this is how to get a dreamy guitar tone with guitar pedals, but to keep it really easy and simple, even for beginners, i'll show you how with just one pedal.
why use guitar pedals?
i use guitar pedals to drastically morph my guitar's clean tone to into an ethereal sound with guitar effects like reverb, delay, modulation & distortion. once you really get into guitar pedals, you'll find there's different kinds of these guitar effects, which can be used to curate a unique sound.
how to use reverb for dreamy guitar
my favorite guitar effect for dreamy guitar is reverb. no doubt. it's makes everything instantly more dreamy & hazy. even just using reverb on it's own can shape my guitar's sound into an immersive cloud of ambience.
of course, i also love to use reverb with other guitar effects on my pedalboard. i find it enhances every other effect i mix with it. my reverb pedals are always on.
wanna know one of my reverb secrets?
i really only ever use lofi reverbs. why? because lofi reverbs are hazier & have much more character.
so, what guitar pedals are good for dreamy guitar?
i think i know just the perfect pedal to show you.
this is my mesmeriser reverb pedal.
mesmeriser is a guitar pedal i dreamt up with a collection of some of my very favourite reverbs in one guitar pedal, with blossoming reverb, a shoegaze mode & 'infinite' ambient reverb.
mesmeriser is perfectly lofi for nostalgia, with long lost vintage coloration & character like gear from the 90s.
that's why it's one of my favorite pedals to play with dreamy chords.
for instant dreamy guitar tone, i use 'infinite' mode, which is the longest reverb i've ever played. i've even timed it past 20 minutes before.
while playing 'infinite' reverb, i adjust the ‘essence' control which sets the sonic aesthetic by dialling in the sample rate, length & tonality of the pedal. adjusting 'essence' while sound is playing creates diving, swirly sounds which accentuates the ethereal reverb.
i blend in soft nostalgia modulation to infuse the reverb with euphoria. modulated reverb is one of the dreamiest effects out there and soft nostalgia is my favourite modulation sound i've ever heard.
another one of my secrets? mesmeriser's analog saturation. this is what i mix in with the reverbs for vintage warmth to unique distortion that warps the decay of the reverb beautifully.
dive into the full mesmeriser reverb demo:
read more on mesmeriser here
more dreamy pedals
want more dreamy guitar pedals? i got you.
reminiscer
reminiscer pedal is a lofi multi-effects with modulated reverb, 90s style delay, lofi reverse delay & pitch that can be used all at the same time for the sound of a pedalboard in one guitar pedal.
dreamgazer
dreamgazer pedal has a curated collection of shoegaze reverse reverbs & lofi, ambient reverbs. it's on pedalboards worldwide.
pedal partners
hang around our world for shoegaze & dream pop. we're guitarists making the guitar pedals we always looked for but could never find.