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Have you ever listened to your favorite guitarist and thought, “Man, how did they get the guitar to sound like that?” The answer is almost always by using guitar pedals.
The world of guitar effect pedals has existed since the first wave of modern music. These eclectic and colorful effects boxes have not only helped define the sounds of countless guitar legends but also helped invent entire music genres. The term “shoegaze” came from experimentalists like Kevin Shields and Christian Savill staring at their pedal boards on the ground as they carefully crafted stunning walls of sound.
For a lot of players, choosing the right pedals is just as important as picking the right guitar. But every pedal sounds and works differently, and there are hundreds if not thousands to choose from.
But that’s where we come in. Whether you’re completely new to pedals or just looking for suggestions on what to add to your pedalboard next, our guitar pedal Buyer's Guide will answer all of your questions.
In most basic terms, guitar pedals are a circuit contained in a small enclosure (typically aluminum or fiberglass) that modifies your sound in a variety of ways.
The earliest analog pedals were essentially just a bunch of wires and electrical components in a box, and plenty of pedal companies are still finding fantastic new sounds purely through old-school circuitry. But in recent years, there’s been an explosion of digital guitar pedals pushing the craft to bold new heights, from idiosyncratic sound machines to studio-in-a-box pedals.
No matter the pedal you’re using, one thing you’ll always find is a bypass button (aka a footswitch) you can press to turn the pedal on and off. From there, how to use a pedal ultimately depends on the pedal you’re using.
Most standard pedals usually have a volume and tone knob plus one or two additional controls for the specific effect (e.g. Tremolo pedals often have “depth” and “speed” controls), but that’s definitely not set in stone. Some pedals might have just one knob or even no controls at all; others might be jam-packed with so many knobs and switches that they come with an instruction manual.
Whether you’re a plug-in-and-go type of player or a fine-tuning tonal explorer, you’re bound to find a pedal for you.
Analog and digital guitar pedals work by altering the input signal before it reaches the output source. Think of your guitar as point A and your amp as point B — usually, your sound just has to travel from A to B across your guitar cable (also known in the biz as a “signal path”).
When a pedal is added in, your signal now has to pass through the pedal’s circuit on its way to the amp. In doing so, the circuit alters your sound before it reaches its destination.
Setting up a guitar pedal in your signal path is fairly simple — you’ll just need an extra guitar cable. Every guitar pedal has an input and output jack, so you’ll want to plug your guitar into your pedal instead of your amp.
From there, plug your second cable into the pedal’s output and your amp, and then plug your pedal into a power source. Some pedals come with their own power source or even work with batteries, but if not, make sure you buy one with the right voltage for your pedal (usually 9V, but double-check if you’re unsure).
Say you want to use multiple guitar pedals at once. Not only can you easily do that, but that’s where the fun really begins. All you have to do is plug into the first pedal in your signal chain, link that pedal’s output to the next pedal’s input using a patch cable, and repeat until you’re ready to plug into your amp from the final pedal’s output.
Where you place your pedals in your chain actually affects your overall sound, which is where the art of pedalboards comes in. While pedal order will forever be a contentious topic on guitar forums, the “right” pedal order comes down to what sounds you’re looking for. So don’t be afraid to mix, match, and rearrange to your heart’s content.
That said, if you’re looking for a starting point, here’s a typical pedal order you’ll often see players use for their boards:
Guitar → Tuner pedal → Compression/EQ → Boost/Drive → Fuzz/Distortion → Modulation (Chorus, Reverb, Delay, etc.) → Amp
For more advice on building a pedalboard, check out our blog on Building Out The Perfect Pedalboard Within Your Budget.
Guitar pedals aren’t just applicable for live shows. Not only can you easily use pedals in your recordings, but doing so is just another way to expand your creativity in the studio and discover new sounds for yourself. P
lus, if you’re getting tired of relying on digital effects plug-ins but don’t have the space or budget for analog outboard gear, pedals give you the same tactile feeling and responsiveness of dialing in physical controls. There are even guitar pedals that are inspired by legendary studio gear, from compressors to console preamps, giving you access to those tools without breaking the bank.
