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Effects Explained
Dynamic Effects
Dynamic effects are those that effect the
volume or dynamic range of the signal. This process can sometimes produce side
effects which may be desirable or not, depending on personal preference.
Gating / Expansion
A noise gate or expander is used to remove
unwanted noise or buzz from the signal. This is done by progressively lowering
the volume of low level signals whilst leaving high level signals as they are. A
noise gate is basically an expander with infinite gain reduction on the low
level signals. This means that any signals that fall below the threshold of the
gate are reduced to nothing.
Controls
There is usually only one control on a noise
gate or expander. This sets the level at which the signal is allowed through
unaffected - anything below this level will either be reduced (attenuated) or
totally removed as in a gate. If this level is set too high, then you may find
that wanted signals are getting chopped away - resulting in an unnatural, choppy
sound. The best idea is to set this as low as possible and then gradually
increase it until you notice this effect, and then reduce it a bit to ensure you
will not get unwanted gating.
Compression / Limiting
The least radical dynamic effect is
compression. Compression derives its name from the fact that it compresses the
dynamic range of the signal. This can be especially useful when the you want the
sound to be as loud as possible without distorting as it will 'compress' any
peaks in signal level. The amount of compression is usually referred to in the
form of a ratio - such as 2:1 meaning that signals over the threshold are
reduced by half. A limiter is essentially a compressor with a high ratio, such
as 10:1 meaning that any signals over the threshold are reduced by nine tenths.
Controls
names of parameters may change from
manufacturer to manufacturer
Threshold
Sets the signal level that the compressor kicks in at. Anything below this level
will not be affected by the compressor unless the signal level exceeded it
previously and the compressor has not yet released.
Attack
The attack sets the amount of time after the signal surpasses the threshold
setting that the compressor kicks in. A fast attack time will quickly compress
any peaks whereas a slow attack setting will give a more subtle compression
effect.
Release
The release setting controls how long after the compressor has kicked in that it
stops affecting the signal. If the attack and release settings are low, then the
sound can develop a strange pumping sound as the compressor kicks in and out
repeatedly.Overdrive / Fuzz / Distortion
In the early days of electronic musical
instruments, the amplifiers were fairly pathetic and to get a decent amount of
volume you often had to turn them up to their maximum volumes. However this
often results in distortion. Distortion is a bit like compression in that it
affects signals which have a higher level. When an amp or effect is distorting,
it is acting a bit like a limiter as the signal level can not go beyond a
certain point. Where distortion differs from compression or limiting is that
this process purposefully introduces harmonics or noise into the signal,
generating a sound which can vary from a mild growl to searing saturated
distortion.
Controls
names of parameters may change from
manufacturer to manufacturer
Gain
Controls the amount of distortion or overdrive by setting how much the original
signal is boosted. Higher settings will produce more radical distortion effects
as more of the signal is being pushed up to levels which will result in
distortion.
EQ
Most distortion or overdrive pedals have some kind of EQ control where you can
control the amount of bass, treble and sometimes mid that the pedal produces.
For a more cutting sound you will want to boost the treble, for a classic metal
sound you need to boost both the bass and the treble and if possible cut
(sometimes referred to as a scoop) the midrange, giving a sound that is both
beefy and cutting.
Level
The level control sets the actual signal level or volume that is output from
your effects unit. It is common to set this so that the volume when the effect
is switched on is slightly louder than the clean sound without the pedal. If you
are wanting to use the pedal when playing solos etc, then you will want to set
this louder, if it is purely rhythm then you may want to set it at the same
level as your clean sound.
Tremolo
A tremolo adds interest to a sound by
modulating the volume or amplitude of the source signal overtime in a repetitive
fashion. Think beach boys and other fifties guitar songs.
A stereo tremolo can produce a left to right panning effect. Some tremolos have
a square wave function, which means that instead of gently modulating from one
extreme to the other, it switches rapidly - which when set at a high speed can
produce a radical machine gun type sound.
Controls
names of parameters may change from
manufacturer to manufacturer
Rate
Controls the speed with which the tremolo modulates the volume of the signal,
slow settings will give a subtle effect whereas fast settings will sound more
radical. Mix
This controls how much of the tremolo signal is fed out to the output. If set
low then the signal will consist mostly of the clean signal and will be very
subtle. If it is set to maximum, then the output signal will be mostly or
totally the tremoloed signal and will sound quite radical.
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