Tonebox Recommended Pedals
Xotic SL Drive
Legendary British crunch tones compressed and bottled inside a tiny, easy to use boutique guitar effects pedal. The tonal lineage of Xotic’s SL Drive overdrive pedal traces a straight line back through the years to two specific Marshall amps: the Super Lead and the Super Bass. You’re basically getting two drive pedals in one, here; an internal dip switch lets you choose between the brighter high gain Super Lead and more bottom-heavy Super Bass settings.
Line 6 HX Stomp
Achieve the sound of Helix amps, effects, and cabs in a portable pedal with the Line 6 HX Stomp. You may utilize this professional-grade multi-effects processor as a super stompbox, an add-on tone expander, audio interface, backup or travel rig, or even a full bass or guitar rig. The HX Stomp leverages the same HX Modeling technology as Helix. It can run as much as six processing blocks simultaneously, making it the most versatile and powerful stompbox-sized multi-effects processor in the market.
Fender The Bends
The Bends by Fender is a compressor pedal packed with tone-friendly features. It was meticulously built to give you all the necessary dynamic control for sweetening your tone while preserving the natural response and feel of your instrument. You can fine-tune its incredibly fast recovery ability to achieve your ideal feel. The Bends consists of Level, Blend, Recovery, and Drive knobs. The Blend knob lets you return as much of your untouched signal as you want.
Xotic EP Booster
Eric Johnson, Jimmy Page, and Eddie Van Halen are just some of the legendary guitarists who used the classic EP-3 echo effects processor’s preamp stage to create their signature tone. Thanks to boutique guitar effects pedal company Xotic, you can use that preamp too via the EP Booster, a boost pedal based on that very same preamp. The EP Booster can dish out up to 20dB of extra juice that you can use to hit your amp harder and make your signal soar above the mix.
MXR Six Band EQ
Covering all the fundamental guitar frequencies, the M109S Six Band EQ from MXR has been revamped with brighter LEDs for improved visibility, true bypass switching, noise-reduction circuitry, and lightweight aluminum enclosure. Each slider is ready to provide +/-18dB of boost or cut for unparalleled control of your sound. The M109S Six Band EQ is capable of eradicating onstage feedback, adding natural-sounding warmth to a quack acoustic pickup, producing scooped-mid rhythm tones with massive low end, and many more.
Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus
The Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus takes the still-venerated sounds of the classic Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the first Boss pedal ever, and its successor, the CE-2, and then crams all of those gloriously spacious modulated effects into a single all-analog stompbox. A two-position toggle lets you switch between the CE-1’s chorus and vibrato effects and the CE-2’s classic chorus sound, while all-new analog circuitry adds more variable chorus depth to the former and stereo output to the latter.
Drive Pedals
Rowin Tube Pusher
The LEF-328 Tube Pusher is, as you may have guessed from the name, is another Tube Screamer-style overdrive pedal from budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin. It continues Rowin’s tradition of stuffing massive sound into tiny packages, serving up a warm tube-like overdrive that sports a very wide dynamic range. The LEF-328 Tube Pusher comes with a two-position toggle that lets you between the low peak and extremely transparent Normal mode and a louder, high peak Boost mode.
Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive
The Sweet Honey Overdrive guitar effects pedal from Mad Professor was built to push already distorted amps past their breaking points. It also works well for adding a light, subtle overdrive to a clean channel. The Sweet Honey Overdrive’s highly dynamic and touch-sensitive overdrive tone can be controlled using your picking attack and your guitar’s pickup volume. Pick softly for a clean sound and hit those strings harder to make the Sweet Honey Overdrive growl.
Barber Gain Changer SR
With a flick of a toggle, you can turn the Barber Gain Changer SR Olive Grey Overdrive from a low-gain overdrive pedal to a screaming harmonic distortion reminiscent of Barber’s unLimiTeD distortion pedal. You can also cycle through three different EQ modes: flat, fat, and a third voicing that fattens up a flat-EQ sound. Barber Gain Changer SR Olive Grey Overdrive is a truly versatile and harmonic beast of an overdrive pedal with true-bypass switching.
Nux Scream Bass
The Scream Bass from NUX is an analog overdrive designed specifically for bassists. It features an analog circuit to guarantee the natural overdrive tone. It consists of simple Low, High, Level, and Gain knobs that make it convenient to use and allow you to get the tone from overdrive to fuzz. The Scream Bass also features a true bypass design. It gives you a broad tonal range from light overdrive to fuzz. The Blend control lets you balance overdrive and dry signals.
Electro-Harmonix Muff Overdrive
Capture the authentic sound of the classic 1969 Muff Fuzz without having to sell your kidney via this reissue from Electro-Harmonix. The Muff Overdrive is a no-nonsense overdrive guitar effects pedal; you get a footswitch and a volume knob to dial in the worn but warm speaker-style overdrive of a vintage tube amp. The Muff Overdrive comes in a rugged, pedalboard-friendly die-cast aluminum chassis and can be powered via a 9V battery or a compatible power supply.
TC Electronic Nova System
The Nova System by TC Electronic is a phenomenal compact processor that serves up a comprehensive floor-based guitar effects solution featuring six effect blocks and analog drive. You can easily craft studio-quality tones with six exceptional effect blocks ported straight from TC Electronic’s flagship G-System. The Nova System is a pure analog programmable overdrive and distortion section under preset and expression control which incorporates a range of effects taken directly from the master of floor-based processors.
Fender Pugilist Distortion
Versatile and fiery sounding, the Fender Pugilist Distortion will deliver some heavyweight gain to your rig. It boasts dual gain engines, with separate controls for each, allowing you to choose several distortion variations, guaranteeing the pedal will play nicely with any rig. It carries a Blend/Series switch, which lets you stack channels for a fat cascading distortion, and a Bass Boost switch that beefs up your tone. The blend knob combines both channels to enjoy the best of both worlds, tailoring a sound for you.
Death by Audio Absolute Destruction
The Absolute Destruction is arguably Death by Audio’s most insane pedal yet. Showing little-to-no respect for your instrument’s natural sound, or even how most individuals want them to sound like, Death by Audio pushed this device until it appeared disgusting. You can achieve that thick, gnarly fuzz tone that sounds marvelous. The Absolute Destruction features OVERLOAD and GAIN sliders that interact to provide an enormous range of unique sounds in different positions. It’s up to you how much to distort your sound.
Empress Effects Multidrive
The Multidrive by Empress Effects lets you combine fuzz, overdrive, and distortion, producing a rich and complete collection of tones that would not exist otherwise. It allows the note definition of overdrive, sustain of fuzz, and bite of distortion to work in harmony. It is like loading a distortion pedal, overdrive pedal, and fuzz pedal into a single box. Featuring a parallel circuit, the Multidrive delivers more flexibility compared to a stacked multipedal or set of stompboxes in series.
Suhr Riot
As its name implies, the Suhr Riot is a high-gain distortion box ready to make a tiny clean tube combo sound like an angry stack. It will make you forget that you are playing via a pedal. It works with the amp to produce a full sound that does not sound overly electronic or artificial. The Riot features the touch sensitivity and sonic characteristics of a high-quality 100-watt tube amp. It consists of Dist, Level, and Tone knobs. Use the Dist to set the amount of gain added to your tone, bringing you from classic crunch to high-gain goodness.
Donner Morpher
Donner’s Morpher is an affordable, well-made, and high-gain distortion pedal. It sounds like a crossover between the Suhr Riot and MI Crunch Box. It is capable of making your tiny fresh tube AMP a louder and fuller sound as the “Full Stack” effect. The Mopher lets you relish your colorful and fun life. It consists of three knobs for controlling the Tone, Gain, and Level, as well as three models: Classic, Tight, and Natural. You can adjust three function knobs and select your desired model to create your music tone.
Mad Professor Hand-Wired Sky Blue Overdrive
The Sky Blue Overdrive guitar effects pedal from Mad Professor isn’t your typical overdrive stomp. This stompbox was built to push already distorted amps past their breaking points. It also works well for adding a light, subtle overdrive to a clean channel. Unique Texture and Z control knobs give you iron-fisted control over the feel and dynamics of the Sky Blue Overdrive’s distortion attack. The Sky Blue Overdrive is hand-made and hand-wired in Finland using only top-quality components.
Seymour Duncan La Super Rica
The La Super Rica Fuzz by Seymour Duncan is a silicon-loaded fuzz with an extensive gain range and plenty of tone-sculpting potential. From aggressive and bright to musical and smooth, the La Super Rica is a flexible box. It consists of Mid Freq, Mid Lvl, Fuzz, and Volume controls. It also carries a three-way voice switch (Fat, Flat, Lean) that toggles between bass effects. A sweepable mid-frequency with a ±10dB level control tames the sting or unleashes the bite in your attack.
JHS Pedals Ruby Red
Designed alongside artist/producer Butch Walker, who is a JHS Pedals user himself, the Ruby Red squeezes a powerful boost and the renowned Super Bolt overdrive into a convenient pedal. The Ruby Red consists of Boost, Drive, Tone, and Volume knobs, as well as a + toggle and an order toggle for selecting the order of effects. Walker wanted a pedal that can do anything in the most convenient way possible, and with the Ruby Red, he owns one now.
Keeley Fuzz Head
The Keeley Fuzz Head guitar effects pedal features a real germanium transistor under the hood for organic vintage-style fuzz. You can go from a chunky, hairy crunch to a thick, full-on fuzz that remains harmonically dynamic and responsive to your unique picking style. It doesn’t stop there; the Fuzz Head also has a toggle switch that gives you an additional mode that serves up a more modern, silicon transistor-powered overdrive. It’s basically two pedals in one.
Vick Audio Black Russian
The Vick Audio Black Russian classic reproduction series features slightly less sustain and is smoother compared to its American cousins. It is prized among guitarists and bassists looking for a smooth, refined fuzz with an incredible low-end response. The Black Russian consists of controls for Sustain, Tone, and Volume. It also carries a switch for three midrange selections scooped (stock) as well as boosted and flat mids. The Black Russian comes in a powder-coated aluminum chassis.
Mooer Triangle Buff
The Triangle Buff is Mooer’s pedalboard- and budget-friendly take on the EHX Triangle Muff fuzz guitar effects pedal design. It packs a fuzz tone wallop that comes across as more clear and dynamically responsive than even the venerable Big Muff. Whether you want your fuzz thick and creamy or aggressively grainy, the Triangle Buff is versatile enough to conform to your ideal fuzz sound thanks to an intuitive and full-featured control knob layout that belies its tiny frame.
CNZ Audio Fuzz
The CNZ Audio Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal is capable of delivering the long sustains and additional harmonic richness of a distortion effect while blending in glitchy tones of a sophisticated fuzz pedal all within a single package. It produces a marvelous tone, giving the perfect amount of fuzzy distortion you want while complementing the natural sounds of your guitar. This simple fuzz pedal is an excellent choice for beginners looking to experiment with their music or play some hard rock. Advanced players can also customize it to complement an incredible guitar tone.
Carl Martin Hydra Boost
Flaunting a classic, pedalboard-friendly design, the Carl Martin Hydra Boost delivers a clean, 15dB low noise boost. It will give you some extra clean dB’s to boost your input on your amp for more sustain and bite. You can also utilize it to drive your distortion pedals for extraordinary results. The Carl Martin Hydra Boost features a 9V battery adapter, high bright blue LED indicator, rugged housing, vintage style pointer knob, and low noise design.
