So what should you consider? Which FX pedals are the most important? That’s a question without a straight-forward answer. It really depends on your existing setup, what sort of music you like to produce and what FX you think will be most beneficial to have in the stompbox format. If you’re working a lot with mono synths, overdrive or distortion pedals are a popular option. They can do anything from beef up a bassline with a little harmonic grit to provide that dirty, overdriven 303 style acid sound. In the modulation/spacial FX realm delay and reverb are the heavy-hitters. Delays come in all forms, from super clean to gritty tape style echo units and reverbs are much the same with everything from simple spring and hall verbs, to more complex units that will produce shimmer and non-linear styles, great for ambient music. Needless to say delay and reverb sound great on most things, but if you’ve got a polysynth that lacks onboard FX these are a great idea, think big chords through a big reverb and delay chain! Outside of these, extra modulation effects like Chorus, Flange and Phasers are used heavily, but beyond that you can get really unique! There are harmonic modulation pedals, like harmonizers and pitch shifters, ring modulators, external filters with complex envelope shapers, octave generators, amp simulators, dynamic FX such as compressors and gates and pedals that will do combinations of effects.
The range of effects available is really one of the great strengths of guitar pedals. The options are enormous and the ability to mix and match from a huge number of styles and manufactures is again highly conducive to creating a unique sound. Along with the massive palette of FX pedals to choose from, a wide range of pricing options is also available. There’s a great selection of stompboxes around $100 from brands like Behringer and TC Electronic, who both manufacture most any effect you could want. Above that Electro Harmonix, MXR and probably the most iconic stompbox manufacturer of all time, Boss make an awesome range of mid-priced units in both the more straight-forward and slightly weirder varieties. While the likes of Strymon, Eventide and a swag of more boutique brands like Meris and Source Audio occupy the top-end of the market offering construction with premium components and often expanded control options.