Guitar Rig Essentials
Whether you're building a brand new guitar rig or you're simplifying an overly complicated one, it can be an overwhelming task digging through your rig and trying to pick the essential pieces.
In this article, I want to share the building blocks of a well-rounded guitar rig with you and equip you to put together a kick-butt guitar rig of your own!
Electric Guitar
The first and most important building blocks of a great electric guitar rig are the electric guitar and the amplifier. You'd be hard-pressed to find a guitar on the planet more popular than the Telecaster. When Leo Fender invented it in 1950, he had no idea, no clue that it would cover every genre from country to metal. Consider this my pitch for every electric guitarist currently living to at least try the Telecaster.
Now, whether you choose this guitar or not, just know that the two most important aspects of picking out an electric guitar are: 1.) Is this fun to play? 2.) Does playing it make me want to play more? If you answered yes to both, then you’re good to go.
Amplifier
I'm a big fan of Fender-style amplifiers because they're loud, they're clean, and they love pedals. You usually get an onboard reverb and sometimes even a tremolo effect. My go-to amplifier is the Blues Deluxe I’ve had for almost 20 years. I picked it up on the road in a pawn shop for a few hundred dollars, and I can confidently say it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. This amp has been on so many tours, countless recording sessions, and I've even used it to design a ton of the JHS Pedals. I can't recommend it enough. You can pick up a reissue of it for $800, and if you do I think you'll be in love.
Another option is a Vox-style amplifier. It's British, it's a little grittier, it's got a little bit more bite to it, but it's an excellent option and a ton of fun. Those come in about $700.
Tuner
Just buy a tuner. It doesn’t matter how sweet your guitar rig is, nobody wants to hear you if you're out of tune. It's just a fact, I promise.
Overdrive Pedal
Now let's get to what really matters: guitar pedals.
You need to start with a good overdrive. The purpose of a good overdrive is to give you the sound of a crank tube amp without waking up your neighbors. Coincidentally, that's exactly why the Ibanez Tube Screamer was invented and why it's tried and true and used on so many pro players boards.
Another option that I really enjoy (even more than the TS9) is the BOSS SD-1W. This classic SD-1 super overdrive has been around for a long time, but they updated it and added a second mode. I really enjoy this pedal. It's a little more versatile than that other green box.
Another overdrive option is the Blues Driver, the BD-2W, from the Waza Craft line. This pedal also has a second mode and covers really light breakup/light overdrive, all the way to a high gain overdrive/almost distortion.
Distortion Pedal
Speaking of distortion, you're going to need one of those too. My favorite distortion pedal ever is the ProCo RAT. It's classic and it does high gain distortion so well. It'll easily crossover into a kind of fuzz sound. Plus, you can clean it up and do some overdrive. Basically, you can't go wrong adding this to your rig.
Alternately, you can use the ever-so-famous BOSS DS-1. You've all seen it. Everyone in your family knows what this is. You've seen it laying around in parks, you've seen it in your closet, shoe boxes, in the trunks of cars, on the subway. It's all over the world because it's really good. They wouldn't sell that many if it wasn't. There's not a bad sound in it unless you turn the treble all the way up. This is a good option.
Fuzz Pedal
On the other hand, you might want to leave the land of distortion and head to the land of fuzz instead. Bear in mind that fuzz is distortion, it's just a lot more gnarly, a lot more crazy, and a lot more fun in some cases. I recommend the Big Muff, as it’s an easy pedal to use and a great gateway piece of gear if you want to try out this iconic sound.
If you keep liking fuzz, you might want to check out my Mini Foot Version Two. It's simple, elegant, purple, and small. That's enough reasons right there. Just try it.
Reverb Pedal
The next thing your guitar rig is going to need is some space. I’m talking about reverb here.
Reverb's a big deal and the amps I told you about, they offer reverb, but these pedals help you go beyond that and give you a much more ambient texture, which is really useful in almost every genre of music. I like this Holy Grail reverb pedal, just as it's classic and hard to beat. If you want to try a more modern pedal, the new Fender Marine Layer reverb has a ton of options. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one.
Delay Pedal
You can also add space to your guitar rig through the use of an echo or delay pedal. Delay is really important and it's one of my favorite effects. I recommend the BOSS DD-7 because you can actually tap in the tempo to the beat and have the echos and the repeats follow that tempo. Not bad for the year 2020.
You also have options like the Electro-Harmonix Canyon, which has all the classic delays of the BOSS DD-7 along with some really fun features like shimmer (which adds octave to the repeats) to help you get more creative.
