss Blues Driver. You also might want to get a Wah-Wah to get Hendrix type sounds (as in Voodoo Chile).

Lead Sound: You will not use high-gain sounds in blues, but you can add a booster or second overdrive pedal to have the choice between a little and more overdriven sound at one tap of your foot.

Rock

Clean Sound:
Use a compressor to even out arpeggiated chords and rhythm playing. Use Modulation effects like Chorus, Flanger, Phaser etc. to shape your clean sound and add space sound by using a Reverb and Delay.

Crunch Sound:
Use the different channels on your amp to have different amounts of gain available or use an overdrive pedal if your amp only has a clean channel. A Wah-Wah might also come in handy.

Lead Sound: Use a booster pedal in conjunction with your overdrive, a distortion pedal or simply switch to a different channel with a higher gain setting on your amp.

Funk

Clean Sound: Use a compressor on your clean sound to take some some nasty spikes out of your rhythm playing. A Wah-Wah is also pretty mandatory.

Crunch Sound: You will only use a light crunch sound in funk (if at all). Use an Overdrive Pedal for with a mild setting for that.

Lead Sound: You will not use high-gain sounds in this style of music.

Jazz

Clean Sound: In this style, you can get away with a pretty minimal setup and simply use a semi-acoustic electric guitar going into a clean amp like a Roland Jazz Chorus. You might want to add a compressor too.

Crunch and Lead Sound: You will not use overdriven sounds in this type of music.

Punk

Clean Sound: A bit of compression on the clean sound, a bit of the amp´s reverb and some modulation effects if you need them for some of your songs.

Crunch Sound: Overdrive Pedal or amp channel.

Lead Sound: Distortion Pedal or amp channel.

Reggae

Clean Sound: Compressor pedal, modulation effects like chorus, phaser, flanger as needed and a Wah-Wah.

Crunch Sound: Overdrive Pedal or amp channel.

Country

Clean Sound: Compressor, Reverb from your amp, Delay Pedal, modulation effects as needed

Crunch Sound: Overdrive Pedal or amp channel.

Metal

I recommend you use an amp with multiple channels for each of the three basic sounds and add special effects as needed. Mesa Boogie or ENGL are good amp choices for Metal.

The world of guitar amps and effects is a huge and fascinating topic, so my suggestions can only be a starting point for your own journey of discovering in how many ways the sound of a guitar can be shaped. What can I do right now? – hear you ask. Head down to the next guitar store and try out some amps and effects! Enjoy!

About the author: Derk Stiepelmann owns Songwriter´s Shed guitar school and teaches guitar lessons in Dortmund, Germany.