Lehle Julian
If you’re in the market for a versatile pedal to help craft your holy grail tone, check out the Lehle Julian. This flexible boost pedal takes the Sunday Driver pedal and incorporates tone-shaping controls like Frequency and Treble so you can craft your ideal tones. It includes an inbuilt impedance switch that allows you to dial in lo-Z or hi-Z to achieve the tone of classic treble boosters. You can go from muffled to edgy tones by adjusting the Treble knob. The Frequency control brings your tone to life with character and punch.
JHS Pedals Milkman
The Milkman is a convenient two-in-one pedal with a tiny footprint that easily fits into your rig. It is a collaborative concept between JHS Pedals’ Josh Scott and Milkman Sound’s Tim Marcus, aiming to build a pedal that serves up an echo/slap delay and boost which can double as an always-on enhancer. If you play rockabilly, surf, country, swing, or just about any other style of good old American twang, then you need to get your hands on the Milkman.
MOSKY Tone Makestation
Mosky Audio’s Tone Maker is a four-in-one multi-effects processor that combines a cab sim, a clean boost, an analog delay, and an effects loop in one floor-based based. The cab sim goes straight for the jugular by replicating the tube-powered British crunch of a Marshall 1960A amp. The clean boost section takes its cues from the preamp section of an Echoplex for extra sparkle and definition. Finally, the analog delay section seems to be based on BJF / Mad Professor’s Deep Blue ambient delay pedal.
Danelectro The Breakdown
The deceptively innocuous Breakdown guitar effect pedal from Danelectro is basically a tiny six-stage gain booster that serves up everything from light, subtle dirt to smooth overdrive and further on to heavy, full-on distortion. Set the gain level with the Break-Up rotary switch and shape it further with the pedal’s Volume knob as well as your guitar’s own volume controls. This slim form stompbox doesn’t run on battery juice and needs to be connected to a compatible 9V power supply.
Rowin Booster
The RW-LEF-318 Booster from budget guitar effects brand Rowin is a solid boost pedal choice, especially if your wallet is hurting and your pedalboard is getting a little too crowded. It serves up a high headroom signal boost that’s surprisingly transparent. If any coloration still creeps into your tone, the Booster comes with dedicated Bass and Treble EQ knobs for fine-tuning your sound. This reliable clean boost will do well straight in front of an amp or behind another drive or dirt stomp.
Joyo Boogie Master
The JF-309 Boogie Master guitar effects pedal from Joyo is a Mesa Boogie amp sim that gives you that trademark “roided-out Marshall” sound without having to spend over a thousand bucks on an actual Mesa Boogie amp. Crank the Drive knob up for a high-gain Mesa sound or stay clean to hew closer to a Boogie. The JF-309 Boogie Master is an Ironman pedal, so it’s small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover to keep your control dial settings safe from stray stomps.
Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre
The Tonebone PZ-Pre from Radial Engineering serves up amazingly natural-sounding acoustic preamplification. This feature-packed onstage must-have incorporates a three-band EQ, variable notch filter, and filter. It allows you to kill feedback easily and rapidly. Individual piezo boosters on each channel provide some kick to your pickup-equipped acoustic instrument. The Tonebone PZ-Pre gives you great connection options and foot-switchable functionality. It also features a tuner out with footswitch mute and individual post- and pre-EQ DI outs for checking and FOH connections.
MOOER 009 Blacknight
Mooer Audio’s Micro Preamp line of guitar effects pedals is all about giving shoestring budget shoegazers easy and affordable access to the legendary tones served up by classic and boutique amp models. The Mooer 009 Blacknight is based on the signature amp that ENGL built for Richie Blackmore to give you all the growl and swagger you need. It comes with two switchable channels as well as volume, gain, bass, mid, and treble controls. It also features a cab sim on and off switch.
DOD Overdrive Preamp 250
The iconic analog DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 has been resurrected by popular demand, featuring more than four decades of history and experience. The 2013 version captures all the original’s signature tone and wild heart, without taming its performance. The DOD 250 boasts a smooth distortion that is fundamental for that mid-seventies guitar sound. Whether you are looking for an overdrive to boost your amp’s natural sustain or a mellow, tube-sounding distortion, the DOD 250 has it. Just crank up the gain for intense distortion with a lush, full sound.
NUX Stageman Floor
The Stageman Floor Acoustic Preamp + DI by NUX is an analog acoustic preamp boasting digital effects and looper function. Preamp featured with an extremely sensitive three-band EQ with input gain control, adjustable notch filter, and MID scoop toggle switch. It also offers a massive headroom that gives you the sound all-natural. The notch filter helps you cut the resonating frequency. The Stageman Floor consists of Treble, Middle, and Bass knobs, depending on the speaker/amp characteristic, acoustic guitar’s body type, and playing style, you may tune your sound to your liking.
Xotic BB Plus
The BB Plus from boutique guitar effects pedal company Xotic is a dual channel boost and overdrive preamp stomp that boasts amazing tonal transparency. Channel A houses the heart of the original BB Preamp and packs the same amp-like tones that made the BB Preamp famous. Channel B, meanwhile, features one of Xotic’s most veratile booster circuits ever with its own three-band EQ stack. Go combo with Channel A, plexi with Channel B, or stack both in any order you want.
Electro-Harmonix The Mole
Dig deep into the bowels of your sound to unearth low-end frequencies that are positively subterranean. The Mole bass booster pedal from Electro-Harmonix gives your signal’s low frequencies a rich tone and a 20dB boost. Operation is dead simple: dial in the amount of boost via the Boost knob and step on the footswitch to start rattling ribcages. Whether you’re a guitarist or a bassist, this little critter will let you plumb the depths of your bottom end.
DOD BiFet Boost 410
Providing a powerful boost with slight grit, the DOD BiFet Boost 410 will kick your guitar amp into overdrive. The revamped BiFet Boost 410 includes a selectable Buffer On/Off toggle switch that affects its bypass state and provides flexibility to be integrated anywhere in your signal chain and pedalboard. Independent Tone and Volume knobs allow you to dial in the right amount of boost and bite. Whether you utilize it to throttle your tube amp or for subtle tone shaping, the BiFet Boost 410 is a handy weapon for all guitarists.
Vertex Boost (Fiesta Red)
Sporting a fiesta red paint job, the Vertex Boost is designed to be a buffer, clean boost, and volume pedal in one. It will leave your tone unaltered while raising the level of your signal. It boasts an ultra-linear buffer for conditioning your line without tonal coloration, even with multiple pedals in your chain. You also have full volume control by connecting the Boost to an EXP or volume pedal and setting your volume just like you would with a regular volume pedal.
Tech 21 Bass Boost Fuzz
Hairy fuzz and massive boost for your bass in a single stompbox. The Boost Bass Fuzz from Tech 21 serves up the classic, creamy germanium fuzz tone you need, plus up to 21bD of punchy crystal clear boost via a separate boost section. Dedicated Drive and +Clean pots give you complete control over the wet and dry signal mix, while the Tone control knob lets you sculpt your fuzzed out sound even further. Plug into a Bass Boost Fuzz and go massive.
JHS Pedals Clover
Spec’d from an ‘80s preamp pedal used by the Edge from U2 and other prominent players, the Clover from JHS Pedals is designed to serve as your always-on tone-shaping device. It is also primed for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. It consists of three EQ controls that deliver plenty of control to boost or cut Bass, Treble, and Mids. A rotary switch lets you choose between three settings: No EQ, No Mids, and Full EQ.
Xotic AC Booster
The AC Booster stomp from boutique guitar effects pedal maker Xotic is a boost pedal packing a gain range wide enough to push your signal past the drive threshold. The AC Booster delivers a warm boost that that can go from subtle and pleasant to breakup overdrive. Dial in the boost amount using the dedicated Gain knob than tweak your tone further via the Treble and Bass pots. Use it with another overdrive to really watch the sparks fly.
Modulation Pedals
Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus
The industry standard in analog chorus effects, the Small Clone was used to great effect the late, great Kurt Cobain, perhaps most noticeable in the Nirvana track, “Come As You Are”. The Small Clone’s chorus effect is clear, rich, and multi-dimensional, with sounds ranging from chiming 12-string tones and doubling effects to pulsating Leslie-like warbles. It’s surprising how much you can do with just a Rate knob and a Depth switch. Use the Small Clone when you want to ditch your subtle chorus for one with attitude.
Donner Alpha Bass
The Donner Alpha Bass is a mini effects chain that features three types of bass guitar effects, including a rich chorus, a versatile bass drive, and an opto-voiced compressor. Distinguished by its user-friendly form factor, portable size, and remarkable tone, the Alpha Bass is perfect for any music style. It features an LED indicator displaying the working state, buffer bypass that offers a transparent tone, and classic-voiced bass drive with a broad tonal range.
Empress Effects Nebulus
The Empress Effects Nebulus lets you enjoy exceptional flanger, chorus, and vibrato effects within a compact pedal. Each effect has three variations to expand the tone range further. You can conveniently access such flexibility through a preset system capable of recording as much as eight presets. The flanger setting features a 70’s negative feedback type flanger, classic tape flange, and thru-zero flange. The chorus mode gives you a rich and warm sounding chorus, unique tremolo’ed chorus, or dreamy and fluid multi-chorus. The vibrato sub-modes include a rotating speaker effect, classic vibe sound, and standard vibrato.
Rowin Ensemble Chorus
The LN-304 Ensemble chorus pedal serves up the classic sound of a vintage Roland Jazz Chorus thanks to a circuit based around an MN3207 bucket brigade device chip. Budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin managed to pack an impressive pure and warm chorus sound into the LN-304’s tiny chassis and even gave it two distinct voicing modes, Normal and Deep, which you can switch between using an integrated two-way selector toggle. The LN-304 Ensemble also features dedicated Level, Depth, and Rate pots for precise tonal control.
Maxon PAC-9 Pure Analog Chorus
Spec’d from the now-defunct CS505 Stereo Chorus, the PAC-9 Pure Analog Chorus brings that revered design into the modern day. With an enhanced oscillator section, it is capable of performing rotary-speaker simulations and tremolo-chorus effects which used to be unattainable with the CS505. Bright and Pure switches offer a range of valuable chorus effects while performance remains dead quiet credits to Maxon’s RMS noise reduction circuitry. Featuring mechanical true bypass switching and inverse stereo outputs, the PAC-9 is arguably the future of analog chorus effects.
Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress
All of the slithering, rippling modulation effects that made the original Electric Mistress a hit are once again being made easily available to flange-heads thanks to the Stereo Electric Mistress from Electro-Harmonix. This isn’t just a straight reissue of the classic analog pedal, though. The Stereo Electric Mistress still packs the same rich flange effects and the much-loved sound-freezing Filter Matrix mode but in a compact and pedalboard-friendly chassis that features truly independent stereo outputs.
Xotic Robotalk 2
The original Robotalk has long been one of Xotic’s most popular boutique guitar effects pedals. They’ve since brought it back in a big way via the new and improved Robotalk 2. This dual channel envelope filter packs quite the feature list, with the two independently voiced and stackable channels being number one. Each channel is distinct, giving you a wide range of hyper-saturated wah tones whichever one you use. When you’re ready to get down and dirty, though, stacking them together is the way to go.
Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge
We don’t know who pissed Randy off, but his revenge is pretty darn sweet. The Randy’s Revenge effects pedal from Fairfield Circuitry is a tonally rich, all-analog ring modulator with that patented Fairfield edge. This pedal takes the whole ring modulation concept—multiplying the guitar signal with a sine wave or another simple waveform—by using not one but two simple waveforms in the mix, in this case, a sine wave and a square wave. This gives you a very wide range of highly musical tremolo and vibe effects.
Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water
Fairfield Circuitry took simulation mathematics—or K-field math—theory and used it to create a stompbox capable of generating familiar but still unique tone modulation effects. The Shallow Water effects pedal creates a short time delay then randomly modulates the delayed signal to give it a sprinkling of unexpected pitch shifts. The Shallow Water might look like some simple aluminum box, but this versatile stomp gives you a wide range of chorus, vibrato, pitch-shifting, and other vintage tape-style effects with which to wash your signal.
Source Audio Soundblox Pro Bass Envelope Filter
The Soundblox Pro Bass Envelope Filter by Source Audio is a revision of its famed predecessor, the Soundblox BEF. In this Pro variant, you can select from four distinct modulation sources, including a passive expression pedal, selectable LFO waveforms, the Hot Hand motion-sensing ring, and standard envelope filter sweeps. You may use the expression pedal input to control filter modulation similar in a standard wah pedal or various parameters including effect selection, sweep range, LFO speed, etc.
Death by Audio Evil Fuzz/Filter
The Evil Fuzz/Filter from Death by Audio sounds great with your guitar, synth, or amplified skateboard. It is absolutely psychotic destruction with blooming inverted compression. The CV/Expression in lets you adjust the filter in sync with an arpeggiating synth or manage it using an expression pedal. The Evil Filter is a combination of fuzz/filter with chaos factor that surpasses the sum of its chaotic parts. While you can use filtering and fuzz individually, the two effects are sonic co-conspirators.
Dwarfcraft Devices HAX2
Dwafcraft Devices has mastered the art of crafting guitar effect pedals that do many things extremely well, and the HAX2 ring modulator is no different. Lightyears ahead of the original HAX circuit it’s based on, the HAX2 combines ring modulation, an envelope follower, and a filter in one sturdy stompbox that can serve up everything from deep tremolo-style effects and psychedelic modulation to a pleasant, sparkly chorus. Four dials and four toggle switches give you all the control you could ever need.
Digitech Nautila
Create soothing rhythmic waves or unique tidal swirls with the DigiTech Nautila flanger and chorus pedal for your keyboard and electric guitar. It features Drift and Voice controls that let you add up to four flanger voices or eight chorus voices, and then combine and morph these waveforms at will. You can increase the modulation speed using the momentary footswitch. Individual Mix, Voices, Emphasis, Depth, and Speed controls shape your waves into soupy foam or clean curls. The Nautila’s rugged construction, stereo inputs and outputs, true bypass, and silent switching make it as practical as it is innovative.
Source Audio Soundblox Tri-Mod Flanger
The Soundblox Tri-Mod Flanger by Source Audio is an evolutionary outgrowth of the classic Hot Hand Phaser/Flanger system within an accessible and portable format. It features eleven flanger effect variations each modifiable using an Envelope Follower, Hot Hand motion controller, or Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO). Each Soundblox effects pedal is compatible with the Hot Hand motion controller—available individually in wired or wireless configurations—or a broad arsenal of onboard controls. Soundblox pedals deliver various original sounding effects in a sturdy, ultra-versatile package.
Donner Jet Convolution
Get an outstanding flanger at a bargain price with the Donner Jet Convolution. A lot is going on in such a compact pedal. The Jet Convolution features true bypass and a toggle switch for selecting between Filter and Normal modes. In the Normal mode, the pedal acts like a regular flanger, while the Filter mode is what your manual mode would be. The Jet Convolution consists of a giant Rate knob plus smaller Range and Color knobs that are pretty intuitive to use.
Ibanez FL9
The FL9 Flanger by Ibanez delivers vintage flanger tones with different controls. It includes knobs for Delay Time, Width, Regen, and Speed. The FL9 boasts a full frequency response, zero clock noise, wide operation range, and durable construction. Similar circuitry and famed flanging effects of the vintage ’80s model but built to closer tolerances for better consistency. If you are in the market for an original, now is the perfect time to bring this ’80s favorite home.
Eventide ModFactor
When it comes to modulation effects, Eventide’s ModFactor multi-effects pedal is the pinnacle. You get all the classics—Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Rotary, Tremolo, and Vibrato—plus a couple of unique Eventide effects. There’s the dreamy, pulsating Undulator, which combines two delays, two detuned voices, and a tremolo effect. Also included is a RIngMod effect that adds futuristic bell-like overtones to your sound. The ModFactor can hold up to 100 presets, has true analog bypass, and supports real-time control via MIDI or expression pedal.
Koogo Flanger
The Koogo Flanger pedal gives you classic analog flanging and rolling effects. This beautiful sounding pedal is made of high-quality zinc alloy, boasting solid built and durability. It consists of three function knobs labeled as Rate, Range, and Color, as well as a toggle switch that lets you choose between Normal and Filter modes. You may simply adjust three function knobs and pick your preferred model to create your music tone. Savor your colorful and fun life with the Koogo Flanger pedal.
Mojo Hand FX Nebula
The Nebula Redux Phaser by Mojo Hand FX is a luscious, watery phaser spec’d from the classic dual-stage Nebula circuit. It is an incredibly classic sound that pairs beautifully with other Mojo Hand FX units such as the Iron Bell. The Nebula Redux Phaser has been handcrafted in the USA using only top-grade components. It is capable of enduring life on the road and sounds outstanding each time you step on it. It features true bypass switching and comes in a sturdy die-cast chassis.
MXR ’75 Vintage Phase 45
The MXR Custom Shop’s ’75 Vintage Phase 45 reissue recreates the Phase 90’s elusive little brother to exacting details. Featuring two stages of phasing, the Phase 45 serves up its musical and subtle voice through a hand-wired circuit board and hand-matched FETs. Authentic tried-and-trusted components and hardware, including CTS pot, Switchcraft jacks, and a Carling switch. The limited-edition ’75 Vintage Phase 45 allows you to texture your tone sans overpowering your sound. It is suitable for far-out rhythms and groovy solos.
Rowin Phaser
Budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin seems to be addicted to making their already tiny pedals even smaller. Such is the case with the LN-313 Phaser, the nano-sized version of Rowin’s LEF-313 Phaser. Like its bigger brother, the LN-313 Phaser packs more versatility and bigger phaser sounds than its size and price would suggest. It also features the same two switchable phaser modes: the warm, old-school Vintage mode and the more modern, full-bodied Modern mode.
TC Electronic Helix
Whether you are looking for Van Halen-inspired driving sweeps or satisfying Gilmour-esque swirls, the Helix Phaser by TC Electronic provides the versatile and customizable modulation effects you want. Unlike conventional phaser pedals, it comes packed with a DSP to power a broad range of nuanced phaser effects. You may flip between a smooth contemporary phaser sound or a more shimmery vintage mode, plus an onboard TonePrint setting. Besides loading up presets produced by artists, the TonePrint Editor lets you craft your ideal phaser sounds.
Mooer Micro Liquid
The Liquid guitar effects pedal from budget stompbox maker Mooer packs a lot of phasing options into its tiny and very affordable chassis. It gives you five different phaser modes, each with three selectable wave types: square, triangular, and sine. And if that still doesn’t whet your sonic appetite, you can easily shape the phase tones using dedicated speed, color, and mix control knobs. This highly versatile stompbox is a worthy addition to your pedalboard.
Pigtronix EP-1
A beautiful-sounding phaser with several modulation options. The EP-1 Envelope Phaser from Pigtronix boasts a very thick and vocal, touch-sensitive envelope phaser plus a chewy and deep univibe-esque rotary phaser with adequate controls to dial in your distinctive flavor. The Envelope Phaser is a versatile, dynamic, expressive effect featuring a warm analog character, stage-friendly interface, and flexible tone palette. It includes a foot-switchable phase inversion as well as expression pedal speed control for exceptional rotary speaker effects.
Empress Effects Tremolo2
The Empress Effects Tremolo2 is constructed to incorporate revolutionary functionalities sans sacrificing tone. It features an analog audio signal path, but the tremolo effect is controlled digitally through opto tech. Waveform selection, choice of eight rhythms, tap tempo, and complete preset system that can store as much as eight presets are all at your fingertips. The control port enables control of the Tremolo2 through external tap tempo, MIDI, control voltage, and an expression pedal, making the Tremolo2 extremely powerful.
Pigtronix Tremvelope
Unlike standard tremolo pedals, the Tremvelope by Pigtronix locks onto your playing style dynamics, leveraging a volume-triggered envelope to determine its modulation depth and speed. The outcome is a natural-sounding tremolo that is extremely easy to play with. After you set the Tremvelope’s LFO depth, waveform, and speed, you no longer need to touch anything to achieve a natural and smooth effect that responds seamlessly to your touch. The Tremvelope adds a different spin on a vintage effect.
ammoon Mini Tremolo
The Trelicopter is an impressive, expressive, and wide-ranging optical tremolo effect packed into a stompbox literally small enough to put in your pocket. This budget-friendly guitar effects pedal from Ammoon can conjure up a gentle, natural tremolo that hews close to a classic Fender tremolo sound. Ammoon also threw in a Bias control knob that lets you adjust the clipping waveform’s hardness or softness as well as a true bypass function. Small, versatile, and highly musical.
Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt Tremolo Mini
The Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt Tremolo guitar effect pedal’s warm, pulsating tremolo effect has become a modern classic. It features an easy-to-use two-dial interface. One knob controls the tremolo effect’s speed, while the other controls the effect’s depth and intensity. Nestled between these two dials is a two-way toggle that lets you switch between Hard and Soft to achieve tremolo effects reminiscent of different amps manufactured in the ‘50s. Definitely a must-have for budget-minded tremolo heads.
MOOER Mod Factory MKII
If modulation effects are what you’re looking for, you won’t go wrong with the Mod Factory MKII guitar effects pedal. This tiny wonder from budget-priced stomp creator Mooer packs 11 distinct modulation effects into its tiny, pedalboard-friendly chassis. It lets you dial in everything from a watery chorus to a dynamic auto wah and through to an extreme envelope ring effect. Three control knobs give you enough flexibility to create a wide range of lush sonic soundscapes for each effect mode.
Amptweaker SwirlPool
The Amptweaker SwirlPool Tremolo/Vibe pedal is the brand’s first dive into non-distortion pedals. Highly requested by Amptweaker’s customers, the SwirlPool is a two-speed synchronized Tremolo/Vibe reminiscent of the circuits found in some vintage 60’s amplifiers. This analog pedal is capable of emulating various modulation tones and even inventing several new ones. The two footswitch buttons let you switch between two different Speed & Vibe settings while sharing one Tremolo control. The SwirlPool also features switches that help you fine-tune the pedal’s vibrato.
Skreddy Swirl
Starring a classic 1969 voice, the Skreddy Swirl is a chewy, watery, vibe-esque phaser with exceptional frequency response and clarity versus a clone or vintage specimen. It is an addictive and beautiful tone, swampy enough. The sweep was optimized for optimum intensity and range without being exaggerated. It gives you the ideal balance between a throbbing, asymmetrical and smooth, symmetrical waveform. It features extremely low distortion and noise, preserves natural EQ and volume footprint. The Swirl carries a large knob for effortless foot control.
ZVEX Vexter Instant Lo-Fi Junky
Boutique guitar effects pedal company Zvex built the Instant Lo-Fi Junky to replicate the crazy low fidelity sounds of the Lo-Fi Loop Junky in real time. That in itself is impressive enough, but the Instant Lo-Fi Junky actually ups the ante by giving you full control over the dry and wet signal blend. Zvex’s Vexter line of silk screened pedals feature the exact same tone, feature set, and internal parts and circuits as their hand-painted counterparts. The only differences are the painting process and the price.
