I don't think that there are any essential effects. You should never buy or use any unless it will fill a void, if you feel you are missing something. It should feel natural. Otherwise it is not music, just masturbation. But you will find you'll want some sort of distortion, probably overdrive. TS808 is pretty much the standard. I use a chorus pedal for a lot of different things but that is because I love sounds with rates. If I could afford a Leslie speaker I would probably dump the chorus pedal. I've found that a volume pedal for me is very helpful. I bought it for use with my lap s