Thursday, March 19, 2026
ElectricGuitar

3 Essential Guitar Pedals That Won’t Waste Your Time or Money


More Gear Fun! – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVEWMAXJYBYe97kLwOHQVP8zbu2IOEux2&si=4ieBoggiQwfcA7ur
Gear I used or mentioned in the video
OverDrives:
Boss SD-1: https://amzn.to/3S7DHsQ
Ibanez TS9: https://amzn.to/4jQLlE2
Tube screamer Mini: https://amzn.to/4mfqegp
Wampler Tumnus: https://amzn.to/432oCiy
Mosky Golden Horse: https://amzn.to/43A9EQM

Distortion:
ProCo RAT2: https://amzn.to/4kg954e
JOYO Splinter: https://amzn.to/432qk3p
Boss DS-1: https://amzn.to/3FlrX2S

Delay:
Boss DD-3T: https://amzn.to/44IcEvA
JOYO Digital Delay: https://amzn.to/3ZoHoy7
JHS 3 Series Delay: https://amzn.to/4kftdDu

Power Supply:
JOYO Daisy Chain: https://amzn.to/4dr45b2
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power: https://amzn.to/4myzRaa
MXR Brick: https://amzn.to/4ml4e3x
Ernie Ball Volt: https://amzn.to/4mvoVdm

Patch Cables
Ernie Ball Flat Cables: https://amzn.to/3EXPlnb

The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting the channel!

Looking to build your first pedalboard without wasting time or cash? In this video, I break down 3 essential guitar pedals that give you the most useful tones for the least hassle. These aren’t just popular choices—they’re practical, versatile, and perfect for beginners who want to get playing instead of endlessly researching. I’ll also cover the basics of powering your pedals and setting up a board that makes sense. If you want to start with gear that works and skip the trial-and-error, this is where to begin.

Thanks to everyone who has liked, subscribed or commented on my videos. I really appreciate it. Let’s keep this all going!!

Help me make more videos by buying me a pack of strings at the link below!
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@theadamreynolds

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00:00 – Guitar Pedals!
00:34 – 4 Basic Pedal Categories
01:25 – Do I need a pedalboard?
02:31 – POWER!
04:44 – We aren’t going to talk about this pedal
05:38 – Pedal #1
08:18 – Pedal #2
09:57 – Pedal #3
11:24 – The 3 you need!
12:05 – Other options!
13:03 – The Sleeper Pick!!
13:39 – Let’s hear your opinions!

#guitarpedals #guitar #beginnerguitar

#Essential #Guitar #Pedals #Wont #Waste #Time #Money

Originally posted by UCjP92YYHUsEEBaPCtmRyVZQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CHl7pYPyp0

41 thoughts on “3 Essential Guitar Pedals That Won’t Waste Your Time or Money

  • What are your 3 best pedals to start a pedalboard? Cheap, expensive, rare, common, I don't care tell me what you're using!

    Reply
  • I bought a Zoom G1 in the 80's that replaced everything except my wah wah pedal. 30 presets and thirty programmable channels lets you set up any sound you want..

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  • I use the Moskey.. people complain about the hiss.. I'm 65 and been playing in cover bands since I was 17… what hiss? 🙂

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  • Jeez, tricky having just 3 but I gotta say I think you have absolutely nailed it with gainstaging an overdrive and a distortion – that's 90% of the workload ????

    I am kind of a funk guy, so maybe I would really need a wah as the 3rd, or for most versatility maybe instead I would cheat and get a dual pedal with one side delay and the other chorus instead ????

    This indecisiveness is probably why my compact pedal board has 7 pedals on … Or maybe it isn't ????????

    Reply
  • Thanks for providing an alternative for people starting out it can be overwhelming but seeing that there's a lot of inexpensive pedals out there helps to give you different choices

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  • personally I have delay, reverb and some effect on my blackstar ID core 3 and a tube sceamer

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  • For recording, most DAWs come with tons of amazing effects. About the only extra thing you might need is a wah. For live play, if ya got a decent guitar and amp, a delay and wha is most of what one needs. Maybe a chorus or a flanger too.

    If ya gotta have pedals for eq, compression, verb, distortion, whatever, there’s other issues.

    Reply
  • As 66 boomer, I can’t imagine not Having a whah whah Pedal on the ground with a Nice fuzz for Hendrix stuff. And two stacked TS for blues leads. The reverb & trem comes from the blacface.

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  • ​​Hey there @@theadamreynolds I'm getting a Boss DS 1, a Boss SD 1 and a Boss DD 3 pedal, and I play rhythm guitar and lead vocals, and here in the Philippines, local bars and cafes are the gigs that we mostly do, am I missing something else or this is already good?

    Reply
  • Batteries all day! Especially in drives, they last forever in drives fuzzes and wahs. I'd only wallwart a digital delay or reverb. Drive a delay are all you need anyway.

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  • I discovered the SD-1 into a Rat sound combo 10+ years ago and it really is a an amazing beast. Drop a compressor in front of them and you’ll get that infinite sustain lead sound a la “American Woman”.
    Pure bliss!

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  • Love your the Beaumont’s Lubbock t shirt. I am also from Lubbock. Good info here. I home built my pedal board with some flame maple I found at a store here in Lubbock. Looks really good..

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  • I pretty much use a BOSS compressor and that's it. I'm a clean old man … Lubbock. The home of Buddy Holly. And The Cactus Cuties.

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  • To be fair I've changed everything since I've gotten an amp sim. (uad 65, basically a fender deluxe emulator) I don't get to play on amps in every gig and I can't even bring an amp to the places I play lately. This has changed everything. This would definietly be my first buy!! once u get ur tone setup (literally 40 secs) and then od and reverb or even just like a little zoom Cdr 70+ I mean if you want an amazing sound that fits in a small bag.

    Reply
  • Boss GE 7eq first and foremost. Rat and or the OG Boss HM1 pedals and a DoD stereo Chorus. IF I went back to pedals.. BUT since I got the Digitech RP 500 processor I have never looked back. The EQ section alone in that is AMAZING and not even the new high fallutin DSP and profilers cant come close.

    Reply
  • I have never knew how to power the RAT with the rest of my pedalboard and eventually got rid of it. Not sure why it had a different power adaptor. Looking at getting another RAT someday if that issue is fixed.

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  • Strymon – sunset, El cap, and the flint. Yes they are considerably more expensive than the average pedal but they cover all the essentials.

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  • I have 3 Boss pedals SD1, DS1 and DS2 on my board. They're Boosted with EHX soul food…

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  • Pedals are a thing of the past, I have all 3 pedals your blabbing about, they are all in a drawer. Lol, amp effects processor is the shit,

    Reply
  • The Boss DD-3 Digital Delay burns up batteries fast. It's recommended to use a power supply, (only a BOSS power supply works with this) trying to find one is like finding a needle in a dozen hay stacks. Good luck with that power supply.

    Reply
  • This was great & I'm right with you (fwiw)! Of course, so much depends on playing style & musical genre–that's what really informs, for example, whether an overdrive will suffice (vs. also needing an outright distortion or fuzz unit). Between leveraging various guitars and amps, I'm happy with my old Boss DD-5 delay, SD-1, and CE-3 chorus at my feet..so delay, overdrive, and chorus are my "essentials" I suppose (well, plus tuner!)… All best!

    Reply
  • Should I buy an Amp that has multi effects built in instead of pedals? I'm a new player ????

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  • Hiya ~do you like the One Spot power chain? the like $39 one. Its transformer is wall-wart and no bigger than a phone charger one.

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  • Solid advice. You might waver in your specific choices, but staying with equivalent quality pedals is generally good advice, although I have added a Mosky Silver Horse to my mix for $20 that sounds great and appears to be a solid build. Because of the classic John Scofield pedalboard, I am Rat pedal curious.

    Reply
  • "It's $200, so basically $100 a side" musician math. I use that all the time, my wife does not appreciate it, haha.

    Reply

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