Diamond Vibrato
The Diamond Vibrato is an ultra-versatile, dedicated pitch vibrato design leveraging an all-analog bucket brigade circuitry. It has a high-headroom circuit with MN3007 chip, offering up your instrument’s purest sound before you begin digging in. The variable chorus control lets you take your dry signal up against the pitch-modulated effected sound for real doubled tones. The Diamond Vibrato includes two switches—High that raises the vibrato’s intensity and Jazz which makes for a warmer, darker tonality for a vintage feel.
Behringer Ultra Vibrato
Add everything from smooth, subtle detuning to mind-bending psychedelic high-speed modulation to your sound with the Behringer Ultra Vibrato UV300 Classic Vibrato guitar effects pedal. Sculpt and shape the UV300’s overall effect using the dedicated Depth and Rate knobs, then control how fast the full detuning effect kicks in with the Rise dial. You can also use the UV300 as an unlatched pedal, letting you activate the vibrato effect anytime you want without having to step on the pedal again to turn it off.
Fulltone MDV3
The Fulltone Mini Vibe MDV-3 Mini DejaVibe 3 vintage rotary guitar effects pedal is the closest you can get to true Uni-Vibe sound without actually selling a kidney to buy a ‘60s-era Uni-Vibe. Fulltone already did the heavy lifting for you with the MDV-3, cloning original ‘60s photocells and using the exact same preamp transistor that old Uni-Vibes used. You get all of the Uni-Vibe’s legendary writhing, undulating pulsations plus more headroom and a wider dynamic range.
DigiTech Whammy 4
DigiTech’s legendary Whammy adds to your playing and produces new feelings, textures, and sounds. The Whammy 4 pedal is among the most acclaimed and versatile pitch/octave shifters ever existed. This compact red rectangle allows you full control of sending your sound piercing through the ceiling or plummeting through the floor. It boasts ten Harmony, six Whammy, and Shallow or Deep Detune modes. The Whammy 4 is a known favorite of Troy Van Leeuwen, Tom Morello, and Jack White.
Dunlop Octavio
The limited-edition JHM6 Jimi Hendrix Octavio Fuzz Pedal from Dunlop is perfect for producing fuzzy and psychedelic tones. It provides the iconic “octave up” effect that Jimi Hendrix used on tracks such as Purple Haze and One Rainy Wish. It sports the same circuit found in Jimi’s cheese wedge Octavio Fuzz. It also boasts modern features, including true bypass switching, 9V power jack, status LED, and pedalboard-friendly enclosure. The Jimi Hendrix Octavio Fuzz Pedal is limited only to 1500 pieces worldwide.
Koogo Digital Octave
Cool in every way, the Digital Octave pedal by Koogo delivers quick tracking and dynamic octave harmony, making your six-string guitar sound like 12-string. You can perform several adjustments to form various combinations of sounds. The Digital Octave gives you a complete range of octave settings that will fill your music however you want, and produce a beautiful tone. It features a metal chassis, weighted knobs, and switches that make it reliable and durable. Compact and lightweight, the Digital Octave pedal is convenient to travel with and does not crowd your pedalboard.
EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid V2
The Arpanoid guitar effects pedal from EarthQuaker Devices is a polyphonic pitch arrpegiator; play a note and it automatically generates a scale based on that root note. Even better is that it doesn’t just track notes—even complex chords can get arpeggiated. It features eight selectable minor and major patterns that go from one octave below the root note to one above, plus you can select whether you want the arpeggios to be ascending or descending.
Aguilar Octamizer
All bassists crave a deep, organic tone. The Octamizer produces an extensive range of musical sounds one octave below your original note. It boasts independent volume controls for both the Octave and Clean sounds, making dialing in the perfect amount of each a breeze. Both discrete signal paths have their tone controls intended to improve and broaden their musical possibilities. The CLEAN TONE control allows for boosting of bass while cutting treble and vice versa, while the OCTAVE FILTER control allows you to shape the octave sound from deep and smooth to aggressive and edgy.
Pigtronix Octava Micro
The Octava Micro by Pigtronix is a revamped variant of the octave up found in the Disnortion pedal. This pure analog frequency doubler features an onboard low pass filter control which lets you capture singing octave up tones, wherever on the neck, sans tweaking the tone control of your instrument. For increased overall flexibility and more signal power, Fuzz, Drive, and Blend knobs have been incorporated to the original two-knob design. Use the Blend control to combine its fuzz, drive, and octave effects with your dry signal.
Top Categories
Timing, Dynamics & EQ Pedals
Carl Martin Delayla XL
The Carl Martin DeLayla XL boasts the same sonic quality as the original DeLayla plus other extended features. It incorporates a second delay head (slapback) and several of the same features found in vintage tape delay units. It can give you that real rock ‘n roll slapback echo which digital processors fail to emulate. The DeLayla XL is capable of delivering a warm, smooth sound reminiscent of the 50’s and 60’s vintage tape units, coupled with advanced features.
Rowin Delay
With a delay time range of 20ms to 620ms, the tiny LEF-314 Delay is a highly usable and very affordable delay pedal ideal for shoestring shoegazers with an already crowded pedalboard. Budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin crammed an extremely versatile classic tape / echo delay into this baby. Note that while it’s advertised as an analog delay, this pedal is actually digital; it uses a CD2399GP chip to emulate the sound of a true analog delay.
MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe
For the Carbon Copy Deluxe, MXR has taken its legendary analog delay pedal and incorporated a bevy of oft-requested functionalities. It offers new features to fine-tune the warm, natural sound that made the original a bestseller. With tap tempo functionality and an extended delay time of up to 1.2s, you now obtain unprecedented control of your Carbon Copy repeats. The Tap Division function, with a readable status display, provides you with four subdivisions—8ths, dotted 8ths, 16ths, and triplets.
Digitech OBSCURA
Craft a delay sound that is unmistakably you with the DigiTech Obscura Altered Delay pedal. You can select from four delay types (Reverse, Lo-Fi, Tape, and Analog) which can be degraded, distorted, and darkened on the fly with the stacked Degrade and Tone controls. The Degrade control allows you to adjust the amount of signal degradation to create new textures and sounds. The Obscura also features a Tails switch, Tap Tempo, true bypass circuitry, and stereo inputs/outputs. With its vacuum-style footswitch and compact size, the pedal advances DigiTech’s progression in pedal design.
Tom’sline Pure Echo
The Pure Echo digital delay from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Tomsline lets you add layers of depth and character to your bare signal. It comes with three distinct delay modes–Echo, Mod, and Normal–as well as Level, Regen, and Time control pots for maximum tonal versatility. The small and sturdy Pure Echo also features Tomsline’s patented stop bar design to keep your foot from messing up the pedal’s settings when you stomp on it.
EarthQuaker Devices Space Spiral V2
Feeling adventurous? The Space Spiral analog-voiced digital delay guitar effects pedal is the perfect companion for delay addicts who want to break new sonic ground. A digital engine serves up to 600ms of analog-style repeats, while an onboard variable waveshape low-frequency oscillator lets you switch from a smooth triangle shape to a sudden and choppy square wave. V2 of the Space Spiral features Flexi-Switching; tap the footswitch once to use it as a latching switch or hold it down to make it act as a momentary-type switch.
Eventide Space
Pierce the sky with Space, an effects pedal that packs Eventide’s industry-acclaimed rack-based reverb effects into a handy floor-based unit. Space dishes out a wide range of reverb effects, from the natural and the unnatural to the downright out-of-this-world. Standard reverbs like Room, Plate, Spring, and Hall are bolstered by Reverse and Shimmer effects along with unique Eventide offerings such as ModEchoVerb, DualVerb, Blackhole, MangledVerb, TremoloVerb, and DynaVerb. From classic tones to next-level weirdness, you won’t run out of options with the Space pedal.
Seymour Duncan Dark Sun
The Seymour Duncan Dark Sun Digital Delay + Reverb was built based on Mark Holcomb’s favorite sounds from the Silver Lake Dynamic Reverb and the Andromeda Dynamic Delay. It blends a clean, warm digital delay algorithm and a rich Hall reverb, plus the ability to route both in virtually any configuration you desire. You may also sculpt the effect’s EQ, add saturation, or rich choral modulation, or utilize Dynamic Expression to adjust the effect’s mix with your playing.
JOYO Space Verb
It sounds a bit strange considering Joyo’s very extensive line of guitar effects pedals, but the JF-317 Space Verb is actually the company’s first reverb pedal. It might have taken a while, but the reverb packed into this small wonder is well worth the wait. You get four reverb modes and an intuitive four-knob control layout for creating subtle, intimate reverbs to vast, otherworldly space echoes. As part of Joyo’s Ironman line, the JF-317 Space Verb is small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover for keeping your control dial settings safe from stray stomps.
Keeley DDR
As its name implies, the Keeley DDR Drive Delay Reverb gives you access to three different effect types. This dual-channel stompbox features a Wet channel that holds the delay and reverb effects and a separate Drive channel that brings the dirt. It doesn’t stop there; each effect comes in two flavors. You get a Vintage/Modern switch for both the delay and reverb effects plus two overdrive styles: British-flavored crunch and harmonically-saturated Tube Screamer-style drive.
Strymon BigSky
Serving up a wide variety of reverb effects presently on the market, the Strymon BigSky serves as your go-to pedal for your reverb needs. You can capture twelve reverb types with a roll of a knob and dramatically edit and record the effects in the 300 onboard preset slots. For the best sound quality possible, a tremendously powerful SHARC DSP powers the unit. The BigSky is robust enough to be the last reverb pedal you will ever need.
Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Plus
Belying its stature as one of the simplest digital reverb pedals available on the market, the Holy Grail reverb guitar effects pedal from Electro-Harmonix lets you add a layer of truly heavenly reverb to your tone. The Holy Grail Plus does the original one better, adding a new, graceful Room reverb. Faithful recreations of classic guitar combo-type Spring and lush, spacious Hall reverb modes plus the completely unique flange-flavored Flerb reverb round out the Holy Grail Plus’ four selectable reverb modes.
Electro-Harmonix Soul Preacher
Whether you rock a guitar or a bass, the Soul Preacher compressor pedal from Electro-Harmonix will fit right in your pedalboard. It packs three selectable attack modes–a 20ms Fast rise, a 50ms Medium rise, and a 100ms Slow rise–coupled with a Sustain knob that lets you dial in silky, lengthy sustains. The Soul Preacher gives you highly articulate compression without compromising your core tone. This compact, road-tough pedal also comes with a true bypass feature.
MXR Dyna Comp Mini
Familiar MXR compression within a space-saving compact enclosure. The MXR Dyna Comp Mini Compressor packs modern convenience and the best of vintage tone into a chassis that is virtually half the original’s size. Featuring a unique CA3080 “metal can” integrated circuit, the Dyna Comp Mini boasts greater transparency, incredible dynamic range, and silent operation. It includes a new Attack switch that toggles between fast and slow attack times. The Dyna Comp Mini is the most convenient take on an iconic comp pedal.
JHS Pedals Pulp N’ Peel V4
The Pulp ‘N’ Peel V4 from JHS Pedals sports plenty of tone-sculpting power. It features a mini Dirt toggle that allows you to give a touch of grit to your tone. Whether you are a bassist sending your signal straight or a guitarist using the Pulp ‘N’ Peel V4 on your pedalboard, its ¼” and balanced XLR outputs have got you covered. The Pulp ‘N’ Peel V4 will serve as your trusty solution no matter what your compression requires.
