Tonebox Recommended Pedals
JHS Pedals Prestige
A single knob pedal with lots of tricks up its sleeve, the Prestige is an enhancer/booster/buffer sure to give you the magic you have been looking for. You can crank it up to drive your amp into natural overdrive or use it as an always-on preamp or buffer. The Prestige carries a volume knob. In the first 25%, you get a natural enhancer/buffer for long cable runs or a hint of brightness to your signal. It becomes a volume boost when set at 25% to 75%. Roll it at over 75% to send your amp into a meaty natural breakup.
Chase Bliss Audio MOOD
The MOOD from Chase Bliss Audio is a dual-channel granular micro-looper/delay. Built to be immediate and playful, it is a study of interaction, and is designed to be “internally collaborative.” The MOOD enables audio to freely pass back and forth between its two sides—wet channel and loop channel, which were developed by Old Blood Noise Endeavors and Drolo FX respectively. The MOOD’s heart is a clock control that accelerates or slows both sides in harmonized steps.
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.
JAM Pedals RetroVibe
Made for Hendrix/Trower fanatics, the RetroVibe is Jam Pedals’ take on the most iconic Vibe pedal of all time. Jam Pedals originally wanted to emulate the sound of a vintage UniVibe. Upon getting there, however, they looked into leveling it up. The RetroVibe includes novel NOS 2SC828 transistors and carbon comp resistors for an authentic vintage sound. Jam Pedals also incorporated an additional internal trimmer which impacts the effect’s maximum intensity as well as manipulates the RetroVibe’s sound while keeping the pedal’s real vintage character.
Vertex Boost
Expertly built to be a buffer, clean boost, and volume pedal in one, the Vertex Boost will leave your tone unchanged while raising the level of your signal. It boasts an ultra-linear buffer for conditioning your line without any tonal coloration, even with a multitude of pedals in your chain. You also get full volume control by connecting the Boost to any EXP/volume pedal and setting your volume like you would with a standard volume pedal.
Boss BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft
The Boss BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft Special takes the venerable Boss BD-2 Blues Driver guitar effects pedal to a whole new level via a newly revised, all-analog discrete amp circuit and a new two-position mode toggle. All of the original Blues Driver’s warm and bluesy overdriven tones are faithfully recreated in Classic mode while switching to Custom mode enhances your sound with more body and sustain. The Boss BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft Special remains highly responsive to your unique picking dynamics and volume changes in either mode.
Drive Pedals
Vick Audio V-2
The V-2 by Vick Audio is based on the beloved Pete Cornish G-2 distortion, but not an exact reproduction. It is crafted as a true bypass pedal. The input buffer is available when the pedal is engaged not when off. The V-2 is a beautiful-sounding overdrive and distortion circuit with lots of headroom and sustain. At lower sustain settings, it gives you superior overdriven tones with exceptional harmonic. At higher settings, you have full-on singing distortion evocative of the cranked Marshall amp.
Bogner La Grange
The La Grange pedal was designed with various tone-shaping tools and to emulate the famed “plexus” amp tones. Guitarists appreciate tools that carry switches for gain, structure, presence, and variance. Controls include tone, gain, volume, and a channel blend simulating the two channels of a 4 input 67-69 plexus amp. Unlike the Ecstasy blue and red pedals, the La Grange features an independent boost with level adjust as well as an expression pedal input that allows you to connect a volume pedal’s output to adjust the La Grange’s gain.
JOYO MAXIMUM
The Maximum guitar effects pedal from Joyo is a highly tweakable, dual-channel stomp that has enough tone-shaping options to scratch even the most consummate knob-fiddler’s insatiable itch. You get four dedicated control knobs—Tone, Gain Boost, and Volume—plus two toggle switches: one adjusts the mids EQ while the other lets you switch between MOSFET and diode clipping. Use the Drive channel for chunky, overdriven riffs then engage the Boost to make your solos cut through the mix.
Electro-Harmonix Lumberjack
The Lumberjack brings a completely new paradigm to the sweet science of overdrive. Instead of a linear curve, the Lumberjack’s overdrive is based on a logarithmic curve. This makes the Lumberjack distort higher frequencies much more compared to lower frequencies, allowing your original tone to cut through the mix while the overdrive floats above it. Plug it in after a modulation pedal and the overdrive won’t oversaturate the already-effected signal. The Lumberjack is also very responsive to your pick attack and comes with true bypass.
Dophix PURGATORIO
Before the souls in purgatory reach heaven, they need to atone for their sins and purify themselves. Similar to how Virgil guided Dante, the Purgatorio overdrive will accompany you to Lighter Sound than the ones you get from inferno distortion. This pedal is perfect for lost souls who see salvation in music’s emotions. The Purgatorio is a highly dynamic overdrive with Volume, Tone, and Gain knobs. Top-grade components, true bypass switch, and carbon resistors are among the specific choices made for the standard of Dophix pedals.
JAM Pedals LucyDreamer Bass
The Jam Pedals LucyDreamer Bass is an ultra-versatile bass overdrive boasting tube amp-esque response and saturation. It carries a Mix knob that lets you find your ideal Wet/Dry signal ratio and a footswitch that alternates to a higher gain stage. The LucyDreamer Bass includes componentry and design variations which enable more low end to come through and move the sweet spot of the saturation to complement the register of the bass. It also consists of controls for Gain, Tone, Level, Dry/Wet Mix, and high gain footswitch.
ZVEX Vexter Double Rock
Zvex’s dual channel Double Rock, which was originally designed for Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, is actually two dirt pedals in one, and not because it’s basically a pair of Box of Rock pedals compressed into single stompbox form. You can actually turn either channel into a Super Hard On boost, meaning you get an amazingly wide array of dirt tones just by stacking the channels. Zvex’s Vexter line of silk-screened pedals feature the exact same tone, features, and parts as their hand-painted counterparts. The only differences are the painting process and the price.
ZVEX Channel 2
Despite the TV-sounding name and TV-inspired artwork, the Channel 2 actually takes its name from the second channel of Zvex’s Super Duper 2-in-1 boost pedal, which itself packs two Super Hard Ons into one box. This simple little pedal will give you the signature super clean boost of a SHO, but once you crank that gain knob up you’ll find yourself well inside tube amp-style overdrive country. The Channel 2 is part of Zvex’s California Mini pedal line.
Maxon Overdrive Extreme
For well over three decades, Maxon’s iconic 808 overdrive circuit has become a fundamental component to creating an exceptional guitar tone. The 808 in its various incarnations has been heard on more recordings and in more rigs than anyone would bother to count. Maxon’s Overdrive Extreme is a tweaked variant of the legendary OD808 Overdrive. Increased frequency response enhances note definition and clarity. It features a buffered bypass switching and harder clipping that yields more aggressive amp-esque distortion.
TC Electronic Dark Matter
Experience a phenomenal distortion pedal with the TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion. It features an extreme dynamic range providing you with incredibly musical distortion that covers a broad sound spectrum. Vintage-voiced distortion from analog circuits delivers a full sound with dynamic response easily adjustable to a variety of tones. Two-band EQ with active Bass and Treble controls allows you to sculpt your sound. The voicing switch lets you toggle between extra bass for a more contemporary sound or adding retro vibes to your tone.
MXR Dime Distortion
The Dime Distortion by MXR gives you a massive, razor-sharp, aggressive tone raging with distortion but still stays tight and focused enough to keep up with scorching solos and quick rhythm lines. It is specially designed to simulate Dimebag’s iconic slicing tone. It consists of Gain, Treb, Mid, Bass, and Output controls. Featuring a three-band EQ, badass output, and a proprietary Scoop switch, the Dime Distortion has the muscle and guts to defy your heaviest show of power.
smallsound/bigsound Team Awesome Fuzz Machine
The Team Awesome Fuzz Machine by Smallsound/Bigsound has been designed for low-end heaviness featuring the capability to slice through a mix to maintain your guitar’s pick attack while yielding an extremely saturated fuzz tone or achieve a mild background fuzz behind your primary keyboard sound. The Team Awesome Fuzz Machine excels at flexibility and fitting in with virtually any instrument in just about any musical setting. The thick, gnarly fuzz is nicely complemented by a quite gritty clean blend that preserves the low end you need.
Vick Audio 73 Ram’s Head
The 73 Ram’s Head has more dirt compared to the Black Russian and is smoother than the V1 Triangle. What sets the 73 Ram’s Head apart is the unbelievable sustain it can give you. It has been built for guitarists who want their ax singing like a hummingbird, featuring a delightful violin-esque sustaining sound. You can utilize the Sustain knob to optimize lengthy sustain with some harmonic distortion. Hendrix banked on this BMP for his mellow, seamless, Electric Lady sound.
EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2
Easily one of the most popular guitar effects pedals in EarthQuaker Devices’ catalog, the Hoof hybrid fuzz pedal regularly dishes out massive amounts of warm, thick, and filthy fuzz without losing any of your tone’s articulation and resonance. The Hoof features hybrid germanium/silicon transistors and circuitry inspired by old-school Russian muff-style fuzz effects for beautifully organic fuzz tones. V2 introduces silent soft-touch switching and retains the original’s true bypass functionality and all-analog dry signal path.
Mooer Blue Faze
The Blue Faze is your ticket to ‘60s and ‘70s vintage fuzz heaven. This guitar effects pedal from budget stomp maker Mooer packs more fuzz than your favorite fleece jacket. An elegantly simple two-knob interface makes it easy to dial in a sound similar to the smooth fuzzy tones of legendary crossover blues-rock guitarists like Jimi Hendrix. All that exquisite tone is packed into a tiny, well-built metal casing that’s small enough to fit in your pocket but durable enough to withstand nightly use.
Walrus Audio Contraband
Coat your sound in thick, heavy fuzz for an over the top metallic wall of sound attack with Walrus Audio’s Contraband fuzz stomp. Don’t let its single knob control scheme and enclosure size fool you; the Contraband packs a way heavier fuzz punch than you’d expect from such a simple and small stompbox. A unique Thick and Thin toggle lets you shape the fuzz tone depending on your guitar’s pickups—a humbucker may sound better in Thin mode, for example—or just expand the Contraband’s range of tonal possibilities.
