gear giveaway

Tone King Royalist Preamp

Following the success of last year's Imperial preamp, Tone King has unveiled the Royalist: a high-voltage tube preamp pedal that distills the sound of their Royalist MKIII amplifier into a compact, pedalboard-friendly format. Where the Imperial covered American cleans, the Royalist is a full-throated tribute to the golden age of…... Click for more

Tone King Royalist Preamp

Fish Circuits Astronomie Reverb

One of the most intriguing new pedal releases at NAMM 2025 came from a fellow Montrealese brand: the Fish Circuit Astronomie. It's a spring-style reverb/compressor circuit (in that order) with the company's signature chunky vintage look and very unusual controls. Notwithstanding the large footprint, the Astronomie doesn't have real springs…... Click for more

Fish Circuits Astronomie Reverb

Enduring Audio Fell Runner Fuzz

Some fuzzes want to be your friend. The Enduring Audio Fell Runner wants to steal your wallet and key your car. Enduring Audio looked at the Roland Bee Baa - that weird Japanese box from the '70s that sounded like bees fighting inside a tin can - and extracted its…... Click for more

Enduring Audio Fell Runner Fuzz

JHS Double Dragon Lo-Fi Octave Pedal

After years of building all sorts of effects pedals (but mostly overdrives and fuzzes), JHS finally entered the octave game. The Double Dragon is their first dedicated octave pedal—and they built it on forty-year-old technology. MXR Blue Box. Boss OC-2. Electro-Harmonix Micro-Synth . Those circuits that predated digital precision, that…... Click for more

JHS Double Dragon Lo-Fi Octave Pedal

New Pedal: Catalinbread CB Paint Vintage Digital Reverb

Some reverbs announce themselves. The Catalinbread CB Paint whispers. Catalinbread reached into the late '80s and pulled out a forgotten gem—that studio rack unit everyone wanted and everyone could afford. The one that ended up on records by Trey Anastasio, Neil Young, Mac DeMarco. Not because it was flashy, but…... Click for more

New Pedal: Catalinbread CB Paint Vintage Digital Reverb

Updated Pedal: Harby Pedals Centauri MkII

In 1994, Bill Finnegan built eight thousand magic boxes, coated them in epoxy so nobody could peek inside, and changed guitar tone forever. Thirty years later, original Klon Centaurs trade for seven grand, and the epoxy didn't stop anyone forever—just slowed them down until 2009, when Martin Chittum finally scraped…... Click for more

Updated Pedal: Harby Pedals Centauri MkII

Funny Little Boxes Dirt Distortion

The Funny Little Boxes Dirt brings the crushing intensity, squalling lead tones, and chugging riffs of 90's hard rock and metal to your pedalboard. From Alice In Chains to Slipknot via Silverchair, Tool, and Tom Morello, The Dirt has all your headbanging bases covered and then some. Plug in; Switch…... Click for more

Funny Little Boxes Dirt Distortion

Polyend Step Drum Machine Pedal

Integrating a drum machine into a guitar pedal isn’t a new concept, but the Polyend Step elevates it to a whole new level, drawing on the Polish company’s expertise in synthesis rather than traditional guitar effects. The Step is a stereo, sample-based drum machine in pedal form, controlled via Tap…... Click for more

Polyend Step Drum Machine Pedal

Alexander Pedals Error XP Multi-FX Pedal

Alexander Pedals took their glitch-centric Syntax Error, shrunk it down, and added more ways to break your signal. The Syntax Error XP is the Leap Series version - smaller enclosure, same digital chaos, now with stereo ins and outs because destroying one channel of audio apparently wasn't enough. Eight modes…... Click for more

Alexander Pedals Error XP Multi-FX Pedal

New Pedal: Umbrella Company Hume

The Japan-made Umbrella Company HUME is a spatial effects pedal designed to occupy the elusive territory between delay and reverb. It emerges from a simple concept: what happens when echoes stop being distinct repeats and start dissolving into atmosphere? The answer lives in the F&V sliders—the pedal's defining control. This…... Click for more

New Pedal: Umbrella Company Hume

New Pedal: LPD Sixty8X Overdrive

The LPD Sixty8X is a limited-edition 10th-anniversary evolution of the 2016 Sixty8 Drive. This Marshall-style overdrive and preamp preserves the original’s tonal identity while refining its internal circuitry for a more authentic 1968-inspired amplifier response. Central to the redesign is an updated phase inverter clipping circuit that more closely replicates…... Click for more

New Pedal: LPD Sixty8X Overdrive

Caroline Wave Cannon Zero Fuzzstortion

A revisitation of one of the South Carolina-based company's early unreleased prototypes, the Caroline Wave Cannon v2 is a bold distortion pedal that delivers everything from subtle crackles to heavy, chaotic, and even self-oscillating tones. Unlike pedals focused on subtle dynamics, the Wave Cannon v2 features intense gain and volume…... Click for more

Caroline Wave Cannon Zero Fuzzstortion