Many analog pedals come with a few basic controls depending on the nature of the pedal. For example, a distortion pedal may contain adjustments for tone, level, and overdrive. Delay pedals usually incorporate adjustments for feedback, delay time, and tempo. While these adjustments make it easy for guitarists to obtain the sound they are looking for, they often leave out the "fine-tuned" capabilities of the effect. For example, some delay pedals don't express the delay adjustment in familiar graduations. Sometimes, a simple "slow to fast" knob is all that's provided in controlling the speed of the effect. These days, digital technology has made it possible for the guitarist to obtain complete control over effects settings. New processors contain menus that contain detailed parameters for effect adjustments. A delay can be set to exactly 200 milliseconds with no guesswork involved. Reverb adjustments are made in terms of room size, pre delay, and time length. New processors such as the Johnson J-Station and the Zoom 503 contain amp simulators that can simulate many of the popular sounds contained in amps of today and yesteryear. Some of them contain digital outputs. This simply means that the guitar signal can route directly through the unit to digital recording equipment. Acoustic guitar simulators allow electric guitarists the ability to simulate the acoustic guitar while on stage. No, it's not quite the same sound but it does provide a nice effect for some things. The Digitech RP7 contains 1-12Ax7 tube for warmth. The addition of real tubes to effects processors is growing every day. Amp manufacturers such as Fender, Line 6, and Johnson, as well as many others, are incorporating digital effects units into their newer amp lines. The addition of these processors eliminates the need to carry an array of smaller pedals to a gig, which makes it easier on everyone during setup.

The RP21 by Digitech
A few years back the distortion pedal came into being. Then you had the phase-shifter and the Echo-plex. I personally loved that bulky thing. It was a contraption with magnetic recording tape that looped through a recording head and then a playback head. You could adjust the physical position of the play-back head so that the delay time would change. You could see the tape looping under a clear cover. It was mesmerizing. Well, effects have come a long way since then, or have they? You've got all these digital processors and some of them are really cool but the blues player tends to be more of a purist. They want their tube amp with a little bit of edge on the sound and nothing else. To be honest, for blues I do too. A cheap tube amp set correctly can really produce a warm tone for blues where a cheap digital effects pedal will suck the life out of your tone. Did I hear you say, "But I thought digital was better! What's up with that?" Let me explain. Cheap digital convertors do the same thing to your sound that cheap digital cameras do to an image. At first glance a cheap digital photo looks ok but, if you zoom in on a digital photo you'll see little squares, or jaggies. I know some of you have played through some cheap effects and on the surface thought, hmmm, not bad but in the back of your mind you were saying, hmmm, something's missing here. That's because cheap digital effects give your sound "audio jaggies" for lack of a better term. If you've got the money there are some really good higher dollar digital effects out there with good quality convertors and there are some good ole tried and true analog stomp-box type effects that sound pretty good.

Although digital technology has made it easier for guitarists to get that signature sound, analog pedals will still be favored by many. I hope this article gives some insight on choosing a pedal that's right for you.