At present, there are more and more kinds of effectors. In order to meet the needs of various genres of rock bands, the same variety of effectors are divided into many fancy specifications and forms. Some effectors are directly installed on the electric guitar; Some are installed in speakers; Some are made to hang on the waist, and most of them are made to pedal, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

As we all know, it is impossible for an electric guitar player to stop for a moment while playing. Unless the music is marked with a rest, you can't reach out and adjust the effect. The actual use proves that the pedal effect device is the most convenient, especially the single pedal effect device is the most popular, which can be freely combined and replaced at will. The common effector brands in China market are Yamaha, BOSS, IBANEZ, Roland, ARIA, ROCKTEK, ARION and domestic Mustang brand (Maya). There are metal shells and plastic shells with different shapes, slightly different quality and performance, and the price difference is close to the letter. When buying, listen carefully to the actual operation. Most effectors are related to the electric guitar and speakers used. Be sure to confirm whether the electric guitar and speaker are in good condition when buying, and then compare them after adjusting to normal state. No matter what brand of effector, in order to meet the requirements of various electric guitars and speakers, several main electrical properties are basically the same, such as power supply voltage of 9V DC (6F22 battery) and input impedance of 200~470ho. , the output impedance is 10Kmin, the maximum input electron is 1V, the maximum output level is 1V, and the noise level is less than 50. Although there will be a big error, it is not normal to audition when there is a lot more. It is necessary to consider whether it is caused by poor quality. Pay attention to the following points when shopping in spare time: (1) The appearance is intact and the text is clear. (2) The switch, knob and jack are reliable, and the adjustment is smooth and effective. (3) the effect is obvious, the sound quality is good, there is no big noise, and it is placed stably (pedaled). The functions and characteristics of commonly used pedal effectors are briefly introduced as follows for reference:

Distortion (deformation)

Commonly known as sand meter. It is a device that deliberately distorts the sound of electric guitar to make it hoarse. After the sound of electric guitar is modulated by distorter, it can produce soft and hoarse sound or crisp and harsh sand sound. The duration is long to extend the duration of the notes. Known as "electric saxophone", it is the most used effect instrument in rock music. It is often used in prelude, quiz, epilogue and cadenza solo, and it is also used to imitate the rhythm of drum lights and strings at the beginning and make a "stop, stop" sound. Playing skills are changeable. In recent years, this kind of effect device has made new development and there are many famous tricks. Examples are super feedback distortion, heavy metal distortion, turbine distortion, tube explosion distortion and strong brightness distortion. The mainstream is that timbre tends to be sharp, hard, bright, strong and whistling to enhance stimulation.

Overload (speeding)

Overspeed drive, exciter. Use moderate distortion to produce distortion effect similar to wind music, and simulate the timbre of wind music. It is often used in the guidance, prelude, questioning and ending of electric guitar. It can produce an electron tube or compressor (comvreso …), which can compress the high level and raise the low level, and has the effect of changing or amplifying the waveform. Different from the distorter, it provides a variety of undistorted playing timbres, which can lengthen or shorten the duration of notes and produce percussion or long sustain.

Chorus (chorus)

BBD circuit, also called harmonizer, is used to mix sound waves with normal sound waves after delay, and make the sound of electric guitar move and echo left and right through the output of main and right channels, which is as soft and broad as mixed chorus. If only one output is used, the effect of stereo chorus is very poor. Chorus effectors are usually used to play broken strings or chord accompaniment. Its soft, elegant and ethereal voice gives people a lyrical feeling.

phase switcher

It is to use the interference between the phase-shifted sound wave and the original sound wave to produce a quite shocking and elegant effect. The difference between it and the chorus is that the sound has a sense of shock. One effector was used more in the early days.

flange cover

Its circuit principle is basically the same as chorus, and there is a feedback circuit. It is an effector that produces a positive impact sound. Different from chorus, the sound has a rotating, elegant and late feeling. When it is slow, it looks like a dream in space and a long bell. When the speed is fast, it will make a sound of water waves or chickens, and it can also make a sound as strong as a jet engine. There are many changes in timbre. It is often used to add special effects to music (song accompaniment) and enhance artistic appeal.

