Guitar pedals are a great way to modify your sound and add different digital effects. There is a large variety of guitar pedals available on the market today. Some are expensive while others are more affordable.
You may be wondering if it’s worth investing in an expensive pedal when there is a cheaper option that might do the trick? The short answer: It depends on what kind of pedal you’re looking for!
Pedals come with different types of features and functions that suit various genres and playing styles best. Do you need one that makes a big difference in how the pedal sounds?
Or are you looking for something more subtle? Are you trying to sound like your favorite metal band?
These are just a few of the questions you should be asking yourself before deciding on how much money you should spend on a guitar pedal.
A great way to decide if a pedal is worth it or not is by looking online for demos of the guitar pedal you’re looking to buy.
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Why Are Some Pedals So Expensive?
There are many different reasons why certain guitar pedals may be more expensive than others. Usually, basic pedals with limited features are cheaper than pedals that have a ton of features.
What then would be the reason that some pedals with limited customization options are still really expensive?
There could be a few reasons for this such as the brand of the pedal and the general durability of the guitar pedal.
For example, Boss pedals are normally at least $100 or more, but their pedals are of very high quality. If you own one of the many pedals that Boss makes, you’ll know that they are built like tanks.
Do You Really Need a Guitar Pedal?
If you are absolutely content with the sound that your guitar amplifier makes, then, by all means, don’t waste money on a pedal.
However, having optional guitar pedals to use gives you a lot more customization options when it comes to your overall tone.
There are a ton of different types of guitar pedals on the market today that do some pretty cool things. And there are also pedals that will be essential if you’re trying to mimic the sounds of some of your favorite musicians.
For example, one of my favorite bands of all time is Nirvana. If you’re familiar with this band, then you know that there are many songs in which they use a chorus pedal.
So, in this example, if I wanted to sound like Nirvana, I would have to hook up a chorus pedal to my rig to even get close to their sound.
What Pedals Should Every Guitarist Have?
In my opinion, every guitarist should have the type of pedal that coincides with the type of music that they play the most.
One pedal that is probably the most common is the distortion pedal, and it’s the one pedal I think every guitar player should have.
The reason I believe that every guitarist should have a distortion pedal is that most guitar amps do not have the best or the grittiest distortion options.
While it’s true that there are many great amps out on the market that have a great distortion feature, most simply do not.
The types of pedals you should have will ultimately depend on your style of playing and whether or not you like experimenting with different sounds and styles.
It will also depend on your budget. If you’re solely into experimenting, why not buy cheaper pedals to see if you like the sounds before upgrading to more expensive guitar pedals.
