Updated Feb. 13, 2022 | by Paolo De Gregorio

#1 Old Blood Noise Sunlight
#2 JHS Packrat
#3 Strymon Zelzah
#4 Benson Germanium Fuzz
#5 Alexander Pedals Syntax Error 2
#6 Walrus Audio Polychrome
#7 EarthQuaker Devices Astral Destiny

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You may think that all “best of” lists are a matter of taste…

Well, if you do, we are going to object, and immodestly state that this year-end “Best Guitar Pedals of 2021”  list (just like last year’s one) is not just a matter of taste.

“Why not?” we hear you ask. This is why:

A. it’s not based on our taste – we didn’t let our preference get in the way at all.
B. it’s an aggregate list compiled by adding up the year-end “best of” charts published by the most established and popular YouTubers, and pedal-covering publications and stores out there.

And while it’s true that each one of these influencers has his or her own taste, aggregating all their pedal choices can tell us what kind of consensus there is behind each pedal. As it happens in any non-provable science field, the consensus of the majority of the experts is accepted as closest to the truth, and that’s exactly how this chart works.

Methodology

We used a very simple and straightforward method for this list: we assigned 1 point to each pedal every time it was mentioned in a “Best Pedal of 2021” list. Most of these lists were not organized in order of preference, but for those that were, we didn’t change the system – 1st or 10th, a mention always counts as 1 point. We only listed pedals released in 2021, or in the last few weeks of 2020.

Sample

This are the 22 (!) pedal news outlets whose year-end list we referenced, in alphabetical order:

NEW! We added in the list from Griffin Jennings on February 14th, 2022.

Demos in the Dark, Dennis Kayzer, Dipswitch Demos, Gear News, Griffin Jennings, Guitar.com, GuitarPedalX, In The Blues, Jay Leonard J, JHS Show, Leon Todd, Megan L, Music Radar, Pedal of the Day, The Pedal Zone, Pedalboard of the Day, Perfect Circuit, Reverb, Rhett Shull, Spiral Caster, Thomann, Tone Lounge, Tri Pedal Reviews, Ultimate Guitar.

And here is the list of the best new guitar effects pedals released in 2021!

Interactive gallery instructions: mouseover/1st tap opens a description. Click/2nd tap opens (muted) video.

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The Best Guitar Pedals of 2021

1. Old Blood Noise Sunlight (7 Points)
Old Blood

Click title for video. Buy it new at Perfect Circuit or Thomann, look for deals at Reverb.com.

The Sunlight is a creative reverb with 3 algorithms that react dynamically to your performance and freeze the reverb trails. Each mode adds to the reverb different extra effects (wobbling vibrato, stacked resonant delays, or step filtering). Decay controls the reverb’s length, while the Rate and Depth knobs are mode-dependent, controlling the parameters of the non-reverb effect. Read more about it here.

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2. JHS PackRat (5.5 Points)
JHS

Click title for video. Buy it new at Sweetwater or Thomann, look for deals at Reverb.com.

Based on the innovative multi-mode format of the TS-inspired Bonsai, PackRat is a tribute to the 40+ years of RAT distortion through 9 voices accurately replicating various RAT models and RAT-inspired pedals, including JHS’s popular but now discontinued mod. Basically, it’s 9 RATS inside one compact case. Read more about it here.

P.S. The half-point is due to the fact that JHS pretty much voted for their own pedal in their “Best of 2021” video and we didn’t want to give them a full point for that self-plug.

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3. Pedals with 5 points (Ex Aequo)

Four stompboxes share the bronze pedal-medal, pretty cool devices.

