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The first 3 pedals you might want to buy! – What should you get to keep it enjoyable
Introduction
I remember when I was a beginner and I was starting to get into pedals. I didn’t have a clue what pedals I should or shouldn’t get. There were so many and the internet was young then, so there wasn’t much advice. Luckily for you, the internet is everywhere. I can give my opinion and advice and hopefully help you pick your perfect first 3 pedals. These are the three pedals I believe you should look to get as a beginner.
I will break each pedal down into its category and then I will recommend some actual pedals that you can get at different price points. Go into why I would recommend this type of pedal and why you should buy a certain type or brand over another. Hopefully, by the end of this article, not only will you know what you should get, but also, and more importantly, you will understand why you should get that pedal!
Pedal 1: Tuner
For me, this is the most important pedal someone should buy first when looking at your first 3 pedals. Having a tuner pedal will instantly make you a more reliable player! Knowing you are in tune is key to playing with other people, and when someone sees that you have a tuner pedal, they will trust you a bit more. If you are playing in your bedroom on your own, then a headstock tuner might be fine; however, as soon as you get into a band environment, you will find that having a pedal makes everything easier and quicker.
I understand that this isn’t a fancy or even good-sounding pedal and might be at the bottom of your list; however, once you have bought one, I would bet you will never have to buy another. I have a Boss TU-2 from 2006ish. It is still on one of my boards now and has held up so well! I also have a Boss TU-3 pedal, which is also going strong!
For the reasons above, I am a little biased and will always recommend the Boss TU range. They are solid, affordable, and hard-wearing! Being a Boss pedal, you will be able to pick them up almost anywhere and in any guitar shop. Grab one and put it on your board!
Pedal 2: Overdrive
If you have been playing guitar for a while, you might be looking at this one and thinking that they shouldn’t get an overdrive. However, I bet you most beginners have got a budget amp, or volume might be an issue. So for this reason, I think it is nice to have an overdrive pedal at your feet to allow you to play around with different gain sounds. The key to practising guitar and continuing to play is to keep it fun! Overdrive and gain are fun!
Overdrive pedals can help people to learn dynamics and volume control! Using your volume controls to adjust the gain level opens up so much and gives you so much freedom.
There are thousands of overdrive pedals out there, and some are affordable and some are cheap, so recommending one can be tricky. However, I will recommend a few for different reasons. For me, the Tone City Durple is a good choice for low to mid overdrive. The Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini if you want to push your amp into overdrive and get that SRV tone, and finally, the Boss Blues Driver for your higher gain sounds. These are three overdrive pedals that will allow you to get a wide array of sounds. From high gain to low overdrive.
Pedal 3: Delay
The last pedal in your first 3 pedals is purely for fun! Delay! Grabbing a delay pedal will inspire you so much. Being able to get some nice delay sounds helps expand your bedroom playing and makes your tone feel more full! Delay is an effect that a lot of old people rely on, then when they don’t have it, they feel empty. You don’t want to become too reliant on Delay, but it is really nice to have some texture in your playing.
You can go from a nice slapback all the way to epic 80’s solo delays! So what would I recommend? Well, luckily there are a lot of options for delay pedals now! Digital and analogue! I would recommend a digital delay as there are a few options and they are fairly affordable! I think the easiest one to go for is Boss DD-3. A super nice delay pedal that can be purchased at most places. However, you can also look at the Tone City Tape Machine.
It depends on what you want out of your delay pedal and how you think you will use it. With each feature, the price of the pedal will increase. Dual foot switches and presets are great to have and use and will be super useful when you move from your house to the stage.
Conclusion
If you are reading this, then hopefully you are a beginner and this article has given you something to think about in regards to your first 3 pedals. Above is just guidelines and my opinion! You can buy and use whatever you want. I have only recommended what I think people should look into. There are pedals and effects which can be tricky to work out and cause disappointment (like fuzz); however, you do need to play around with one to understand them, so you could argue that you should buy one to learn.
Try not to get caught up in hype and wanting a pedal because someone else has it. Focus on learning the effect type, what it does, and how to adjust it. Once you have done this, then you will be able to get almost any pedal to work. Once I discovered how to set up overdrives, then I stopped buying so many overdrives!
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