Xvive Bass Squeezer
High quality compressors are essential tools for any musician. The problem is that most of them are pretty complicated and quite expensive. Enter the Bass Squeezer, a dead simple compressor mini pedal that won’t require three masters’ degrees and a whole stack of user manuals to dial in the perfect compression settings for your tone. Xvive and designer Jamie Mallender crafted the Bass Squeezer to be practically idiot proof, so whether or not you’ve used compressors before you’ll be able to plug in, tweak, and play quickly.
Greer Amps Lamplighter
The Lamplighter Optical Compressor from Greer Amps is the product of numerous hours of tweaking and listening. The concept is simple—deliver compression that will not “step” on your tone, make it as transparent as possible, and offer options requested by musicians. The Lamplighter consists of controls that allow you to have extreme or mild compression. Utilizing both Comp Mix and Compression knobs enable multiple “sweet spots” with various settings. The Lamplighter boasts studio-grade optical compression and is constructed with top-grade components.
Carl Martin Compressor Limiter
The Carl Martin Compressor Limiter gives you the same sonic clarity and features available only in top-grade professional studio compressors. It incorporates a Threshold control working anti-clockwise, determining the amount of signal to be compressed. The Comp, Resp, and Gain knobs work clockwise. Comp determines the amount of compression applied to the signal enabled by the threshold setting, Gain sets the overall gain, while Resp determines the release/attack times. Busy shows how much compression is being applied, even in bypass mode.
Death by Audio Apocalypse
The Apocalypse is touted as Death by Audio’s jack-of-all-trades fuzz pedal. Once greatly overdriven, the signal is routed to your chosen post-amp. You may toggle through its five signal paths and select the apocalyptic sound you desire. To make it more refined, adjust the sweepable frequency equalizer and craft your tone to your liking. Utilize the Apocalypse as your main sound, an amp simulated recording DI, bass blitzer, boost for solos, or run into it anything you want to supercharge, beef up, or blast out.
Orange Two Stroke
Two Stroke is Orange’s take on the classic clean boost pedal, boasting increased flexibility. With an active dual parametric equalizer coupled with up to 12dB of output boost, the Two Stroke serves as an exceptional tool for fine-tuning your sound or driving the front end of your amp with unparalleled control. The dual-parametric active EQ enables anything from wide, mild cuts and boosts to narrow dips or peaks. The Two Stroke also features transparent buffered bypass and internal charge pump.
Boss GE-7 7-Band EQ
The Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer is one of the most useful guitar effect pedals you could ever add to your pedal chain. It doesn’t matter what style of music you play, its seven-band EQ will give you complete and precise control over your sound. The Boss GE-7 7-Band EQ’s equalizer ranges from 100Hz to 6.4kHz with a boost/cut of +/- 15dB per band, making it the ideal equalizer for guitar signals. Place it after your favorite distortion pedal and you can drastically cut down unwanted feedback.
Tom’sline Bass EQ Mini
Budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Tomsline’s Bass EQ stomp does exactly what it says on the tin: let you shape the overall EQ and tone of your bass signal. The five EQ bands—62.5Hz, 125Hz, 500Hz, 1KHz, and 4KHz—can each be cut or boosted by up to 18dB. You also get a single Level pot for controlling the overall volume output. Use the Bass EQ to brighten up your sound, build a heftier bottom end, or tame any unwanted frequencies in your signal.
MXR Six Band EQ
Covering all the fundamental guitar frequencies, the M109S Six Band EQ from MXR has been revamped with brighter LEDs for improved visibility, true bypass switching, noise-reduction circuitry, and lightweight aluminum enclosure. Each slider is ready to provide +/-18dB of boost or cut for unparalleled control of your sound. The M109S Six Band EQ is capable of eradicating onstage feedback, adding natural-sounding warmth to a quack acoustic pickup, producing scooped-mid rhythm tones with massive low end, and many more.
Old Blood Noise Endeavors 3 Band EQ + Buffer
The EQ + Buffer is a special edition of Old Blood Noise Endeavors’ Buffer and 3 Band EQ. Sliders and inverted color scheme provide you with a different visual and tactile experience for a handy circuit you must have in your chain. A switchable 3 Band EQ and always on Buffer. You will appreciate the Buffer when you employ multiple pedals or long cables, while the EQ is perfect for tailoring frequencies to specific parts, guitar switches, or as an always-on EQ.
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Latest News
Minneapolis pedal company Chase Bliss Audio has unleashed an adventurous delay-based unit called the Habit. Advertised as a “freeform sampler and musical sketchpad,” the Habit yields traditional delays with the
KMA Machines has announced a revamped and slimmed down version of its Wurhm distortion pedal—the Wurm 2. When the Wurhm first came to the music realm in 2020, it was
Boss has lifted the veil on two new digital stompboxes spec’d from its legendary RE-201 Space Echo—the RE-2 and RE-202. Stripping the RE-201 sound down to its core essentials, the
Line 6 has updated its cult-favorite DL4 Delay Modeler to MkII, hauling the 1999-dated original into the present-day era by some tonal tweaks and pretty aesthetic. Under the hood, the new-and-improved
Metallica electric guitar star Kirk Hammett has taken to Instagram to announce that his second signature Dunlop Cry Baby Wah is in the works. Dressed in a striking purple colorway
Fender has released doubled-up versions of its Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb—the Duel Pugilist Distortion and Dual Marine Layer Reverb. Coming in as a punchy double distortion stompbox, the
SolidGoldFX has introduced a revamped version of its modulated, polyphonic octave-down fuzz—the Lysis MkII Fuzz Modulator. “Building on the foundation of our original Lysis design, the Lysis MKII pushes the
Nashville stompbox creators Big Ear and Tone Mob Podcast have teamed up for a photo-realistic pizza fuzz named Slice Of Pie. Available in cheese or pepperoni flavors, the Slice Of
Crazy Tube Circuits is taking vintage digital delay enthusiasts back in time with the introduction of the TI:ME—a delay stompbox designed to imitate the iconic tone of the earliest digital
TWA has slimmed down in size its version of the iconic ‘70s Systech Harmonic Energizer, which costs an arm and a leg, with the Triskelion Mk. III Harmonic Energizer. Loaded
Walrus Audio has launched a significant upgrade over its Julia Analog Chorus/Vibrato pedal, the Julia V2. The Julia is a pure analog, feature-laden Chorus/Vibrato that packs an incredible array of
UK-headquartered Fredric Effects has unveiled its take on the iconic Fuzz Face pedal, the DuoFace Dual Vintage Fuzz, modified to offer a pair of complete circuits in parallel. Spec’d from
Two of the biggest names in the boutique pedal world, Death By Audio and EarthQuaker Devices, have teamed up for the Time Shadows, a dual-sided fuzz delay stompbox full of
Mini pedal specialist Mooer Audio has unveiled another compact addition to its product line-up for August—the Tone Capture Guitar pedal. Employing its novel EQ matching technology “Tone Capture,” Mooer Audio
J. Rockett Audio Designs has introduced the Clockwork Echo, an analog modulation and delay created in collaboration with Deluxe Memory Man designer Howard Davis. Advertised as “old school meets new
Utility Pedals
Korg Pitchblack Advance
The Pitchblack has become a favorite of amateurs and professionals across the globe. Korg has now introduced the new generation model—the Pitchblack Advance. It carries the roster’s easiest-to-read and largest display yet. Nearly twice the size of the earlier model’s display and leveraging high-brightness LEDs, you can view your tuning whether you are out in the bright sunlight or inside a dark club. You will also enjoy the option to utilize the Pitchblack Advance in regular, mirror, strobe, and half-strobe modes.
Carl Martin Tuner
The Carl Martin Tuner is attractive, simple, efficient, and handy for any type of guitarist. Housed in a classic die-cast black enclosure, the Tuner is switchable between standard readout and strobe. Both are clear, bright, and readable from a standing position. The Tuner is an excellent addition to your Carl Martin pedal collection. It features a true bypass on/off for a clean signal path, mute switch for silent tuning, and can be calibrated from 437 to 443.
Korg Pitchblack Mini (Black)
Bassists and guitarists worldwide love Korg’s Pitchblack pedal tuners for their design, quality, and durability. While the Pitchblack mini comes in a tinier, sleek package, it possesses all of its exceptional tuner functionalities. It boasts a large LED screen with excellent visibility and supports battery operation despite its small size. The Pitchblack mini contains stabilizers to avoid overturning. It also features a high tuning precision of +/- 0.1 cents. Small yet powerful, the Pitchblack mini can satisfy your demands.
NUX PT-6 Pedal Tuner
The PT-6 Chromatic Pedal Tuner from NUX features a highly sensitive chromatic tuning mode with an extensive range. It boasts a true bypass design and comes in a sturdy metal chassis. The PT-6 Pedal Tuner is professional, high-quality, and easy to use. The bright LED screen delivers clear visibility outdoors as well as on stage. The true bypass circuit enables tuning sans signal loss or latency. When the signal is lost after five minutes, the power save feature will turn the device off automatically.
ammoon Mini Chromatic Tuner
It might not be the most glamorous of guitar effects pedals, but a good tuner is a must-have essential for any and all musicians. Whether you shred a six-string or slap a bass, you can make sure you always stay in tune with the Mini Chromatic Tuner from ammoon. Its big, bright LED display lets you know your exact tuning easily even when you’re playing on a dark stage surrounded by dry ice fog, and its true bypass switch means you won’t have to worry about your guitar signal getting corrupted.
TC Electronic Polytune Noir Mini 2
The original PolyTune Noir has set the benchmark for how supercool a tuner could be with its sleek black appearance and compact design. Now the PolyTune 2 Noir is a portable tuner featuring strobe, chromatic, and polyphonic tuning for quick and precise tuning. It comes with an ambient light detector and an ultra-bright 109-LED display that give you a clear and instant readout in any viewing condition. It loads the most groundbreaking tuning technology into an ultra-compact chassis sporting a basic black paint job.
TC Electronic WireTap Riff Recorder
With the WireTap Riff Recorder from TC Electronic, it is more convenient than ever to achieve a song idea while you are jamming, riffing, or gigging. This incredibly compact, pedal-simple riff recorder boasts over eight hours of recording time to save plenty of riffs. Designed and engineered in Denmark, the WireTap Riff Recorder comes in a durable die-cast metal chassis built for life on the road. It is the new essential tool for all earnest songwriters out there.
Line 6 JM4 Looper
The JM4 Looper from Line 6 is an incredible looping pedal boasting plenty of features. It provides you with a complete array of exceptional loops and jams to spark your creativity, all loaded within a portable foot pedal-esque enclosure for hands-free operation. It has more than 100 Endless Jam tracks and drum grooves recorded by prominent players. You have as much as 24 minutes of recording time and storage for up to 100 jams, letting you hang onto amazing ideas and riffs.
MOOER Ocean Machine
The Ocean Machine is the stompbox equivalent of a Swiss army knife. You get a 60-second looper, nine distinct reverb types, and two independent delays with a total of 17 different delay effects. This multi-effects monster is the brainchild of budget stompbox maker Mooer and self-confessed multitrack aficionado/metal maestro Devin Townsend, so you’ll definitely find some of the spaciest and craziest delay tones you’ve ever come across on the Ocean Machine. It’s a knob-twiddler’s dream instrument.
Rowin Tiny Looper
Budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin’s LN-332 Looper is an extremely compact and jaw droppingly affordable looping pedal that lets you record up to 10 minutes of high quality audio, just like its just slightly bigger brother, the Rowin LEF-332 Looper. You can also store and upload pre-recorded audio onto the LEF-332 Looper via USB. Controls are easy; there’s a Volume knob and a single footswitch that controls recording, playback, and overdubs. Perfect for practicing or composing at home.