JAM Pedals Red Muck Bass
The Red Muck by Jam Pedals is a fuzz/distortion pedal inspired by the ’71 triangle and Red Army/Civil War Muffs. Together with Jam Pedals’ individual touch, the outcome boasts a pronounced midrange, thicker low end, smoother sound, and increased tonal flexibility thanks to the broader range of the Tone control. The Mix knob lets you discover your preferred Dry/Wet signal ratio, while the second footswitch makes it a two gain stage pedal. As a circuit, the Red Muck is already bass-ready, but Jam Pedals added a wet/dry control for the Bass version.
T-Rex Karma
A simple pedal with various uses, the T-Rex Karma helps you ensure your solos slice through—no matter whether your soundman is not quite in command of it. You can utilize the Karma to compensate for power lost across lengthy cables and multiple pedals. Allow it to highlight the gain and sustain your distortion and overdrive pedals are giving you. The Karma’s character changes as you turn it up, providing you with an extraordinary variety and lushness within a single-knob pedal.
Emerson Custom Pomeroy Black
With the Emerson Custom Pomeroy, you get an overdrive with flexible tonal shaping and powerful boost within a pedalboard-friendly, pure analog stompbox. The overdrive side features six clipping options that ensure the pedal will integrate seamlessly into any rig you are running. It also includes an active three-band equalizer for more tone shaping. Meanwhile, the Pomeroy’s boost side boasts up to 24dB of clean, full-range gain for driving your amp or getting louder in the mix.
Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird
Whenever you need your guitar’s high frequencies to cut through the mix, the Screaming Bird is the right stomp for the job. This aptly-named treble boost guitar effects pedal from Electro-Harmonix can give your top end up to 20dB of pure boost. It also lets you sculpt the center frequency between 1.6kHz and 2.4kHz. Whether you want just the right amount of extra high-frequency bite for shimmering treble notes or push your tube amp to the brink of destruction, the Screaming Bird will definitely get you noticed.
NUX Boost Core Deluxe
No matter if your primary choice is a distortion or overdrive, the Boost Core Deluxe by NUX will be your reliable gear-mate. It will serve as an enhancement device for your pedal chain. It is handy enough as an EQ pedal and standalone boost. It gives you three types of boost modes—Spark, Drive, and Clean. Boasting an analog circuitry and tone enhancement, the Boost Core Deluxe is invaluable. Push the booster to your preferred overdrive to allow it to raise the sonic mayhem.
Donner Boost Killer
Often likened to the Xotic RC Booster, Donner’s Boost Killer pedal is arguably one of the most aggressive boost effects available. For a budget-friendly effects pedal, it loads plenty of heat, making it an attractive option. If you are looking to enter the world of boosters, the Boost Killer could be a great starting point. Even with its lightweight and compact enclosure, this pedal features a bit more generous controls than your standard booster design. It consists of Treble, Bass, and Volume controls along with a dominant Gain knob.
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.
Pigtronix Bob Weir’s Real Deal
The Pigtronix Bob Weir’s Real Deal acoustic preamp gives you a very clear, screaming acoustic guitar tone while faithfully preserving the natural wooden sound of your instrument. It is universally compatible with all kinds of acoustic guitar pickup—from a simple, passive piezo element to intricate active systems leveraging internal microphones, magnetic pickups, and/or contact elements. The Bob Weir’s Real Deal features 60db gain on microphone channel and crossover sweeps from 300Hz to 3kHz. It consists of Volume, Piezo, Crossover, and Microphone controls.
GOKKO SPANISHFLY
The GOKKO Spanish FlyGK-32 acoustic guitar pedal does double duty as a preamp and a direct input (DI) box. You get dedicated Treble and Bass knobs for tone shaping plus an Input dial for setting the input level. There’s also a cool Anti-Feedback footswitch with its own dedicated Antu-Feedback dial for cutting out volume feedback. And since the Spanish Fly is a DI box, you can use the XLR Out jack to directly connect your guitar to a mixer.
Xotic BB Preamp AT
The BB Preamp from boutique guitar effects pedal company Xotic is a boost and overdrive preamp stomp that boasts amazing tonal transparency. With up to 30dB of extra boost juice, the BB Preamp can deliver everything from a pristine clean boost to a gritty, crunchy drive tone—all while keeping your core tone’s unique characteristics intact. The BB Preamp Andy Timmons Limited Edition release still packs the same great tone but comes with a special paint job, white knobs, and a free Andy Timmons guitar pick..
GOKKO ACBOX
The GOKKO AcBox GK-35 guitar effects pedal gives your tone a touch of British crunch reminiscent of a Vox AC30 amp. You get a lot of tonal range from the Volume and Drive controls, with the latter going from warm, harmonic overdrive that’s perfect for giving your clean tone a little extra crunch to lightly dirty distortion. A three-band EQ gives you full control over your lows, mids, and highs, plus a unique Voice dial opens up even more tone-sculpting possibilities.
JHS Pedals Colour Box
The Colour Box by JHS Pedals gives you everything you need to emulate the signature tones of Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and others. It is a pure analog design that copies the input of an original Neve console. It is a versatile and powerful device for stage and studio, with inputs for microphones and instruments. It delivers a vibrant and musical sound. The Colour Box pedal lets you sculpt your sound in a way that is impossible with standard amps and effects.
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.
MXR Custom Audio Electronics
The Custom Audio Electronics Boost/Overdrive from MXR features a combination of an independent clean boost circuit and dynamic overdrive in a portable pedal. The overdrive section is genuinely classic, imparting punch, warmth, and sustain without coloring your sound. The Custom Audio Electronics cleans up beautifully when you lower your guitar volume, making it highly responsive to picking dynamics and touch-sensitive without thinning your sound. Its top-grade components allow noise-free operation and seamless interaction with other pedals on your board.
ZVex Vexter Super Duper 2-in-1
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. With the ability to bring your signal from unity gain to a whopping 60 times the gain size, the Super Hard On boost is insanely loud. So of course it didn’t take long for boutique guitar effects company Zvex to cram two SHOs into one pedal and come up with the Super Duper 2-in-1. Be warned, though: this stomp is dangerously loud.
Xotic RC Booster-V2
As with all of boutique guitar effects pedal maker Xotic’s boost pedals, the RC Booster delivers some of the most transparent boosting power you’ll ever find anywhere. For the RC Booster V2, Xotic takes the pedal’s capabilities to the next level with the addition of an additional gain channel that’ll let you coat your tone in a whole new layer of fatness. Tone tweakers will also appreciate the dedicated treble and bass EQ controls, each of which can cut or boost by 15dB either way.
Joyo Wild Boost
The Joyo JF-302 Wild Boost is an all-around drive and volume boost pedal that’s so small you can carry it around in your front pocket. Despite its small size, this stompbox can dish out a sizeable sound boost. Dedicated High and Low control knobs let you fine-tune your tone precisely while the Volume and Drive dials control your output. Give your clean tone a bit of a kick or crank the Drive knob up to break into fuzz territory.
NUX Masamune
Compressor and Booster pedals are the secret weapons of gigging guitarists. You can now get both pedals within one convenient metal enclosure with selectable signal routing. The NUX Masamune Booster and Kompressor is a sound-crafter pedal. The Boost Section includes Hi-Cut, Boost Level, and Drive controls, while the Compressor Section features Sustain, Clip, Blend, and Komp Level controls. The Masamune also contains an external footswitch jack Input, and you can conveniently operate the unit through the additional remote switch.
Walrus Audio DEFCON4
Underneath the wicked cool War Games-inspired ‘80s chassis design of the DEFCON 4 lies a super versatile preamp, three band EQ, and boost pedal that makes switching instruments mid-set a breeze. This collaborative effort from boutique guitar effects pedal maker Walrus Audio and musician Ryan Adams lets you cut and boost your low, mid, and high bands plus shape the mid cut even further with a parametric EQ. It also comes with up to 10dB of MOSFET-powered boost and internal mid EQ trim pots for even more precise tone sculpting.
Modulation Pedals
EBS Red Twister Guitar Edition
The Red Twister from EBS gives you a thick, smooth, and warm sounding flange/chorus effect, handy for both studio and live performances. It is based on the legacy of the UniChorus Studio Edition, but with changes in the frequency range and delay times to perfectly fit the guitar. The pedal output is capable of running in stereo or mono. The Red Twister features a mix level control which allows you to select the amount of the effect you wish to be blended with the natural tone.
T-Rex Sweeper 2
The Sweeper 2 Bass Chorus by T-Rex Engineering is a strikingly straightforward, intuitively designed pedal that exceptionally yields an exquisite chorus effect for guitar and bass, giving guitarists and bassists of any style an innovative tool for delivering a classic bottom end. The Sweeper is a premium-grade chorus effect equally amazing for bass and guitar. T-Rex upgraded the Sweeper 2’s digital core, hence you get a more beautiful chorus effect regardless of what rate or depth the pedal is set at.
Dunlop Uni-Vibe
The MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato gives you classic tones and textures with a more compact footprint, straightforward three-knob layout, and true bypass switching. It delivers the exact rich, chewy textures that players have utilized since the late 1960s. Designed with today’s gigging players in mind, the effect comes in a regular MXR housing—a fraction of the weight and size of the original. The MXR Uni-Vibe consists of Depth, Level, and Speed knobs that let you dial in the effect to your liking.
Mad Professor Double Moon
The Double Moon from Mad Professor is a true modulation effects workhorse powered analog bucket brigade signal paths. Compact and highly versatile, this guitar effects pedal comes packed with 11 different takes on tonal oscillation, from a sweet, subtle chorus to jet engine flange. Choose your modulation mode with the rotary dial then fine-tune the flavor with the dedicated Control knob. Speed, Depth, and Tone controls round out the Double Moon’s full complement of tone-shaping tools.
Way Huge Blue Hippo MkIII
The Blue Hippo Analog Chorus MkIII by Way Huge serves up a variety of tasty, liquefied modulation and incorporates a Vibe switch that lets you add lush vibrato goodness to your aqueous tones. Packaged within a Way Huge Smalls enclosure, the pedal sounds as lusciously liquefied as ever. Its intuitive Depth and Speed control interface lets you dial in anything from lush tone-widening to intense rotating speaker modulation. The Blue Hippo Chorus is no-frills and straightforward.
Rowin Ensemble
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.
Rowin Mod Station
A ton of high-quality modulation effects, all packed into a small, very affordable stompbox that you can carry around in your pocket. The powerful LEF-3808 Mod Station multi-effects stomp from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin comes with eleven distinct modulation effects, all of which can be further tweaked via its dedicated Level, Speed, and Depth pots. Its footswitch is also multi-functional: pressing down twice will switch between fixed and non-fixed mode while holding it down will let you store a setting you like.
