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Strymon Lex V2 Rotary

The Strymon Lex V2 Rotary is a stereo pedal that realistically simulates the effect of the rotating Leslie speakers, including the iconic slow/fast speed ramping, delegated to a separate footswitch. The second version, released in 2022, improves the input circuit with a premium analog JFET and adds two new knobs…Click on the title for more

Strymon Lex V2 Rotary

Fender Hammertone Distortion

The Fender Hammertone Distortion is one-ninth of the new affordable line of pedals released by the electric guitar giant in early 2022. The US company's 2018 Pugilist distortion was very well received (and it's currently on top of our article about the best distortion pedals) but we don't know if…Click on the title for more

Fender Hammertone Distortion

Best New Pedal Releases | July 2022

Welcome to our monthly appointment with the best new pedal releases! July 2022 was, as expected, a rather slow month in the pedalsphere, although there were some yummy new devices brought to light by a handful of boutique builders, including some established ones like Old Blood Noise, Death by Audio,…Click on the title for more

Best New Pedal Releases | July 2022

Tape Audio Co. ONE Fuzz

Tape Audio Co. ONE is a new pedal company run by folks who've been working on guitar effects for over 15 years, and ONE is the builder's debut stompbox, a stylish-looking original fuzz circuit with two faders and one old-style button switch. Although the two Silicon SE4010 transistors in the…Click on the title for more

Tape Audio Co. ONE Fuzz

GUP Tech Mad Chiou Double Boost + EQ

The GUP Tech Mad Chiou is a two-in-one pedal by a young, family-operated Quebecois company launched in the late '10s and laser-focused on releasing affordable and fun-looking gain pedals, including some variants on venerable vintage circuits. It's a combination of two of its most popular pedals: the GrndR and the…Click on the title for more

GUP Tech Mad Chiou Double Boost + EQ

Spaceman FX Sputniuk III Germanium Fuzz

Originally built in small batches, the Spaceman FX Sputnik is an all-germanium fuzz featuring vintage Soviet transistors which became instantly hard to find. Today the Portland builder announced version III, which incorporates all the functions from the previous iterations, plus some new features, and will be released both in a…Click on the title for more

Spaceman FX Sputniuk III Germanium Fuzz

Leyland Head Full Delay

Built by caring English hands, the Leyland Head Full is a creative lo-fi echo based on what's probably the most inspiring chip for delays, the PT2399. This device can create ethereal atmospheres, haunting soundscapes, and full-on walls of noise, but also more subtle analog-style delays replicating tape-style artifacts (aka wow…Click on the title for more

Leyland Head Full Delay

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?