There are a few ways of using pedals for guitar in the studio, the first one being simply plugging your pedal chain into your amp or an audio interface (with an instrument input option) and tracking guitar as you normally would. The catch is that, unlike plug-ins, there’s no adjusting your tone in post, so this method is best if you already have a crystal-clear idea of your guitar sound and know your pedals well.
If you want to use your pedals but with more editing flexibility, then you can try reamping your guitar with either a DI or Reamp box. We wrote about the process in depth before, but the gist is that reamping allows you to capture a clean recording of your guitar part so that if you want to try out a different amp, pedal, or mic, you can do so without needing to record another take.
For example, if you like your playing in one take but want to try out a distortion pedal instead of a fuzz, you can send the reamped signal through your effects chain and try out different pedals on the fly. It’s almost like sonic time-traveling.
Your pedals aren’t just limited to guitar effects, either. With the right setup, you can handle entire mixes using just the effects from your pedals, which also happens to involve a reamping device. Check out our step-by-step guide to using guitar pedals in the studio.
With decades of history, thousands of options, and new pedals dropping seemingly every day, which guitar pedals are the best ones out there?
You probably guessed the answer: It depends! While you definitely have your classic and best-selling pedals that countless players say are a must-have on your board, the go-to for one guitarist may not be another’s cup of tea.
It all comes down to what kind of player you are, which genres you like and what you can afford among other factors. You can even track down the pedalboards of most famous guitarists if you’re looking for inspiration.
But as we’ve said before, there are a lot of pedals to choose from that create a massive range of effects. Here’s a brief explanation of each category along with a few suggested pedals.
One of the first guitar effects ever made, reverb adds sonic reflections or – as the name implies – reverberations to give your sound more depth, scale, and space. This effect can make it sound like you’re playing in a big cathedral, a long hallway, or even a completely different planet, all without leaving the studio.
Some of the original reverb units were made using springs built into guitar amps or rooms with metal plates (hence why there are “spring” and “plate” reverbs), and you’ll even find pedals that incorporate these analog designs. For the most part, reverb pedals are digital these days, but that gives even budget-friendly options plenty of versatility.
Along with basic controls like volume and tone, most reverb pedals will allow you to shape the depth (how far away your signal sounds), decay (how long the reverb rings out), and the wet-dry signal balance (how much you want your clean signal to come through). A lot of ‘verb pedals will even let you switch between the type of reverb, from a vintage spring or plate reverb to ambient hall tones to more experimental soundscapes.
Suggested Reverb Pedals: Poly Effects Verbs, Meris Mercury X, Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator, Strymon BigSky, Empress Effects Reverb, Echo Fix EF-P2, Collision Devices Black Hole
Delay and reverb are often confused with one another – some pedals even contain delay and reverb. But whereas reverb creates reflections of your signal, delay repeatedly copies and pastes your signal in real-time.
This effect was first done using actual tape, which is a warm and nostalgic sound that’s still sought-after sound in the pedal world. But as you probably guessed, there are digital delay pedals that offer bold and unique takes on the classic effect.
Using controls like repeat speed and depth, you can use delay pedals for a quick, rockabilly-style “slapback” delay, cascading riffs in the vein of the Edge, or even thick shoegazey walls of sound. But the secret weapon for most delay pedals is the feedback control, which lets you take your delay from clean repeats to never-ending and increasingly oscillating sound loops. Such dexterity is why you’ll see guitar traditionalists and experimentalists alike using delay pedals.
Suggested Delay Pedals: Benson Amps Delay, Meris LVX, Erica Synths Zen, Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station, Strymon Timeline, Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget, Red Panda Particle, Source Audio Collider, JHS 3 Series Delay Pedal, Death By Audio Micro Dream
The next few categories generally implement the same controls: Volume, Tone, and most importantly, Gain (also sometimes called Sustain).
This thick, crunchy sound first created from cranked (and even broken) amps helped invent rock music as we know it today. The first generation of pedal companies found a way to create that dimed amp sound using just circuitry, and the rest is history.
