2022 Best of New Modutility Pedals of the Year

Controls - Balance / Tempo, Attack / Duty, Variation 1-11, Mode : Single [1.2], Dual [3,4], Tremolo [5], Harmonic [6], SFX [7,8], Hold Footswitch for Tap Tempo, Hold + Tempo for FX Level, Hold on Power-Up for Output Modes.

Everything about this pedal is amazing - except some of the clunky routines required to access alternative settings - like Output Mode. This has landed on my Tremolo slot and will likely remain there for a long wile - as it covers that off nicely - but then adds all manner of interesting rhythm patterns - in 88 variations across 8 Modes. This is such a fantastic modulation in compact form and really doesn't have any proper equals or alternatives.

Controls - Roller 0 > 10, Standard / Invert (1), Standard / Invert (2).

A much improved revival of the Classic Audio Expression Roller - now in passive format with 2 inputs and relevant external polarity switches per input. I definitely want one of these - and it will likely be added to the reference collection some time next year.

Controls - Mix, Speed 1, Speed 2, Intensity, Tone, Mix Mode : Blend (Fully Variable Wet to Dry Mix) / Mix (Dry is Fixed at 100%, Variable Wet), Inertia (Ramp Speed) : Instant / Medium / Slow, Volume, Bypass Footswitch, Speed 1 / Speed 2 Footswitch.

Cornerstone's Aquarium 2-Speed Uni-Vibe just oozes elegance and class - with a beautiful enclosure and some properly smart controls. The only thing that slightly counts against it is its horizontal vs vertical orientation and pretty lofty price!

Controls - Speed, Depth, Delay Time : x1 / x10, Modulator : LFO / ENV, Intensity Lo / Hi, Internal Gain Trimmer.

This is referenced as a ’Chorus Modulator’ - while it’s probably more correctly labelled a variable delay-line multi-modulator - which delivers Chorusing, Flanging, Vibrato and Delay in combination. A really smart pedal underlining how strong Death By Audio have been this year with a slew of killer compact edition pedals. This one's definitely down not he wishlist - still not decided what priority to assign to it!

Controls - Rate, Depth, Slew, Level, Mix, Gate, Internal dip-switches : Boost (+6dB) | Pad (+6dB), Internal trim-pots for BBD and Gate.

I've always liked the Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water K-Field Modulator, while I wasn't particularly au fait with that larger form factor. Hence the compact edition Great Sea is a sort of godsend for me - in providing that style of modulation in a properly pedalboard-friendly format. It's everything I hoped it would be and it for sure sounds superb!

Controls - Level, Compression (Input Gain), Envelope Level Gauge, Blend : Dry > Wet, Threshold : Lo / Hi / Mid, Ratio : 2:1 > 5:1 > 20:1. Release : 30ms > 300ms 3sec, Atack : 5ms > 10ms > 100ms.

We've been blessed this year with a series of innovative superior quality minimal colouring Compressor Pedals - and this is just one such - with an entirely new circuit specially engineered to preserve the dynamics of your core signal. Such is the quality of choice and options this year that it's nigh impossibly to decide which one would be best for you preferences - this one would certainly be in contention though.

Controls - Dry Vol, Effect Vol, Ctrl 1, Ctrl 2, Mode : 1-9.

The venerable 9 Series of EHX Guitar Synth Pedals has now reached 7 with this excellent S9 String Synth edition - for all those angelic sweeps and swoops. You know the drill - 9 different Modes - shaped by 4 knobs. I keep meaning to get some of these, but am never sure which ones would suit me the best. Generally I'm more in favour of an all-in-1 solution like Boss's SY-200 - which is my current synth pedal of choice.

Controls - Low Q, Mid Q, High Q, Low Freq, Mid Freq, High Freq, Low Gain, Mid Gain, High Gain, HPF Filter 10-330Hz, Mid Shelf -15>+15, Mid Shelf 2 -15>+15, LPF Filter, Boost +30dB, Boos Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.

Simply the perfect EQ Pedal for my preferences - 3 properly parametric EQ's per Low, Mid and High frequency bands, 4 shelving filters and +30db boost - which I mostly use as a solo boost. This is the most accurate, pristine, noiseless EQ that I have witnessed to date. Just incredible to have this studio tool in a compact enclosure - really special engineering be Steve Bragg and colleagues.

Controls - Select Program / Playlist / Bank [hold], Perform / HotKnob, Programs + Routing (System when pressed together), Quick Parameter Knobs 1-3, Presets + Parameters (Tempo when pressed together), [P] Active / On Footswitch, [A] Bank Down Footswitch, [B] Bank Up Footswitch.

I deliberated for a long time as to which category this should sit in - Multi-FX pedals can be tricky to classify, while I would probably mostly be using this as a Multi-Modulator - to go in on the incumbent Wampler Terraform slot. I then need to figure out what to do with the H9 Max slot!

Controls - Rate / Speed, Depth 1, Depth 2, Depth 1 / 2 Footswitch, Engage Footswitch. Expression port controls Rate.

Such an impressive sounding Uni-Vibe in a compact enclosure. It's obviously not as feauture-rich or controllable as say the DryBell Vibe Machine - but it has its own warm timbre which sounds superb. Moreover it pairs amazingly with its Freia Uni-Fuzz sibling.

Controls - Boost / Ramp Speed, Speed (Primary / Secondary / Drift), Randomness, Ramp : Latch / Momentary / Drift, Shape / Drift Shape : Triangle / Sine / Randomised, Depth / Drift Depth, Division / Harmonic Division, Width / Harmonic Width / Stereo Width. On / Hold / Alt Footswitch, Tap/Ramp Footswitch - Momentary / Latching / Drift. Press both Footswitches together to scroll through 5 colour-coded presets.

I'm a sucker for great Harmonic Tremolos - and this extended features edition - with stereo output is one of the greatest. It's enormously potent, while the manual is a little too opaque, and the dial-in isn't quite as straightforward as I would like. You can't argue with the output though - it surely sounds great.

Controls - Wow & Flutter (Warble), Saturation (Soft Clipping), Noise (Hiss) : Lots / None / Some, Mix (Wet Mix), Volume (Output).

Interestingly I placed the Chase Bliss Gen Loss II, and Kintone Ribbons Tape-FX in the Time-Based Effects category, while this for me in its stripped-down simplicity seems to sit better with the handful of lo-fi modulators in this selection. The 5 controls here allow you to mangle your signal in the quickest and most efficient fashion.

Controls - Intensity, Mode : Chorus / Vibrato, Volume, Rate; Internal Trimmers for - Phase Cancel, Input Impedance, and Voicing (More Throb CW).

Horrothia's Flagship Un-Vibe pedal sounds just as good as it looks - and it looks gorgeous - every element here is perfect placed in perfect symmetrical harmony. The modulation is elegant and vintage-tinged by default - wile you can crank up the voicing trimmer like I have done to get more throb! This one is such a joy to deploy and effortless to dial in.

Controls - Filter Type : HP / LP, Pad, Pad : On / Off, Waveform : Sinewave / Glitch, Wet, Filter, Dry, Speed, Depth.

This is one of the core set of chorus-style Lo-Fi Modulators - alongside pedals like the Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl, Demiurge Great Sea / Shallow Water, and Zvex Instant Lo-Fi Junky which mostly entered the reference collection this year. They each overlap to a degree but are also distinct in their own right. The Demedash T-60 also has some really cool lo-fi voicings. I've always wanted the Wardenclyffe - and the V2 is just he right size for me!

Controls : Level, Frequency, Mode : Cocked / Seagull, Sweep Range : 1 - 3.

This is essential fodder for fans of David Gilmour - but you still need to be delicate with the setup here - really needs to be right at the front of the chain for the Reverse-Wah Seagull Squawks to work - where you twiddle your guitar's Tone dial to control the Squawk. You also have the more consistently useful cocked-way side of the circuit which you can deploy more regularly. Something of a specialist pedal - but like I said - pretty much essential for Gilmour fans!

Controls : ± Gain

I've long liked to use the larger 8-Mode Keyztone EXchanger as I mostly play humbuckers and that delivers far better Single Coil tones than my guitar's coil-split. Here you have simpler choices - just one voice each with a single ± Gain control. So the Black Rekoil is Single Coil to Humbucker, and the White Rekoil is Humbucker to Single Coil. These are entirely 3D-printed hard plastic including the knobs and actually look really cool. I still think they could do with an additional 'Brightness' control as the output is incredibly bright - and every time I switch it in I need to adjust the tone control of my guitar - would be more elegant if I could switch it without the need for further calibration!

