How To: Troubleshoot an Effect Pedal

Dawsons

Perhaps one of the most tricky, and most frustrating, aspects of owning an effect pedal would be when something goes wrong. The pedal doesn't work at all, or your sound gets some interference in the form of noise. Especially when you have it hooked up with a multitude of other pedals on a board, your whole system can be ruined just with that one weak link. And sadly, it isn't an easy fix solution. It takes a lot of time to fix, again especially if it is in a system on a board.

There are some different possibilities in regards to the problem when it comes to malfunctioning effect pedals. It could actually be something with your guitar, or the actual pedal, or the amp, or the cables, or the power supply, or the order of the pedals. Isolation is key to figuring out what exactly is the issue. Take each possibility in a step by step order. Plug just the guitar into the amp, use different cables, try using a different power supply, plug just the one pedal in. It takes time, but it truly is effective.

From there, the best option is to get a professional to take a look at your equipment, or simply swap out some of the cheaper equipment such as cables and such. You can try playing around with the wiring of the pedal or guitar (the input jack tends to be the issue with both), but you can create more problems for yourself when you try that. The best bet is to get it professionally fixed. But troubleshooting allows for you to not waste money, and correctly identify where you need to invest in order to create the best sound that you can.