Obviously, it’s still an essential effect today — who doesn’t love a good drive tone? Given that fact, there are likely more drive pedals for sale than any other category. Analog drive pedals will give you those satisfying vintage sounds of the 1960s and '70s, while digital drive pedals tend to have a more jagged and crisp sound.
Some players may also argue that distortion is different than overdrive, but we have them both grouped under “Drive” here. Just know that distortion pedals tend to be more aggressive, compressed, and present than overdrives, which is why you’ll see metal and hard-rock guitarists using distortion pedals in their rigs.
Suggested Drive Pedals: British Pedal Company Vintage Series Rangemaster, Kernom Ridge, Origin Effects BassRIG, Warm Audio WA-CV Centavo, 1981 Inventions LVL, Benson Amps Preamp, KMA Machines Wurm 2 Distortion, 29 Pedals FLWR, API Select TranZformer LLX, Pro Co Rat 2, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, EarthQuaker Devices Plumes
Say you love your drive and distortion tones, but you still want something heavier.
From Jimi Hendrix to Jack White, fuzz has been the effect to do just that. Fuzz is a similar effect to drive and distortion, but thicker, fuller, and more chaotic. While it’s not usually an effect you’ll want to use for rhythm parts, a fuzz pedal is the perfect weapon to explode into a lead riff or solo.
The majority of fuzz pedals use analog circuitry, but the two common distinctions you’ll see are germanium vs. silicon fuzz, which refers to the type of transistors being used. Vintage-style germanium fuzzes are usually warmer, fuller, and cleans up nicely when you roll off your volume, but they’re also more temperamental to things like your power supply and even the weather. Silicon fuzes are more stable, but tend to give a brighter and more hard-clipped tone. Which one is better comes down to what you prefer..
Suggested Fuzz Pedals: ZVEX Effects Mastotron, Death By Audio Fuzz War, Dunlop FFM2 Germanium Fuzz Face Mini, Collision Devices Singularity, Boss FZ-1W Waza Craft, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, Collision Devices TARS, Kernom MOHO Magmatic Fuzz Station, Gamechanger Audio Third Man Records PLASMA Coil, BAE Hot Fuzz
For those wanting to stick to cleaner tones but still want the occasional grit, boost pedals offer a more “transparent,” edge-of-breakup tone. Boost pedals won’t saturate or compress nearly as much as drives (although some can hit that point with enough gain), so they’re good for giving your guitar sound a little flavor without completely overpowering your natural tone.
Suggested Boost Pedals: 1981 Inventions LVL, EarthQuaker Devices Arrows V2, Chandler Limited Little Devil, Spaceman Saturn VI, Origin Effects DCX Boost, IK Multimedia Z-TONE, Milkman Sound Pop Top, JHS Colour Box V2, Benson Amps Germanium Boost, SoloDallas Schaffer Replica
Compression is an essential tool in the studio, but compressor pedals offer the same benefits right on your pedalboard. Without getting too into the weeds, compression manipulates your signal’s dynamic range so that the quiet parts are louder and the loud parts are quieter.
For guitarists, compression brings out more sustain and presence for more consistent picking and long-spanning chords, which proves useful for everyone from country chicken pickers to heavy metal shredders.
Compression pedals can be as simple as a volume and sensitivity control, but you’ll also see ones with the classic studio compressor controls like attack, threshold, and ratio. There are also plenty of subtle differences between analog and digital compressors, so take some time to listen using some good headphones to see which one is right for you.
Suggested Compressor Pedals: Universal Audio UAFX Teletronix LA-2A, Dreadbox Kinematic, Empress Effects Compressor MKII, Boss CS-3, Zoom MS-50G Multistomp, Spaceman Ixion, Ampeg Opto Comp, MXR M291 Dyna Comp, Strymon Compadre, API Select TranZformer CMP
Modulation is a catch-all term for any effect pedal that “moves” your guitar’s sound in some way. For tremolo pedals, that’s continuously turning the volume up and down, while vibrato pedals do the same with your pitch.
