With the boutique guitar-pedal market growing larger and more diverse every day, there’s never been a more exciting time for stompbox-loving guitarists. Boutique pedal makers often bring an alternative perspective and a new vitality to the pedal market, and Sweetwater is proud to offer pedals from boutique makers including Analog Alien, Emerson Custom, Catalinbread, and Vertex Effects. Recently, we’ve partnered with four awesome companies that are serving up seriously innovative stompboxes — Meris, Origin Effects, Gamechanger Audio, and Jackson Audio. Let’s meet these cutting-edge boutique pedal makers and scope out their wares!
Meris
Among pedal aficionados, Terry Burton has a gilded reputation, having helped craft some of the most universally renowned stompboxes of the last 20 years. So, when he launched his new venture, Meris, with DSP engineer Angelo Mazzocco and creative director Jinna Kim, guitarists at Sweetwater were paying attention. Focused on generating forward-thinking creative tools, the team at Meris has produced a stellar collection of effects powered by a combination of groundbreaking digital technology and premium analog componentry. Nothing about Meris’s lineup is standard, each effect is utterly unique, from the Hedra 3-voice pitch shifter and the Enzo multi-voice instrument synthesizer to the Ottobit Jr. bitcrusher, the Mercury7 algorithmic reverb, and the rack-gear-inspired Polymoon modulated delay. And Meris is thinking beyond the pedalboard, creating 500 Series versions of the Hedra, Ottobit, and Mercury7 as well as the guitar-centric 440 Mic Preamp, which is loaded with CineMag transformers and a pedal-friendly effects loop. Meris pedals and 500 Series modules provide boundless possibilities and are guaranteed to inspire.
Origin Effects
As a guitarist himself, Simon Keats, Origin Effects’ founder and lead designer, recognized the market for stompboxes with studio-grade sonics that would appeal to discerning tone chasers. After years spent working alongside some of the industry’s most well-respected pro audio gear manufacturers, Simon launched Origin Effects, a company committed to creating premium effects made with the finest componentry available. Origin Effects earned their plaudits with the instantly classic Cali76 compressor pedal — a device that puts the sound of a high-end hardware compressor on your pedalboard. Simon and the Origin Effects crew followed it up with the RevivalDRIVE, an all-analog, amp-style overdrive that covers everything from vintage American Tweed tones to classic British valve amps. To fit the specific needs of unique players, Origin Effects offers several editions of its pedals, all gorgeously handcrafted and housed in hand-polished stainless-steel enclosures.
Gamechanger Audio
There’s something audacious about naming your company Gamechanger Audio, but this intrepid Latvian company is more than living up to its chosen moniker. In 2017, Gamechanger Audio introduced their first pedal to the world — the Plus Pedal, a revolutionary sustain pedal that delivers lush, organic drones and ethereal sostenuto-style effects. Next, Gamechanger Audio electrified the guitar community with the Plasma Pedal, an ultra-gnarly overdrive that owes its gritty, spitty sound to a xenon-filled vacuum tube, which glows and arcs ominously on the face of the pedal. A mere three years after the release of the Plus Pedal, Gamechanger Audio effects have become a favorite of musicians across numerous genres, from indie rockers such as Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson and Royal Blood’s bassist/frontman Mike Kerr to rock legends Robbie Robertson and Robert Plant. They even collaborated with Jack White to produce the Third Man Records Plasma Coil, an enhanced octave-fuzz version of the Plasma Pedal. For something totally different, check out Gamechanger Audio’s avant-garde offerings.
Jackson Audio
Hailing from Keller, Texas, Jackson Audio distinguish themselves as boutique pedal makers by catering to hardworking guitarists that need access to flexible, high-quality tools onstage and in the studio. The brainchild of Jackson Ampwork’s Brad Jackson and Juan Kyle and guitarist Nigel Hendroff, Jackson Audio has created a formidable lineup of overdrives, compressors, and multi-function tone-shaping pedals with deep feature sets. Their flagship pedal, PRISM, perfectly encapsulates Jackson Audio’s ethos in that it allows guitarists to take total control over their sound with a combination of three distinctive boost circuits, a powerful active EQ, and a tone-saving high-current buffer. In the same vein, Jackson Audio developed the Bloom compressor pedal, which gently controls dynamics with an optical-compressor design, and the Golden Boy and Broken Arrow overdrive pedals, both of which are intended to sweeten and saturate your signal while retaining articulation and clarity. For guitarists who prefer straightforward pedals with fewer features, Jackson Audio serves up the Amp Mode boost pedal, the Blossom compressor pedal, and the Belle Starr overdrive pedal. Tasty and tasteful, Jackson Audio pedals can’t be missed!
Conclusion
Which boutique pedal makers and stompboxes are you most excited about? Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 and let us know. We never get sick of talking pedals!