Pigtronix Infinity Looper
The Pigtronix Infinity is arguably the most musical looping pedal in the market. Exceptionally powerful and versatile but still easy to use, the Infinity Looper establishes a new world standard for latency-free looping. Pigtronix’s revolutionary looping platform delivers quick record, dub, playback, redo and undo, on two stereo loop pairs configurable in different ways. Besides its performance friendly feature set and unparalleled speed, the Infinity Looper sounds marvelous due to its discreet analog limiter stages, 24bit/48kHz HD recording engine, and transparent analog pass-through.
GOKKO Repeater
The GOKKO Repeater Looper GK-27 guitar effects pedal is a workhorse loop stomp at a price that’s very hard to beat. You get one control dial, one footswitch, and a lengthy 10 minutes of available loop time to craft your own highly intricate, multilayered tracks. Recording a loop and adding unlimited overdubs is simplicity in itself; press on the footswitch once to turn the LED red and you’re recording. Step in it again to turn the LED blue and that marks the end of the loop. Rinse, repeat, and enjoy.
HeadRush Pedalboard
Packaged in a sturdy, tour-ready steel enclosure with a cable route built into the bottom so your stage stays neat, the HeadRush Pedalboard boasts several well-thought-out features for utilization on stage. Everything about the Pedalboard is meant to make it intuitive, simple, and quick to jump right in and produce great sounding rigs instantly. It features a custom-designed quad-core processor, gapless preset switching with reverb/delay spillover, and more than 100 realistic FX, cab, amplifier, and microphone models.
Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe
The Echolution 2 Deluxe from Pigtronix provides you with an unparalleled collection of delay effects and incredible on-the-fly programming versatility. An envelope, an LFO, and an exceptional multimode analog filter enable you to achieve cool modulation effects, and the Echolution 2 Deluxe’s Halo mode gives some sparkle to your sound. It comes packed with powerful real-time control options, 60 killer presets, and a comprehensive set of onboard controls that lets you craft and edit presets on the Echolution 2 Deluxe.
Mission Engineering EP-11
The EP-11 by Mission Engineering is the most suitable expression pedal for the Pro Tools Eleven Rack. For a natural and accurate response, the linear potentiometer is matched precisely to the Eleven Rack’s specifications. Simply connect to the Exp. Pedal input on the Eleven Rack’s rear panel with a 1/4″ TRS cable, then choose EP-11 on the Eleven Rack expression pedal settings. If you are leveraging the Eleven Rack with a MIDI controller, flip the EP-11’s toggle switch then plug it into an expression pedal input.
Boss RC-202 Loop Station
The Boss RC-202 Loop Station is the perfect weapon for always-mobile beatboxers, club performers, and electronic musicians. With powerful looping and multi-effect functions packed into a compact tabletop unit, this two-track version of the popular RC-505 Loop Station features four Input FX and four Track FX, the ability to save loops to memories in real-time, and expanded foot control and MIDI capabilities. The Boss RC-202 Loop Station gives you full creative freedom whether you’re on stage or off.
Source Audio Soundblox Pro Classic Distortion
The Source Audio Soundblox Pro Classic Distortion is a highly customizable and programmable pedal that features four tube amp and eight fuzz box overdrive tones, plus a Clean Boost/EQ mode. The dual drive controls and seven-band graphic equalizer deliver almost infinite tone manipulation possibilities. You can save your modified tones in six programmable user preset stations, available for speedy recall through three footswitches. An expression pedal input enables you to morph from one user preset to another seamlessly.
Empress Effects Tremolo2
The Empress Effects Tremolo2 is constructed to incorporate revolutionary functionalities sans sacrificing tone. It features an analog audio signal path, but the tremolo effect is controlled digitally through opto tech. Waveform selection, choice of eight rhythms, tap tempo, and complete preset system that can store as much as eight presets are all at your fingertips. The control port enables control of the Tremolo2 through external tap tempo, MIDI, control voltage, and an expression pedal, making the Tremolo2 extremely powerful.
MOSKY DUAL SWITCH
The Dual Switch footswitch pedal from budget guitar effects pedal brand Mosky Audio has one job: act as a dual momentary footswitch controller for your other guitar effects pedals. In stompbox terms, momentary (also known as non-latching) means the pedal’s effect is only active for as long as you hold the footswitch down. This is different from the typical latching operation–stomp once to activate then stomp again to turn off–that regular stompboxes have. Note that the Dual Switch is not a channel selector or AB/Y controller.
Lehle P-Split II
If you want both amplifiers in your dual-amp setup to sound their best, you need a signal splitter designed to perform the job. With the P-Split High Impedance Splitter from Lehle, you can route your instrument to two amps simultaneously without any hum or noise. It preserves the integrity of your signal, while its isolated outputs erase unwanted hum. The P-Split II works with both lo-Z and hi-Z signals, providing you with the clear, reliable, and clean performance you desire.
BOSS FS6 DUAL FOOTSWITCH
As its name implies, the Boss FS-6 Dual Footswitch is two footswitches in one, combining a latch-type footswitch and an unlatched or momentary-type footswitch in one rugged unit. You can even choose which of the two pedals is latched and which is unlatched, and since both pedals are side by side, you can get even more precise control over the effects pedals you connect to the FS-6. Of course, the Boss FS-6 Dual Footswitch doesn’t just work with pedals; you can also connect it to keyboards, rhythm machines, amps, and more.
Xvive B1 Bass Squeezer
High quality compressors are essential tools for any musician. The problem is that most of them are pretty complicated and quite expensive. Enter the Bass Squeezer, a dead simple compressor mini pedal that won’t require three masters’ degrees and a whole stack of user manuals to dial in the perfect compression settings for your tone. Xvive and designer Jamie Mallender crafted the Bass Squeezer to be practically idiot proof, so whether or not you’ve used compressors before you’ll be able to plug in, tweak, and play quickly.
DigiTech RP1000
Get added control to express yourself at will with the DigiTech RP1000. It is the most advanced DigiTech guitar effects pedalboard system yet, featuring a killer collection of 200 presets and 160 effects to produce a tremendous range of tones. The RP1000 provides you with all the necessary tools from practice to recording. It integrates with your stompboxes and into your amp, not the other way around. It features exclusive Stompbox and Amp loops and does not interfere with your tone.
Radial BigShot I/O
The Radial BigShot I/O is your bankable buddy when it is time to change instruments during your set. This simple, handy box allows you to connect your two primary guitars, utilizing one out to feed your amp. It makes changing between guitars painless. The BigShot I/O also carries a mute switch which routes your audio to the tuner output, letting you sort out your tunings midshow (a switch for “always on” tuning is available as well). Quit pulling cables out of your guitars now with the BigShot I/O.
Empress Effects Buffer
The Buffer from Empress Effects has been built to serve as the complete I/O interface for your pedalboard while preserving the highest fidelity of your guitar signal. For decades, guitarists have been struggling with signal loss resulting from long, unbuffered cable runs. The Buffer aims to erase that signal loss, making sure that your cables will never affect your tone. Moreover, it consolidates all your pedalboard’s connectivity to make the set up convenient and fast.
Empress Effects Buffer Plus
The Buffer+ by Empress Effects features an incredibly handy set of features that will make your life a little better. Switchable clean boost, noise filters, input loading, and input pads are all potent tools you can find on the Buffer+. It was constructed to become the perfect I/O interface for your pedalboard while keeping the highest fidelity of your guitar signal. It will eliminate the signal loss caused by long, unbuffered cable runs, guaranteeing that your tone stays unaffected by your cables.
JHS Pedals Little Black Buffer
The Little Black Buffer by JHS Pedals is the remedy for poor guitar sound resulting from employing numerous pedals. Since it gives the perfect input impedance for your rig, you can quickly notice your guitar sound is reinvigorated with a full, natural tone that sounds like you are connected directly into your amp—regardless of how many pedals you utilize. The Little Black Buffer is your ticket to a sound signal chain and a small price to pay for tonal perfection.
Morley Buffer Boost
The Morley Buffer Boost isn’t a guitar effects pedal, per se. Instead, it’s an essential weapon in the constant battle against tone suck. The Buffer Boost contains a buffer circuit that gives your guitar signal that extra push it needs to maintain its output level and tone, no matter how many pedals you may have in your pedal chain. You can place the Buffer Boost at the front or back of the signal chain and use it as a clean boost with up to 20dB of extra output.
Empress Effects Buffer Plus Stereo
The Empress Buffer+ Stereo seeks to eradicate signal loss due to long, unbuffered cable runs, which has long been an issue for guitarists. Empress Effects has incorporated the features of its Buffer+, including the noise filters, input padding, foot-switchable boost, and variable input loading, along with several new features such as an external switch control, AB/AY switching, and full stereo in/out connectivity. The Buffer+ Stereo boasts 12 operating modes, each with a separate signal routing to deliver supreme adaptability and versatility to virtually any rig.
Dophix Buffer
Use the Dophix Buffer to prevent signal loss when employing long cables or multiple effects connected in cascade. It may also be utilized as impedance matching for several pedal connections. The Dophix Buffer is extremely useful for thwarting and improving the background noise, increasing the noise/signal ratio. Each Dophix product is different and handcrafted in its Florence laboratory. The Dophix team oversees every stage of production and testing to ensure the best quality. Dophix manufactures high-quality products based on the universally recognized philosophy of “Made in Italy.”
Joyo Gate Of Kahn
No pedalboard setup built around high-gain stompboxes is complete without a reliable noise gate. The JF-324 Gate of Kahn guitar effects edal from Joyo may be small but it fill this role admirably. Dial in the perfect Threshold setting to keep away unwanted buzzes, hums, and hisses from your guitar signal then go to town with your high-gain units. As one of Joyo’s Ironman pedals, the JF-324 Gate of Kahn is small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover for keeping your control dial settings safe.
Rowin Noise Gate
Make unwanted signal noise a thing of the past with the LEF-319 Noise Gate from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin. With this in your pedal chain, you can cut out all of the hisses, buzzes, and hums that dirty up your signal without sacrificing your core tonal characteristics. A dedicated threshold knob lets you dial in that sweet spot where you want the gating effects to kick in, while a two-position toggle lets you switch between hard gating and soft gating.
GOKKO KULT
Rein in unruly and unwanted signal noise with the Kult Noise Gate GK-28 guitar effects pedal from GOKKO. This budget- and pedalboard-friendly stompbox helps reduce the hums, hisses, and buzzes that invariably show up to pollute your signal when you have a lot of pedals, especially high-gain ones, in your chain. Use the sensitivity control knob to tell the noise gate when to kick in and use the two-way selector switch to choose between a soft, gradual volume cut or a hard and steep drop.
Alexander Pedals Defender
Don’t let the Defender Stargate Drive’s classic arcade game-inspired graphics fool you. This new stompbox from Alexander Pedals is a shapechanging beast that takes fuzz, distortion, and overdrive to intergalactic heights. The Defender allows you to create your quirky, clipped tones from various built-in modes. It offers several configurable options with preset storage and expression control. With simultaneously selectable “special effect” (PIT, SPC, FLT) and Distortion mode (OD, DST, FZ), it sets a course to marvelous guitar tone.
Electro-Harmonix The Silencer
Give unwanted signal noise a double-tap to the head with Electro-Harmonix’s The Silencer. This sophisticated noise gate pedal gives you Threshold, Reduction, and Release controls for precise fine-tuning that takes your gear and playing style into account. It doesn’t just help eliminate annoying buzzes and hums, either; the Silencer also expands your pedal routing options. You can use it as an inline noise gate or add it to an effects loop to kill noise from specific pedals.
