Pedals For Summer Vibes
Shawn Leonhardt
There is nothing like a good soundscape to get you in a summer mood and with the right effects pedal you can recreate that vibe yourself. When the weather gets nicer we all have a certain set of activities and events that remind us of better times, and music is almost always involved. Here are some EarthQuaker pedals that will help you enjoy summertime and the sunshine heading our way.
ZOAR
This pedal provides medium to high gain distortion that creates an overdrive perfect for summer refuge on a warm muggy night. Only transistors are used, helping to create a distortion that is not over the top and from a bygone era. The medium level grind is the best setting but there is always more saturation and power to add to the signal. It’s perfect for a hard rocking band playing onstage one weekend night after a sound soaked sunny day.
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AURELIUS
Imagine a summer morning with the sun rising and the best day ever awaiting, the tri-chorus of the Aurelius pedal will help recreate those vibes. The saturated and watery effects are similar to psychedelic rock out of the 60’s and 90’s. The chorus and vibrato from this pedal invoke older sounds but with modern grit and heaviness added. Like many EarthQuaker Devices pedals, this one allows you to build some pretty thick soundscapes that invoke a lot of emotion.
HUMMINGBIRD
When we think of energetic summer creatures, the Hummingbird comes to mind. Its wings and flying are so fast that they sometimes appear to be floating. This tremolo pedal recreates that vibe with a percussive rhythm by using sawtooth waves to chop the guitar signal up. You can play slowly and it will have a laid back mood or speed up for a catchy rhythm that will capture an audience’s attention. There is a huge range of styles to be played with this simple tremolo effect from 50’s surf rock to modern shoegaze.
Check out this guitar chord chart for specific chord voicings in any style.
SPATIAL DELIVERY
This envelope filter can help you create sounds suitable for a clear summer nighttime sky. With these filter sweeps you can create auto wah and funk sounds that will travel across the universe and maybe even through other dimensions. If the presets aren’t suitable you can alter the range, filter, and resonance to create different fuzz and hi gain sounds. With this pedal you may play so funky that Old Gregg himself shows up to share his watercolor paintings.
ASTRAL DESTINY
With this octave reverb pedal you can build luscious soundscapes that are reminiscent of summer skies, valleys, peaks, and really any nature at all. By adjusting the length, rate, tone, and more there are endless possibilities that will give your music a movie feel. This pedal will even make the most mundane pentatonic scale practice more exciting. The octave reverb pedal is an excellent effects unit for an audience that has had a long summer day and is just looking to sit back and escape on a plane of sounds and good vibes.
AQUEDUCT
We often think of swimming in pools, rivers, lakes, and the ocean when summertime hits, this vibrato pedal will help with those watery vibes You can wobble, whammy, pitch bend, and pulsate your guitar signal as if it was moving through H2O. There are many styles and genres you can play from vintage smooth jazz to modern saturated grunge depending on your setting. If you have a summer show near water this pedal will surely fit the scene.
WHITE LIGHT
The summer is a time to let loose, dance, and rock out and what better pedal to do that then with a classic overdrive. This effects unit has a wide gain range, diverse EQ, and raw power to help drive your music. When the weather gets nice and you need something that will blow the audience away with some power chords, this will give you just the right amount of distortion. It’s not an overly complicated pedal, it is simply a classic that provides the guitarist with a guaranteed hard clipping vintage voice.
WESTWOOD
The image on this pedal is a grove of trees as the feeling it wishes to invoke is that of the breeze through the branches. This overdrive manipulator adds tones and harmonics to the signal to create a more pleasing sound. By adjusting the gain and EQ we can play a gritty powerful vibe but with the added articulation and sustain of the extra harmonies. Considering this pedal was influenced by forests, birds singing, and the wind it seems perfect for a summertime effect.
SUNN O))) LIFE PEDAL
The summer feeling isn’t always made up of nice breezes, water fun, and beautiful scenery, often it is hot and oppressive. There will be days where the great weather quickly turns into overkill and what better way to represent that than with this octave distortion and boosting. The Life Pedal has a crushing tone that will feel like the sun itself is sitting upon your shoulders. Try it with some full barre chord voicings. But this is more than just an octave signal booster, you can alter the sound, saturation, and tones for your final vibe. If the heat is going to be that much, we might as well melt while rocking.
RAINBOW MACHINE
When we think of spring, summer, or good weather vibes it is common to picture the colors, especially the rainbow. And just like the light of a rainbow this pedal has quite a range of sonic possibilities. The Rainbow Machine is a pitch warping effects unit that will allow you to experiment with your signal. You can create pleasant sounds or wild noises that will blow the audience away. Whether it is vibrato, chorus, choppy tremolo, or overdriven shrieks this pedal can do it all.
There are plenty of EarthQuaker Devices that will help you enjoy the summertime and good weather vibes. By simply plugging your guitar in you can create songs and soundtracks in every genre and style of music. There are endless possibilities when it comes to sound sculpting with guitar pedals, the only limit is your own creativity. Effects units are extensions of your instrument so let your imagination and playing soar on those hot summer days and wild nights.
By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer.