Tremolo Pedal
Another really great effect that's used in almost any guitar rig is called tremolo. Tremolo is basically the movement of your guitar's volume between quiet and loud in a rhythmic way.
The BOSS TR-2 is classic, and I also make a little simple guy here called the Tidewater Trem. They both do the job really well and it just comes down to green or blue. What's your favorite color? Because if you play your favorite color, it's going to sound better.**
**Scientifically proven fact, folks.
Modulation Pedal
Okay, this section is going to be a little more detailed, and for a good reason: modulation is one effect that I have to have in all of my guitar rigs. Admittedly, modulation is a broad category and it has within it a lot of different types of effects. They all have one thing in common: they modulate your signal and they cause some movement, a really beautiful texture underneath whatever your other effects are doing.
These are my absolutely favorite ways to modulate your guitar signal:
Bucket Brigade Chorus
The Blue Hippo by Way Huge and the Chorus CE-2W by BOSS are great examples of classic bucket brigade chorus. You've heard those tones on songs your entire life. Turn on the radio right now, you're probably going to hear an analog chorus. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Phaser
Next up is phaser. Now, the Phase 90 is the most famous phaser pedal, but the Small Stone by Electro-Harmonix is still well-known and in a lot of guitar rigs. Phase 90 is a little more swishy, not so clean and precise. It has a bigger sound and a bigger feel, and for some applications it's just better.
Uni-Vibe
My favorite form of modulation is the uni-vibe. I like it because it lives between phaser and chorus, like the best of both worlds. I usually put it on the vibrato setting. The Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe is a classic, and the new Good Vibes by Electro-Harmonix is an awesome option with a lot of extra settings.
Flanger
Last but not least is the effect called flanger. Flanger is a type of chorus and kind of a type of delay. Honestly, it's hard to explain. You don't need to know all the details, just know that this is cool. It’s a twofer: if you turn the settings down, it'll pull off a chorus, but then if you turn them up and it does the crazy flange sound.
You may or may not kill two birds with one stone by adding a flanger, but one of these modulation effects is a must for your rig.
***BONUS GEAR***
Now that I've shown you those essential pedals, I'm going to show you a few bonus pedals. Bonus pedals are here purely for the fun factor. When you hold a guitar, when you play it, when you're hearing the music you create, it all comes down to enjoying it. It’s that enjoyment that keeps us going.
No one spent ten plus years learning how to shred on a guitar because it wasn’t fun. So that’s what these pedals are here for. You’re welcome.
Wah Pedal
Number one is the wah. Some might say it's essential, but it's not for me. I might get punched in the face by certain people for saying that. From Metallica to Shaft, the wah pedal is ingrained in modern music, so I definitely think you should try it.
The Micro POG is an octave pedal. You can make your guitar have a bass guitar-type element or a high-pitched frequency octave above your normal guitar playing. Both effects make your guitar sound a lot bigger than normal, and that's really cool, especially when you add distortion.
Looper Pedal
A Looper pedal is basically a small computer that records what you're playing when you hit a button. Then if you hit the same button again, it plays that back and allows you to play over the top of that loop. It's great for practicing and for building guitar parts and then playing over them. Once again, it makes your guitar sound bigger than real life.
EarthQuaker Rainbow
This is a weird pedal made by a friend of mine: the EarthQuaker Rainbow Machine. Have you ever thought to yourself, “How can I make my guitar sound like unicorn sprinkles and fairy dust?” Done. Just whip out the Rainbow Machine and you’re good to go.
If you ever see one of these, please try it out. You've got to try stuff that's weird and you've got to try stuff that you might not think you would like. Did I think I would originally like unicorn and fairy dust sprinkles? No. That is not really my chosen aesthetic. Did I end up being the Rainbow Machine’s biggest fan? Absolutely yes.
Miku Stomp
Last but not least: the Miku Stomp. Is this essential? Let me counter your question with another question: is it essential for you to be able to make your guitar sound like an anime character at a moment’s notice? I say yes. If you said yes, then this pedal is a must for your rig.
Basically? Don't overthink this stuff. You've got to have fun because, at the end of the day, that's reflected in the art that you make and the way that you play the guitar.
Honestly, the most important thing you can do is go into a guitar store and get your hands on guitars, amps, and a bunch of pedals. Play them, experience them, and hear them with your own ears. That's the only way you're going to really learn. I encourage you to do that, no matter how awkward you might feel. Take the plunge! These articles are great, but until you get your hands on stuff, it's just not the same.
Additionally, I've placed some links below to my favorite pedal boards and to my favorite power supplies and cables. Those are things I didn't mention earlier, but they're important when you're putting a board together, so I think you'll find that useful.