30. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
EFFECTS: Distortion, chorus
The song that changed everything and defined a generation relied on just two guitar effects. Kurt Cobain’s distorted riff gave way to a chorused two-note motif in the verses, with all hell breaking loose in the chorus and instrumental.
Ideally you’ll have a Strat-style guitar with a humbucker at the bridge, and a Boss DS-1 and Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus pedal or similar.
Dial in a good, low-gain setting on your amp for the intro chords (Fsus4/Bb/Absus4/Db), whack in the distortion when the drums and bass come in, then turn distortion off and chorus on for the C/F diad in the verse. Keep both effects on for the lead guitar break.
Distortion settings: Tone 4, Level 10, Distortion 8
Chorus settings: Rate 5, Depth 7
29. Bon Jovi – Livin' On a Prayer
EFFECT: Talk Box
If Peter Frampton and Aerosmith kept the talk box alive in the 70s, Richie Sambora got his lips around it in the '80s on Bon Jovi’s smash hit 1986 single from Slippery When Wet. A whole new generation wondered what that cool, strange sound was, and why the guitarist was gurning like that...
28. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
EFFECT: Wah
There are many big moments in GN’R’s first and only US number one single, but the one where Slash engages his Cry Baby could be the biggest of them all – lifting the track out of its soft rock balladry and into something harder and meaner. We’re betting a good portion of the Jim Dunlop wah sales could be down to this 30 seconds of music alone.
27. The Police – Walking On The Moon
EFFECTS: Compression, delay, modulation
There are a few reasons why Andy Summers’ guitar work on Walking On The Moon will forever remain among his most memorable. Firstly, that opening Dminor11 chord is a stunning voicing – so much so, the trio let it hang in the air at numerous points throughout the song.
And by placing an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress and Maestro Echoplex in front of his Twin Reverb, and possibly an MXR Dyna Comp, he found ways to add even more sparkle.
“There might be some compression on Walking On The Moon, I can’t quite remember, he recently told TG. “I’ve never been fully convinced on compressor pedals – sometimes they sound good and sometimes they don’t, so maybe I didn’t use one. It was mainly chorus and the Echoplex going through a Twin Reverb.”
26. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – Cold Shot
EFFECTS: Overdrive, rotary speaker
This track from the late, great SRV’s second album Couldn’t Stand The Weather has become one of the most famous examples of a Fender Vibratone’s lush swirls. Much like the Leslie Model 16 and Model 18 speaker units, the cabinet creates an almost watery sound thanks to the Doppler effect – variations in pitch and amplitude – caused by its single rotor speaker.
Nowadays, of course, there's no shortage of rotary pedals to create the effect from your feet – our favourites include The Pinwheel by Fender, which features one Vibratone and two Leslie modes, the Strymon Lex and the Neo Instruments Mini Vent II.
Another key aspect of the SRV tone was the Ibanez Tube Screamer he used to drive his amps – having switched from the original TS808 to the TS9 and TS10 over the course of his storied career.
25. Van Halen – Cathedral
EFFECT: Delay
Given its organ-like feel, it’s hard to think of a more fitting name for this jaw-dropping instrumental found on Van Halen’s fifth studio album Diver Down.
For the bouncing arpeggios after its swirling intro chords, Eddie used a delay set to single repeats around 370 milliseconds, turning his volume knob to swell in each hammered-on note and mimic the softer attack of other instruments.
24. Alice In Chains – Man In The Box
EFFECT: Talk box
This early hit from the Seattle icons showcased a much darker side of the talk box – implemented in ways more sinister than anything the Eagles, Peter Frampton and Bon Jovi had conjured before them.
It was a Dunlop Heil used by guitarist Jerry Cantrell on the recordings, kicked in for the Hendrix-y leads mirrored on vocals, as well as the lower ‘chugs’ that drive the verses.
23. The Smiths – How Soon Is Now ?
EFFECTS: Tremolo, Reverb
Johnny Marr’s work on this 1985 single could be the greatest use of tremolo in the history of rock music. Technically speaking, no pedals were involved – instead, Marr and producer John Porter re-amped the rhythm track through four Twin Reverbs set to tremolo speeds of 125bpm and 375bpm to create that pulsating drone, with more ambience and sustain courtesy of the amp reverb tanks.
22. Gary Moore – Still Got The Blues (For You)
EFFECT: Overdrive/Distortion
This track was pivotal as Moore reinvented himself as a bluesman at the turn of the 90s. The bulk of his tone actually came from his 1959 Les Paul Standard and The Guv’nor – a then-newly released Marshall distortion pedal, which drove the front end of his clean Marshall JTM45 and ended up inspiring some of the most powerful blues ever recorded.
21. Eric Johnson – Cliffs Of Dover
EFFECTS: Overdrive, Delay
Not many people can say they have that perfect storm of tone, feel and technique in the same way as Eric Johnson – which explains why the Texan virtuoso won a Grammy in 1992 for this instrumental masterpiece.
For the recordings, he used an early 60s ES-335 and 1954 Stratocaster, with a Maestro EP-3 Echoplex for delay and a BK Butler Tube Driver for more juice going into his 100-watt Marshall stack.