Xvive Noise Gate
The innocuously named Noise Gate from budget guitar effects pedal creator Xvive is a wide range noise suppressor that packs an excellent amount of dynamic response. It features 100% attenuation when gated and makes great use of ultra-high speed circuitry to get rid of all the unwanted noise lurking in your signal. Perhaps best of all, it doesn’t require a manual to get the settings right. The Naoise Gate is easy to use, compact, road-tough, and comes with true bypass switching.
Singular Sound BeatBuddy
Introducing a drum machine within a guitar pedal format—the BeatBuddy by Singular Sound. It allows you hands-free and creative control of the beat. You can conveniently insert fills, throw in drum breaks, add accent hits, shift from verse to chorus, and more, to produce an unparalleled live drummer effect—all in an iconic, natural 24-bit sound. The BeatBuddy is loaded with features for all kinds of musicians. A visual beat display makes it effortless to enhance rhythm or play with unusual time signatures.
Digitech TRIOPLUS
The DigiTech Trio+ is among the most impressive performance, writing, and practice tools for guitarists. This simple-to-use guitar pedal is built on DigiTech’s famed Trio technology which listens to your playing and instantly plays drum and bass accompaniment. The Trio+ gives you five additional genres for achieving the perfect feel. You select a genre and style variation, then start playing. The Trio+ pedal also includes three bass line modes that will fit any style of music you are playing.
Joyo JAM BUDDY (Black)
There are a lot of guitar multi-effects processor units that have headphone jacks now. The Jam Buddy from Joyo one-ups them all by having both a headphone jack and built-in speakers. The Jam Buddy’s two 2” 4W speakers have enough power for a quick practice session without bothering the neighbors, and its rechargeable battery will let you extend the jam session to up to three hours. The Jam Buddy also features footswitchable clean and OD channels, a built-in delay, and Bluetooth connectivity for playing along to an audio track.
DigiTech SDRUM
The DigiTech SDRUM is an intelligent drum machine for bassists and guitarists. By merely scratching across your guitar strings, the SDRUM learns a kick and snare pattern which establishes the foundation of the beat you wish to hear. The SDRUM yields, according to this pattern, a professional sounding drum beat with different variations and embellishments to complement your beat. You no longer have to disrupt your creative flow when browsing through lists in a frustrating attempt to get your desired beat.
NUX JTC
When the NUX Mini Core pedals hit the market, NUX has received requests to include a loop pedal in the collection, so here comes the Jam Track Creator (JTC) Drum & Loop pedal. It is the tiniest 24-bit loop pedal featuring an auto-detection drum machine. The JTC Drum & Loop Mini allows you to select from 11 inbuilt drum rhythms. It gives you unlimited overdubs and up to six minutes recording in 24-bit high-resolution audio quality. Loop and Drum volumes are adjustable individually.
BOSS DB-90 Talking Dr. Beat
Practicing alone becomes a whole new experience with the Boss DB-90 Dr. Beat, the flagship product of Boss’s Dr. Beat Metronome line. This monstrous metronome packs four great metronome sounds—including human voice!— as well as dozens of drum patterns in its tiny, lightweight frame. The Boss DB-90 Dr. Beat also comes with a Rhythm Coach function, a reference-tone tuning function, instrument and MIDI input, and other useful tools for making solo practice less mundane.
Other Pedals
Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah
Based on the hugely influential Clyde McCoy wahs Vox put out in the late ‘60s, the Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah is an express train to Hendrix-style wah-wah bliss. The Clyde Standard’s circuitry is almost entirely identical to the “Signature” Clyde McCoy wah Jimi Hendrix used on “Electric Ladyland”, down to the ‘60s Vox-type inductor. The only big change is the addition of an internal hand-adjustable bass and gain knob for additional tonal control. The sturdy and versatile Clyde Standard has all the makings of a classic wah pedal with a truly classic sound.
Morley Mini Maverick Switchless Wah
The Mini Maverick Switchless Wah pedal, now updated with Morley’s iconic trapezoid treadle! The Mini Maverick is all about bringing you big sound and expansive features in a tough, compact chassis ideal for crowded pedalboards. It packs a hybrid punch of vintage and modern wah tones powered by a custom MQ2 inductor. The Mini Maverick features Morley’s whole slate of modern wah innovations: it’s electro-optical, it has True-Tone Bypass Buffer circuitry, and it has a switchless operation.
MXR MC404 CAE
Built by Custom Audio Electronics’ Bob Bradshaw and the Cry Baby design team, the MC404 CAE Wah boasts dual Fasel inductors with two different voices (low to mid resonance or high-end emphasis). It also includes an inbuilt MXR MC401 Boost/LineDriver which gives higher versatility. Select between inductors and turn the boost on/off via side-mounted kick switches. Vibrant LEDs on each side of the wah tell you the operation status. The MC404 features a long-life CTS potentiometer and true hardwire bypass.
Behringer Hellbabe Wah-Wah
Versatile, impressive tonal control, built to last, and affordable—the Behringer Hellbabe HB01 Ultimate Wah-Wah pedal is the perfect wah pedal for the guitar hero on a budget. Thanks to the Hellbabe’s fully optical controls, there are no mechanical pots and switches always in danger of wearing out in the middle of a gig. It also comes with an adjustable spring-back mechanism that you can remove if you want a more standard approach to your wah pedal’s operation.
Morley Cliff Burton Tribute Power Fuzz Wah
Any pedal that pays tribute to thrash metal god Cliff Burton should come with a snarl and a growl, and the Cliff Burton PowerFuzz Wah pedal from Morley is no different. This wah/fuzz hybrid bass effects pedal packs a lot of hairy aggression but is also versatile enough to be used effectively in styles other than metal. The design itself is based on the classic Tel-Ray/Morley Power Wah Fuzz that Cliff loved but enhanced with Morley’s modern wah pedal innovations.
Morley Mini Michael Amott Wah
Morley has gone and captured metal legend Michael Amott’s favorite wah tone and sweep and bottled it in the form of the Mini Michael Amott Wah effects pedal. Built to handle Amott’s brutal high-gain tone, the Mini Michael Amott Wah sounds as good as it looks. This pedalboard-friendly mini wah features Morley’s signature electro-optical circuit design, True-Tone Bypass Buffer, and switchless operation. Pedals with the epic blood spatter and Arch Enemy-inspired Morley logo are limited to 500 pieces worldwide.
Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre
The Tonebone PZ-Pre from Radial Engineering serves up amazingly natural-sounding acoustic preamplification. This feature-packed onstage must-have incorporates a three-band EQ, variable notch filter, and filter. It allows you to kill feedback easily and rapidly. Individual piezo boosters on each channel provide some kick to your pickup-equipped acoustic instrument. The Tonebone PZ-Pre gives you great connection options and foot-switchable functionality. It also features a tuner out with footswitch mute and individual post- and pre-EQ DI outs for checking and FOH connections.
Zoom AC-2 Acoustic Creator
The AC-2 Acoustic Creator by Zoom is a revamped direct box that serves up everything you need to achieve your natural acoustic tone anywhere you play from the studio to the stage. It instantly restores the tone lost via acoustic pickups, guaranteeing that your live sound stays resonant, lush, and true to your selected instrument. The AC-2 Acoustic Creator features high-quality preamp, piezo/magnetic input pickup select, reverb effect, and three-band equalizer. It also includes an inbuilt chromatic visual-led Tuner and Anti-Feedback control.
Rowin AC Stage
The LEF-320 AC Stage pedal from budget guitar effects stompbox maker Rowin gives your electric guitar the strummy goodness of an acoustic. The AC Stage is particularly adept at adding a deep layer of the shortened, glassy resonance that characterizes a good acoustic guitar. It features three acoustic modes, with Standard being the basic acoustic sound. Jumbo mode simulates the deep voice of a full bodied dreadnought guitar while a Piezo mode rounds out the three voicings.
Caline Golden Halo
If you’re looking for a reliable acoustic simulator pedal at a reasonable price point, the Caline CP-35 Golden Halo Acoustic Simulator guitar effects pedal is exactly what you need. You can get superb, incredibly authentic acoustic tones out of your electric guitar via its dedicated Top and Body knobs; the former controls the high end while the latter simulates the resonance of an acoustic guitar’s body. A three-way toggle also lets you choose between Piezo, Jumbo, and Standard simulator modes.
Radial AC Driver
The Tonebone AC Driver from Radial is a portable acoustic instrument preamp designed for live performances, boasting innovative features for streamlining your setup and optimizing your acoustic-electric guitar’s tone. It includes Radial’s Class-A buffer circuit to guarantee the superb audio quality, allowing you to employ longer pedal chains and cable runs sans signal degradation or loss. Compared to a simple DI box, the AC Driver gives you more control over your sound, making it perfect for onstage use, especially if you have no dedicated sound engineer.
Joyo Wooden Sound
Despite its name, the simulated acoustic sounds served up by Joyo’s JF-323 Wooden Sound guitar effects pedal are far from stiff and flat. You can coax rich, natural acoustic tones from your electric guitar without any signal squish, especially when you’re strumming out a rhythm. As one of Joyo’s Ironman pedals, the JF-323 Wooden Sound is small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover for keeping your control dial settings safe from stray stomps. Way better than lugging around another guitar to a gig.
Electro-Harmonix Bass Soul Food
The Bass Soul Food overdrive effects pedal from Electro-Harmonix lets you add a layer of overdriven and clean boosted attitude to your bass guitar’s signal without compromising your original sound’s unique character. Dedicated Treble, Drive, and Tone controls let you shape the exact overdrive tone you want, while the Blend dial lets you fine-tune how much of that gets mixed with your original tone. The Bass Soul Food is also useful for guitarists who want to add more crunch and punch to their low end.
Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra
The Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra V2 builds on its predecessor’s sonic tenacity and provides extreme versatility for your bass tone. At the request of several players, Darkglass has incorporated a balanced XLR output with switchable cabinet emulation—you can get whole, amp-like tone by merely going straight to the recording chain or sound system. You may also connect to your PC or Mac using a USB to load up various virtual cabinet emulations. From your rehearsal to recording or performance, the Microtubes B7K Ultra V2 is a handy bass preamp pedal.
Dr. No Effects Black Magic
Are you up for the grimiest, filthiest, dirtiest, and heaviest bass distortion you will ever find? The Black Magic bass distortion pedal from Dr. No Effects is “the box that the Devil made the Doctor build.” Unlike most bass distortions, this stompbox will not destroy your low-end sound. Instead, it will raise it to insanity. The Black Magic will turn your tiny shoebox amp into an infernal legion of Ampeg 8×10 growlers that would shake off your skin.
Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer
With a limiter effect and specially designed enhancer circuit built specifically for electric bass signals, the LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer effects pedal gives you complete and total control over your bass guitar’s dynamic range and get consistent bass lines that sound as steady as a rock. Use LMB-3’s Enhance knob to dial in a punchy, cutting sound, the Ratio knob to get more flexibility in adjusting the limiter level, and the Threshold level control for precise fine-tuning.
Joyo Dr.J Soloman Bass Overdrive
The Joyo Dr. J Soloman overdrive effects pedal delivers outstanding overdrive tone specially optimized for bass. Using a simple two-knob Level and Drive interface and a three-way tone selector switch that lets you pick between Normal, Bright, and Warm, you can drape your bass signal in natural and harmonically saturated overdrive tones perfect for cutting through the mix. Whether you need a dirty boost to lock down a rhythm or want to break out for a hot bass solo, the D-52 Soloman has your back.
