Most practice amps now include overdrive and often delay or reverb, which covers a beginner’s first year. Pedals earn their place when you want control the amplifier does not offer, or a specific voice it cannot make.
Check what you already have
The Blackstar amps in our catalog include a delay; the Fender Champion II includes reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo and vibrato. Buying pedals to duplicate those is money spent twice.
What pedals add
Precise control, order of operations, and voices an amplifier’s built-in effects do not attempt. Also a board to carry and a supply to feed.
The sensible order
Play the amplifier for a few months, note what you keep reaching for, then buy the pedal that provides it.
Check your own manual before you plug anything in. Voltage, polarity and current draw differ from model to model, and the manufacturer’s figures take precedence over anything written here. A supply of the wrong polarity can damage a pedal in seconds, phantom power is safe for most microphones but not for every one, and the required voltage is printed next to the socket or stated in the manual — not inferred from a connector that happens to fit.
The questions players ask
Which pedal first?
Overdrive, in front of a clean amp, is the usual first purchase — and it is also the effect most likely to be built into the amplifier already.
Do pedals need a power supply?
Almost always, and it is almost never included. Nine volts DC center-negative is the convention, and the wrong polarity can destroy a pedal in seconds.
Last reviewed 2026-08-18