Personally I started out with a Marshall Jackhammer, which I only used for higher volume and more drive during solos. I guess you only really need a pedal once you got into a band. Most amps have some presets, like a clean and an overdrive channel, which should suffice for a while. I would also recommend to be careful when using semi-acoustic guitars because using it with a pedal can get really messy (but it can also be a loooot of fun, haha). Thank you for your article @allaboutarts! Cheers @lesshorrible!