Welcome back to another comprehensive electronics guide! Today we will demystify guitar pedals to help you make the best choices for all your playing needs, along with providing many helpful tips and things to try.

Introduction

Effect (FX) pedals are invaluable tools for the modern performer that open up a world of sonic possibilities. Pedals allow musicians to enhance and transform the sound of their instrument in endless ways, even ways you wouldn’t even imagine! With incorporated foot switches, players get hands-off control of their sound in real time.

Let’s dive into the different types of pedals and how they can elevate your harp-playing.

Reverb Pedals

 
Think of reverb as the sound of a harp playing in a vast cathedral, where every note echoes back. Reverb pedals recreate this effect, making any instrument sound more spacious and grand. In fact, the magic of reverb is the reason why everyone sounds better singing in the shower! Almost all recorded music utilizes reverb in some way because of these qualities, making it no surprise that reverb pedals are some of the most popular pedals in the market.  There are endless types of reverb pedals, from the natural to the avant-garde. Some higher-end reverb pedals can make very unique and out-of-this-world sounds, perfect for soundscape musicians.

Settings

Reverb pedals emulate the ambient sound of playing in certain types of environments. Pedals have knobs that allow users to fine-tune their sound to find the perfect tone for each song. 

The following three controls shape a reverb’s sound:

Decay: The amount of time the reverb effect lasts. Long decays make your instrument sound ethereal and dream-like.

Pre-delay: The amount of time it takes for the effect to start. Think of pre-delay as the time it takes for the sound wave to bounce back at you. In a smaller room, the pre-delay is short because the sound waves do not have to travel far. Alternatively, in a larger room, the sound waves take more time to bounce back since the walls are far apart.

Mix: Adjusts the balance between the unaffected (dry) sound and the processed (wet) sound.

Turning the mix knob up increases the audible amount of reverb. When the knob is all the way to the left, the sound is completely dry — the pure sound of the harp with no effects. As you turn the knob up, the sound becomes progressively "wetter," blending in more of the reverb effect. Start out with a dry signal and slowly increase the mix to find the perfect sweet spot. 

There are pedals that only offer one type of room sound and others that offer multiple. For those that offer multiple, you can switch between each setting with the mode or type knob.

Mode or Type: Controls the type of environment the reverb is replicating. Common modes are small room, plate, concert hall, and cathedral. Sometimes, this setting isn’t labeled, but the type of rooms will be listed.

Besides these controls, here are some other, less common settings that can be found in higher-end pedals:

Dampen: Adjusts how bright or dark the reverb sounds. Turning it up reduces the high-pitched sounds, making the reverb more muffled or muted, like singing into a pillow.

Shimmer: Adds a glittery, magical effect to notes, making them sparkle. This can also be available as a mode.

Modulation: De-tunes the reverb, giving your sound an eerie, underwater-like quality.

All of the aforementioned settings can be adjusted independently to fine-tune your sound.

Considerations for Harpists

The harp’s natural resonance makes it and reverb a match made in heaven. However, too much reverb can muddy your sound, especially in fast-paced music or when playing in an ensemble. It's often best to reserve heavy reverb for slower, more spacious music, like ballads or solo performances. For more intricate pieces or group settings, try dialing back the reverb to keep your sound crisp and clear. Many harpists keep a little reverb on at all times because of the ambience it gives.

↳ Try this: For classical music or ballads, use a concert hall setting with a moderate mix and decay for a rich sound. For contemporary solos, use a smaller, dryer room setting to maintain clarity while still adding depth.

Delay Pedals

 
Imagine standing in an open field, shouting “is anyone there?” then hearing your voice repeat clearly at distinct intervals as it bounces back. Each echo is a perfect repetition of the original sound, gradually fading away. This is what delay is. Unlike reverb, which creates a continuous echo, delay repeats the sound at precise intervals, forming rhythmic patterns. This makes delay a powerful tool for adding texture and depth to music. Since the effect complements reverb so well, many musicians often combine the two.

Delay pedals come in a wide range of styles, with options tailored to different genres and artistic needs. Some offer simple, streamlined controls that produce a clean, modern sound, while others emulate the warm, saturated tones of vintage tape delays. For the experimental musician, avant-garde delay pedals provide a vast array of customizable settings, allowing for manipulation of waveform shapes, pitch, and more. Some pedals do all the above! With so many options available, it’s common for musicians to own multiple delay pedals, each serving a unique purpose in their arsenal. Or even combine them!

Settings

The tone and character of the delay varies from pedal to pedal, and so can the available settings. However, most delay pedals include two primary controls: 

More advanced and specialized delay pedals often include additional controls such as:

Like reverb pedals, delay pedals typically have a mix knob. Increase the mix to raise the volume of the delay.

Considerations for Harpists

↳ Try this: Apply a delay pedal to long arpeggiated passages. It makes the arpeggios sound as if they are harmonized or accompanied - adding a rich, layered texture.

