As an electric guitarist I use a variety of effects pedals. Pedals are fun and give you lots of cool sounds and when properly used they will fit your tone to many different styles and also make sure you are heard when you need to be. My pedals of choice are listed here in chain order (guitar to amp):
(Exception: when I use the Overdrive/Distortion on one of my amps instead of my pedal I go out from the Wah pedal to the amp’s input and then run the Tremolo – Reverb – Delay chain through the amp’s effects loop which allows those effects to remain after the Overdrive/Distortion)
Volume Pedal: Although you no doubt have a volume knob on your guitar, it is ever so convenient to be able to use your foot instead to create volume adjustments or swells. I dig the Ernie Ball regular size volume pedal.
Tuner: Having an electric tuner on your board is essential for tuning quickly and silently. I love this Boss TU2 Chromatic Tuner; it is very reliable with nice features and gives me a good read on my strings when I am tuning.
Flanger: The Boss BF3 Flanger is a great pedal for sweeping or oscillating sounds. This flanger has the ability for stereo out, which is great for recording, and the “Ultra” setting is a fun, crazy flange compared to the familiar “Standard” setting. I use this effect on “Under His Feet” by Rescued Souls.
Phaser: The MXR Phase 100 has a variety of settings including the second intensity setting, which is the phase type of the MXR Phase 90 (Eddie Van Halen’s famous phaser sound). This effect is similar to a flanger; it sweeps across a frequency range and you can adjust the speed (rate) for different sounds. I use this on a fast speed in certain parts of “I Find You” by Rescued Souls.
Chorus: I really like the sound of the Peavey CMC1 Companded Chorus pedal ("Companded" means compressed and expanded). It can go from very subtle to over-the-top! Chorus is typically more useful than Flanger or Phaser because many styles include this sound, such as pop, rock, worship, modern jazz, fusion, and R & B. Chorus is a simple way to spice up a clean electric guitar tone or make an overdrive tone sound bigger and more spread out, which is how Alex Lifeson of Rush creates his guitar soundscapes and also Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. “Let’s Get Serious” by The Lund McVey Group includes this pedal on the rhythm guitar.
Compressor: This is a very useful pedal for many reasons. It evens out a clean tone and brings all the notes out making them clear and sharp with good sustain. I also use it as a boost for when I want to go from rhythm to lead. The Route 66 Compressor by Visual Sound is a great sounding pedal and has a switch for activating its Tone control knob, which, when activated, gives you a new EQ when you turn on the compressor. If you crank the compression and turn the gain up it will give you a great country tone like Brent Mason or Brad Paisley.
Wah: The wah pedal has been used by many famous guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Joe Satriani, Mark Tremonti, and Steve Vai. It is a great effect for making your guitar sound more vocal. I like the standard Crybaby wah. I use it on most of the leads in “Where Life Begins” by Rescued Souls.
Overdrive and Distortion: Sometimes you get these sounds from your amp but you can also get them from a pedal and the Jekyll & Hyde by Visual Sound is my choice for this effect. I like this pedal because of its wide range of gain possibilities. There are two sides to the pedal, overdrive (Dr. Jekyll) and distortion (Mr. Hyde) that can be used separately or together. I will often have the overdrive on to play rhythm guitar and then add in the distortion for a boost when I do a lead. You can also change the pedal’s sound by adjusting the Bass Boost and the Sharp/Blunt switches. I use it with the Bass Boost off and on Sharp for pop or worship music and with the Bass Boost on and on Blunt for modern jazz or fusion. You can hear this pedal on all the gain sounds I use on “The Lund McVey Group.”
Tremolo: This is a great effect for when you want to just hit a chord and let it ring, but with something different than the usual sustain. The up and down level can be adjusted in various ways to make it fit the mix of your band and even the beat of the song. Tremolo is used a lot in country but works in many styles. The Garage Tone Tremolo by Visual Sound is my favorite and I use it on the clean rhythm guitar on “I Will Wait” by Rescued Souls.
Reverb: Reverb is a big part of an electric guitar tone because it makes you sound like you are playing in a great sounding room. This is used in basically all styles. Usually I look for reverb to be built in to my amp; all my amps have spring reverb, which I think sounds better than any attemp to create analog or digital reverb. However, if your amp does not have spring reverb, you can get it in a pedal: The Holy Grail by Electro Harmonix. I use this effect if I am going direct or playing through an amp that doesn’t have a good reverb sound.
Delay: Last but absolutely not least is the delay effect, which creates a repeating echo of whatever you play. This sound is essential for modern jazz, fusion, worship, country, rock, and many other styles. I love the Carbon Copy Analog Delay by MXR. It is simple compared to the plethora of digital delay and loop station pedals that are out there, but that is why I like it (only three knobs!). You can hear me use this pedal on pretty much any live performance that I do. In the studio I usually add the delay in the mixing process so it can be precisely controlled but for playing live, this pedal sounds really good (the analog tone is nice and warm) and is easy to use.
There you have it! It has taken me decades to collect these pedals and find the ones I like the best. I hope this is helpful to you in your search for the ideal pedal board.