Delay (extension)

It is an effector that produces reverberation or echo. There are analog delay, digital delay, reverberator and so on. Their principles are basically the same, and they are widely used in stage acoustics and karaoke. The delay time can range from 50 milliseconds to more than 1 second, and the delay time of electric guitar is generally between 20 and 476 milliseconds, which will produce reverberation effect when the time is short (Hall effect will produce echo when the time is long) (Valley effect will make the sound of electric guitar rich, full and spatial after the delay time. Echo is often used when adding the last note to the climax of electric guitar, so there are several reflected echoes, just like shouting at the valley.

sound of crying or vomiting

Different Hu Weilin cases. Its pronunciation is like the sound of a chicken's mouth opening and closing. It sounds like people whispering when it's slow, and it sounds like frogs when it's fast. It is used for electric guitar to play funny and lively music. You can also tune stringed instruments.

Equalizer (equalizer)

Also known as frequency compensator and parameter equalizer, it is used to adjust the frequency response curve of electric guitar. Because the frequency center of electric guitar is two channels lower than that of ordinary power amplifier, ordinary power amplifier tuning controller can't adjust the tenor of electric guitar. Only a dedicated equalizer can be competent. At the same time, the equalizer can set the timbre state of the electric guitar, so as to show bright, cheerful or deep and generous colors in a certain section of music. It's convenient to step on the switch when you need to join.

Tone B00Ate

It is a device to improve the high frequency band of electric guitar, jumping 20 decibels. It is different from the equalizer, which can adjust the whole frequency band at will and only improve the treble. It is often used to highlight the bright and cheerful timbre of electric guitar and emphasize the metallic sound when leading the singer. When playing colorful music fragments of Spring Festival Taihua with distorter, this effect is added at the same time, which has a stronger and brighter metallic tone. Octave, a device that can reduce the interval of an electric guitar by one or two octaves to expand the performance of the electric guitar in the bass zone, can be played like a telecom company.

Volume pedal (volume)

Although there is a volume controller on the electric guitar panel or speaker, the purpose of the volume pedal here is different from that of the general volume controller. It is used as an expression pedal. When you mark strong and weak notes in the music score, such as * or PPP. You need to use a volume pedal to control the fluctuation of volume. In the playing method of rock electric guitar, there is a volume playing method, that is, using the little finger of the right hand to use the volume pedal or turn the volume potentiometer on the electric guitar to pop up the sound with increasing volume without the sound head, just like playing the violin, with a looming feeling. As long as it can be used, it can also produce other effects.

Limiter (timer)

Which is used for eliminating overload or undesirable transients of electric guitar signals in transmission. When the level still exceeds the limit, the built-in voltage controlled amplifier (VCA) bo is compressed, so that the sound will not be seriously distorted.

Noise gate

When the circuit wiring is too long and the effectors are connected in series too much, it can eliminate the bad buzz and noise and keep the sound of the electric guitar pure and beautiful.

Far more than the above effects. In today's highly developed electronic technology, effects are introduced into the programming system, three or four commonly used effects are combined into one, and the timbre effects you need are pre-programmed by the program, some of which can be programmed with 65,438+00 pre-selected effects. When in use, an effect can be "read" only by touching a button, which saves the trouble of temporary adjustment. The use of effectors It is difficult for electric guitar lovers to play with various effectors for the first time. Due to the lack of adjustment experience, they spend a lot of time and often can't adjust to the required effect. Some electric guitar lovers are disappointed to hear that the cadenza played with the effect device on the tape is very nice and want to imitate it, but they don't know how to tune such a nice tone. Now, let's try to compare the use of effectors with painting. It is easier to understand all kinds of effectors than oil painting color, and the adjustment method of effectors is explained by the principle of oil painting color. When a painter paints, he mixes oil paintings of different colors on the palette until the colors meet the requirements of a certain artistic conception in the painting. But electric guitar players use effectors to adjust various timbres and then play them to express some feelings of music. The common method is to select several effectors with different characteristics, and connect the effectors in series with a short metal shielded wire (microphone wire), with the output terminal connected to the power amplifier box and the input terminal connected to the electric guitar. The sequence of series connection is as follows: electric guitar-effector-power amplifier. Different styles use different effectors, and the way of series connection is also different. Now, several typical series connection methods and their methods are described.

Single-channel series method: suitable for the performance of single-channel public address system. Its series connection mode is electric guitar-octave-compressor-distorter-phase shifter-equalizer-volume pedal-noise brake-timbre enhancement-chorus-range-limiter-delay amplifier-amplifier. Why can the series connection be reversed in this order? According to the performance characteristics of effectors, some effectors cannot be reversed in order. For example, the distorter should be before the phase shifter, Wrange, equalizer and delay, otherwise these effectors will be "distorted" by the distorter and lose their characteristics, thus determining the order relationship between them.

Two-channel series method: In order to obtain amazing sound effects, the two-channel series method can produce distinct stereo effects and wide space effects, which is suitable for large theaters and gymnasiums. Its series connection mode is electric guitar-octave-compressor-distorter-phase shifter-equalizer -Wrange- timbre improvement-noise problem-volume pedal-limiter-delay device-chorus-left and right two-channel amplification system. The reason why the chorus is moved to the end here is to get the chorus effect, which needs to be amplified by the left and right channels to give full play to the chorus effect.

Heavy metal series method: simple operation, suitable for heavy metal rock music performance. Its series mode is electric guitar-distorter (or driver)-chorus -Wrange- equalizer-noise gate-limiter-delay-amplifier.

The fusion system is different from the heavy metal system in that it does not need a distorter, and only uses the original sound of the electric guitar or is close to the original sound. Its series connection mode is electric guitar-compressor-chorus -Wrange- equalizer-noise gate-limiter-delay-amplifier.

Because there are many genres of pop music, electric guitarists in different countries have their own unique orchestration methods, and the orchestration in different periods is also different. With the development of pop music, the choice of effectors will change accordingly. Most electric guitarists don't choose a long-term effect in actual performance. As long as a certain effect is achieved, two or three effectors are often used in series, which is convenient to adjust and simple to operate. Some world-class electric guitarists will be grouped by color. In the early days, the following series of methods were adopted: for example, Beok chose guitar-driver-distorter-delay-amplifier. Page and Canton chose the electric guitar-driver-equalizer-delayer-amplifier in series, while Yamamoto and Koji of Japan chose the electric guitar-distorter-chorus of left and right channels, and the left channel was connected with amplifier)-phase shifter-delayer-amplifier, and then passed through each channel. Although they are connected in series, the parameters of electric guitar, speaker and tuning are different, and the effect is different, so it cannot be simply imitated. The three effectors selected by series method should also be connected in series according to the order of distortion first and delay device, and it is more reasonable to insert other effectors in the middle. Amateur electric guitar lovers in China often choose the simple way of distorter-chorus-amplifier, and sometimes using Wrange instead of chorus can also play rock music well, even using only one distorter. It's very affordable for beginners. The initial adjustment of the effector is too late to understand the functions of various knobs on the effector, and it is often impossible to adjust to the required effect. There will be noise or whistle if it is slightly improper. The functions and functions of the main knobs on the effector are briefly described as follows:

Level (level)

Refers to the input or output level, which should be gradually increased when adjusted to avoid howling or overload of the amplifier. At the same time, when the electric guitar and the effect device are used alternately, attention should be paid to balancing the degree of volume change. If you highlight the effect or solo the cadenza, you can improve your level.

Speed (speed)

In chorus, phase shifter, Wrange and other effectors, there is this adjustment button to change the oscillation speed to show slow and warm.

Soft, lyrical or cheerful, strong emotional changes.

Depth (depth)

This adjustment button cooperates with speed to adjust the vibration intensity, and there are "obvious" and "inconspicuous" responses in hearing.

Feedback (feedback)

This adjustment button is often used in such effectors as Wrange, wow sound, delay device, etc. to adjust the sensitivity or improve the startup speed.

Diotortion

It is the main adjustment button of the distorter, which is used to adjust the degree of husband and wife, so that the sound is slightly distorted to completely distorted, and from clear to hoarse.

Sensitivity (sensitivity)

Used to adjust the initial response speed of notes and display tactile response when playing.

Att86k (percussion, staccato)

Used to adjust the rising speed of the playing head, the speed of sound attenuation, and change the timbre of the playing sound. There is this adjustment button on the compressor.

Delay time (delay time)

There is this button in the delay or reverberator, which can adjust the delay time of the sound, thus producing the effect from reverberation to echo.