Chorus pedals, meanwhile, are a vibrato signal mixed in with a separate clean signal, creating that shimmery sound used extensively by post-punk and dream pop bands like the Cure and Cocteau Twins.
Phasers use a similar doubling effect but manipulate your guitar’s phase instead of pitch for a trippy and swirling sound. And then there’s the Uni-Vibe, but we’ll let you discover that one for yourself.
Similar to reverb and delay, modulation pedals will often have depth and rate controls along with volume and blend, so getting the hang of these pedals is a breeze.
Suggested Modulation Pedals: Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus, Echo Fix EF-P3 Chorus Vibrato, Malekko Sneak Attack Decay & Tremolo, Eventide TriceraChorus, KMA Machines Astrospurt Phaser, Malekko Thicken Multi-Tap Delay/Chorus, MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato, EarthQuaker Devices Aqueduct Vibrato, Red Panda Lab Radius Ring Modulator/Frequency Shifter, JHS 3 Series Harmonic Trem
A solid tone is essential for guitarists of any genre, which is why EQ pedals are so incredibly useful. Just like an EQ plug-in or studio unit, EQ pedals let you adjust your guitar’s frequency spectrum, resulting in a cleaner and fine-tuned base tone. A little EQing can help eliminate any muddiness, bring out some high-end jangle, or tame any bothersome overtones you might be hearing.
In terms of controls, most EQ pedals will assign various frequency bands to knobs that you can adjust to your liking. But some more complex boxes will also include gain settings, hi and lo-pass filters, and even a graphics screen, giving you studio-level control over your sound in any setting.
Suggested EQ Pedals: MXR M108S and M109S, KMA Machines Tyler Deluxe, Empress Effects ParaEq MKII, API Select TranZformer GTR, Boss EQ-200 Graphic Equalizer, Electro-Harmonix Battalion
Tuner pedals aren’t the most exciting, but if you’ve ever tried to tune your guitar with a clip-on tuner onstage, then you know that a tuner pedal is a must. Clip-on tuners rely on your guitar’s vibrations to work, so being on stage surrounded by loud noise makes it much harder for them to work properly. Tuner pedals directly read your audio signal, so they’re easily the most accurate way to quickly tune up live or in the studio.
Suggested Tuner Pedal: Peterson StroboStomp HD, Boss TU-3, Korg Pitchblack XS Bass
As we mentioned earlier, these pedals are great for using your pedals in the studio without needing to get everything perfect in one take. But not only are there great DI and reamp boxes, but there are also “studio-in-a-box” style pedals that emulate a wide range of amps, cabs, mics, and even other pedals.
This tech has especially come into its own in the last several years, so much so that a growing amount of guitarists are playing live without an amp, instead opting to plug these pedals into the house monitor. You can even run your favorite pedals through these and get an incredibly convincing amp sound without actually using an amp.
Best Reamp/DI Pedals: Kemper PROFILER, Universal Audio UAFX OX Stomp and Dream, Boss IR-2, Milkman Sound The Amp, Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator, DSM & Humboldt Simplifier MKII, Two Notes ReVolt, KMA Machines ENDGAME, Strymon Iridium
You might find your effects chain getting more unwieldy the more pedals you add to it. So what better way to get a handle on it than by adding more pedals?
The stompboxes in this category are mostly designed for quality-of-life adjustments or making your setup easier to navigate. Noise gates can tame some of the buzz that gets brought out with some pedals, splitters and routers let you set up and switch between separate effects chains, and expression pedals or external footswitches can connect to certain pedals to add even more control options.
There are also controller and clock pedals designed for MIDI instruments to help keep even the most complex setups in order.
