Updated Jun. 7, 2021 | by Paolo De Gregorio

CHECK OUT OUR BEST NEW PEDALS OF 2021 AGGREGATE LIST!

Best New Pedals of 2021

It’s time for our monthly look at the best pedal releases of the previous month (in this case, May 2021), organized in gain and non-gain lists. Previous editions can be found here.

It was overall a rather exciting month, with all sorts of new pedals. We organized them according to buzz-factor in the lists below.

As usual, mouseover or first tap on the thumbnails will open a description of the pedal, while a click or a second tap will open a video of the pedal.

Best New Non-Gain Pedals released in May 2021

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 |
More
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
Shift Line Prism II
Shift Line Prism II
$289 | A Stereo Filter-Pad that combines elements of subtractive and additive synthesis, reverb, frequency, time and space modulation, in a way that feels “organic” so that they all work together, with each knob simultaneously controlling several parameters. Tap tempo, tails, USB connectivity, presets and momentary effects round up the features.
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
2469098595
GFI Skylar Reverb
$199 | Studio-quality, multi-mode, stereo digital reverb with Plate, Shimmer, Tremolo+Reverb and the signature Spatium mode. Four knobs (Decay, Level, Mode and a varying “Param”) are also pressure switches: press and turn to access secondary parameters like EQ or Pre-Delay. The two On/Off and Tap Tempo footswitches also help navigate presets and engage a momentary Ramp effect.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
3588616153
ThorpyFX Pulse Doppler
$319 | An original design inspired by the Lovetone Doppleganger, it delivers a wide range of modulated sounds. The signal is split into two frequency bands through the Manual knob, and gets manipulated in several ways through the 6 combinations allowed by the two toggle switches. The left one sets high and low frequencies to oscillate in synch or against each other.
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2476019805
Rainger FX Snare Trap
$299 | An analog/digital hybrid drum machine circuit that creates the percussive sounds through synthesis. The main snare drum is always on the ‘2’ and the ‘4’, but the delay effect adds movement. The first bass drum is always on the ‘1’, and two more can be added anywhere in the beat. There's also a knob to add "swing."
Perf. Circuit | Reverb | Amazon
2120351956
Idiotbox Effects Repo Man
$129 | A delay feeding an overdrive feeding another delay: the Space knob is the first delay, Drive is the overdrive's gain, Color is the tone knob, Time is the second echo (which trails when bypassed) and Output adds extra volume when needed.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
474809378
Flower Pedals Castilleja Phaser
$249 | A 4 stage analog optical phaser/vibe with digital controls that packs a ton of tone within a compact case. Features 4 LFO Waves, 3 Levels of Feedback and Vibrato modes. A third toggles switch configures the Tap/Ramp Footswitch in Momentary or Latch ramping or Drift mode, which modulates the speeds up and down.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
2214799962
Bardic Audio Devices Bootgazer
$175 | Two blended fuzzes followed by a modulated reverb! The two fuzzes are of the Russian and Fuzzrite variety, and are joined by a clean 20db boost to reintegrate some of the dry signal. The delay section is equipped with trails and a modulation circuit. Each effects has its on/off footswitch, while the center one changes the routing order.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1179222052
Holy Island Tides
~250 | An atmospheric pedal featuring a reverb followed by two gain stages, for over-the-top fuzzy walls of sound sprinkled with interesting harmonics and sonic artifacts. The momentary footswitch makes the pedal self-oscillate, feeding the reverb signal into itself. A Dry Kill switch removes the clean signal, whose amount can otherwise be controlled with the Moisture knob.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
3675302666
FLAMMA FC02
$39 | The three modes in this >$40 true bypass mini-pedal are Studio (room reverb), Church and Plate, adjustable through three knobs: Decay, Mix and Tone.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon

Best New Gain and Fuzz Pedals released in May 2021

2614754011
TC Electronic Zeus Drive
~$60 - Presented as a dynamic and transparent boost-to-mid-gain overdrive it sports Germanium clipping diodes and stepped up internal voltage for improved headroom. Just like the original Klon, it blends some of the clean signal back into the overdriven one. A "Fat" switch gives your tone more "oomphs" (if needed).
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
More
Reverb Amazon
http://amazon.to
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
1784699701
Wampler Gearbox Andy Wood Signature
$269 | It joins two popular circuits – the Tumnus overdrive (a klone) and the Pinnacle high-gain distortion. Tweaked to suit the ear of guitarist Andy Wood. A Gate knob, a three-band EQ with a Tone knob on top, and a Toggle switch to change the order of the circuits make this pedal incredibly flexible. For more control and options, each circuit has its own inputs and outputs.
Zzounds | Sweetwater |
More
Reverb Amazon
1248521279
JDM Pedals HOT PLATE FUZZ
$149 | A modern take on the Tone Bender Mk3 with a few extras. It features vintage PNP Germanium transistors and a voltage inverter to easily daisy chain other pedals. A passive mid-bump switch thickens the tone and allows it to cut through a dense mix. The tone knob ranges from truly skanky early 60’s buzzfuzz to Led Zep thickness.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1283532526
NativeAudio Kiaayo Overdrive
$189 | A flexible and dynamic drive with dynamic-asymmetrical clipping that can work at 9v or 18v, a pre-gain low-pass filter, and an adaptable gain configuration designed to make the pedal work ideally with a diverse range of instruments and musical styles. The Tone knob allows tailoring to the amp’s character or variations to the frequency response.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
650332675
Cornerstone Antique Classic Drive V2
$~260 | An overdrive inspired by the tones of blues legend John Mayer. The EQ section, which allows a wide range of sculpting through Tone knob, Presence and a Mids toggle that delivers classic TS tone (rich in mids) or a mid-cut alternative. An extra COMP toggle gives the option to increase the dynamic responsiveness of the overdrive.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
3984280383
King Tone HeavyHand
$265 | "Side B” of the Duelist (a dual Blues Breaker-inspired drive) with a few extra twists: extra dedicated control for the fat setting named Body (controlling the amount of low end); 3-way toggle switch adds a “tubey” quality to the tone in Edge mode, and a cleaner one in the Glass one; Another 3-way toggle switch delivers more or less compressed dynamics in the Comp and Open modes
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
1090194302
Tubesteader LIGHTKEEPER
$269 | A D-style boost/overdrive with a 12AX7 tube in it. Higher gain gradually adds harmonic complexity and saturation to the signal, without altering the dynamics, and overdriving when all the way up. A 3 way EQ section helps with tone sculpting. There are also both a mid boost and a clean boost, which can be assigned to the left footswitch for dynamic shifts.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
846496309
VS Audio Blackbird
~$200 | An amp-in-a-box overdrive inspired by the Fender Brownface and Blackface amps. The Blackface mode delivers a more modern, bright and dynamic sound versus the warmer and throatier Brownface one. A separate Gain switch gives you a lo-gain or high-gain option. The three regular Tone, Drive and Volume will do the rest.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
2103764593
Vaderin Pedals HP-X
$155 | A Percolator-style Fuzz with 3 clipping modes.and highly interactive Input and BOutput knobs. Clipping modes are Asymmetrical Germanium, Diode lift and Symmetrical Silicon. A Silicon transistor in the PNP position guarantees consistent tone independently from the external condition
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
977283091
Haunted Labs Old Ruin
~$175 | Gain and Volume knob are joined by a Texture knob that – to quote the builder – “summons sonic nuances from the great beyond.” This is basically a Tone control with more pronounced effects, ranging from silky to searing.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon
2415814515
Colombo Audio Electronics ERUPTION
~$199 | A Plexi-style pedal inspired by the guitar tone in the first six Van Halen albums. The Variac knob simulates the guitarist's mod that allowed him to under-powered his Marshall 1959 Super Lead head, which gave birth to one of the most epic rock sounds.
eBay | Reverb | Amazon

Related Delicious Audio Posts: