gear giveaway

EQ Pedals

Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter

The Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter, as you may have guessed, is not a pedal for the gentle electric guitarist. Catering to the metal crowd (those who use their 6-string to "melt" stuff), this stompbox is a love letter to the "chainsaw" tone made popular by a string of Swedish Death Metal…Click on the title for more

Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter

Origin Effects DCX Boost

Despite its name, the Origin Effects DCX Boost is a lot more than just a boost pedal, but rather, as its "subtitle" suggests, a studio-grade preamp able to shape and overdrive your tone. The DCX follows a path recently embarked on by the British company linked to the designing of…Click on the title for more

Origin Effects DCX Boost

New Pedal: Empress Heavy Menace

At first glance, the Empress Heavy Menace seems like a pedal that might win the contest for "most tweakable distortion pedal in a compact case." Also, it looks very cool, notwithstanding its demonic references! An evolution in compact case of the company's popular Heavy pedal, the Heavy Menace could be…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Empress Heavy Menace

Origin Effects M-EQ Driver

The large blue panel of the Pultec studio rack equalizer has a place like few other pieces of gear in the history of recording, and the Origin Effects M-EQ Driver puts its sound, quite literally, at your feet. Using the Adaptive Circuitry system recently introduced on the company's TS-inspired Halcyon…Click on the title for more

Origin Effects M-EQ Driver

Sonicake Tone Group Graphic EQ

The Sonicake Tone Group EQ is a new, sub-$50 entry in the world of graphic EQ pedals. There isn't much to say about this device, besides that it's fully analog and offers ±15dB of boost or cut for a total of 1- frequency bands, and an overall volume knob placed…Click on the title for more

Sonicake Tone Group Graphic EQ

Ibanez Pentatone Preamp and EQ Pedal

The Ibanez Pentatone is a new, analog Preamp and EQ pedal by an electric guitar builder that, notwithstanding having manufactured the most popular stompbox of all times, hasn't been particularly active in the pedal realm in the last few years. The Pentatone is an entirely new product in the Japanese…Click on the title for more

Ibanez Pentatone Preamp and EQ Pedal

2023 UPDATE! Best EQ Pedals for Guitar: Graphic & Parametric

Welcome to our article focused on the best EQ pedals for guitar, organized by features and price range. This article was updated on March 22, 2023. --- EQ may not be the flashiest effect there is, but we'd be hard-pressed to find a pro guitarist who doesn't tweak their EQ…Click on the title for more

2023 UPDATE! Best EQ Pedals for Guitar: Graphic & Parametric

Vahlbruch BBQ Booster/EQ

The name of the Vahlbruch BBQ is an acronym for Buffer, Booster and EQ. Handmade in Germany with high-quality components, the BBQ can push up to 16dBs into your amp or reduce the volume down to -6dBs, which can be useful to clean up some crunchy tones. The EQ section…Click on the title for more

Vahlbruch BBQ Booster/EQ

Boost Blurry RAT-Style Filter Distortion

The Blurry is a limited edition pedal with a particular story that was highlighted by the JHS Show in their "Best of 2022" episode. It now sells for around $500 used on Reverb.com. Commissioned by Berlin-based cult electronic artist RIP Swirl to a product design studio called Boost (which has…Click on the title for more

Boost Blurry RAT-Style Filter Distortion

Mask Audio Line Blur EQ

The Mask Audio Line Blur (for which we can't find a web page yet) is a semi-parametric EQ and overdrive pedal for guitar and bass with audiophile-grade op amps, meaning that it's lo-fi in a hi-fi kind of way (those are components you'll find in a home stereo system rather…Click on the title for more

Mask Audio Line Blur EQ

Caline CP-81 10 Band EQ

Made in China, the Caline CP-81 10 Band EQ is a simple and very affordable graphic EQ stompbox (with an overdrive "twist") that provides 10 bands at the competitive price of just over $50. This true bypass pedal works well also with bass and lets you sculpt frequencies in these…Click on the title for more

Caline CP-81 10 Band EQ

Jackson Audio The Optimist Drive

Texas' Jackson Audio is one of the few emerging pedal builders that's bringing innovation to an effect niche that lagged behind others in exciting features: the niche of gain pedals. Packed with features and enhanced by clever digital functionality, the company's pedals retain an analog core while widening the player's…Click on the title for more

Jackson Audio The Optimist Drive