What’s your pedalboard persona? Find out with my pick of stompboxes to match your player identity

Having been playing live for a good 20 years now, I've come across more than my fair share of pedalboards, and each setup has been as unique as the person playing them. One of the ultimate forms of guitar expression, building yourself a pedalboard is one of the most satisfying undertakings you can take as a guitarist, and just as no two guitarists are alike, no two pedalboards are the same.

Over the years, I've had some very nice compliments after playing a live show, but one that really stuck with me was when an audience member remarked on the way I played. He called me a 'technician', saying how precise I was with my playing, and when I thought about it, that word definitely aligned with my methodical personality.

It got me thinking that there must be lots of different pedalboard personalities out there, so I decided to put together four of what I think are the most common ones I've come across, and list some pedals to go with that particular pedal type. You'll find four big personalities here, and sixteen awesome pedals to go with each.

Matt McCracken

A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and writing and recording in bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the UK in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at. When he's not holed up in his home studio recording new songs or tweaking pedal settings, you’ll find him making a racket with Northern noise punks Never Better.

The Explorer

The type of player to spend three hours making their tone sound utterly unusable in a mix, The Explorer is all about hitherto unexplored sonic landscapes. Here you'll find a selection of pedals from less mainstream builders, which offer a very unique take on their respective sounds.

The Technician

The Technician is the type of guitarist most likely to know the voltage requirements and buffer type of every pedal on their board. They're all about precision in tone sculpting and here, you'll find pedals that help shape your sound in the most precise way possible.

The Newbie

We all have to start somewhere, and just because The Newbie's pedalboard is typically low cost, it doesn't make it any less effective. These four pedals will suit any beginner player, giving a surprisingly wide array of sounds.

The Purist

Probably the most likely to tell you digital modeling has 'no soul', The Purist looks for those pedals that shaped the course of guitar history. While buying original effects pedals could get pretty costly, these four pedals will get you legendary guitar tones for comparatively little cash.