2718573433
alexander pedals syntax error 2
$299 | Twice as wide as V1, this multi-mode arcade game-inspired pedal packs a ton of new features, including a stereo path, a mini-sequencer, and an LCD screen to help you make sense of it all. The modes aree Stretch (glitchy delay/reverse), Air (grainy reverb), Ring (ring mod), Clube (digital fuzz with filter), Freq (weird frequency filter) and Wave (Time based modulator).
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
617696430
Benson Germanium Fuzz
$299 | Nothing short of a game changer. This fuzz automatically regulates its own internal temperature to ensure that the bias of the famously unstable germanium transistors is always set at an appropriate level. In addition to its reliability, the pedal comes with a buffer and passive pickup simulator, which allow it to be placed anywhere in your signal chain, even next to a wah.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
3238238184
Earthquaker Devices Astral Destiny
$199 | A spacey, creative, multi-mode, modulated Reverb with 8 preset slots featuring a pitch shifting engine that can deliver upper and lower octaves and fifths and also ascending/descending bending pitch effects. The Stretch footswitch doubles the length of the reverb while adding an adjustable pitch-bending effect.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
https://amzn.to
Strymon Zelzah
$349 | a dual, stereo phaser with a 3-mode, 4-stage vintage-style circuit on the left and a more modern 6-stage with controllable resonance one on the right. The voice knob controls simultaneously over 30 parameters and can deliver also flanger and chorus effects. The left channel has an Envelope mode that works like an auto-wah, while Barber mode delivers a continously rising sweep.
Sweetwater | Reverb | Amazon
2575901854
Walrus Audio Polychrome
$199 | A flanger with a wide tonal palette. Three flanger flavors through the d-f-v knob: Dry, Flange, Vibrato. Shape changes the LFO from sine to triangle, or random LFO. The Voice switch delivers a more traditional and full flanger (down position), and a more complex and notched effect with less low end (up). Blend reintegrates the clean signal.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon

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8. Pedals with 3 points (Ex Aequo)

The pedals in this list did really well by gathering 3 influencer points each. It’s a nice variety of colorful effects!

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Beetronics Vezzpa
$199 | A two-knob, two-mode modern fuzz with a high octave with a multi-function footswitch: on/off, momentarily on/off, mode switching (double-stomp) and momentarily mode switching. FUZZZZ mode delivers a big wall of fuzz that works great for riffs and power chords STINGER mode is even more aggressive, bringing up the high octave with extra harmonics.
Sweetwater | Reverb | Amazon
3717438942
boss FZ-1w
$199 | a modern reinterpretation of vintage fuzz, it features three knobs and two modes (Vintage and Modern) and delivers classic fuzz tones without the “classic” vintage fuzz instability issues. The Tone knob in Vintage mode works in the traditional way, affecting both low and high frequencies, while in Modern mode it acts more like a “presence” control, only pushing the high end without affecting the mids or lows.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
1962896832
BOSS HM-2w
$179 | A "Waza" reissue of the classic Heavy Metal HM-2, discontinued in 1991. Compared to the original it has a better noise floor and +3db volume, and also adds a new mode ("Custom") which sounds slightly more polished and modern and has more gain.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
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Demedash T-60
$295 | an analog, stereo, compact, lo-fi modulation with tap tempo delivering stereo Vibrato, Chorus & Flange, voiced after the worn-out effect of stretched tape. Two LFOs operate at once: a Random LFO and a Periodic LFO (a mix of Sine and Triangle waves). The Random knob sets the ratio of the two LFOs, while Chop makes the random wave less smooth. Ramp can be fine-tuned through the alt functions.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
289742379
Gamechanger Audio Light Pedal
$349 | The first "analog optical spring reverb," called Light, where an optical sensor is employed to "harvest the timbral and harmonic range of a spring reverb tank."This technology are a wider range of tones compared to a regular spring reverb, including some entirely new effects like Optical Reverb Tremolo, Optical Reverb Modulation and Optical Harmonic Shimmer.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
213013152
GFI Rossie Filter
$199 | Unlike most of the pedals on this list, the Rossie is digital and hence has some capabilities that analog pedals can’t produce. Tap tempo, 2 onboard presets, LCD screen, and 3 filter modes: envelope, step filter, and manual filter. A handy mix control allows you to blend the filter effect in parallel.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2824771756
Source Audio Ultrawave
$249 | a stereo, multi-mode, multi-band distortion that splits the incoming signal into up to 10 separate frequencies, distorts them separately through 44 distortion and fuzz types, and remixes them at the end of the circuit’s chain. Extra effects can be placed at the end of the chain including a multiband tremolo, a compressor and an 8 band EQ. Two presets and morph funtions are included.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
3067417811
Walrus Audio ACS1
$399 | A Stereo in/out pedal packing in a compact enclosure 6 cab IRs and 3 amps (Fender Deluxe, Marshall Blues Breaker and Vox AC30). A Boost footswitch provides extra Volume and Gain setting. 3 presets in the box and 128 via Midi. The Stereo outs can be used Dual mode with a different amp/cab assigned to each channel. Room knob adds ambience.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
3131393970
Way Huge Atreides
$199 - Inspired by the 1980's EHX mini-synthesizer keyboard, like the original it only features sliders, and works as an envelope-controlled synth-fuzz pedal with a sub-octave and a phaser. Internal trim pots allow you to go as deep as two octaves and fine-tune a few other settings.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
2456933174
Red Panda Raster 2
$299 | A digital delay with a pitch- and frequency-shifter integrated into the feedback loop. It delivers harmonized delays, reverse delays, chorus, arpeggios, infinite descents, chaotic self-oscillation, and continuously evolving soundscapes. V2 is almost completely reinvented and stereo. Tons of new features include modulation and multiple LFO waves.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon

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15. Pedals with 2 points (Ex Aequo)

In alphabetical order, a larger list of devices that received two selections in the influencers’ lists.

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Blackstar Amplification Dept 10
$299 | A pedal/USB interface overdrive with a real tube offering 2 stackable voices per channel, from clean to high-gain drive, with separate footswitches. A 3-way EQ section does the tone sculpting, while the ISF knob gives the final sound a more American or British character. XLR out and Cab simulator facilitate direct recording.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
More
Reverb Amazon
2379170862
Boss SY-200
$399 | Built on the SY-1 foundation, it adds an expanded sound set, more tone-shaping possibilities, 128 memories for storing your presets, and two footswitches for preset navigation and other editable controls. Its 12 modes can be modified via three assignable knobs (1,2,3) and three more fixed ones (D Level, E Level and Variation). Also Midi, USB and FX Loop.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
3108634164
Boss TB-2W
$800+ used | With the help of Sola Sound, the originators of the Tone Bender, BOSS has created a faithful replica of a vintage Mark II model (serial number 500) as part of their Waza craft series. The TB-2W brings the Bender into the modern era with switchable buffered / true bypass, and a voltage switch that allow you to select 7v for starved gated fuzz, the standard 9v, or 12v for more headroom.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
3191242432
Champion Leccy swan hunter
$275 | A lo-fi echo interacting with an ambient reverb (in parallel or in series, or anywhere in between). Mysteriously named knobs yield results that may vary from the unexpected to the inspiring. The delay gets grittier at longer settings, and the combination of low pass filters on both effects and borderline self-oscillation capabilities can create dark and spaced out tones.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
316457264
Cooper FX Generation Loss V2
$299 | Now discontinued, this is the original Generation Loss. V2 of this creative simulator of cheap tape machines/bitcrusher adds an extra footswitch for momentary effects, which can be programmed through the Function button to produce Tape Stop, Garbled Tape or Spectral Freeze effects. Also new is a separate Wet/Dry knobs in place of the previous Mix knob, and Presets.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
1491097372
EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz
$149 | a recreation of Boris guitarist Wata's Elk BM Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the “Triangle” Big Muff Pi. It produces a “heavy saturation with a gritty edge and massive bottom” while maintaining a clear and dynamic tone with enough mids and top end. The Sustain control delivers a wide range of saturation while the Tone knob can heavily affect the quality of the distortion.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
738504868
Electro-Harmonix Nano Deluxe Memory Man
$203 | A delay with modulation offering delay times from 30mS up to 550mS. It streamlines the classic Memory Man Deluxe circuit through a simple layout with six knobs. The modulation section is controllable via a Depth and Rate knob, while an internal switch turns Tails on and off.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
1659520232
Electronic Audio Experiments Halberd V2
$249 | this compact version ditches the NOS germanium transistor while adding a 3-way Voice Toggle that delivers Clang (aggressive with sharp attack and high mids hump); Standard (moderate gain, slight mid push); Deep (full range boost with woolly saturation and fuzzy attack). The Depth does low-frequency filtering at the input and Tone high-frequency shelf cut at the output.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
10229469
Geckoplex EP5 Delay/Reverb
$529 | a high-end Echoplex-inspired pedal with reverb and a motorized time fader. Features include Sound on Sound mode, 3 presets, Tap Tempo, Warp knob for worn tape character, and a FET input with up to 11db of gain. Shift makes the echo time fluctuate when a note is played, causing variations in pitch.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1404725959
GFI Orca Delay
$199 | $199 | A streamlined studio-quality, multi-mode, stereo digital delay with Digital, Tape, Diffuse, and Ambiental modes. Four knobs (Time, Repeats, Level and Modes) are also pressure switches: by pressing and turning you access secondary parameters like EQ or Pre-Delay. The two footswitches absolve On/Off and Tap Tempo function, but also help navigate presets and engage the momentary Ramp effect.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2647451709
Ground Control Audio Noodles
$249 | an original take on the tone-shaping box/boost pedal, featuring three EQ bands (Bass, Mids and Treble) each with its own footswitch, boost/cut knob, and a three-way push button that gives you a choice of frequency per band. This gives you 64 ways to sculpt your tone, and an easy way to control dynamics and EQ during a performance.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
