Synth

A synth guitar effect transforms a standard guitar signal into synthesized sounds, allowing players to create tones more commonly associated with keyboards or modular synths. By tracking pitch and dynamics, synth pedals generate waveforms such as square, saw, or sine waves, often combined with filters, envelopes, and oscillators. The result ranges from subtle, synth-like textures layered under a guitar tone to fully synthesized leads, bass lines, and sound effects.

Most guitar synth pedals include controls for waveform selection, filter cutoff and resonance, envelope shaping, and blend, letting players balance the dry guitar signal with the synthesized sound. Some models track monophonically for tight, vintage-style synth lines, while others offer polyphonic tracking for chords and pads. Modern synth pedals have improved tracking and latency, making them more playable and expressive than earlier generations.

Synth effects are popular in genres such as funk, electronic, ambient, experimental, pop, and modern worship, where unique textures and nontraditional guitar sounds are valued. They can be used for bass-style lines, lead melodies, rhythmic sequences, or atmospheric layers. For guitarists looking to expand beyond traditional tones and explore new sonic territory, synth guitar effects offer a powerful way to blur the line between guitar and synthesizer.