Within each class of guitar effects, there are multiple options you can choose from. For example, when it comes to distortion pedals, you can choose from labels including fuzz, overdrive and just plain distortion. But we also wanted to take a look at just the overall variety of pedals that are available to guitarists.
Sure, some experienced players may find the list a little rudimentary, but we hope it will be a helpful guide to beginners still finding their footing in the wide world of guitars and looking to see what options are available when it comes to expanding your tone.
Distortion Pedals
Probably the most common guitar effect, distortion pedals also have the widest variety of sounds available depending on which model you choose (and how you dial in your settings). The sound of the effect is pretty much right there in the name, though as mentioned before there are a slew of different types of distortion to choose from. We’ll go into these more in-depth in a separate article.
Delay Pedals
Delay and echo have been used since the earliest rock recordings, when a “slap back” echo was often employed on 50s rock tracks. Today, delay pedals whether analog or digital offer an extremely wide variety of options, from that classic slap back sound to extremely long delays to delays timed with the tempo of the song.
Chorus Pedals
As the name would suggest, these pedals attempt to make one guitar sound like multiple guitars. Depending on the pedal and the setting, this is achieved through duplicating the guitar signal and then slightly detuning and/or delaying it. Depending on its use, the effect can be used to fatten up a guitar sound or it can create a very “watery” guitar tone.
Flanger and Phaser Pedals
Upon first glance (well, first listen), flanger and phaser pedals can seem very similar, and though both are popular, individual guitarists tend to prefer one to the other. Flangers replicate the sound of two guitar signals being played at the same time -- one is the original while the other is sped up and slowed down as it plays. Phasers are slightly more subtle, and are meant to represent a rotating, side-to-side sound.
They both create moving and sweeping effects, and the best way to find out which best suits your needs is to compare both and see which works best for you and your sound.
Wah Pedal
Though it’s been well over 40 years since his death, the wah pedal is still most strongly associated with Jimi Hendrix, and likely forever will be. The pedal creates a, well, “wah” sound, and the extent of the effect is controlled by a foot pedal. Today, there also are auto-wah stompboxes that don’t require the active foot control, though many guitarists want to keep that control.
Other Pedals
There are tons of other types of effect boxes out there too, though this list represents the most popular. Other models include reverb, compressor, acoustic simulators, tremolo, EQ and filters, to name a few. As usual when it comes to guitar tone, which pedals you need depend completely on the specific tone you’re after, though it’s a great idea (and a lot of fun) to try out multiple pedals and combinations to see what sounds best for you.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
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3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
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7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
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