These adjustment buttons are not completely independent, they are interrelated, so they must be carefully adjusted to achieve satisfactory results. As long as after a period of exploration, we can master the adjustment method of the effector. However, I have the following suggestions:

1: First, learn about the performance, characteristics, timbre variation range, functions and usage of operation buttons of various effectors in detail.

2. Don't use the effector too much, so as not to bring confusion in operation and disharmony with the band timbre.

3. Strictly check the connecting wires, and replace the defective ones in time. Please replace the battery in time when it is used up. The battery must be taken out after use.

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The essence of distorted timbre is to add a large number of overtone harmonic signals to the guitar signal to make the piano sound.

Strong, persistent, sharp and penetrating. As we all know, the fundamental frequency determines the pitch and timbre of sound.

Depending on the content and proportion of harmonics in the sound, guitar timbre distortion is a special sound effect.

Because the harmonic content is very large and irregular, it is very different from the sound in nature.

Loudspeaker overload and overdrive: The earliest distortion effect comes from the overload of the electronic tube guitar loudspeaker.

Degree of motivation. Because the input signal is too strong, the electron tube goes beyond the linear working range, resulting in clipping.

Due to clipping, the harmonic content in audio signal is greatly increased, which leads to harmonic distortion effect.

This is the electronic tube overload sound that everyone loves. Sometimes, an overloaded propeller is used to propel the guitar.

The signal is amplified in advance, and then input into the electron tube speaker to achieve higher distortion. DOD250、YJM308、

TS9 These are well-known overload drives, and there are some distortions.

Faz FUZZ: Faz is the first independent effector to produce distortion. Fuzzy means

Use "furry" to describe its timbre characteristics. Faz's timbre is very loose and wide, and it has passed the electron tube.

The load is obviously different. Jimi hendrix, the god of guitar, once used the famous UFO-shaped fluff.

Facing the single piece, Latin guitarist Carlos Santana used a big sleeve. Early classic Faz

Caused by the overload of the crystal diode.

Monolithic distortion: With the development of electronic technology, transistor technology has become the mainstream.

The appearance of integrated operational amplifier circuit brings a new atmosphere to distortion effector. The popularity of heavy metal music

It requires a higher degree of distortion and a hotter and more violent tone. Integrated operational amplifier just meets this requirement.

A request. At present, most distortion effectors are based on integrated operational amplifiers, which makes

Simple and stable, it is convenient to make distorted timbre of various degrees, and the timbre adjustment range is larger than before.

Distortion effectors are much larger. Operational amplifier circuits usually use crystal diodes to limit and produce distortion, and

Some directly overload the operational amplifier to produce distortion.

About these concepts: people have not made a clear distinction between Faz, overload and distortion.

They can be substituted for each other. In fact, this does not affect the use, and everyone is used to calling it whatever they like. Conceptually,

It is said that "distortion" is the essential feature of this kind of timbre, and "overload" is the technical means to achieve the distortion effect.

"Purple" is a description of timbre characteristics, and "heavy metal" is a proper noun for strongly distorted timbre types.

These nouns do not contradict each other, so there is no need to distinguish them strictly. Sometimes they are just used to distinguish the degree of distortion.

It's different.

Hardness of timbre: Hardness of timbre mainly depends on the content of odd and even harmonics in timbre.

And proportion. Odd harmonics are odd multiples of the fundamental frequency, the timbre is cold and hard, sharp and bright, and even harmonics are the fundamental frequency.

Even frequency doubling, warm and soft timbre, comfortable to listen to. The harmonics of electron tube circuit after overload are mainly even numbers.

Harmony, so it sounds more comfortable. After the transistor circuit is overloaded, the odd harmonic content is large, so

Strong penetrating power. The hardness of timbre is not determined by distortion, of course, the increase of distortion causes harmonics.

Incremental and proportional changes, which are the source of soft and hard timbre.

About distortion cascade: Distortion effects are connected in series, and more distinctive distortion effects can be obtained. Generally speaking,

Say the low distortion string is in front. Distortion cascading is not a mysterious practice, but debugging should be special.

Patience is the only way to find the tone that suits you best.

About equalizer: equalizer is a good partner of distortion effect device. Equalization does not change various frequencies in the signal.

However, each frequency band with different listening characteristics will be upgraded and attenuated to change the timbre.

So equalizer is an important magic weapon to change timbre.