Pigtronix Ringmaster Analog Multiplier
The Ringmaster Analog Multiplier pedal from Pigtronix is among the most playable ring modulators you will hear. Sophisticated real-time pitch-tracking tech makes it an amazingly musical-sounding ring mod effect, and you may also disable the pitch tracking for clanging, atonal ring mod effects. The Ringmaster is capable of becoming a vibrant analog tremolo effect with the flick of a switch. An inbuilt LFO and sample plus hold add animation and movement to the effects. The Ringmaster delivers tremendous sound design potential for guitarists and synthesists.
Koogo Mod Digital
The Mod Digital pedal from Koogo allows you to enjoy eleven distinct modulation effects—A.FILTER, B.TREMOLO, O.TREMOLO, PHASER, VIBRATO, U.VIBRATO, JET, S.CHORUS, T.CHORUS, P.FLANGER, and N.FLANGER. It is a fantastic pedal, leveraging a 32-bit high-performance DSP chip. Every tone is comparable. A range of modulation effects imparts musical color to your sound. The Mod Digital also consists of three function knobs labeled as Depth, Speed, and Level for setting the depth, speed, and level of the effect respectively.
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 2 MANTA Bass Filter
The Soundblox 2 Manta Bass Filter from Source Audio boasts 12 meticulously tailored filter effects along with eight distortion variations, a feature never available before in the Soundblox line of filter effects. These styles of distortion are not only crunch or amp simulation; they are configured to work alongside the filter effect selections. The Manta’s filters are controllable by two envelope followers, square, sine, and saw tooth LFO. Similar to its fellow Soundblox 2 pedals, the Manta is compatible with the Hot Hand 3 Wireless Effects Controller, Source Audio Dual Expression Pedal, and MIDI control signals through the Soundblox HUB.
Mojo Hand FX Wonder Filter
Inspired by a vintage envelope filter, the Wonder Filter by Mojo Hand FX was engineered to deliver versatile and exceptional modulation. It incorporates Gain and Peak controls as well as Drive and Range switches. Original features include a Mode selector switch, and besides the Low Pass, High Pass, and Band Pass settings, it has a Notch Filter and a No Filter setting delivering preamp standalone boost ability. With a full range Attack control, the Wonder Filter lets you fine-tune a more extensive variety of sounds and sensitivity by adjusting response along with the Gain control.
Joyo Raptor Flanger
Packing a bucket brigade device circuit in its tiny chassis, the Joyo JF-327 Raptor Flanger can serve up highly musical flange effects ranging from subtle swirls to full-on jet engine fly-bys. A simple four-control layout featuring dedicated Regen, Delay, Width, and Speed knobs gives you all the tone-tweaking tools you need. Since it’s an Ironman pedal, the JF-327 Raptor Flanger is small enough to fit in your front pocket and features a flip cover for keeping your control dial settings safe from stray stomps.
Mooer E-Lady
The Eleclady serves up a classic analog flanger sound and comes packed with a filter mode as well as oscillator effects. This guitar effects pedal from budget stompbox maker Mooer features two separate effect modes; Normal gives the effected signal a light, subtle sweep while Filter cranks the effect up for more dramatic sonic changes. The Eleclady may be tiny, but its versatile flange sound and full metal shell make it a roadworthy addition to your pedalboard.
Alexander Pedals Wavelength
The Wavelength is a massively versatile digital modulation machine in one small, stompable package. The Wavelength has six distinct modulation engines—textured tremolo, bright chorus, eight-stage phaser, flexible flanger, photocell- and lamp-style vibrato, and resonant low-pass filter—all controllable via a customizable LFO. As a NEO pedal, the Wavelength can store up to four presets and up to 16 presets via a MIDI controller. Plug a foot switch into the multi-jack, and you can seamlessly sweep through two different effects settings.
Eventide H9 MAX
With 51 effect algorithms that include literally everything Eventide’s TimeFactor, ModFactor, PitchFactor, and Space pedals can do, the H9 MAX Harmonizer is basically an entire pedalboard in compact effects pedal form. It features reverb, chorus, delay, modulation, pitch-shifting, distortion effects, all of which can be tweaked and edited via an intuitive single-knob interface. The H9 MAX comes preloaded with 99 presets, plus you can get over 500 more for free via the H9 Control app.
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Flat Light
From highly resonant metallic sounds to pitch shifting flanger to reverb-esque delays and distinctive swooshes, the Flat Light from Old Blood Noise Endeavors will induce motion to your sound regardless of where it sits within your signal path. It features three flanger modes: Echo (reverb-like delay), Detune (shimmering pitch shift), and Resonate (highly resonant multi flange). The Flat Light consists of Rate, Depth, Shift, and Mix knobs. Mix control allows you to go from pure dry to 100% wet. Rate and Depth knobs let you set the rate and depth, respectively.
Source Audio Soundblox2 Orbital Modulator
Boasting a diverse sound palette, the Source Audio Soundblox 2 Orbital Modulator is an ultra-compact, versatile, and sturdy multi-effects pedal. It features a dynamic arsenal of precision-engineered flanger, tremolo, chorus, and phaser effects. Nine adjustable parameters, twelve effect types, and internal/external modulation control elevate it way beyond the sonic limitations of old-school modulation pedals. The Orbital Modulator’s rack-mount power gives you infinite modulation possibilities, including variable notch phasers, rotary speaker simulation, through zero flange, multi-voiced choruses, and many more.
Joyo Vintage Phase
The classic far-out phaser sounds of the ‘70s, crammed into a compact and affordable guitar effects pedal. It’s amazing how much tonal depth Joyo was able to pack into the JF-06 Vintage Phase, seeing as this guitar effects pedal only has one control knob. Hold back on the Speed knob for some chunky, phase-tinged rhythm work and then crank it up to the max to get that Pink Floyd-style wide and spacey psychedelic phase vibe.
Big Joe R-408 Phaser
Whether you’re looking for super subtle modulation or balls-to-the-wall crazy phased tones, the Big Joe R-408 Phaser is the guitar effects pedal for you. This vintage analog phase monster comes fully loaded with classic phaser tones but remains easy to use. Use the Speed dial to set the phaser rate, the Depth knob to set the intensity, the Feedback control to set the amount of signal that gets fed back to the phaser, and then top it all off by mixing your wet and dry signals with the Mix knob.
Blackstar HT-Modulation
The Blackstar HT-MODULATION delivers all the musicality of standard vintage effects, from mild tremolo to roaring jet engine flange. For the convenience of use, the SLOW/FAST control allows you to set the modulation time of the eight modulation effects as you play. You may add harmonics and real tube compression through the SATURATION control. The SLOW/FAST mode footswitch allows seamless control. The eight modulation effects include Phaser 1, Phaser 2, Multi Chorus, Vintage Chorus 1, Vintage Chorus 2, Flanger, Rotary, and Tremolo.
EBS D-Phaser
The DPhaser from EBS provides three distinct phaser effects. Choose anything from vintage 70’s sounds to contemporary swirling phasing effects. DPhaser users include Jamareo Artis (Bruno Mars) and Pete Griffin (Dr. John, Zappa Plays Zappa, and others). The DPhaser features three distinct modes of phaser effects. Wide delivers swirling flanger-like effects, Long highlights the effect, while Short is the classic phaser effects known from the ’70s. Hi, Lo and Off set the effect’s resonance while the two knobs adjust the rate and width.
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.
Electro-Harmonix Worm
All sorts of wriggling and writhing modulation madness have been packed into the sturdy, pedalboard-friendly chassis of Electro-Harmonix’s Worm pedal. This all-analog multi-effects stompbox features wah, phaser, tremolo, and vibrato effects. Pick a modulation effect with the four-way Mode dial then use the sweepable Range and Rate knobs to access a breadth of highly musical effect tones. The Worm also has a two-position toggle that lets you choose between auto modulation sweeping and manual or expression pedal control.
Morley Mini Tremonti
The Morley Mini Tremonti A Dying Machine Wah effects pedal packs all of the features in Mark Tremonti’s signature Morley wah into a pedalboard-friendly chassis wrapped in the album art for his album “A Dying Machine.” The hybrid classic-modern sound and sweep of the Mini Tremonti’s big brother is there as well as the extra 20dB of gain muscle. While small, the Mini Tremonti still features Morley’s electro-optical structure, True-Tone Buffer Bypass, and switchless operation.
CNZ Audio Tremolo
The CNZ Audio Tremolo returns the classic tones of yesteryear with lots of control on your tone and slick vintage design. It does not sacrifice the tone for effect. It lets you maintain your beautiful guitar tones while adding deep to subtle effects from the CNZ Audio Tremolo pedal. Use the Depth knob to adjust the intensity of the tremolo effect, Speed to control the tremolo’s speed and tempo, and Bias to adjust the tremolo effect’s overall signal. The single switch and labeled dials make this pedal perfect for beginners and experienced players alike.
Supro Tremolo
The Supro Tremolo has been configured to emulate two iconic vacuum tube-based modulation effects you can find in 60s American amps. It carries an Amplitude/Harmonic switch that lets you select between the two vintage effects. The Harmonic mode gives you the psychedelic tones of Leo Fender’s vintage blonde and brownface amps, while Amplitude serves up the old-school swampy, tremolo sounds produced by bias modulating the original Supro amps’ power tubes. The Supro Tremolo also consists of Speed, Gain, and Depth knobs.
Wampler Latitude Deluxe
Much like its little brother the Latitude Standard, the Latitude Deluxe tremolo pedal boutique guitar effects stomp maker Wampler lets you dish out everything from shimmering vintage tremolo tones to modern helicopter chops, all at the highest sound quality possible thanks to its pure signal path. The Latitude Deluxe ups the ante with tap tempo controls, four time division options, and three wave forms you can switch between. Whether you want subtle and classy or in your face and nasty, the Latitude Deluxe can deliver.
TC Electronic Pipeline
With the Pipeline Tap Tremolo’s introduction, TC Electronic takes a highly-anticipated tremolo device to their innovative TonePrint range of effects pedals. Credits to Square and Vintage settings, the Pipeline is a blessing for vintage tone enthusiasts and players seeking new and inspiring sounds. A roll of a knob gives you six tap tempo-based note subdivisions, delivering great rhythmic depth to your sound. As if that were not enough, the TonePrint Library and Editor provide conveniently accessible custom sounds produced by you and artists.