Controls - CTRL1 (LP•WD•DD•RM), CTRL 2 (HP•WF•DF•RD), CTRL 3 (MX•FD•CR•T1), CTRL 4 (CP•FF•NO•T2), Modes / Page : 1 Mix / Utility, 2 Wow and Flutter, 3 Degradation, 4 Reverb & Touch, Touch Footswitch (Magnetic Dance / Tape Stop / Broken Machine / Repeater), Bypass / Engage, Press Both Footswitches to scroll through 8 presets.

This is probably the smartest compact noise gate currently on the market - with smart make-up gain controls to better balance the signal - as when you apply a noise gate you can typically loose a part of the signal - however subtle - and here you can much better balance the signal - via an onboard audiophile grade transformer. This has all manner of triggers and smart shaping controls - all with the singular purpose of improving the balance of your core signal.

Controls - Mix, Type : -2 / -2 + -1 / -1.

KMA have been on a real mission this year to hone and improve their core range - swapping out side-mounted jacks for top-mounted varieties, and new adding controls, features and functions along the way. The Queequeg adds second sub-octave -2 to the previously just -1 and gives you a 3-way switch to select one or the other as well as both together. The core Mix switch remains in prime position. Really arresting artwork too - this one is definitely on the cards for sometime next year - its output of course is as pristine as its sharp looks.

Controls - Pad (Instrument Input Level : -10 | 0 | +10 dB, Lo / Mid / Hi Red EQ Frequency Bands, Notch / Peak : Red EQ Frequency Cut / Boost, Freq (Red EQ Frequency), Width (Red EQ Q-Bandwidth), Tone (Blue EQ Frequency Select), Depth (Blue EQ Degree / Intensity), Morph (Blue EQ <> Red EQ Blend), Level (Up to 27dB Boost), Dual Pre & Post Send & Return FX Loops, Engage / True Bypass Footswitch.

I have two exceptional EQ's for the year, and almost included a third courtesy of the Spaceman Equinox - but that lost points for its large non-pedalboard-friendly size - and the fact that it still did not have top-mounted jacks even with that over-sized enclosure. The ParaEQ and Muir Audio Morphtone EQ's are perfectly proportioned and perfectly suited to their applications. I already have the ParaEQ obviously - which remains my mainstay EQ - while I will also be getting the Morphtone EQ sometime next year for more occasional and experimental use.

Controls - Fuzz On/Off Button, Mono / Poly button, Dry Level, Sub-1 Level, Sub-2 Level, Modulation Rate, Oct+1 level, Oct+2 Level.

This is a totally genius octave pedal - with no less that 4 different octaves - 2 down + 2 up - it then also has a cool fuzz voicing and LFO Modulation - just an incredibly useful and versatile pedal all-in-one - especially all those different octave voices combined with the fuzz.

Controls - Mix : Dry > Wet, Volume, Clock Slider : Sample Rate and Length, Speed : Playback Speed.

Just the coolest and most straight-backwards of effects! Unlike the usual fare of Reverse Delays and Reverse Reverbs this is simply a Reverse-Clock effect where you chiefly set the Sample Rate / Length, Playback Speed and Dry to Wet Mix - you can then get some interesting textured warble by dusting the Sample Rate Slider in particular during playback. I definitely want one of these and will be looking to land it sometime next year.

Controls - 2 x (Filter 1 + Filter 2) Cutoff, Sensitivity, Volume, Rate, Resonance, Filter : LP / BP / HP, Shape : Triangle, Sine, Square, Ramp Down, Ramp Up, Random, + universal Sync : On/Off, and Envelope Trigger : Min/Max, Right Footswitch Filter 1 Engage, Left Footswitch Filter 2 Engage.

Another superior OBNE pedal - which smartly combines two movable filters in parallel as well as series - for some really interesting filter-effects. A really well thought out and well put together device - I really struggled on which pedal gets the most playback time between this and the Beetronics Zzombee Filtremulator - both are superb.

Controls - Rate, Filter (LFO Off), Range (Flange Sweep), Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Bright, Color (Intensity), Volume, Internal Treble Trimmer, Stereo Output.

PastFX's Trifecta of Analog Flangers are all killer - and all just recently updated and upgrade. All are priced the same now and all sound amazing - these are 3 of the best Flangers you would ever want to get your hands on. The Elastic Matters is now stereo for the ultimate in Bright and Sparkly Flangers.

Controls - Sweep (LFO Speed / Rate), Waldo / EVH Switch (Ups Clock Capacitance Timing), Width (Time Delay Intensity per Sweep setting), Manual (Degree of Phase-Shifting), Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Regen (Overall Effect Intensity), Level, +/- Feedback.