MXR Bass D.I.+
Loading all the essentials into a tough little box, the Bass D.I.+ makes you gig-ready. It boasts a D.I., independent distortion and clean channels, an arsenal of controls for fine-tuning your sound, and a noise gate trigger control for eradicating hiss and hum. The Bass D.I.+ comes in a bomb-proof chassis capable of enduring even the most out of control players and gigs. Created with top-grade components, the Bass D.I.+ can provide you anything from transparency and warmth to a volcanic roar.
Mission Engineering VM-PRO Carbon Print
Featuring a beautiful carbon print, the VM-PRO from Mission Engineering is the most sophisticated volume pedal available. It resolves typical volume pedal issues, which result in mismatching and tone sucking problems. The VM-PRO works with your baritone, bass, electric, or electro-acoustic guitars. It is also great with other electric and acoustic instruments, including steel guitars, electronic keyboards, and instrument microphones. It incorporates a sparkle control, isolated tuner out, onboard buffers, and compatibility switches for use with fuzz pedals and active/passive pickups.
Morley M2 Passive Volume
The M2 Passive Volume guitar effects pedal from Morley gives you an audio level taper that’s as smooth a silk. Its response is consistent, it’s easy to use, and it’s very expressive. And since the M2 Passive Volume is a passive pedal, you don’t have to stick a battery in it or connect it to a power source in order to use it. Simply plug in and you’re good to go. This is plug and play volume control at its finest.
Ernie Ball VPJR 25K
Much like Ernie Ball’s larger volume pedal offerings, the Volume Pedal Jr 25K is an excellent hands-free option for controlling your volume. It features a super-smooth sweep, a 25k ohm potentiometer resistance calibrated specifically for the perfect handling of active audio signals, and an independent tuner jack for unobtrusive onstage tuning. The 25k’s rugged and roadworthy construction means it can withstand the rigors of constant use despite being a very compact unit with a small pedalboard footprint.
Mission Engineering VM-1
Featuring a sleek red finish, the VM-1 from Mission Engineering is a passive volume pedal intended mainly for utilization with your guitar. The 500K impedance is perfect for use with various passive electric guitar pickups. The VM-1 is point to point hand-wired with a mute switch and tuner out. The potentiometer comes sealed needing no maintenance and is rated at greater than a million operations. The VM-1 is entirely passive, requiring no external power supply or battery to operate.
Big Joe Volume
The Big Joe B-602 Volume guitar effects pedal is a uniquely-buffered active design volume pedal featuring true bypass. A three-way switch lets you choose between three operation modes: the normal classic buffered volume mode, a -12db cut mode that gives you finer volume control, or a customizable Program mode that lets you dial in the precise dB parameters you want, from 6db to 18db of gain and -6bd to max signal off cut. The Big Joe B-602 Volume can handle both high and low impedance signal loads.
Boss FV-500L
The FV-500 series takes Boss’s industry-standard volume pedal designs into the future. Tank-tough with a stylishly designed high-grade aluminum body and packing silky smooth action, the FV-500 line of volume pedals were created to go above and beyond the needs of even the most hard-touring and demanding musician. The FV-500H is the line’s stereo low-impedance model with a convenient tuner-output jack and an Expression output for use with expression pedal-compatible amps, synthesizers, and other effects pedals.
Korg XVP-20
A smoother, more powerful, and compact keyboard volume pedal, the XVP-20 from Korg gives you a must-have tool for broad-ranging control over their feel, routing, and levels. It is built with a sturdy aluminum enclosure and non-slip rubber on the bottom and treadle of the pedal. Stereo inputs and outputs provide you with various routing options. The XVP-20 also features a minimum volume control for preselecting your levels. Get all the functionality you want from a volume/expression pedal with the XVP-20.
Mission Engineering EP-25-Pro Aero Expression
Featuring the Mission Aero design, the EP-25 PRO expression pedal is perfect not only for guitar, but also acoustic instruments, keyboards, and both studio and live use. At only 1.7 lb, the pure aluminum Aero is half the weight of a regular Mission pedal, suitable for fly rigs and weight-sensitive applications. The EP-25 PRO includes individual polarity switches for every channel. That enables compatibility with a wide variety of pedals, modeling amps, MIDI controllers, keyboards, rack effects, and other expression controlled devices.
Source Audio Dual Expression
The Dual Expression pedal from Source Audio delivers smooth action and precision response in a sturdy cast aluminum enclosure. Dual TRS expression outputs let you control two effects units at once. The Dual Expression works with any model or brand of effect that carries a TRS expression input. It consists of a Range Adjust control that establishes the bottom point of the expression range. A Sensor Output connects straight to any Hot Hand, Soundblox Pro, Soundblox 2, or Soundblox pedal for instant control over effect modulation, wet/dry mixes, filter sweeps, LFO speeds, etc.
Pigtronix Dual Expression
The Pigtronix Dual Expression features two outputs, giving you the ability to control expression functions on two different effects simultaneously. Presently, no other expression pedal in the market can do that. Besides Pigtronix EXP’s dual functionality, the model also incorporates a polarity reversal switch, so you can move the parameters of the two effects in different directions. Manufactured in the USA by Mission Engineering for Pigtronix, it is arguably the most exceptional expression pedal ever. It features industry-standard TRS wiring and precision machined dual potentiometer.
DOD Mini Expression
Useless to worry about not having enough space for an expression pedal, the DOD Mini Expression perfectly fits your pedalboard—and budget! Gear drive, non-slip rubber base, and sturdy all-steel enclosure mean it is capable of enduring severe gig abuse. This compact pedal boasts the same throw and feel as other pedals double its size. The Mini Expression carries a TRS/TS/RTS selector that makes it versatile to work with virtually any gear with expression pedal inputs.
Mission Engineering EP-1
The EP-1 by Mission Engineering is a sturdy and reliable expression pedal that enables you to control an extensive range of your effects processors with expression inputs. It is perfect if you want to manage your modulation and delay effects instantly. Built in California, the EP-1 boasts high-quality components and all-metal construction for years of seamless operation and rock-solid reliability. This expression pedal is designed for use with your synthesizers, effects pedals, and other expression-capable products.
Mooer TresCab
The TresCab lets you plug directly into a soundboard without sucking the life out of your tone. This speaker sim from budget guitar effects pedal maker Mooer even helps make your tone sound full by way of five different cab type sounds: small 1×8″ and 1×10″ combo amps, open 1×12″ and 2×12″ cabs, and a closed-back 4×12″ stack. You also get two additional modes for fine-tuning: EQ mode for sculpting high and low frequencies and Mic mode for adjusting the mic placement.
MOOER Audiofile
The Audiofile guitar effects pedal from budget stomp maker Mooer is an all-analog hi-fi headphone amplifier for your pedalboard. It’s basically a tiny amp that you can use to practice in peace while having complete access to every single pedal on your chain. Put it as the last pedal on your pedalboard, plug in a pair of headphones, activate the analog cab sim, and you’re good to go. You can even leave it connected when you’re playing live; you can either bypass the Audiofile or turn the cab sim off and use it as an always-on signal buffer/booster.
DigiTech Ventura Vibe
The DigiTech Ventura Vibe Rotary/Vibrato pedal will tweak your equilibrium adding swaying, spinning motion to your guitar playing. It serves up both modern and vintage sounds with three rotary/vibrato effects. You may uniquely contour each to accentuate high frequencies and drive to distort using the stacked Drive and Tone knob. These controls’ flexibility, coupled with individual Mix, Depth, and Speed controls let you dial up anything from a slight amplitude and frequency modulation to maximum case of vertigo. A foot-switchable speed function enables you to ramp between fast and slow speed on the fly.
Tech 21 SansAmp GT2
Tech 21’s SansAmp amp simulator technology has long been at the forefront of letting musicians dial in their favorite amp tone without needing to lug around that specific amp. The SansAmp GT2 doesn’t just give you a single amp’s signature tone, though; it packs a whole slew of the most sought-after vintage tube and modern amp sounds, from a clean tweed-flavored rhythm to a scream Mesa-style lead tone. Pair the GT2 with a DI box and you’ll forget your amp even existed.
Joyo British Sound
The JF-16 British Sound rounds out Joyo’s early series of compact and affordable amp simulator pedals. It comes packed full of a Marshall amp’s Brit-flavored crunch, from the warm, vintage overdrive of early ‘60s Marshall amps to the high-gain tube scream of the JCM800 and JCM900 amp heads. The JF-16 British Sound features a three-band EQ for flexible tone sculpting, plus it has a unique Voice dial that opens your tone up to more exciting sonic possibilities.
Joyo Rushing Train
The JF-306 Rushing Train guitar effects pedal from Joyo is all about big Vox sound, specifically that of Vox’s much-loved Night Train amp series. With four dedicated control knobs for tone shaping, you get pure British-flavored tube amp crunch that’s highly sensitive to picking dynamics. As part of Joyo’s Ironman line, the JF-306 Night Train is small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover to keep your control dial settings safe.
Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar
The lush harmonics and dynamic flexibility of a sitar is a first-class ticket to mystic city, and with the Ravish, you can make your guitar sound like one. This sitar emulator guitar effects pedal from Electro-Harmonix features a polyphonic lead voice and tunable sympathetic string drones that are highly responsive to your pick attack. You can set the decay time for the former and create your own custom scales for the latter. You don’t have to buy a sitar and learn how to play it. Just plug into a Ravish.
Earthquaker Devices Data Corrupter
EarthQuaker Devices’ Data Corrupter puts your guitar signal through a meat grinder, mangling it beyond all recognition—and in this context, that’s a good thing! A modulated monophonic PLL circuit turns your tone into a three-voice synth with a heaping helping of thick fuzz, and with six dials, two rotary selectors, and two toggle switches you get all the tone sculpting tools you’ll ever need. If you really want your guitar to stop sounding like an actual guitar, plug it into the Data Corrupter and watch the sonic sparks fly.
Electro Harmonix Superego Synth Engine
Part synth, part sustain pedal, and part sampler—the Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine is a truly versatile and unique guitar effects pedal. Make your guitar sound like a synthesizer. Give your tone insane levels of sustain. Sustain a chord then freeze it so you can solo over it. If you’re looking to break through to new and unexplored soundscapes, this stompbox is your ticket. The Superego Synth Engine features all-analog circuitry and comes with a built-in effects loop.
Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine
It’s always fun to make a guitar sound like a completely different instrument. If old-school organ tones are your thing, then the B9 Organ Machine from Electro-Harmonix is the perfect guitar effects pedal for you. It doesn’t just work with a guitar either; plug in a modern keyboard and you can make it sound like it came straight from a ‘60s recording studio. The B9 comes with nine classic organ-voiced presets, setting-specific modulation effects, and a dedicated control knob for percussive click sounds.
EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander V2
The Bit Commander is EarthQuaker Devices’ love letter to old-school 8-bit beeps and primitive synth sounds. It features four octaves of vintage square wave synth tones which you can sculpt to sonic perfection by adding or subtracting octaves. The Bit Commander lets you easily make your guitar sound like a whole squad of analog synths with a single stomp. The V2 release builds on the original by adding soft-touch relay-based switching for truly silent operation.
Boss SY-300 Guitar Synth
Boss and its parent company Roland have built up a staggering amount of expertise in guitar synth technology. With the Boss SY-300 Guitar Synthesizer, they’ve bottled up that legendary level of expertise and sold it in guitar effects pedal form. The SY-300 lets you turn your guitar into a polyphonic synth machine straight out of the box, while three simultaneous synth sections and four effects processors let you create your own rich and dynamic synth tones.