Koogo Mod Digital
The Mod Digital pedal from Koogo allows you to enjoy eleven distinct modulation effects—A.FILTER, B.TREMOLO, O.TREMOLO, PHASER, VIBRATO, U.VIBRATO, JET, S.CHORUS, T.CHORUS, P.FLANGER, and N.FLANGER. It is a fantastic pedal, leveraging a 32-bit high-performance DSP chip. Every tone is comparable. A range of modulation effects imparts musical color to your sound. The Mod Digital also consists of three function knobs labeled as Depth, Speed, and Level for setting the depth, speed, and level of the effect respectively.
Eventide H9 MAX
With 51 effect algorithms that include literally everything Eventide’s TimeFactor, ModFactor, PitchFactor, and Space pedals can do, the H9 MAX Harmonizer is basically an entire pedalboard in compact effects pedal form. It features reverb, chorus, delay, modulation, pitch-shifting, distortion effects, all of which can be tweaked and edited via an intuitive single-knob interface. The H9 MAX comes preloaded with 99 presets, plus you can get over 500 more for free via the H9 Control app.
MOOER Mod Factory Pro
The award-winning Mod Factory Pro is a massive step up from the Mod Factory MKII. It comes loaded with 16 modulation effects ranging from essentials like a chorus and a phaser through to the more far-out effects such as ring modulators and lo-fi filters. Each of its two modulation engines has its own footswitch, letting you mix and match them to your liking. The Mod Factory Pro also features tap tempo, expression pedal support, and true stereo output.
Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl HiFi
Improving on the fan-favorite mkII version, the Chase Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl HiFi is the answer to all of your vibrato and chorus concerns. It features various updates from the earlier versions, including a redesigned tone circuit, a lag knob for rich chorus tones, lower noise, and opportunities for brighter and more transparent tones. The newly created hold, tone, and lag controls allow you to produce brighter, lusher, more shimmering chorus and vibrato tones than ever before.
Electro-Harmonix Good Vibes
The Good Vibes analog modulator guitar effects pedal from Electro-Harmonix combines selectable iconic chorus and vibrato effects ripped straight from the ‘60s with 21st-century conveniences. Taking a page from the original Uni-Vibe, the Good Vibes creates rippling, undulating chorus and vibrato effects by way of photocells. The Good Vibes also features boosted power rails for extra definition, an always-on speed indicator, and expression pedal support for more precise control over the Speed and Intensity settings.
TC Electronic Tailspin
The Tailspin Vibrato by TC Electronic serves up a ton of gorgeously-vintage vibrato tones within a stompbox. Boasting a pure analog, bucket-brigade design, the Tailspin Vibrato gives you anything from pitch-bendy, warped-vinyl tones to gentle wobbles to incredibly smooth slow or fast whirling-speaker organ sounds. A durable metal enclosure with dedicated Output, Input, and True Bypass indicates that the Tailspin Vibrato is both pedalboard-friendly and roadworthy. Grab one now for wave after wave of vintage goodness.
EarthQuaker Devices The Depths V2
EarthQuaker Devices’ The Depths optical vibe guitar effects pedal is more than you see on the surface. Lush, pulsating swirls that sound like they were born in the deep, dark ocean are made more versatile and flexible with five dedicated control knobs, a 100& pure analog dry signal path, and true bypass capability. For the V2 upgrade, EarthQuaker introduces a new Flexi-Switch feature, which lets you use The Depths’ footswitch as both a latching and a momentary-type switch.
Fuzzrocious KNOB JAWN
The Knob Jawn by Fuzzrocious provides both analog and digital octaving. It carries a large knob that lets you solo or blend analog, monophonic, dirty octave up and digital polyphonic, clean octave up/down. It consists of -/+ and dry:wet knobs, a standard on/off toggle, and two footswitches. The left footswitch enables you to move to the digital octave up/down pot’s opposite throw. For ecological reasons, the Knob Jawn operates on a direct power supply (9V DC 2.1 mm centre-negative adaptor).
Electro-Harmonix Nano POG
All of the original POG’s perfect polyphonic tracking and musical flexibility distilled and contained in a positively tiny pedal enclosure. The Nano POG Polyphonic Octave Generator can make your guitar sound like a 12-string or cover your sound in hauntingly divine organ tones. Plug in a bass guitar and you can get a massively enhanced bottom end. Dial in one octave up with the Octave knob, add an octave down with the Sub-Octave dial and then mix your wet and dry signals with the Dry control for some truly unique soundscapes.
Walrus Audio Descent
Walrus Audio’s Descent pedal is a three-mode reverb unit that lets you switch between Hall, Reverse, and Shimmer modes. Were it really gets interesting is that you can also mix in +1 and -1 octaves into each mode’s reverb effect. Hall mode can let you smoothly transition between small room and large hall echoes, Reverse mode comes with pre-delay time controls, and Shimmer mode brings the octave mix to the forefront to create a shimmering wall of reverberating sound.
Eventide PitchFactor Harmonizer
Studio-quality pitch shifting laid right at your feet! Eventide’s PitchFactor effects pedal brings together 10 unique pitch and delay effects in one highly versatile and extremely tweakable stompbox: Diatonic, Quadravox, HarModulator, MicroPitch, H910/H949, PitchFlex, Octaver, Crystals, HarPeggiator, and Synthonizer. The PitchFactor also features 100 onboard presets (unlimited if you have a MIDI controller), MIDI controller support, MIDI clock sync, tap tempo, expression pedal support, true bypass, and more. Plug in any instrument or a mic and get pro-level pitch-shifting, anytime, anywhere.
TC Electronic Brainwaves
Packing untold expression via a four-mode pitch engine and whammy-esque Mash switch, the Brainwaves Pitch Shifter by TC Electronic is your key to Scholzian harmony leads, Hendrician octave effects, and Morello-style pitch bends, all within one pedal format. It simplifies whatever number of single-guitar stage needs. It carries a pressure-sensitive Mash expression switch that yields pedal-steel pitch bends to crushing dive-bombs instantly. Boasting a TonePrint technology, the Brainwaves will find a place on your board.
JOYO XVI
The Joyo R-013 XVI polyphonic octave guitar effects pedal adds meat to your sound by layering on an extra octave and sub-octave. It tracks notes fast, comes with a dry mix knob, and has independent volume controls for the extra octaves for complete tonal control. A warbling, wriggling chorus/trem-like modulation effect opens up even more sonic soundscapes to explore. The R-13 XVI is an R Series pedal, meaning it also has cool ambient LED effects built into it.
Top Categories
Timing, Dynamics & EQ Pedals
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
The BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay pedal makes it simple to add incredible delay effects to your sound, wherever you may be playing. This compact, metal-housed guitar effects pedal offers rackmount-quality delay effects with three distinct environments. You get subtle, chorus-y shimmers and 800ms atmospheric repeats, plus the hold feature lets you repeat a delay forever while playing over it. Plug a second amp into the DD-3’s extra immediate output for a real stereo delay configuration.
Keeley Super Mod Workstation
Pedalmeister Robert Keeley wasn’t kidding around when he named this modulation multi-effects pedal the Super Mod Workstation. It features two banks loaded with eight high-quality modulation effects each, from thick chorus and pristine digital delay to rotary emulation and wah. Mix ‘em, match ‘em, stack ‘em–you have the power. The Super Mod Workstation also comes with a dedicated tap tempo footswitch as well as expression pedal support for real-time parameter control. A truly super stompbox.
T-Rex Replay Box
The Replay Box Delay from T-Rex Engineering boasts sophisticated technology that yields an extremely studio-esque delay. It carries stereo in- and outputs, so you can maximize those stereo modulation boxes you occasionally step on. It also consists of a tap tempo footswitch, subdivision switch, and controls for Volume, Mix, Repeat, and Tempo. The Replay Box Delay comes in a relatively small form factor. It features up to three seconds of delay and analog dry signal. It yields a clear and pristine sound.
T-Rex Reptile 2
T-Rex Engineering squeezed most of its famed Replica’s features and beautiful sound into a unit affordable to all guitarists. The Reptile 2 Delay is the next step in the progression of that sonic beast for bass and guitar. Aside from its Tap Tempo function, the Reptile 2 also incorporates a revamped Flutter section, featuring a new Tone control. Flutter presents a hint of a random-sounding warble to your delay for an incredible vintage tape-effect sound. The Reptile 2 consists of controls for Time, Repeat, Level, and Echo.
TC Electronic Flashback X4
The Flashback X4 by TC Electronic is a phenomenal TonePrint-enabled delay pedal that provides you with a versatile and intuitive delay engine with 16 types of delay. The Flashback Delay. The TonePrints, vibe, sounds, the whole package—it was a great success that rocked the world. The Flashback X4 is not merely a sum of four Flashback pedals. Three preset footswitches allow you to change between delay sounds quickly. The Flashback X4 consists of controls for Delay Time, Feedback, Delay Level, and Looper Level.
Mooer Ana Echo
The Mooer Ana Echo offers the characteristic warmth and musicality of a vintage analog delay guitar effects pedal. Each repetition gently degrades your initial guitar signal for that true analog sound. And like all real analog pedals, you can crank up the Intense knob for pulsating UFO-like feedback pulses. Whatever musical style you play in, when you’re in need of subtle repeats the Ana Echo will be your go-to pedal. It’s tiny, too, which makes finding some space for it on your pedalboard a breeze.
Behringer Digital Reverb
The Behringer DR600 Digital Stereo Reverb lets you bring studio-quality reverb onstage with its array of six 24-bit high-resolution stereo reverb modes: Spring, Plate, Hall, Gate, Room, and Modulate. All the sound shaping tools you need are at your fingertips thanks to the DR600’s dedicated Level, Tone, and Time dials, giving you deep, full reverbs for any style or situation. The DR600 comes with stereo input so you can plug in other stereo pedals and stereo output so you can feed your signal to separate amps.
Marshall Original Footswitch
Every good pedalboard setup needs an amp footswitch or two. If you’re gunning your signal through a Marshall amp, then there’s no better fit than a Marshall footswitch. The PEDL-10009 or P802 footswitch is a dual footswitch pedal; it’s basically the big brother of the P801. This musician must-have is built to work with both valvestate and tube amps and handles switching duties for your amp’s channels and reverb. It’s built to be road-tough, so you don’t have to worry about it conking out while you’re onstage.
