If you’re new to the guitar world, you’ll find out that there are seemingly never-ending options for gear. In some ways the music instrument industry makes it very easy for players to get started with some great starter packs. But unfortunately there are not a lot of great lists of recommended pedals for beginners — so I’ve made one for you!
Instrument Starter Packs For Beginners
I was fortunate to grow up in a household with a parent who played music. Having access to my father’s gear made it a lot easier for me to get started with my own collection, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. If I had to start from scratch I would absolutely go with a starter pack, since it usually includes the instrument, some supplies to care for it, a case, and an amp.
Electric Guitars
Two of the largest manufacturers of electric guitars (Fender and Gibson) offer reliable starter packs featuring budget versions of their popular Stratocaster and Les Paul models, respectively. Fender’s packs are mostly sold under their Squire brand and Gibson’s are sold under the Epiphone brand.
Squier by Fender Stratocaster Beginner Electric Guitar Pack
Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Package
I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with either of these options. I find it analogous to wanting to get into photography and facing the Canon vs. Nikon debate. For similar money you’ll get a reliable product, so this is a great chance to just go with your gut. If you find yourself drawn to the look of Slash, go with the Les Paul. If your hero is Clapton, go with the Strat. If you’re indifferent, just go with whichever one is the best deal this week.
Acoustic Guitars
While Yamaha is not commonly associated with guitars, I find that the Yamaha Gigmaker Standard Acoustic Guitar w/ Gig Bag is a GREAT starter option for players. It’s very common to find these inexpensive workhorses in school music rooms because they can take the abuse and still sound great.
Bass Starter Packs
Just like their electric guitar pack, Squier by Fender PJ Electric Bass Guitar Beginner Pack meets the needs of any starting bass guitarist while also being the most affordable bass starter pack out there.
Effects Pedals For Beginners
New to guitar and want to try out some effects pedals? I’ve done a lot of the legwork for you! I’ve put together a list of the best effects pedals for beginners based on the kind of music they want to play.
A Note About Price
When you shop for effects pedals in a store or online, you’re going to see some pedal options under $50. Behringer even offers some pedals that are under $25! I completely understand the urge to pounce on them if you are unsure if you (or your child, if they’re the one learning guitar) will stick with the instrument.
If you can afford to spend $50-100, though, you’ll get a better-quality piece of equipment that will be able to stand up to the abuse of a beginner, and it will still have some resale value if the lessons don’t take. The only thing I would give someone for a used Behringer pedal is a beer – and not a good one.
Guitar Pedal Recommendations for Beginners Based on Genre
You probably didn’t get start taking guitar lessons so you could play lullabies or “Old MacDonald.” (If you did, I won’t judge.) Most people started learning the guitar because they got inspired by the feats of guitar masters like Hendrix and Clapton, or the solid rhythms of Keith Richards or Tom Petty.
Let’s start with your general influences for a dirt pedal, and from there we can work into a few additional pedals that you can mix in to help you build your first pedal board.
For the Rock & Roll Generalist:
If you are a fan of rock music in general and not just a specific sub-genre, I’d recommend a pedal that’s a bit of a chameleon in the dirt area — something that will help you feel good learning tunes ranging from early Beatles, to Crazy Horse-era Neil Young, to the power pop of Weezer, and even some of Foo Fighters’ more aggressive numbers.
I know I said earlier that multi-effects pedals may not be great for beginners because they’re confusing to learn. But here I’m going to suggest a dual-purpose pedal: the Boss OS-2 Overdrive / Distortion.
This pedal is a great deal, especially when you consider that for the price of one pedal you have the ability to go from a solid overdrive sound to a solid distortion sound with the convenience of just one knob.
Now let’s give you some options to color your sound. If you’re a 90s kid like me or just a fan of 90s music, there’s a two-note little lead piece that any beginner can do. Yes, I’m talking about the “da-da” note in the quiet portion of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” You can play that with just your dirt pedal, but if you toss in a chorus pedal you’re going to feel like a million bucks, and that buzz will probably be enough to get you to keep on practicing.
For an entry level chorus pedal, I’d recommend the Electro-Harmonix Neo Clone Analog Chorus Pedal. It’s made by a quality manufacturer, and it packs in many of the same sounds and features of their well-loved Small Clone into a more affordable package.
Now let’s add a second unit to you developing pedal board. The chorus is great to get a more shimmery sound on leads or even fill out or provide some variation to a clean tone, but it doesn’t give your leads that “live” feel that you may be hearing on some of your favorite tracks. Many amps have built-in reverb, so if that the case in your situation this could be as simple as busting out your amp’s foot switch. But let’s say for the sake of argument that your amp doesn’t have reverb.
Reverb pedals are more expensive than the chorus pedals, so prepare for a little sticker shock. You won’t find many quality new options until you venture into higher price range. My recommendation is the Boss RV6 Digital Reverb Pedal. Its resale value is bolstered by the fact that the RV6 is a significant improvement over the RV5.
Knowing that budget is usually more of a driving factor for beginners than seasoned musicians, I’m going to offer a second recommendation that should save you a little bit. The Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Neo Reverb Pedal will give you three of the most popular reverb tones and will look killer next to your Neo Clone Chorus.
Now let’s go back to your amp for a minute. Double-check to see if it has reverb capabilities. If it does, but it is missing the foot switch, the most financially prudent solution is probably buying a replacement foot switch.
Alternative Rock
Tone Inspiration: Smashing Pumpkins
If your music tastes lean more towards the Smashing Pumpkins, you can’t go wrong with the classic Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal. It gives you a beefier tone with incredible sustain. Instead of a chorus pedal, I’d suggest going with a flanger pedal to get you that Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness feel. The TC Electronic Vortex MiniFlanger is a great way to get started with a reliable flanger before taking the plunge on any more expensive options.
To cap this chain off, I’d suggest going with an MXR Phase 90 phaser pedal. This is a great way to get your lead tone into the Billy Corgan ballpark and is also handy if you decide to break into some classic Van Halen.
Blues Rock
Tone Inspiration: Clapton
If your taste is blues in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer Trio, and Eric Clapton, my suggestion is to start with an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pedal. A reissue of the Ibanez classic won’t cost you too much. This simple 3-knob pedal is at the heart of many blues players’ rigs after being championed by SRV himself. Reverb or chorus pedals like we’ve previously discussed are contenders for a blues board for some variation.
To top it off I’d suggest a wah pedal. Playing a wah pedal gives you a chance to add some psychedelia to your sound in the Hendrix school, and also gives you a fun way to engage more of your body in playing via the rocking expression pedal. I’d recommend going with the classic Dunlop Cry Baby Wah Pedal. This pedal has a quality lineage, and the metal construction will stand up to years of use.
Country
Tone Inspiration: Vince Gill
If you’re into country, the standard pedals to consider are a compression pedal (to add more sustain and a thicker tone to the clean runs common in country playing), a delay pedal (to help create a classic country tone), a drive pedal (assuming your amp isn’t giving you your overdrive tone), and sometimes a tremolo (to give your leads a little something extra).
For a compression pedal I’d look at an Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer. For a delay pedal, I’d recommend an analog delay over a digital for country due to the warmer analog tones. An intriguing option is the BBE Two Timer Analog Delay. At this price rang a this pedal isn’t likely to give you a tap tempo option but it does give you the ability to set two different delay times and switch between them – very cool! For a tremolo I’d go with the tried-and-true Boss TR-2 Tremolo.