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Fender Hammertone Series

Lovers of affordable stompboxes have a new $79-99 line to choose from, manufactured by the best-known name in the electric guitar realm: Fender. The company is now shipping the Hammertone line of compact pedals, for now comprising of 9 streamlined effects covering all the basics (3 gain, 1 fuzz, 2…Click on the title for more

Fender Hammertone Series

Mosky Black Rat Distortion

The Mosky Black Rat Distortion is a very affordable mini OEM RAT clone, it uses the same LM308 Op-amp as the original. It also comes with “vintage” and “turbo” distortion voicings. You'll find identical models by Eno, Mosky and Donner. We added it to our article about the best Rat…Click on the title for more

Mosky Black Rat Distortion

New Pedal: Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Filter/Distortion/Fuzz

It's hard not to gasp at the sight of the Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Distortion, a beast of a filter+distortion+fuzz pedal with enough controls to entertain even the most efficient knob fiddler for years! The circuit consists of two signal paths: A distortion circuit followed by an active hybrid…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Retro Mechanical Labs 432k Rev2 Filter/Distortion/Fuzz

Eastwood Black Box Series

Eastwood Guitars just unveiled a new line of 6 pedals called Black Box Series comprising two delays (analog and modulated), one spring reverb, one vibe, one compressor, and an overdrive. Like most series of pedals released all at once, these are classic effects with streamlined controls, but the manufacturer stresses…Click on the title for more

Eastwood Black Box Series

Overdrive vs Distortion vs Fuzz: What’s the difference?

Click on the links for our coverage of recently released Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz pedals. For the beginner rock guitarist, a gain pedal is, in most cases, the third item on the gear-related shopping list (after a six-string and an amp). But, considering the wide choice of stompboxes out there,…Click on the title for more

Overdrive vs Distortion vs Fuzz: What’s the difference?

Crazy Tube Circuits Super Conductor Multi-Boost

If you think boost pedals are kind of boring, the Crazy Tube Circuits Super Conductor is here to make you change your mind. This fully analog pedal delivers four flavors of boost, each inspired by established circuits producing different sonic characters. The big knob on the top deals with setting…Click on the title for more

Crazy Tube Circuits Super Conductor Multi-Boost

STOY Sound Pedals

STOY Sound is a brand new company from Denmark offering a series of traditional pedals in the $100 ballpark in stylish-looking but slightly bigger than compact enclosures. Currently, their roster includes the following devices, which are all getting positive reviews in the first video demos. Fuzzmaster: Muff-style fuzz Choirboy: Analog…Click on the title for more

STOY Sound Pedals

Pedal Update: Industrialectric Incinerator Deluxe

Now, some pedals have better names than others, but... "Incinerator"? We are tempted to say that's the best name ever given to a stompbox. That's how this beast by Canadian manufacturer Industrialectric is called. Built by hand in Toronto, the incinerator is a dual-channel Silicon fuzz integrated by two oscillators…Click on the title for more

Pedal Update: Industrialectric Incinerator Deluxe

Audiostorm Quad Screamer Overdrive

The Audiostorm Quad Screamer is a fascinating Tube Screamer variant made in the UK. It gives you four push buttons that allow you to mix and match LED, MOSFET, Silicon and Germanium diodes, and then alter the resulting overdrive through 5 controls, including two unusual "Bright" and "Dirty" switches placed…Click on the title for more

Audiostorm Quad Screamer Overdrive

Sonicake Sonic IR Cab Simulator

At just around $60 (USD) the Sonicake Sonic IR might be the cheapest effect pedal out there with an XLR output and a USB input, and in all likelihood also the most affordable cab simulator pedal. This mini stompbox comes pre-loaded with 11 Cab Models (9 for guitar and 2…Click on the title for more

Sonicake Sonic IR Cab Simulator

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker

The EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker is an all-discrete, analog distortion from everyone's favorite Ohio-based pedal builder, based on the discontinued Speaker Cranker, a one-knob overdrive now selling used for about twice the amount of this new, 3-knobbed pedal. The Special Cranker is designed to give players a way to do…Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker

New Pedal: Craftros Trident Overdrive

The Craftros Trident is a high-end, solidly built transistor-based drive made in Japan that delivers amp-like tones from low to high gain - there aren't any diodes in the circuit. The company is relatively new and currently has three dirt boxes on its roster. The controls are pretty straightforward, with the…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Craftros Trident Overdrive