T-Rex Creamer
T-Rex formed the Creamer Reverb pedal to be incredibly easy to operate with adequate room for tweaking, so you will not feel limited in your quest for the sonic counterpart of Grand Canyon or that tiny room you often visit daily. Instead of digitizing your precious guitar signal, the Creamer blends the reverb sound with the analog dry signal. It consists of Decay, Tone, and Reverb controls. It also boasts three distinct reverb algorithms that you can tailor to suit your preference using the knobs.
NUX Oceanic
Hall, Room, Square-wave, and even Outer-space reverb are all available in the NUX Oceanic Reverb with a simple roll of a knob. Demanding musicians seek a reverb that will not drown-out their tone, and the Oceanic has been created with that in mind. Instead of shallow and dull, you will find a deep full-sounding reverb that is incredibly smooth. A reverb effect as deep and vast as its name. The Oceanic’s simple layout sails past the competition, providing you with infinite parameter options with only one knob.
Fender Marine Layer Reverb
The Marine Layer Reverb by Fender boasts an original circuit with Room, Hall, and Special types of reverb such as shimmer. This pedal sounds rich and full. Aside from level and reverb time controls, you can explore a broad range of reverberation with damping and pre-delay controls. Featuring an abundance of gig-focused functionalities, the Marine Layer Reverb does extremely well in virtually any live performance situation. It is capable of drenching your signal in bright reflections and giving dimension to your sound.
MOOER SHIMVERB PRO
Budget stomp maker Mooer gives the elegant sound of the ShimVerb ambient reverb guitar effects pedal the Pro treatment. The ShimVerb Pro now rocks five distinct reverb effect types: Room, Hall, Church, Plate, and Spring. The adjustable Shimmer mode that made the original a must-have for reverb fans has been expanded to five shimmer types with up to +9 half-step modulation (+12 including the separate Octave button) and can now be activated via a dedicated footswitch.
Electro-Harmonix White Finger
The all-analog White Finger optical compressor pedal works much the same way as the Black Finger tube compressor and the studio-grade NY-2A unit. Electro-Harmonix, however, swapped out the vacuum tubes and used multiple FETs in the White Finger instead to make it a significantly less expensive alternative. It uses a pair of optocouplers for highly varied compression effects with infinitely long sustain and plenty of attack. The LED optocoupler gives you a faster attack while the lamp optocoupler has a softer, blooming compression.
Joyo Dr.J CompDriver
The Dr. J JDC CompDriver guitar effects pedal is the signature pedal of Spanish guitarist Jose de Castro, hence the name. It’s a compressor and an overdrive in one budget-friendly floor unit. There’s a pair of two-position switches, one of which lets you turn the compressor effect on or off while the other controls whether the effect is applied before or after the overdrive effect. The overdrive effect itself has been tuned to match de Castro’s exacting specs, making for a warm, dirty tone that cuts through the mix.
Animals Pedal 1927 Home Run King Comp
The Animals Pedal 1927 Home Run King Compressor delivers studio-quality compression within a pedalboard and pocket-friendly unit. It boasts an uncomplicated control system for leveling low and high frequencies while controlling the tonal density and sustain. The EQ knob controls the frequency range, VOL sets the pedal’s overall output level, and COMP selects how little or how much compression you want running on your signal path. It also features two LED lights—one indicates when the compression is working hard, and another shows if the pedal is bypassed or active.
Friedman Amplification Sir-Compre
The Friedman Amplification Sir-Compre is a meaty compressor pedal with some extra crunch, marrying super-transparent optical compression with smooth overdrive to give you the tools you need for epic guitar tone. Compression forms the meat of the pedal, with dedicated Volume, Treble, Compression, and Tight knobs for precise and powerful tone sculpting. The yummy, sizzling fat on top comes courtesy of a Gain control that lets you shape your tone further, from ultra-clean to semi-overdriven.
Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe
Origin Effects has built all the functionality from its flagship Cali76 Standard into the Cali76 Compact Deluxe and incorporated the highly requested parallel mix control formerly available only in its limited editions. This little marvel is an 1176-esque studio-quality FET compressor packaged within a portable, stompbox-sized enclosure. Individual controls for Release, Ratio, and Attack allow you to accurately tweak your tone. The elegant jewel lamp serves as a three-color gain reduction meter. With the Dry Blend control, you can combine your dry signal with your compressed guitar tone.
Mad Professor MAD-FGC
Low noise regardless of range, a high overload margin, and a wide dynamic range are all important aspects of a great compressor pedal. The Forest Green COmpressor from Mad Professor nails all of these essentials and then kicks things up a notch. It comes packed with a special Tone knob that lets you fine-tune the compressed signal even further for enhanced clarity and transparency. You can also switch between compressor and sustainer modes, with the latter mode serving up a dynamic, touch-sensitive tone with insane sustain.
Alexander Pedals Equilibrium DLX
The Equilibrium DLX is Alexander Pedals’ newer vintage modulation pedal—evoking the wobbly, sputtery, buttery sounds of yesteryear. The vintage sounding Equilibrium DLX packs all the “mod cons” into a pedalboard-friendly unit. The Equilibrium DLX draws inspiration from vintage tremolos. Painted in a unique ‘50s style finish and featuring three different modes, it boasts a tremendous appeal in both its tone and look. The Mix, Depth, Rate, and Shape knobs give you better tonal control. The Equilibrium DLX offers only the finest in authentic retro trem/vibe tones.
Joyo JF-11
The JF-11 6-Band EQ guitar effects pedal is a true workhorse when it comes to tone shaping. Make your highs stand out with more harmonic articulation, keep muddy mids from getting lost in the mix, or boost lows for additional bottom-end chunk. Its six EQ sliders each provide up to 18dB of boost or cut, plus each slider has its own LED indicator to make them easier to adjust while you’re on a dark stage.
Fulltone Secret Freq
Serving up everything from clean boost to overdrive and through to full-on distorted rock tones, the Fulltone Secret Freq Overdrive guitar effects pedal is one versatile stompbox. It’s got all the hallmarks of a classic overdrive stomp; it’s highly dynamic, has a natural tube-style overdrive tone, and is very responsive to picking attack. The Secret Freq also has a secret weapon: a Freq control knob that lets you dial in up to 20db of active, narrow-band midrange for more tone-shaping possibilities.
MXR 6-Band EQ
The Six Band EQ from MXR grants you control over all the fundamental guitar frequencies, with every slider capable of providing 18dB of boost or cut. It is perfect for producing scooped-mid rhythm tones with massive low end. The Six Band EQ can remove onstage feedback and impart natural-sounding warmth to a quack acoustic pickup. You may also utilize it in the effects loop of your amp for a massive, customizable lead boost. The Six Band EQ is great for pickups on acoustic guitars.
Maxon GE601 Graphic Equalizer
The Maxon Reissue Series Graphic Equalizer pedal is the ideal accessory for guitarists who need accurate control of the tone of their instrument. Providing +/- 12 dB of boost or cut and covering six meticulously picked frequency bands from 100 Hz to 3.2 kHz, you may utilize the GE601 EQ as a level booster, feedback eliminator, tone filter, or pickup simulator. Maxon’s Reissue Series gives you the classic sonic palette that defined the tones of guitarists over the last three decades. Every model’s circuit is pure analog and housed in a durable chassis.
Wampler EQuator
There are way too many cool guitar effects pedals available nowadays, so it’s easy to overlook one of the most essential ingredients in a good pedalboard: the EQ pedal. The EQuator from boutique guitar effects pedal maker Wampler, though, flat-out demands your attention with its ease of use and top-of-the-line feature set. Instead of the usual band sliders, the EQuator features fixed bass and treble pots plus two semi-parametric mid pots. Wampler even went ahead and marked the sweet spots for the latter two control knobs to make it even easier to dial in a great tone.
Utility Pedals
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Tuner
Compact yet tough, the Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Tuner serves as your one-stomp ticket to staying in tune. This gig-bag essential loads exceptional functionality and accurate tuning into a sleek, portable floor unit that is convenient to use anywhere. An innovative chromatic floor tuner with a large LED screen makes it an indispensable tool for bassists and guitarists. When performing live, you will appreciate the Pitchblack’s clear, well-lit display and the large footswitch allows for convenient access. The Pitchblack’s sturdy aluminum enclosure makes it roadworthy.
Ammoon Pockmon
The Pockmon is a highly portable multi-effects processor from budget guitar effects pedal maker Ammoon. It has three effects sections. First up is a digital delay that comes in three flavors: Tape, Echo, and Analog. It also has a biting wide-range high-gain distortion section and a natural, mid-humped overdrive. The Pockmon also has a tuner, tap tempo control, a parallel FX loop, and a built-in cab sim for when you want to plug in headphones or connect straight to a PA or mixer.
Rowin Chromatic Tuner
What a good chromatic tuner lacks in glamour is offset by it being a must-have essential for any and all musicians. The high-precision LT-910 Chromatic Tuner from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin is a workhorse pedal that not only takes up a tiny spot on your pedalboard, but also costs less than half of your average stompbox. The LT-910 CHromatic Tuner features a big bright LED display that’s perfect for tuning while on a dark stage, plus it works equally well with guitar or bass.
Rowin Power Tuner
Whether you’re practicing, recording, or performing, it’s important to always make sure that you instrument is in tune. LT-920 Power Tuner from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin is fast tuner with a large display whose chassis is small enough to fit even the most crowded pedalboards. Not only that, but it also pulls double duty as a power supply. The LT-920 Power Tuner can provide power to up to six 100mA pedals and upt to two 500mA pedals.
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.
BOSS TU-3s Tuner
The Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner is the go-to stompbox tuner for any and all serious musicians, and its little brother the Boss TU-3S Compact Chromatic Tuner serves up everything the TU-3 can, in a more compact form factor. Everything from the bigger TU-3’s performance and durability to its tuning functions and display are recreated in the TU-3S, minus the actual pedal switch. If you’re running low on precious pedalboard space, the Boss TU-3S Compact Chromatic Tuner is what you need.
