A high-end preamp or boost pedal will really do your pedalboard/rig wonders. This is true whether the pedal’s used in a set-it-and-forget-it fashion to improve signal strength and tone, or it’s used to bring the guitar (or bass) up a step dB for important parts. Choosing the best boost and/or preamp for your setup can…
Buffer pedals aren’t flashy or overly talked about. Many guitarists and bassists don’t even know what a buffer is, nor do they require a buffer pedal in their rig. However, for those of us that do need a buffer, having a well-designed unit is key to maintaining our hard-fought tone! In this article, we’ll go…
Vibrato is one of those effects that can offer the gentlest modulation to the wackiest signal alteration and everything in between. A great vibrato pedal can help us achieve this spectrum of the wonderful pitch-varying vibrato effect. In this article, we’ll discuss the top 7 vibrato pedals in the world. We’ll focus on 4 dedicated…
Flanger, for those familiar with the effect, is one of those instantly recognizable modulation effects. When used tastefully, it sounds great on guitar and pretty much any other instrument as well. A high-end flanger pedal can easily get us this effect on guitar and bass. That’s what this article is about: the best flanger pedals…
Phaser is one of the more popular types of audio signal modulation and sounds great on practically any instrument (within reason). A superior phaser pedal will get us an excellent phaser modulation sound in our guitar (or other instruments) tone. In this article, we’ll discuss the top 8 best phaser pedals in the world with…
Wah is one of the most remarkable and identifiable guitar effects in the world. Having a great wah pedal in your rig can open up a new world of sonic possibilities and truly add that desirable expression to your tone. I mean, who doesn’t like wah (except maybe Adele)? In this article, we’ll discuss the…
The funky, quacky, vowel-like effects of a perfectly set envelope filter pedal can really get us grooving. This “auto-wah” filtering effect is easily identified in music and is well worth the investment when used tastefully. If you’re looking for the best envelope filter pedals money can buy, you’ve come to the right place. Of course,…
A great EQ pedal set just right can really make a guitar tone shine through a mix and claim its piece of the overall sonic landscape of the music. The same is true for bass guitar (and every other instrument). EQ (along with compression) is one of the most used tools in mixing and mastering….
Compressor pedals may not be flashy or exciting, but they can play a major role in producing a tone you can be happy with. The thickening/sustaining effect of a compressor can add presence, weight and strength to your signal like no other effect. Compressors can even go as far as producing pleasant distortion in your…
Looper pedals are incredibly useful in live, studio and practice environments. They can help us learn theory and chord/scale relationships, build larger-than-life walls of sound, free up our hands to do other things, provide a repeating section to modulate with other effects, and much more. Having a looper pedal can really open up our creative…
Pitch-shifting and harmonizer pedals are not for everyone but can be invaluable tools for those of us who get to know and love their sound. Whether we’re looking to extend the range of our instrument, harmonize to create interesting harmonies, or add unnatural glissando to our playing, a pitch-shifter or harmonizer is for us. In…
Delay is one of the most important and versatile effects for guitar, bass guitar and any other instrument in the context of tone and the overall musical mix. In live and studio settings, have a top-of-the-line delay pedal (or multiple delay pedals) can really add to the magic of your sound. In this article, we’ll…
