Special Features

Victory The Kraken V4 Preamp Pedal

Those in need of a helluva portable, two-channel tube preamp for heavy tones might have found what they were looking for in the Victory Amplification The Kraken V4, a device developed in collaboration with UK's one and only Rabea Massaad and created with heavy, progressive and extended-range overdrive tones in…Click on the title for more

Victory The Kraken V4 Preamp Pedal

Free the Tone Future Factory Modulation Delay

The Future Factory from Free the Tone is hailed as the world’s first random fluctuating phase modulation pedal. The two delay units can be used in series or parallel modes with controls over virtually every parameter imaginable. It’s not just a delay though, as the name implies. There are a…Click on the title for more

Free the Tone Future Factory Modulation Delay

Tsakalis AudioWorks Room #40 Marshall-in-a-Box

Evidently, among electric guitarists, the sonic thirst for Plexi-style overdrives is hard to quelch. Athens' Tsakalis AudioWorks is the latest stompbox builder to release a Marshall-in-a-box pedal inspired by the tones of that company's legendary tube amps that defined the sound or rock'n'roll. Using jfet technology, the Room #40 can…Click on the title for more

Tsakalis AudioWorks Room #40 Marshall-in-a-Box

BOSS IR-200 Amp and IR Cabinet Simulator

The BOSS 200 series welcomes another member to its growing family, the IR-200 Amp and IR Cabinet Simulator, an uber-comprehensive stereo device for performing, rehearsing, and recording without the burden of real amp and cabinets for both guitar (8amp types) and bass (3 amp types). We could spend all day…Click on the title for more

BOSS IR-200 Amp and IR Cabinet Simulator

Spaceman Effects Delta II Tremolo

Notably, Portland's Spaceman Effects didn't have a compact tremolo in their roster until today, the day they released the Delta II. The rather simple interface can be misleading: this pedal can deliver a wide variety of rhythmic and tone-shaping options, from the traditional to the adventurous. The Lag knob is…Click on the title for more

Spaceman Effects Delta II Tremolo

New Pedal: API TranZformer GTR

A name nothing short of legendary in the pro audio realm, API entered the stompbox niche in 2017 with the TranZformer GT, an EQ + compressor inheriting the company's technology used in their mixing consoles' channel strips. As good as it sounded, that pedal had an obvious downside: it was…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: API TranZformer GTR

2021 UPDATE: The Best Analog Delay Pedals

This article is exclusively focused on the best analog delay pedals. For coverage about all kinds of delays see our Best Delay Pedals article. Updated on 10.13.2021 Delay has become one of the most common effects on guitarists' pedalboards, even if it is available in an uncommonly diverse number of…Click on the title for more

2021 UPDATE: The Best Analog Delay Pedals

New Pedal: Black Star Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

The Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion is a high-gain pedal driven by an ECC83 Triode Valve with noteworthy tone and tons of features. Just like its less aggressive sibling the Dept. 10 Dual Drive, it offers 2 voices per channel, for a total of 3 crunch/overdrive voices alongside the clean…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Black Star Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Free the Tone Ambi Space AS-1R Stereo Digital Reverb

The digital domain has in recent years conquered the reverb realm thanks to increasingly powerful/portable CPUs. The Free the Tone Ambi Space AS-1R Digital Reverb is a noteworthy contender in this niche. By using FTT’s original algorithm, the AMBI SPACE combines various elements to achieve a mechanism for producing complex reverberation, through…Click on the title for more

Free the Tone Ambi Space AS-1R Stereo Digital Reverb

Origin DELUXE61 Drive+Tremolo (ex RevivalTREM)

Origin Effects at NAMM 2020 presented the RevivalTrem, a true bias tremolo + Deluxe-style overdrive, that is a Brownface-in-a-box and a whole lot more. In October 2021, they renamed it DELUXE61 after incurring in legal trouble with a similarly named company. The routable and fine-tunable EQ section merits particular mention.…Click on the title for more

Origin DELUXE61 Drive+Tremolo (ex RevivalTREM)

Mooer Groove Loop X2

The Mooer Groove Loop X2 is a drum machine + looper pedal that, just like the other pedals in the Chinese company's "X2" series, doubles down on the features of its mini-sibling, providing stereo operation, two footswitches for separate Tap Tempo and loop navigation, 10-minute recording memory, 121 drum grooves…Click on the title for more

Mooer Groove Loop X2

Gamechanger Audio Light Pedal | Optical Spring Reverb System

The Latvian inventors behind Gamechanger Audio don't like to do things the "normal" way. After releasing a bolt-of-light-driven distortion pedal and an engine-based synth, they are launching at NAMM the first "analog optical spring reverb," called Light, where an optical sensor is employed to "harvest the timbral and harmonic range…Click on the title for more

Gamechanger Audio Light Pedal | Optical Spring Reverb System