Boss RC-1 Loop Station
Simple, user-friendly, and highly effective, the Boss RC-1 Loop Station is the perfect starting point for any musician who wants to start experimenting with their own loops. A newly-designed loop indicator lets you know at a glance whether you’re in Record, Overdub, or Play mode, while stereo recording time can run for up to 12 minutes. The recorded phrase is also automatically stored in the RC-1’s onboard memory so you don’t lose it even when you turn the stompbox off.
MOOER Pedal Controller L6
The L6 Pedal Controller works equally well whether you want to rein in over a dozen stompboxes or just want to control half that number of pedals without worrying about stray stomps. This switcher unit from budget stomp maker Mooer features two modes, Preset and Live. The former is for consummate shoegazers, giving you a total of 36 possible preset effect loop combos. The latter is more straightforward, with each footswitch simply engaging and disengaging its respective effect loop. The L6 comes packed with a tuner, too.
Rowin Twin Looper
Think of budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin’s LTL-02 Twin Looper as a looper pedal jacked up on stompbox steroids. This dual footswitch stomp is simple to use yet highly versatile and sophisticated. One footswitch controls the standard loop functions, while the other lets you take direct control and shape your loops to your liking. You can use it to stop, clear, or even manipulate the speed of a loop by using it alongside a dedicated Speed knob.
TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper
A straightforward and intuitive dual-track guitar looper featuring powerful loop effects allows you to produce multilayered sonic masterpieces. The Ditto X4 Looper from TC Electronic is specially designed for and by guitarists to guarantee you get the greatest simplicity with full creative potential. You can transform one moment in time into something truly spectacular. By perfectly combining convenience with stellar creative features, the Ditto X4 Looper will quickly serve as the canvas where you paint your multilayered sonic artworks.
Rowin Looper
Looper pedals are becoming more and more ubiquitous these days, especially on the pedalboards of solo artists and home recording enthusiasts. Budget guitar effects pedal maker Rowin’s LEF-332 Looper is a compact looping pedal that lets you record up to 10 minutes of audio. You can also export and import loops from and 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.
TC Electronic Alter Ego X4
If you are into tap delays, you are perhaps a frustrated guitarist due to the bulk, maintenance, and reliability issues associated with those units. The Alter Ego X4 by TC Electronic gets you the iconic sound of several well-loved vintage tape delay units less the headaches. It provides you with the power of TC’s TonePrint tech to record and download presets from your iPhone straight to your pedal. Try the Alter Ego X4 and experience the sound of the most drool-inducing vintage delays.
Source Audio Soundblox2 Multiwave Distortion
The Source Audio Soundblox 2 Multiwave Distortion boasts all of the original unit’s synth-esque and futuristic fuzz and distortion tones, housed within a portable, cast-aluminum enclosure. It features 23 distortion effects along with two user presets, universal bypass, a Clean Boost mode, three-level noise gate, three-band tone control, and a multi-function input jack compatible with an expression pedal, MIDI, or Hot Hand. You can connect a MIDI controller for external access to parameters and presets. The Soundblox 2 Multiwave Distortion includes both single- and multi-band processing.
Mission Engineering EXP1-PRO
Boasting a sturdy, all-metal construction, the Mission Engineering EXP1-PRO is a professional quality expression pedal compatible with expression pedal inputs on keyboards, MIDI controllers, multi-effect units, and stompboxes. It carries an input level knob that enables adjustment of minimum level from zero to 80%. The EXP-1-PRO incorporates a custom made 10K Ohm linear, wholly sealed potentiometer that works nicely with various devices, and is rated at over a million operations for durability and excellent response.
TC Electronic Alter Ego X4
If you are into tap delays, you are perhaps a frustrated guitarist due to the bulk, maintenance, and reliability issues associated with those units. The Alter Ego X4 by TC Electronic gets you the iconic sound of several well-loved vintage tape delay units less the headaches. It provides you with the power of TC’s TonePrint tech to record and download presets from your iPhone straight to your pedal. Try the Alter Ego X4 and experience the sound of the most drool-inducing vintage delays.
Electro-Harmonix MEL9
If vintage tape-based keyboard sounds get you hot and bothered, then the MEL9 Tape Replay Machine from Electro-Harmonix deserves a prime spot on your pedalboard. The MEL9 comes packed with authentic recreations of nine of the coolest Mellotron sounds ever: Orchestra, Cello, Strings, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass, Low Choir, and High Choir. The MEL9 features dedicated Attack and Sustain controls for full sound-shaping freedom as well as separate Dry and Effect outputs, each of which has its own volume dial.
Donner Wah Cry
The Donner Wah Cry gives you an excellent Wah response as well as a Volume function. It comes in a tiny footprint, way smaller compared to a standard Volume or Wah pedal. Switch on the side for either Volume or Wah. The response in the WAH mode is based on the original Crybaby response. For the VOL mode, Donner crafted an active circuit which ensures retaining all the details of your sound. Donner has also included a volume range control for VOL mode. As a volume pedal, the Wah Cry is capable of catering to the demand of any guitarist.
Electro-Harmonix 8-Step Program
If CV’s your thing, then the Electro-Harmonix 8 Step Program CV sequencer is definitely a must-have. This eight-step sequencer puts out CV or expression pedal voltage fo taking control of analog equipment. It also comes with eight programmable steps, tap tempo and MIDI clock timing, and enough onboard memory to store up to 10 user settings. Plug in the optional 8 Step Program Foot Controller and you can bump that number up to 100 presets.
Source Audio Tap Tempo Switch
The Tap Tempo Switch by Source Audio is a simple footswitch that adds significant functionality to any pedal from the One Series line. It gives you on-the-fly tap tempo control of delay times for the Nemesis Delay and modulation rates for the Mercury Flanger, Gemini Chorus, Lunar Phaser, and Vertigo Tremolo. The Tap Tempo lets you render virtual knob changes to each One Series pedal, toggle between distortion engines on the AfterShock Bass Distortion, Kingmaker Fuzz, and L.A. Lady Overdrive, or externally scroll through presets on the Nemesis Delay.
JHS Pedals Mute Switch
Whether it is for silent tuning, at rehearsals, or between songs, you need the ability to silence your rig. Housed in a compact enclosure that consumes minimal pedalboard real estate, the Mute Switch by JHS Pedals allows you to cut your signal down to dead silence with a mere tap of a toe. It also features a handy LED that indicates if the switch has been engaged. When you plug your instrument into a JHS product like the Mute Switch, you are tapping into a passion and care that rare manufacturers put into their devices.
Marshall PEDL-00001
Every good pedalboard setup needs an amp footswitch or two. If you’re gunning your signal through a Marshall amp, then there’s no better fit than a Marshall footswitch. This goes double for Marshall’s AS acoustic series amps. The PEDL-00001 single latching footswitch was specially built to handle channel switching duties for AS amps like the AS50D and the AS100D. It’s built to be road-tough, so you don’t have to worry about it conking out in the middle of an intimate acoustic set.
Lehle Sunday Driver SW
The Sunday Driver SW from Lehle is a portable high-end preamp for acoustic and electrical instruments. It allows acoustic guitars, electric guitars and basses, as well as other stringed instruments like cellos, double basses, and violins to unleash their musical potential. Boasting a high-quality JFET technology, the Sunday Driver SW lets you switch between two operation modes: D (Driver) and S (Sunday). In off status, the Sunday Driver SW offers two modes of operation—TB (True Bypass) and TS (True Sound).
Ernie Ball Tap Tempo
The Ernie Ball 6186 Tap Tempo is a tiny footswitch pedal specially built to be an auxiliary unit for the Ernie Ball Expression Series Ambient Delay stompbox, but it can also be used with any effects unit that requires a standard normally-open momentary footswitch. It lets you sync effects via tap tempo; you just need to connect it to your delay pedal or other effects then tap the footswitch to set the tempo you want.
Throne Room Pedals Tiny Tap Tempo (Reverse)
With even smaller enclosures made from solid aluminum, Throne Room Pedals’ Tiny line of pedal switches are some of the tiniest and most road tough control pedals out right now. The Tiny Tap Tempo is built to work with other guitar effects pedals that comes with external tap tempo compatibility, such as a delay pedal or tremolo stomp. This particular version features a single tap output and works with Boss-type pedals that require a normally closed switch.
TC Electronic Bonafide Buffer
Joining TC Electronic’s renowned collection of mini pedals, the Bonafide Buffer is another essential tone tool that will help you win the battle against treble loss due to massive pedalboards and lengthy cable runs. This no-frills pure analog buffer provides you with a 1K ohm output and 1M ohm input so your instrument’s signal can flow freely through your chain. You get an unaltered and transparent tone just like you would when you connect directly to your amp. The Bonafide Buffer serves as your natural gateway to a strong tone.
Emerson Custom Concord
Get superb clarity and signal response with the Concord Utility Buffer from Emerson Custom. It will maintain a clear and strong signal for your board. It is equipped with premium audio-grade components to put back the sparkle and clarity, which can sometimes vanish when you utilize long cable runs or multiple effects pedals. You can place the Concord anywhere in your chain for optimal performance. It also includes a bright blue LED that tells you it is working to give you the best tone imaginable.
Carl Martin Buff Deluxe
The Buff Deluxe is built to run alongside huge multiple effects boards with plenty of true bypass effects. The drawback of utilizing true bypass effects is that your guitar signal stays high impedance, leading to the loss of high note because of the several feet of cables running at the pedalboard, and not the slightest from board to amp. The Buff Deluxe features a Mute switch that directs your signal to the Tuner Out. That enables the removal of even the tuner from the signal chain as well as convenient and silent guitar tuning.
Wampler dB+
Tone suck—it’s what happens when you have too many cables between your guitar and your amp. Your tone suffers and loses those sweet natural high frequency notes, giving you a muddy overall sound. Wampler’s Decibel Plus solves that problem by delivering top of the line independent buffering and full frequency boosting without taking up a lot of space on your pedalboard. Not only do you get to keep those natural high frequencies, you also get a clean boost to make sure your guitar floats above the mix.
MOSKY Clean Buffer Tone Saver
Buffer pedals play an important part in any musician’s ongoing battle against one suck. Budget guitar effects brand Mosky Audio gives you a compact and affordable alternative to boutique buffer models in the form of the Clean Buffer. It helps keep your guitar signal strong and steady even when you have over a dozen pedals daisy chained together on your pedalboard. The Clean Buffer has an input impedance of 1M Ω and an output impedance of 150 Ω.
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.