The Hot For Flanger is the most improved of the PastFX Flanger Trifecta - with 2 new controls - external Level, and a +/- Feedback (Positive / Negative) type option. This is your Thick & Greasy style of flanger - perfect for getting your EVH self on. All 3 Flangers are superb and individual distinct - you need them all too!

Controls - Rate, Range (Flange Sweep), Color (Intensity), Matrix / Filter (LFO Off), Level, Treble, Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Internal Mod Switch : Stock / Bright.

The Reticon was my first killer PastFX Flanger and with its Bold and Searing output it may just still be my favourite - ovbiously mine is the special Mojo RD5106 BBD Chip while Verlie assures me that she's managed to optimise the circuit for the MN3007 and it sounds just as good - for a better price!

Controls - Speed, Delay Time, Depth, Level, Mode : Dave Simpson [default] / Andy Martin [out of phase / faux TZF], Blend, Regen [feedback], Vibrato [kill dry].

Initially I wasn't as impressed with this as the other PastFX modulations - but that was just me getting used to the pedal and figuring out how to dial it in. It's actually the most versatile of PastFX's modulation pedals - with 2 different Chorus Voicings onboard - as well as a killer Faux Through-Zero Flanger voicing - which I've been using a lot recently. Meaning that this can be your key Flanger as well as Chorus - all in the same singular compact pedal.

Controls - Big Knob : Manual / Scale Express, Up + Down Yellow Buttons : Mode Up Down (Single Click) / Bank Up Down (Double Click), R-Side Switch : Tip Direction Ring>Tip / Tip>Ring, Base Switch : Range - Least / Less / Full, L-Side Switch : Expression / Photocell, 3 x Light-Up Knobs control 3 different Parameters per Pattern.

This most exceptional Micro Expression pedal just happens to be one of the most capable of all - with 50 different expression patterns onboard and, myriad sensors, and an incredible 9 controls on that smallest of formats. As it is a digital pedal - you can connect it to your laptop or PC for a limitless upgrade path - you can also use that connection to update the 50 patterns onboard - so you can customise this in so many incredible ways - but you will need to make not of all the parameters - that you control with that mix of 4 knobs, 3 mini slider switches, and 2 arrow push-buttons. A really incredibly device, but with a healthy learning curve for sure - oh and probably the biggest price tag per size / footprint / weight!

Controls - FM.D, AM.D, Volume, Clk, AM.R, LPF.

Recently featured on this site - the new V2 Falma has 2 extra controls compared to the original - to give you additional granular control over the Depth of the Amplitude and Frequency Modulation. Just a really cool quirky random modulation where you can get drop-outs when you crank the Depth dials. It adds really cool lively and unpredictable movement to your signal - I will definitely be getting one of these early-ish next year.

Controls - Output Gain, Compression (Degree of).

An undeniably great sounding 2-knob compressor which also double up as a cool boost. The pricing, looks and function are pretty much spot on - while I feel it's a litlle over-sized compared to all its key competitors - which are all in compact enclosures.

Controls - Space (Wave Peak Separation) : On / Off, Modulation Intensity : Smooth (Shallow Warble) / Deep (Pulsating Wobble / Throb), Input Buffer Tone-shaper : Light (Highs Focus) / Dark (Lows Focus), Clipping : Grit (Clipping Diodes Engaged) / Grain (Diode Lift / No Clipping), Level (Master Output), Rate (LFO Speed), Gain (Overdrive / Distortion for Grit, Saturation for Grain).

It's tricky to know where to place this Phaser Filter Saturator - while I mostly classify it as a Phaser - but chiefly use it as a sort of Uni-Vibe. This has the most amazing throbby texture - just a really killer modulation. My only niggle is the Grit mode where you suffer a little volume drop - possibly needs to be paired with LED's for unity output! One of my very favourite modulations for this year - it's another one of those that sounds as gorgeous as it looks - and this one has beautiful hidden depths.

Controls - Alt Function Button, Makeup Gain / (ALT) Threshold, Tone / (ALT) Ratio, Preset Selector : Studio (+ALT) / Optical (+ALT) / Dual (+ALT) , Attack / (ALT) Blend, Output / (ALT) Release, Engage Footswitch.

A smart 6-in-1 DSP style Compressor - one of the many cool innovative ones for the year. I initially kind of did a double-take on this as it came straight after the Zio boost - which was Source Audio's first all-analog pedal. So I first read this as a 6-in-1 Analog pedal which would have been truly amazing - turns out its DSP in any case - which is still impressive for the variety and nuanced nature of each of the voicings which took several years to programme and hone.

Controls - Rate (Speed), Resonance, Range (Sweep), Wave Shape, Volume (Level), Mix (Blend).

This is essentially Spaceman shrinking down its 2017 model to compact editions - all 6 original controls have been retained in a more pedal-board friendly format - this was my 17th Phaser pedal, and the Ritual Devices Fay to the side was the 18th of the type into the collection. I'm obviously a huge fan of Spaceman Effects pedals - that is to say their vertical BB-enclosure and Compact units - and I snap up pretty much everything that they release at those sizes!

Controls - Decay (Layer Sustain), Reverb : Dry / Verb, Level, Fade In (Pace of Transition), Footswitch Mode - Latch / Momentary, FX Type (Number of Layers) : L1 - L4, TP1 - TP3.

This is a whole new style of 'Freeze' pedal which samples your output and holds and stretches your signal with various parameters to tweak the nature of that signal - also comes with a Reverb onboard. A really cool and innovative effect that I means to snap up this year but never quite happened - so will try to make it happen next year. These kinds of effects tend to be more for occasional rotation so they don't typical rank with a hight priority - compared with pedals that are likely to be used more constantly.

Controls - Mix, Delay, Speed, Depth, Presets x 6.

One of my very favourite Analog Choruses - rebooted and refined with brighter and sparklier tonality and improved modulation texture - more range on those key dials. The 6 presets on this pedal - combined with stereo output - are a really game-changer. This year got kind of taken over for me by PastFX on the modulation side - while this Alchemy Chorus is equal to the best of PastFX too - a genuinely great Chorus - even more usable now with that brighter top end.

Controls - Rate, Depth, Lo-Fi, Tweak, Program : Chorus / Phaser / Trem / Vibe / Rotary / Filter, Tune, Tweak Target : Shape | Division | Type + Envelope | Drive | Space (Lo-Fi), Presets : A | B | C, Tune Target : Tone | Symmetry | X + Age | Noise | Warble (Lo-Fi), Bypass / Lo-Fi Footswitch, Tap / Skip Footswitch.
 
Lo-Fi Parameters - Envelope | Drive | Space (Tweak) + Age | Noise | Warble

Tune - Tone, Symmetry, X (as below)

Tweak - Shape : Sine / Triangle / Square, Division : Quarter / Eighth / Triplet, Type - I | II | III as below
 
Programs :
Chorus I-III : Classic | Dual Chorus | Tri-Chorus : X is Lag
Phaser I-III : 2-Stage | 4-Stage | Uni-Vibe : X is Feedback
Tremolo I-III : Bias | Harmonic | Pattern : X is Stereo Width
Vibrato I-III : Classic | Vinyl | Tape Warble : X is Stereo Phase / Flutter Depth
Rotary I-III : Leslie | Horn Spin | Drum Spin : X is Cab Sim
Filter I-III : Lowpass | Highpass | Bandpass : X is Resonance

Just a killer Modulator all-round - while it's missing two of my favourites here - no Dimension-C type, and incredibly not a single flanger voicing which is surely an oversight. Otherwise a really handy compact stereo multi-modulator which otherwise has not real competitor in this format. Had id come with a Flanger voicing or two I would have snapped it up already - I'm oddly kind of stuck on the fence for this one - as I'm finding it hard to get over the fact that there is no flanger voicing onboard - I would still quite like one, but am still a little too conflicted about it.

Controls - Threshold, Ratio, Make-up (Unity Level Adjustment / Boost), Level, Attack, Release, Blend, and Sidechain HPF (particularly handy for Bass!) on the right-side edge of the pedal.

The 4th Compressor in this selection - all are innovative and really impressive - and this has a fairly unique gain-make-up circuit for better balancing the pedal's output - this has one rave reviews and is for sure one of the top choices out there - but there are so many great varieties now - competition has never been more aggressive - and it's tricky to decide which exactly is the best for you. Lots of players seem to like this one though. I am still very much married to my JA Bloom - which is really about its 3-in-1 multi-functionality - where I use all those features - and the fact that they can be deployed independently via smart footswitch press - is just genius and incredibly useable. The JA Bloom is bigger and better than the sum of its parts - and I wholly concede there are more capable studio style compressors on the market - like indeed this Walrus Mira - while the JA Bloom give me exactly what I need - so has become impossible to replace!