Innovation and music have been going hand in hand since clapping was added to a cappella music. From hymns and work songs to jazz, the blues, and rock n roll, innovating music is just about as American as Bald Eagles and Baseball. The electric guitar grew out of this persistent innovation and today is the single most popular instrument in many music genres.
Rocking steady with the electric guitar, distortion and effects have been electrifying music since the sixties.
The electric guitar came about in 1931, rising from of jazz halls out of necessity. Guitarists were finding that they needed all the help they could muster in order to compete with the big sounds of all that jazz music. Once guitars were plugged in their incredible sound was realized at the hands of legends like Chuck Berry. From that, there was no turning back.
From Chuck berry to Slash, and with Jimi Hendrix, Clapton and Jimmy Page in between the electric guitar has grown to rally audiences for generations.
For electric guitars, the 60s was the age of transistors. Transistors have not fallen out of fashion since. Allowing guitarists to play with effects, the transistor made a lasting impact on the entire industry. At this same time guitar distortion was becoming all the rage as mastered by Jimi Hendrix.
Not all of these artists were using electric guitar pedals, and it is certainly hard to imagine Chuck Berry having much use for one, but these days if you want to get the most out of your guitar, you aught to have an electric guitar pedal to add to your repertoire.
To get the best of your guitar and overall sound, you had probably been told to add an electric guitar peal to riffs and solos. And that is not bad advice. Finding the sound that fits your style can be a hard, even life long challenge. However it can be made easier with the right equipment. If you are uncertain about how much you will need something like electric guitar pedals, try buying used guitar pedals, and see how they fit into your style of play.
There are a few different kinds of pedals. Guitar multi effects pedals can play a number of different effects for both electric and acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitar pedals can have the same way-wah effect as electric guitar pedals, but with an acoustic sound. These stores should have big names like LSL Guitars, T Rex, Tortuga Effects, and Walrus Audio as they are among the best sound equipment producers out there. A great online music store will have the equipment you need to augment your unique style of play, to keep on innovating, and reinventing your sound. For more information see this.