ao link
Filter content by area of interest
Amps
Boost and Overdrive
Delay
Distortion
Fuzz
Guitars
Modulation
Pitch
Reverb
Utility
All
All
2024-GPX-Third-Man-Donner-Triple-Thread-V2-700.jpg

I kind of see the Tripple Threat as an update / replacement for Donner’s discontinued $69 Alpha Cruncher (High Gain Distortion + Chorus + Delay) - but now with All Analog effects - where the Distortion is likely the same / similar to the analog British-voiced (Marshall) High Gain Distortion found on the Alpha Cruncher, while the Tripple Threat’s classic Phaser is a tune-up of Donner’s analog Pearl Tremor, and the Analog Echo is a tune-up of Donner’s well loved Yellow Fall Analog Delay.

 

...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

Gamechanger Audio brings Advanced-Dynamics Modular Synth Cross-Cabling to Stompboxes with its innovative MOD Series

Analog DelayChorus and VibratoDelayDigital DelayFlangerGamechanger AudioModulationPlate ReverbRack Style ReverbReverbSpring ReverbTape Delay+-
2024-GPX-Gamechange-Audio-Mod-Series-700.jpg

I love that Gamechanger Audio exists and is so free and forward looking in its innovation - continuously delivering new and distinct ideas into the world of pedals. They certainly make very interesting form factors, while their pioneering spirit often kind of ignores the more practical aspects of day-to-day pedalboard management. All their units are larger than the norms - often quite substantially - which makes those pedals difficult to accommodate on a typical board. And those considerations ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

2023 Guitar Pedals of the Year - The Best of the Best

ALABS AudioAmbient EffectsAmp and Cab IR SimAnalog DelayBest in ClassBig Muff Style FuzzBitcrushing and Lo-FiBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossChase Bliss AudioChorus and VibratoCollision DevicesDelayDelay WorkstationDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionDouble TrackingDriveDual-DriveEchoverbElectric LoveFjord FuzzFlangerFlower PedalsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzGranular DelayHello Sailor EffectsHologram ElectronicsJackson AudioJAM PedalsKernomKeyztoneLo-Fi DelayMaestro Style FuzzMarshall Style DistortionMeris EffectsMessiah GuitarsModulated FuzzModulationModulation WorkstationMulti-DriveMulti-FXOctave FuzzOddball DelayOddball FuzzOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdrivePalmer Custom FXPastFXPickup ModellerPlate ReverbPoly EffectsRack Style ReverbRainger FXReverbReverb WorkstationReverse DelayReverse ReverbShimmer ReverbSilicon FuzzSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbStrymonSuper-Fuzz StyleTark AudioTC ElectronicTremoloUtility+-
2023-GPX-Best-of-the-Best-Pedals-700.jpg

So we featured 120 pedals across the 5 Genre categories this year - as you’ve witnessed over the last 5 days, and those have been whittled and distilled down to these 27 Magnificent and Exceedingly Flavoursome candidates.

 

Picking out the very best of those is obviously a slightly subjective exercise while based on a series of exacting criteria - including innovation, versatility, practicality, variability, playability, quality of manufacture, quality of output and sheer enjoyment.

 

Here ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

2023 Best New Time-Based Effects Pedals of the Year

ALABS AudioAmbient EffectsAnalog DelayAnasoundsBenson AmpsBest in ClassBleak District ElectricBossChase Bliss AudioCoffee Shop PedalsColortone PedalsDelayDelay WorkstationDiamond PedalsDigital DelayDigital ReverbDouble TrackingEchoverbFjord FuzzFlower PedalsGranular DelayJet PedalsLo-Fi DelayMeris EffectsOddball DelayPlate ReverbPoly EffectsRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationReverse DelayReverse ReverbShimmer ReverbSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbStrymonTape DelayTC ElectronicT-Rex EffectsWalrus Audio+-
2023-GPX-Best-Time-Based-Effecst-V2-700.jpg

And so to the final category - where competition is extremely fierce this year. No doubt some of your favourites will have missed the cut here - but hopefully this selection is fully representative of the best of the year. Obvious I lean more towards immersive stereo effects - mono doesn’t really do it for me so much - while there is a smattering of mono pedals in here too. Price, format, versatility and practicality - everything counts!

 

Of the 23 featured in the selection - I own around ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

2023-GPX-Anasounds-Dystopia-Utopia-700.jpg

So Anasounds first released their 3-knob analog-voiced delay pedal back in 2015. It rose quickly to become their best-selling pedal - and remains so to this day. One of the trickiest thing you can do - as vouched for by none other than Joshua Heath Scott - is to create a tap-tempo function for an analog style / or PT2399 delay. In fact it took Anasounds’ engineers 3 years to perfect - to the most exacting of standards. And the results of said exercise is not just the 6 control knobs, twin ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

2023-GPX-Flower-Pedals-Dahlia-Walrus-Meraki-700.jpg

I recall back when Suhr released their Discovery Analog Delay a couple years back - I was momentarily very excited until I realised that despite appearances it was still just another mono delay - everything else about that device was brilliant. I was keeping my fingers crossed for the eventual arrival of a Stereo Analog Delay - and Boss was first out of the gate I believe with its superb DM-101 on June 22nd - a totally genius device which I still really love - although that is alas just a M.I.S...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

7 Limited Blackout Black Friday Pedals for 2023 - 6 part of Reverb.com's Blacked Out Series, 5 of which are brand new, plus Beetronics Blackout Nectar!

