The Modutility roundup combines Modulation, Utility and Pitch type pedals - it also includes Multi-FX and Multi-Modulation pedals of course. Some years this selection is relatively sparse - while this year it’s totally chock-a-block! In fact it was a struggle to whittle the Longlist down - and inevitably some pedals I wanted to feature did not make the cut - including the Endorphin.es Ghost Pedal Multi-FX and Subdecay Prometheus 3 Dual Super Filter.

I still feel that this selection of 26 is...

When I first started doing the visual for this I thought I had amassed 10 Beetronics pedals to date - but it turns I’m one short of that milestone - it still kind of made sense to mark the occasion of the Custom Shop Nectar’s arrival - which is probably my favourite Custom Shop edition to date. I had to wade through 3 batches to pick out that one - I wanted metal knobs - and a pinkish hue to the core - and the one pictured really captured my imagination. I quite liked my SeaBee at the time of ...

I’m quietly impressed with the peak 80’s looks of Pigtronnix’s new pair of Star Eater and Gloamer pedals. Those metallic pastel hues on the knobs really make these pedals pop. While I don’t see why these could not be made in the more pedalboard-friendly vertical format. As is, they just take up way more space than they should - however cool they are.

The first is described as an All-Analog Dual Stage Super Jumbo Fuzz - which has a Mids Bump or Scoop activated via left-hand Footswitch, while...

As a long-term user and fan of Eventide’s H9 Max, the H90 Harmonizer has been something we have all been clamouring for - for a very long time. There is much to recommend the H9 - but its on-pedal interface has always been somewhat feeble, and without the superb Bluetooth connected App the pedal wouldn’t really have been particularly usable.

Multitudes of us have been asking for a better and more intuitive interface - with more meaningful screen display. And Eventide have really pulled out ...

I first encountered Wub Wainwright’s Ritual Devices at the Birmingham Guitar Show - where he had pretty much hit his stride with his new pedal aesthetics and highly stylised geometric artworks - which looked resplendent in their etched sort of Victorian enamel trinket box designs. For me I was pretty much smitten at first sight - while the new designs had still to be carried across to the whole range. I recall Ritual Devices looking pretty cool in the past in shiny all-polished steel enclosures...

And here is the turn of the combined Modulation, Pitch and Utility category - which I affectionately label ’Modutility’. Obviously as frequently mentioned -  2021 was ’Year of the Phaser’ - so 8 favourites of those here, alongside 4 choruses, 3 flangers and a couple of stand-out Amp and Cab sims. 

Some genuinely innovative pedals here - and particularly handy new expression controllers in the guise of the Chase Bliss Audio Expression Roller, and Cooper FX Expression Generator. Free the Tone...

It is with much sadness that we bid a fond farewell to Tom and his faithful companion Cooper - who have now retired from the Cooper FX brand as such. Tom’s protégé Dan will continue to make his new Expression Generator and Signal Path Selector utility pedals as long as there remains a demand for those.

The Cooper FX Generation Loss, Arcades and Outward though have all ceased production. While there is still some hope that the final Arcades Modular Card - based on the DigiTech Space Station ...

Where once there were around 12 Boss 20-Series Double Pedals (per second visual below) - now if you scan through Boss.Info - you will find only a couple still on the books as it were. And I feel that the days of the RE-20 Space Echo and VE-20 Voice Performer are likely numbered too - which is why I’ve done a suggested mockup of what the RE-20 in particular might look like in 200-Series format.

As a long-term Boss and Roland flagship effect - I feel we will certainly see it being revived in ...

So following on from my recent Waza Craft series overview - I said I would speculate as to what Boss might next turn its attentions towards. 

I’ve said many times that Boss has its own agenda and 2-year production cycles - which means that most of what is imminently forthcoming is in the schedule already. I’ve noted before that the FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz is a likely revival - while we will probably see others in advance of that. So which ones are likely and why? ...