Distortion Pedals

You’ve probably heard this one before—the roaring crunch of an electric guitar. This effect is heard in most music involving guitars. Even though distortion is not typically associated with harp, it’s been finding its way into the harp world thanks to many ground-breaking pioneers in recent years with the growing popularity of electric harps like Harp·E and DELTA.

Distortion adds an aggressive, gritty texture to your sound, completely transforming the tone of your instrument. This is the go-to effect for rock, metal, and even some pop music, creating a powerful, high-energy vibe.

Two other similar effects are overdrive and fuzz. Overdrive produces a milder, warmer sound that allows some of the instrument's natural sound to poke through and good definition between notes, often used in blues and classic rock. Fuzz creates an even more intense, saturated effect that doesn’t allow the natural sound of the instrument to be heard and provides little definition between notes. This effect is popular in psychedelic, experimental, and metal music. In comparison, typical distortion provides little to no natural instrument sound, unlike overdrive, but more note definition than fuzz. The boundaries between these three effects are very blurry; a standard distortion pedal can emulate all three with the right settings.

Settings

Distortion pedals may have different names for similar settings, but they share some common controls:

Gain and volume interact together to craft different tones. Combining high gain and lower volume adds a significant amount of distortion. Low gain and high volume functions more like an overdrive, allowing the acoustic sound to still poke through. 

EQ can fine-tune the character of the distortion. For example, increasing the bass with high gain creates a dark distortion sound - perfect for hard rock!

Considerations for Harpists

Since harps are so resonant, finding the right distortion pedal and setting is very tricky. The effect can easily become muddy since the pedal picks up every little noise, creating a wall of sound. You may also run into feedback issues since the resonant body of the harp can vibrate with an amp if it's loud enough. The feedback can sometimes be caused by the harp’s own resonance! Harps that are either exclusively or mostly electric, like Harp·E, are more distortion-friendly than typical electro-acoustic harps since the pickups are shielded from most outside noise and the harps themselves are much less resonant than acoustic harps. 

Most distortion pedals aren’t optimized for harp right out of the box, especially cheaper models that struggle to handle the harp’s huge frequency range. However, a bit of tweaking can work wonders. We recommend investing in a high-quality distortion pedal and playing around with the settings until it sounds right with no feedback. Experimentation is key to finding the right pedal and settings.

Harpists have come up with a number of hacks over the years to tackle the roadblocks to distortion:

• Felt Damping: Weaving a piece of felt across the lower strings near the soundboard. The felt acts like a muffler, reducing the string’s resonance.
• String Muting: Muting the last played string, so only one string vibrates at a time. 

With distortion, less is more. Stick to individual notes or perfect intervals (octaves, fifths, or fourths) to avoid excessive resonance and feedback. We recommend staying away from chords.

Looper Pedals

 
A necessity in the soloist’s arsenal, loop pedals allow one player to sound like an entire ensemble. Any sound that goes into the pedal can be looped, making endless creative potential.

Loop pedals record your live sound when you press the switch. Once you’re satisfied with what you played, press the switch again in tempo to stop recording and immediately start playback. Many loop pedals allow you to record multiple loops over the original one, creating layers. Because of the repetitive nature of looping, these pedals work best for rhythmic, metronomic music. Staying in tempo while playing and pressing the switch is crucial for successful looping. 

Most loop pedals are essentially the same, with differences in their features and number of tracks. Consider the following when choosing a loop pedal:

• Number of tracks: Loop pedals with a single switch allow you to record new loops over the original one, but do not provide individual control – you can only turn all loops on or off at once. Pedals with two or more switches provide you with the flexibility of controlling each track separately. These types of loopers are often called “loop stations”. 
  
  
• Built-in effects (FX): Some loop pedals come with built-in FX for an all-in-one package. You can always pair your looper with other pedals of course.
  
  
• Inputs and Outputs: If you want to loop multiple instruments, synths, or MIDI devices, consider a pedal with multiple inputs and outputs. Some models even offer MIDI synchronization, allowing you to connect and sync multiple loop pedals.
  
  

Considerations for Harpists

For many, loop pedals can be challenging to get the hang of. It is essentially like learning a new instrument. We highly recommend practicing looping just as you would practice your instrument. This is especially true for pedal harpists, as this is yet another pedal to use while playing.

Start practicing by playing the part you want to loop without recording. Use a metronome to stay in time, and keep the loop short for the best results. Once you’re comfortable, press the switch in time with the beat, play the loop, and then press the pedal again to start playback.

↳ Try this: Start your loops with beats made with contact sounds. Turn your harp into a percussion section!

Others

We’ve covered the essentials, but there is a whole world of pedals out there. Here are some examples of other common types:

Conclusion

The world of effect pedals is a vast universe of creative possibilities. Each type of pedal brings its own challenges and rewards, much like learning a new instrument. Embrace the experimentation and enjoy the journey, we promise that the adventure is well worth it! And don’t forget, all of the aforementioned pedals can be combined to create out-of-this-world sounds or emulate the tone of your favorite artists. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series where we explore the more technical aspects of effect pedals: voltage requirements, selecting the right power supply, and creating your first pedal chain.