Caline The Noise
Any noise in your guitar signal should only be limited to the noise you want to add to it. Cut out any unwanted noises and hums with the Caline CP-39 The Noise, a noise gate pedal that won’t take a big chunk out of both your wallet and your precious pedalboard real estate. Two main control knobs drive the CP-39: a sensitivity knob that dictates at what level the noise gate becomes active and a two-way toggle that lets you choose between a steep volume cut or a smoother, more gradual cut.
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.
MXR Smart Gate
Whether you need to silence your chain of stompboxes or tame your hissing high-gain amp, the MXR Smart Gate has got you covered. This ingenious tool is armed with three selectable noise reduction ranges to manage just about any signal type. The Smart Gate bites down on sizzle and hum but allows the tiniest detail of your playing through. It possesses an uncanny capability to sense when and how fast to engage. It also boasts an incredibly clean circuitry, precise threshold trigger, and hardwire bypass.
Koogo Noise Gate
Minimize the noise from your input signal without sacrificing your original signal’s quality with the Koogo Noise Gate. It provides you with a choice between two working modes: Soft and Hard. Soft gives you soft noise reduction effect while Hard delivers hard noise reduction effect. You can adjust the noise reduction degree from -70 to +10dB. Boasting solid construction, the Noise Gate comes in an all-metal chassis that makes it ultra-compact and exquisite, and like other exceptional effects pedals, it features true bypass.
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Noisy signals are the bane of musicians the world over. That’s why noise suppressor pedals have become pedalboard mainstays, and the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor is one of the best options available. It uses a unique noise detection circuit that identifies and separates your instrument’s signal from the noise and hum components, eliminating the latter while letting the former shine through with its natural attack and sonic envelope perfectly preserved. You can dial in the precise amount of noise elimination and suppression via dedicated Threshold and Decay knobs.
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.
Singular Sound BeatBuddy Mini
The Singular Sound BeatBuddy Mini is a drummer within a guitar pedal enclosure. It provides entirely hands-free, creative control of the beat. No matter what instrument you use, you can easily transition from verse to chorus, insert fills, throw in drum breaks, add accent hits, and more to yield an unparalleled live drummer effect. Utilized in the music programs of Berklee College of Music and Frost School of Music, the BeatBuddy Mini is arguably the most efficient way to enhance your rhythm and master different genres while improvising and having a great time.
NUX MFX-10
The MFX-10 boasts 55 models overall (you may use as much as eight simultaneously), vintage three-band passive EQ for each amp model, 19 classic amp and pedal models with A/B channel switching, and parametric EQ with additional mid-frequency sweep control for pedals. Twelve cabinet models give you two distinct modes for a guitar amp or mixer/PA input. The MFX-10 also features an inbuilt drum machine with CD quality PCM sounds, and 72 presets: 36 user plus 36 factory presets. The A/B switch lets you utilize up to 144 presets.
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.
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.
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.
Digitech Jam Man
DigiTech’s JamMan Stereo Looper boasts the ability to save 35 minutes of CD-quality loops within 99 internal memories and an SD memory card expansion slot that allows you to store more than 16 hours of material in an added 99 slots. It also includes reverse playback, true stereo looping, and a mic input making it suitable for DJ applications and backing tracks. The JamMan Stereo has USB connectivity and will sync to the JamManager XT software which organizes and records your JamMan Stereo loops to your Mac or PC.
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.
JOYO MULTI-MODE WAH
Joyo’s WAH-II Multimode Wah and Volume pedal gives you two modes to choose from: a Wah with True Bypass and a combined Wah + Volume pedal. The Wah is pretty versatile; you can tweak the effect’s Q values, the sweep’s width, and the frequency range. The Volume side is comparatively more barebones, with just a dial for setting the minimum volume. It’s just barely larger than the average compact pedal, too, so you have more flexibility when choosing where to put it on your pedalboard.
Morley Mini Wah
The Morley Mini Wah has the same classic wah tone and electro-optical sensor technology that made its bigger wah brothers famous, but it’s all packed into a small pedal perfect for crowded pedalboards. The Morley Mini Wah pumps out a traditional, full-bodied wah tone with a standard sweep and comes with a side-mounted on and off switch, a wah level control, and a LED indicator, all encased in road-tough cold rolled steel housing. Whether you plug in a guitar, a bass, or a keyboard, the Morley Mini Wah will definitely funk things up.
Morley Mark Tremonti Wah
Cut through the mix like you mean it with the Morley Mark Tremonti Wah pedal, a wah pedal that packs the riff god’s signature wah tone as well as a boost button that gives you up to 20dB of extra muscle for truly killer solos and bridges. As with a lot of Morley’s modern wah offerings, the Mark Tremonti Wah is outfitted with an electro-optical, switchless structure that eliminates the danger of worn out pots.
Mad Professor Snow White Auto Wah
The Snow White Auto Wah traces its pedigree all the way to a rack-mounted BJF remote wah circuit from the early ‘90s. Mad Professor took that circuit, went all Dr. Frankenstein on it, and crammed it into a compact, pedalboard-friendly stompbox chassis. What you get is a highly musical and extremely flexible auto-wah with tracking so fast and accurate that most other auto-wah pedals would be left in the dust. The Snow White Auto Wah is hand-made and hand-wired in Finland using only top-quality components.
JAM Pedals Wahcko Bass
A wah pedal like no other. The Wahcko Bass by Jam Pedals is a product of lengthy and painful research. This real, vocal and vintage-sounding wah pedal features a retuned filter frequency spectrum to suit the register of the bass. The Wahcko Bass is equipped with carbon comp resistors, a RED Fasel inductor for a pure vintage sound, six-position rotary switch for various frequency sweep range, mini LED, and internal trimmer for setting the input gain.
TC Electronic G-Natural
The G-Natural multi-effects processor by TC Electronic is specially created for your acoustic guitar. Packaged within a floor-based unit, the G-Natural comes loaded with ten premium TC effects, as well as an inbuilt tuner, boost function, microphone preamp for guitar or vocals, and 30 presets that will give a natural touch to your live acoustic sound. You can now capture amazing TC effects in a convenient, acoustic-friendly, and stage-ready package. The G-Natural carries eight durable footswitches.
Rowin LT-901
A tuner is arguably the most important tool a musician can have in their arsenal. The tiny LT-901 mini chromatic guitar tuner from budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin is an ideal fit for those who want to make efficient use of space on their pedalboards. Short of a clip-on tuner, the LT-901 is one of the most inconspicuous and affordable tuners available on the market. Don’t let its small size deter you, though; it’s fast and has a large display so you won’t have to squint.
Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp
Many guitar pickup systems can’t quite reproduce an acoustic guitar’s warmth and depth, covering them instead in harsher-sounding tones. That’s where the Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp guitar effects pedal comes in. Whether you’re onstage or in the studio, you can draw out more of your acoustic-electric’s natural and woody tones with a twist of the Acoustic Resonance knob. You can also use the Ambience knob to add reverb and cut annoying feedback noise using the Notch dial.
Rowin Octpus
Budget guitar effects pedal manufacturer Rowin serves up a wide range of polyphonic octave pitch shift effects in the tiny and economical LEF-3806 Octpus, a straightforward yet versatile octave stomp. The Oct 1 and Oct pots control the output of the upper and sub octaves, while the Dry knob controls the amount of dry signal that’s blended into the mix. It also features a three-way toggle that lets you choose to go an octave up, an octave down, or both at the same time.
Mooer Woodverb
The Woodverb from budget stompbox maker Mooer is a reverb guitar effects pedal tuned specifically for expanding the tonal palettes of acoustic guitars. The Woodverb comes with three reverb modes, all selectable via a three-position toggle switch. First is the classic, lush space of the pedal’s magnificent plate reverb. The second mode adds a subtle chorus effect to the reverb. The third and final mode adds mild filtering into the mix for a snappier attack.
Caline Snake Bite Reverb
The Caline CP-26 Snake Bite Ambient Reverb guitar effects pedal is an affordable slimline stomp with a six-knob interface that gives you full tone-shaping control over your sound. Dial in a reverb mode with the RES knob, shape the tone with the CFR knob, and add a little warmth with the LPF knob. Then, use the PRD knob to set the delay time, the MIX knob to control the amount of reverb, and the DECAY knob to set the reverb’s decay length. The Caline CP-26 Snake Bite Ambient Reverb comes with a true bypass feature.
MXR Vintage Bass Octave
The Vintage Bass Octave from MXR updates the warm analog sub-bass feels of an old school circuit with cleaner headroom, superior tracking, and versatility required by modern players. It gives you a tremendous range of smooth, musical sounds within a pedalboard-friendly MXR mini housing. The Vintage Bass Octave features a throaty and rich voice and comes in two forms—two octaves down and one octave down. You can dial in each individually using the Oct 1 and Oct 2 knobs. The Vintage Bass Octave is an invaluable device for bassists who wish to plumb their instrument’s sonic depth.
Seymour Duncan Studio Bass
The Studio Bass Compressor by Seymour Duncan is a studio-quality, classic compressor that comes in a simple four-knob format. It is transparent and pairs well with your 805 Overdrive for a tight grind. It consists of an innovative Blend knob and a three-position mini-toggle switch that let you determine the frequency range of the natural uncompressed signal and set the amount of dry versus wet signal routed to the output. The Studio Bass Compressor is designed and assembled in Seymour Duncan’s Santa Barbara, California factory.
Eden I90 Bass Chorus
Specially crafted for bass instruments, the Eden i90 Bass Chorus Pedal delivers a professional chorus which allows you to dial in different high definition chorus effects. It consists of interactive Depth and Speed knobs that allow you to easily find various chorus styles. The Low Cut control also lets you select where in your sound chorus is applied to direct the effect in your preferred area. The i90 Bass Chorus is constructed rugged to Eden specs and standards and features balanced and unbalanced outputs.
MXR Sub Octave Bass Fuzz
The Sub Octave Bass Fuzz by MXR serves up a roaring low end with earth-shaking fuzz. It combines two distinct fuzzes with a snarling sub-octave signal, boasting a range of controls for fine-tuning your sound, including an individual Dry volume knob to guarantee clean low-end retention. The engineers at MXR combined the Bass Octave Deluxe’s Growl section with a long-forgotten fuzz circuit. With three independent output level controls for dry signals, fuzz, and sub-octave, you can craft your recipe of subterranean tones sans compromising your instrument’s natural sound.