Analog DelayBeetronics FXBlender and MixerBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoDeath By AudioDelayDelay WorkstationDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionEarthQuaker DevicesFuzzJHS PedalsLine 6LooperOddball DelayOld Blood Noise EndeavorsPhaserReverbReverb WorkstationTalk Box and VocoderWalrus Audio+-
2023-GPX-Reverb-Black-Friday-Blackour-Editions-700.jpg

So back in 2019 - Reverb.com coordinated Black Friday Limited Blacked Out Editions across 17 Brands and 19 Pedals - and by and large it was a resounding success - a lot of those sold out very quickly - and overall pretty much every special pedal maid was sold in fairly short order.

 

I always thought it a little surprising that this exercise wasn’t repeated more often as I kind of expected it to be an annual or biennial thing following on from the 2019 event. While we’ve had to wait 4 years ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

2023-GPX-EAE-Sending-Analog-Delay-700.jpg

I think it’s somewhat inevitable when discussing high-end Analog BBD Delays that we look at the context of who is active in that segment. You have Chase Bliss and Suhr who both have 4 x BBD Chip Delays - the Thermae and Discovery respectively, and then Boss’s recent monster stereo DM-101 is using twice that number at 8, where the Sending V2 makes use of a pair of them.

 

The Sending V2 has a maximum delay time of 1000ms, the DM-101 is 1200ms, the Discovery is 2000ms+, and the Thermae can go ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

16 of the most notable 'Bread & Butter' Pedals!

Analog DelayAnalog.ManBehringerBig Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCompressorDelayDistortionDriveDual-DriveEarthQuaker DevicesElectro-HarmonixFulltone EffectsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzGreer AmpsGuitar Pedal 101IbanezIconic GearJHS PedalsKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveLooperMXROCD Style OverdriveOrigin EffectsOverdriveSilicon FuzzSuper-Fuzz StyleTC ElectronicThorpyFXTubescreamer Style OverdriveUtilityXotic EffectsZvex+-
2023-GPX-Bread-n-Butter-Pedals-700.jpg

I’m expecting this post to attract a lot of ’whataboutisms’ as many of my rundowns seem to do. While every single choice / selection here is well considered, pondered upon on and properly weighted up against pertinent criteria and then further rationalised, whittled and distilled down into a top 9 or 16 or 25 - as I always favour symmetrical grids.

 

If I find 18 or 19 suitable candidates - then only 16 can be featured on the grid etc. - you need to draw the line somewhere. And you can also ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions

9 of the Best Jacques Stompboxes

Analog DelayBest of BrandsBoostBoost and OverdriveDelayDistortionDriveDual-DriveEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionJacques StompboxesMetal DistortionModulationOverdrivePitchRotary SpeakerTremoloTubescreamer Style OverdriveUni-Vibe and VibeWah and Fixed Wah+-
2023-GPX-9-of-the-Best-Jacques-Stompboxes-700-.jpg

Jacques Stompboxes was one of the very first of the French pedal builders to gain major international recognition and traction, while it’s a little under the radar for many these days - so I decided I needed to shine a light and bring some much needed focus back on this legendary French brand!

 

Jacques Charbit - from whom Jacques Stompboxes gets its name - first took up the soldering iron and started messing around with electronics as a teenager in the 70’s. As a result of his early ...

Stefan KarlssonPopularCommentsRSS FeedContent Subscriptions
News Navigation






















































Gerimaya Whyte
Some Thoughts on the Sheeran Looper+ and Looper X
"May opt for the Sheeran+ at this point for a "...
5 hours ago
max pixs
The Tanabe Zenkudo Dumble Drive is truly an inspiration machine full of verve and vibrancy
"Hi, I have a Kondo Shifuku D-Style, an in-depth "...
1 day ago
James Moses
Favourite Guitar Tuning Pedals and Devices of different sizes
"I'm sure you know by now, Peterson did "...
1 day ago
Stefan Karlsson
Why and How Cioks' Future Power Generation Series of Power Supplies is the Best in Class!
"Yes the Cioks Hi5Mod is a sort of special edition "...
4 days ago
Alev Guran
Some Thoughts on the Sheeran Looper+ and Looper X
"Hi Stefan, I’m not a looper pro but I use my "...
9 days ago
Waiting