760620476
Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk
$255 | a collaboration with the guys from That Pedal Show, this is a vintage-inspired analog tremolo that can deliver both Harmonic and Amplitude-style tremolo, at the switch of a toggle. Depth AND Mix controls allow to set the perfect intensity, and the second footswitch allows to access two tremolo speeds. Internal trimmers allow various tweaks to the EQ and output.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
996138326
Keeley Compressor Mini
$129 | A 2-knob mini compressor delivering parallel compression, consisting in blending compressed and clean signals for a more natural and dynamic-sounding tone. An automatic tone recovery circuit ensures clear highs at any compression level. The transient release time is set to make both single coils or humbuckers sound expressive.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
551245275
Mythos Oracle
$259 | Inspired by the somewhat dark, warm sound of vintage Japanese echo pedals, the Oracle is a simple 3-knob delay built around two reissue MN3205 chips. The repeats can go up to 600ms of delay time (which can stretch even further if you use the Tap Tempo to dial in the time setting - causing the typical degradation produced by BBD at longer settings).
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1923167403
Neunaber Illumine Reverb
$379 | A fully featured 2-knob stereo multi-mode reverb with 17 modes, Midi in/out, Presets (50 factory + 50 user), Exp. in, built-in A/B preset switch without breaks in sound. Two knobs with push function allow in-depth editing, while a free preset manager software helps keep things organized. The two footswitches deal with preset switching and on/off duties.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1544151462
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$299 | A stereo bit crusher with fractional bit reduction and sample rate modulation with triangle, square, and random waveforms, and also envelope control over the sampling rate or mix. V2 includes several new functions, including waveshaping, wavefolding, and a window comparator for extreme digital distortion. The pedal now also stores 4 presets.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2529180247
Redbeard Effects Angry Rhubarb
$249 | An analog overdrive featuring a parametric EQ between two overdrive circuits. The EQ circuit can boost or cut by 6dp any frequency between 80Hz and 4kH, opening up all sorts of tone sculpting possibilities, furtherly enhanced by the two drives, a low to medium one in front of the EQ and a medium-high after it.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
4027113335
solidgoldfx EM-III
$209 | A mini-recreation of a multi-head tape-style echo, with the ability to add in a signal an octave lower and to self-oscillate. The Reads/Octave Switch select between 1, 2 or 3 delay heads or octave-less mode. Flutter and Color knobs add classic tape character together with Warp and Glitch (alt functions).
Alt Seller | Reverb | Amazon
2204516683
Spaceman Effects Aurora
$319 | A high-end flanger with 5-modes including 2 LFO types, 2 tape emulations, and a static comb filter, for a wide range of fully analog) flavors. Regen controls the intensity of the classic "jet sound," obtained by feeding a portion of the output signal back into the input. The Range knob controls mode-dependent parameters. Trig Footswitch allows for momentary, mode-specific special effects.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2631588530
TEFI Vintage Lab Golden Era
~$275 | Developed in conjunction with James Edward Bagshaw of British psych revival band Temples, it puts at your fingertips a sonic time machine built to send your tone back in time to the days of gramophones, phonographs and cassette tapes. Vinyl warp and pops, low bandwidth (aka phone-like nasal sound), hiss and flutter are some of the effects delivered.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
585982582
UAFX Golden Reverberator
$399 | A Stereo, 3-mode (plus 1) reverb pedal with 3 variations for each mode, preset capability, and six knobs controlling Decay, Pre-Delay, Mix, Bass, Treble and Modulation. Modes include Spring 65 (amp-like reverb), Plate 140, Hall 224 (inspired by late-1970s digital reverb algorithms). Bonus Effects are a vintage digital Plate and Chamber 224 reverb.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon
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Wampler Ratsbane
$149 | This mini take on the RAT features a 3 way voice toggle with 2 turbo clipping modes designed by Brian Wampler. Left is a smooth but firm gain boost while right is a fuzzy, creamy supercharged distortion. The 3 way voice switch changes the clipping and compression of the distortion.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
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Reverb Amazon

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Honorable Mentions (1 point), organized by effect type!

