"Gifts" for the electric guitar: what and why are needed. Guitar Sound Processing

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Modern music using the guitar as one of the main accompanying or leading instruments cannot do without applying real-time effects to it. For this, conventional "gadgets" for electric guitars were previously used. But over time, they transformed into music processors and even entire virtual studios, which are widely used both when recording parts and in concert performances.

Electric Guitar Gizmos: First Attempts at Sound Processing

The original pure-sounding electric guitar was an instrument that conquered the world in a short time. But its sound has become unsatisfactory for many. To add to its popularity, many musicians and producers began to experiment with effects. The first effect is thought to have originated with Les Paul, who later also pioneered the design of the classic guitar shape that is now most widely used on Gibson guitars.

The essence of the effect was that he simply took two reel-to-reel tape recorders and simply passed the sound through them, thus obtaining a delay effect, today called a delay (from the English Delay). It happened only in the 60s of the last century (although the first attempts were made back in the 40s). And since then, electric guitar effects have undergone many changes.

Effects

Rock music has not remained aloof from innovations and has opened its vision of effects to the world. Over time, a distortion effect appeared, first called Fuzz, and then transformed into Overdrive and Distortion.

If anyone remembers, even in the Soviet Union in music stores you could find gadgets for an electric guitar in the form of a pedal with several buttons (Fuzz). The sound, of course, was dirty and completely different from what Western rockers performed. Nevertheless, all our musicians started from this very point. The sound was akin to the sound of "zzz", distortion looked like "bjzh", and overdrive - like "rrr".

With the advent of processors, the problem of using effects one by one disappeared by itself, but among everything that guitarists use today, there are several main ones:

• Overdrive, Distortion (Fuzz is outdated even morally);
• reverb and delay effect;
• chorus and flanger;
• Wah-Wah ("wah-wah", or, as it is also called, "Quaker");
• Pre-Amp;
• compressor;
• equalizer;
• octaver;
• harmonizer, etc.

Pedal types

Electric guitar pickups by themselves could not provide proper sound (due to market requirements), so the sound processing of the outgoing signal had to be carried out not on the instrument itself, but using external means. In this case, not even a direct external connection to the mixing console was used. So, the pedal for the electric guitar and the so-called combo came out on top.

It is a kind of pre-amplifier with the ability to adjust the sound parameters that the guitarist wants to hear at the output (on the concert portal). It is clear that custom effects pass first through this device. But on the other hand, the squealing of a driving guitar when winding up a dynamo is produced precisely with its help. Respond to the speaker just the same pickups. For the electric guitar, this effect was such a godsend that it was first used by Jimi Hendrix, and then by all the other rockers.

Electric Guitar Combo

Now a few words about signal amplification. The electric guitar amp has a dual function. On the one hand, you can adjust the sound quality, on the other hand, it is also a monitor, the sound from which the guitarist hears on stage.

Of course, distortion-like overdrive can also be set on this unit by simply setting the volume control to maximum. Similar actions are performed on the central mixer. But why bother with such things if you can use "gadgets" for electric guitar or guitarprocessors that have become especially popular now? They combine all the main effects.

Development of sound processing technologies

At the current stage of development of the guitar sound, it is worth noting the fact that today all the "gadgets" for the electric guitar can be divided by the type of electrics. The main ones are pedals on transistors, microcircuits and lamps. The latter, by the way, provide a more "warm" analog sound, which is considered a priori in the world of music.

But since the appearance of software modules embedded in guitar processors based on internal software, evolution has taken a new path.

"Hardware" and software "gadgets"

In today's computer world, the question of what is needed for an electric guitar is only to install the appropriate software.

You can emulate a real guitar with VST plugins like RealLPC, and create and use effects with Guitar Rig. Do you want to sound like Kirk Hammat from Metallica? There is nothing easier - just include the desired template. Software "gadgets" for the electric guitar allow you to reproduce such a sound, as they say, one to one.

But all experts note that the hardware, no matter how perfect the software, still sounds more realistic. The programs have only one drawback - they build the sound, adjusting it, so to speak, to the ideal sound. But in the studio, when recording, a guitarist can use othertricks that no program, no matter how it recreates the sound of a real guitar, can repeat.

Instead of total

What should a guitarist buy? Previously, “gadgets” for BOSS electric guitars were very popular, but at the moment they have not lost their relevance. DigiTech, Vox StombLab, Zoom - this is not the most complete list of the most popular manufacturers. In general, what do you need for an electric guitar? Drive, some chorus and volume in the form of a reverb. It seems that most guitarists will agree with this formulation of the question. In addition, today you can buy a professional electric guitar pedal quite inexpensively.

What to choose? Here you have to start from the style of music that is supposed to be performed, because one thing is suitable for heavy metal, and completely different for funk. And the sequence of connecting effects and their subsequent processing can be completely different.

Finally, it is worth noting the ease of switching between effects. For example, the legendary Brian May prefers to use separate pedals mounted on the same deck. Modern guitarists prefer processors that can be set in advance to automatically switch processing at a given time period. Well, whoever is more comfortable.

Software is good too, but it looks a little too perfect. But it must have its own flair. And, alas, none of the currently known programs can recreate it.