Suggested Utility Pedals: Disaster Area Designs micro.CLOCK MIDI Tap Tempo and Clock Source, Radial Engineering PZ-Pre Acoustic Preamp, KMA Machines PYLON ATB Noise Gate, Boredbrain Music Terminal v2 Signal Router, Singular Sound MIDI Maestro MIDI Foot Controller, Disaster Area Designs DPC-5 Gen3, Boredbrain Patchulator v2 8-Channel Mini Patch Bay, Meris Preset Switch, Lehle P-Split III High Impedance Signal Splitter, Korg EXP-2 Expression Pedal
We know, we know: “Effect” isn’t the most descriptive category for effect pedals. But this is where we put the pedals that don’t really fit into a single category — which honestly makes them some of the most fun pedals to use.
Here you’ll find pedals like bitcrushers, which digitally manipulate your signal for more lo-fi and degraded tones, or synthesizer pedals, which transform your guitar tone into a wonderfully glitchy and electronic sound machine, or even a Bigsby pedal. Yes, really; a Bigsby bar in pedal form! And that’s just the start of this eclectic grab bag.
Suggested Effect Pedals: Strymon Deco V2 Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, Gamechanger Audio BIGSBY Polyphonic Pitch Shifter, MXR M222 Talk Box, Meris Ottobit Jr. Stereo Bitcrusher, Source Audio C4 Synth, Zoom G5n Guitar Processor, Meris Enzo Multi-Voice Synthesizer, Dreadbox Raindrops Hybrid Delay/Pitch Shifter/Reverb, Boss SL-2 Slicer, KMA Machines QUEEQUEG 2 Sub Octave Generator
Fans of Ed Sheeran, KT Tunstall, or Reggie Watts are well familiar with the power of a loop pedal. With the right timing and arranging, you can accompany yourself and build a full-band arrangement in real-time. Some pedals are as simple as pressing a button, but more complex pedals let you create layers, save loops, add drum patterns, and more. It certainly takes some practice, but getting the hang of looping opens up a huge world of creative possibilities.
Suggested Looper Pedals: Singular Sound Aeros Loop Studio, Morningstar Engineering ML10X, MXR M303 Clone, Boss RC-1 Loop Station, Electro-Harmonix 1440
Some pedal companies manage to add an impressive amount of effects into one box. Sometimes that simply means multiple analog circuits in a single pedal, but these days, digital multi-effect pedals are in a golden age of sorts. Pedals like the Neural DSP Quad Cortex and HeadRush Core offer not only a comprehensive library of effects, but also digital models of amps, cabs, and even mics.
Convenience is obviously a huge plus with multi-effect pedals — no more lugging around your massive pedal board or even amp to the gig. But with all the buttons, switches, and screens you’ll usually find on these pedals, the learning curve is definitely steeper for multi-effect boxes compared to other pedals. But once you get the hang of it, these pedals can be a true game-changer to your setup.
Suggested Multi-Effect Pedals: Neural DSP Quad Cortex, Eventide H90 Harmonizer, Poly Effects Beebo, Collision Devices Black Hole Symmetry, IK Multimedia TONEX AI, HeadRush Core Guitar FX, Line 6 POD Go, Roland GR-55, Beetronics FX Zzombee Filtremulator, Zoom G6
Whether you’re a solo act or the only guitarist in your band, octave and harmony pedals are a great way to beef up your sound in a unique fashion. Octave pedals effortlessly expand your available notes well beyond your fretboard, letting you reach low registers for baritone or bass lines or soar to greater heights for a blistering solo. Most octave pedals also have a blend control so you can mix your dry and octave signals together for a doubling-type sound.
Similarly, harmony pedals bring in an additional voice that you can set to a different note than the octave for choir-like chords and more complex solos.
Suggested Octave & Harmony Pedals: Boss OC-5, Meris Hedra, JHS 3 Series Octave Reverb, EarthQuaker Devices Tentacle V2, Death By Audio Octave Clang, Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork+, Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box
These pedals do what you’d think — increase or decrease your volume without messing with your guitar or amp settings. But along with your standard on/off pedals, there are also expression pedals that let you add tasteful swells.
Suggested Volume Pedals: Korg EXP-2 Expression Pedal, Electro-Harmonix Volume Pedal, Electro-Harmonix Signal Pad Passive Attenuator
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