95 pedals in this list – organized by effect type and in alphabetical order.

Compressor Pedals

Empress Compressor

Creative Pedals

Discomfort Designs TMA-1
Intensive Care Audio Fideleater
KMA Tyler Deluxe Freq Splitter
Pladask Baklengs

Delay Pedals

Crazy Tube Time
Death By Audio Speed Tripper
Eventide MicroPitch Delay
J.Rockett Clockwork
JHS 3 Series Delay
Mooer D7 X2 Delay
SolidGold FX EM-III
Universal Audio Starlight

Distortion Pedals

Fuzzrocious Lil’ Fella
Haunted Labs Old Ruin
Interchange Noise Works Element 119
Joyo Dark Flame
KMA Machines Guardian of the Wurm
Poison Noises The Crook
ProCo Mini Rat
TC Electronic Magus
Walrus Audio Eras
Zander Cranium

Filter/Wah Pedals

All-Pedal Macrodose
Dunlop GCB65 Cry Baby
Jam Pedals Wahcho

Fuzz Pedals

Acorn Amps TMA-1
Black Mass Missionary Fuzz v2
Caroline Crom
Chase Bliss Bliss Factory
Dr. Acid Effects SkateFuzz TRIP BALLS
Electro-Harmonix Ripped Speaker
Expresso FX Fuzz Bender MKII
Fairfield Circuitry ~900
Jackson Audio Fuzz
JPTR FX Warlow
KHDK Unicorn Blood II
Malaise Forever Clubber Lang
Mattoverse Air Trash
October Audio NVMBR Fuzz
Ritual Devices Grimalkin
SolidGold FX Imperial
Spiral Electric Allora
Thermion Electronics Stone Age
Thimble Wasp Space Camp
VS Audio Pandora
Warm Audio Fox Tone
Warm Audio Jet Phaser
Weird Noise Fuzz It

Looper Pedals

Pigtronix Infinity 3

Modulation Pedals

Electro-Harmonix Eddy
Eventide Tricerachorus
Ground FX- Keto V2
IK Multimedia X-VIBE
Madison Treble Booster (no video)
Mojo Hand FX Clarity
MXR Deep Phase
Pedal Pawn Chicken Quiff
Pedal Pawn Gypsy Vibe
Professor Pedalz Schock Rock Ocean Man Chorus
SolidGoldFX NU-33
TC Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger
Thorpy FX Pulse Doppler
Universal Audio Astra

Multi-Effect Pedals

Valco Five-O

Overdrive Pedals

Audio Kitchen Fake Plastic Trees
Becos TS8-JZ Ziffer
Browne Amplification Carbon
Crazy Tube Crossfire
Gone Fishing Effects Booooom/Blast
Great Eastern Small Speaker Overdrive
Gtown Custom 335
Intensive Care Audio Death Drive
Joyo R20 King Of Kings
Missing Link Audio Peacock
NativeAudio Kiayio
Nordvang Gravity
NRG Effects Purr
Origin Effects RevivalTrem
Origin Revival Drive Compact
Rift Amplification EL34
TC Electronic Zeus
TC MojoMojo Paul Gibbert
Wampler Belle

Pitch Shifter Pedals

Electro-Harmonix Harmony Machine
Malekko Polyamorator

Preamp/Boost Pedals

Benson Germanium Boost
Aclam Windmiller Preamp
Catalinbread Skewer + Dreamcoat
Cornerstone Gladio Double Preamp
FFX All You Can Boost
Greer Sure Shot
Greuter Audio Fokus
Milkman Discrete Op-Amp Boost
Shotmaker Instruments Heroine
Stone Deaf QBoost

Reverb Pedals

Electronic Aaudio Experiments Hypersleep v2
GFI Skylar
Vongon Ultrasheer
Walrus Audio Mako Series R1

Synth Pedals

BOSS SY-200
SolidGoldFX Lysis MkII

Utility Pedals

Old Blood Noise Expression Ramper

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