Source Audio Aftershock
The AfterShock Bass Distortion pedal from Source Audio delivers three bass overdrive engines spanning the gamut of low-end crunch from smooth, organic overdrive to full-on fuzz attack. The Tube engine produces a subtle yet powerful classic tube overdrive with plenty of punch and a smooth breakup. Heavy belts out an aggressive scooped sound with thundering lows and ample highs. The Fuzz engine serves up extreme germanium fuzz tones with lots of bottom as well as mucho grit.
Aguilar Filter Twin
The Filter Twin utilizes two similar filters sweeping in opposite directions—one down in frequency, the other up in frequency—to produce original filter tones or classic 70’s-inspired funk sounds. Two filters sweeping at once provide you a more natural, vocal quality and let you create expressive new sounds. Use the THRESHOLD control to determine the unit’s sensitivity to different playing styles, BLEND to adjust the mix between the filters, and VELOCITY controls to determine every filter’s speed.
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.
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.
Tom’sline Slow Hand
Create dramatic volume swells to make your sound more epic with budget guitar effects pedal maker Tomsline’s Slow Hand stompbox. It cuts off the attack of each note you play to produce a volume swell similar to rolling up your guitar’s volume knob from zero. You can even use it to make your guitar sound like a violin. The Slow Hand features Tomsline’s patented stop bar design to keep your foot from messing up the pedal’s settings when you stomp on it.
Mission Engineering VM-Pro (Red)
Housed in a fiery red chassis, the VM-PRO by Mission Engineering is the most sophisticated volume pedal you will find. It addresses several common issues with volume pedals, which result in mismatching and tone sucking problems. It works with your baritone, bass, electro-acoustic, or electric guitars. The VM-PRO is also compatible with other electric and acoustic instruments such as steel guitars, electronic keyboards, and instrument microphones. It incorporates compatibility switches for utilization with passive/active pickups as well as fuzz pedals.
Mooer Mini Series Leveline
A good volume pedal is an essential component of any good pedalboard setup, but most of them just take up too much space. Enter the Leveline, budget stompbox maker Mooer’s answer for shoestring shoegazers who need a volume pedal with a smooth transition and doesn’t distort the core tone. The tiny Leveline features a pair of built-in foot rings that unfold to give you a larger surface area to work with. Once you’re done rocking out you can fold them back in to save room.
Zoom FP02M
Get a pitch bender, a wah pedal, and a volume pedal in one with the FP02M expression pedal from Zoom. Plug it into your bass effects device or guitar to add real-time command over the pitch, wah, or volume, as well as effect parameters like distortion gain, modulation rate, and reverb or delay level. Sturdy enough for the road, the FP02M comes in a metal enclosure and includes a ¼” to ¼” connection cable. It works with various Zoom effects processors.
Electro Harmonix Dual Expression
So many wonderful stompboxes now come with expression pedal support, so choosing which one to use with your lone expression pedal can be a headache. The Dual Expression Pedal from Electro-Harmonix eases that headache a bit by letting you control two individual functions or two separate devices using one expression pedal. Both EXP outputs have independent range and reverse, plus they each have their own polarity switch for enhanced compatibility with a wider range of pedals.
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.
Tapestry Audio Bloomery Passive Volume Pedal (White)
Conserve valuable pedalboard space with the compact, convenient to use, and efficient Bloomery passive volume pedal from Tapestry Audio. It includes some very unique differences from a standard volume control pedal. Its portable size necessitates less space while remaining comfortable for your foot. It has been machined out of steel for a tough, solid feel. Direct shaft drive and slide potentiometer eradicate the need for pesky strings. The passive model lets you convert the tuner output into an expression output.
Mission Engineering SP-H9 Eventide
Thanks to the SP-H9 Eventide from Mission Engineering, you can now optimize your H9 Harmonizer. Connects to your H9 via a single TRS cable, this pedal calibrates smoothly with the H9 and provides pitch transitions and delay without glitch through an expression controller with an integrated switch. For added flexibility, the SP-H9 Eventide is fitted with a jack for an external AUX switch. Jointly developed by Eventide and Mission, the SP-H9 will make your H9 Harmonizer even better.
Ernie Ball Ambient Delay
The Ernie Ball Expression Series Ambient Delay pedal gives you access to lush digital delay and plate reverb effects. Intuitive controls let you dial in a delay time ranging from 50ms to 1s, delay feedback, and reverb level. Since the Ambient Delay already comes in expression pedal form, you don’t need to plug in an external expression pedal to control the sweepable effect levels. Leave the footswitch open for a clean, transparent tone and rock the treadle forward to increase the amount of delay and reverb.
Joyo Golden Face
It’s tiny, it’s tuney, but the British-flavored crunch Joyo packed into the Ironman JF-308 Golden Face guitar effects pedal is anything but loony. This extremely small pedal that you can literally carry in your front pocket serves up massive Marshall stack sounds for rocking any audience to their knees. One issue that really small pedals usually face is the control knobs getting accidentally stepped on and mangled. The JF-308 Golden Face fixes that by using a flip cover to keep them safe.
Danelectro BK-1 Big Spender Spinning Speaker
The Danelectro BK-1 Big Spender Spinning Speaker guitar effect pedal is the perfect rotary speaker stompbox for musicians working with a very tight budget. Separate Volume and Treble knobs keep the simulated rotary speaker effect from becoming just another mishmash of phaser, chorus, and vibrato effects. A dedicated Speed knob and a Ramp switch separate from the main Effect switch simulate the speeding up / slowing down sounds of a real Leslie speaker for a greasy, gritty, shimmering rotary speaker effect.
Two Notes Torpedo Captor 16
The 16 Ohm Torpedo Captor from boutique guitar effects pedal maker Two Notes is the minified version of the award winning Torpedo Reload reactive loadbox. Using Two Notes’ reactive technology, the Captor can mimic the impedance of a speaker perfectly, making you sound like you’re connected to a real amp cabinet even when you’re plugged straight into a PA, a mixer, a recording station, or even a pair of headphones. Use it with the Torpedo C.A.B.’s virtual cabinet collection for an even wider array of ampless tonal possibilities.
Joyo JF-310
Despite its tiny size, Joyo’s JF-310 Orange Juice amp sim pedal packs the full, in-your-face British-flavored power and attack of a vintage Orange amp. It perfectly captures an Orange amp’s dynamic, highly defined, and aggressive overdrive assault. Dedicated Drive, Tone, and Voice control pots give you plenty of built-in tone sculpting tools to dial in the exact tone you want. Whenever you need to layer some dirt onto you signal, the JF-310 Orange Juice will deliver.
Joyo JF-307
The JF-307 Clean Glass guitar effects pedal from Joyo brings the classic tone of blackface-era Fender amps straight to your feet. As its name suggests, this tiny stompbox does justice to Fender’s classic twangy and clear clean channel sound. There’s also a dedicated Drive knob for when you want to add saturated, sustain-friendly dirt. The JF-306 Night Train 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.
Catalinbread SFT
The Catalinbread SFT is the brand’s take on the respected Ampeg SVT circuit, offering tone shaping and drive options for bass and guitar. Boasting a two-band Baxandall EQ circuit, along with the Gain and Volume knobs, the SFT is capable of outright distortion, amp emulation, subtle tone-shaping, or painting all shades of saturation in between. Whether you are in the market for a bass overdrive, guitar distortion, or the ultimate heavy drop tune saturator, the Catalinbread SFT can do the job.
Pigtronix Mothership2
Transform your bass or guitar into a three-voice analog synthesizer with the Mothership 2 pedal from Pigtronix. It consists of five custom dual-concentric knobs that give you incredible control over synth parameters, including separate level controls for square wave, triangle wave, and sine wave oscillators. Paired with your clean guitar tone, you have a massive synth voice capable of covering three octaves. It accurately tracks your instrument’s pitch and amplitude. The Mothership 2 will unlock a different world of creative potential for your bass or guitar.
Empress Effects ZOIA
Empress Effects’ ZOIA is loaded with a massive collection of modules to realize virtually anything you can imagine. LFOs, oscillators, bit crushers, filters, envelope followers are only some of the available modules which may be connected in almost any way you desire. Essentially a modular synthesizer in pedal form, the ZOIA offers the modules required to build a tremolo or delay from the ground up. It allows you to craft your custom effects, midi controllers, synthesizers, and digital pedalboards. Empress Effects has also developed modules for all your common guitar effects.
Seymour Duncan FOOZ
The FOOZ pedal from Seymour Duncan transforms your guitar into an over-the-top analog synth. It leverages an extremely saturated square-wave fuzz to turn your instrument into the “oscillator,” geared to be shaped by other blocks—it also makes for an exceptional fuzz tone alone. It consists of Depth, Speed, Wave, Shape, Freq, Resonance, Level, and Gain controls. Inspired by synth flexibility and iconic guitar tones, the FOOZ imparts the spirit of synth creativity in your guitar.
WMD Geiger Counter Civilian Issue
This is the future of digital dirt. WMD’s Geiger Counter boutique distortion guitar effects pedal delivers a cornucopia of dirt tones, from the classic and recognizable to some insanely twisted, octave folded lo fi fuzz that brings to mind the irradiated wind that follows in the wake of a mushroom cloud. The Geiger Counter Civilian Issue is a stripped down version of the original, featuring 32 preset sounds and a far less complicated control layout.
EarthQuaker Devices Organizer V2
The Organizer is a polyphonic organ emulator that makes your instrument sound like a massive, old-timey church organ. The Organizer’s Leslie-style warbles give your sound a decidedly haunting atmosphere, whether you plug in a guitar, a bass, drums, synths, or even a mic into it. Create brand-new sonic soundscapes quickly and easily with the Organizer’s six control knobs, including Up and Down controls for the octave effect and a Choir knob that lets you dish out an additional two octaves up, two octaves down, and slightly delayed direct signal for that full church organ sound.
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.




















































































































































































































