Cool Effects Pedals You May Have Missed

Starting off the list is a signature pedal that gives you tones that span from classic psych-rock to My Bloody Valentine–style distorted chaos. The Benson Amps Deep Sea Diver Fuzz-Echo pedal is the brainchild of indie band Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson that delivers a three-transistor fuzz circuit reminiscent of a Tone Bender and a classic echo effect that runs in series with the fuzz. What makes this pedal stand out is the ability to change the order of the fuzz and echo. With the echo before the fuzz, you can get wild, unpredictable feedback when the delays are interacting with the gate and bias parameters. And a noise-rock, shoegaze-inspired delay effect is incomplete without a self-oscillation feature, which can be activated by holding down the footswitch. If you’re in the market for a classic noisemaker pedal or want to curate your own psych-rock and shoegaze tones, then the Benson Amps Deep Sea Diver Fuzz-Echo is one you need to try!

Frankly, it’s fair to say that any of Beetronics FX’s wonderfully wild creations will set your sound apart from the pack. That said, we find that the Beetronics FX Wannabee “Beelateral Buzz” marks an alluring midpoint between the brand’s most experimental offerings and sheer sonic utility. This two-part stompbox combines two iconic overdrive circuits: a rather mythologized horse/man hybrid pedal (Circuit #0) and a blues-breaking British overdrive box (Circuit #1). Each circuit sports three switchable voices, and Beetronics FX takes your tones even further with their powerful switching system. Want to run Circuit #0 into the front of Circuit #1 or vice versa? No problem. Would you prefer to run both circuits simultaneously and blend each flavor to taste? Simply switch into the pedal’s parallel mode. Capped with Beetronics FX’s signature colorful aesthetics, the Wannabee “Beelateral Buzz” is truly a pedal to buzz about.

Analog technology’s charming “glitches” have been embraced by guitarists for more than half a century. Many of these started as unwanted aberrations — tape warble, fuzz, distortion, and so on — only to later become integral elements of the guitarist’s sonic toolbox. The Catalinbread Bitters multi-effects modulation pedal carries that torch into the digital era, providing you with the distinct sonic artifacts of the early aughts. This pedal’s signal-mangling controls comprise a Distort knob, a Dual control that introduces a phase shifter, and a standard Mix control. However, the Bitters knob opens a vast realm of glitched-out experimentation, drawing from one of the pedal’s four additional controls. These sounds range from low-fidelity bitcrushing to a ring modulator, a frequency modulator, and the Decimator — which reduces your signal’s sample rate for glitched-out madness. Truly, the chaotic sound of digital destruction has never been sweeter than Catalinbread’s Bitters.

No matter your style or sound, a high-octane boost pedal such as the MXR Gran Torino boost overdrive is an essential element of a well-rounded pedalboard. This MOSFET-fueled boost pedal clocks in with far greater utility than your typical single-knob booster, coming complete with a 3-band EQ — a feature that allows you to transform the Gran Torino’s voice from a clean, ultra-transparent boost to a lead-enhancing midrange blast at a moment’s notice. Moreover, the Gran Torino also sports a full-fledged overdrive circuit to drive your sound into sweet saturation. It all adds up to a uniquely hot-rodded take on the humble boost box, and it’s sure to trick out your pedalboard with a red-hot dose of high-octane sonics.

Few brands better capture the psychedelic spirit of the 1960s than Danelectro. It was a time marked by fearless sonic experimentation, and it was the decade that first introduced fuzz into the musical lexicon. The Danelectro Nichols 1966 fuzz pedal pays tribute to that era by re-creating the rare and sought-after fOXX Liverpool Fuzz-Tone — a pedal originally invented in the late 1960s by current Danelectro CEO Steve Ridinger! This 3-transistor fuzz pedal strikes a perfect balance between wild old-school fuzz and smooth distortion. Like the best fuzz pedals of the era, the Nichols 1966 cleans up quite nicely with a quick roll of your volume knob. Modernized with an upgraded control configuration and a Mid Cut switch, the Nichols 1966 fuzz transforms your tone with a decidedly retro vibe.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a pedal brand that lives up to its name better than Gamechanger Audio. Even with that in mind, the Gamechanger Audio Auto Delay pedal is an utterly unprecedented piece of cutting-edge pedal engineering. To begin simply, the Auto Delay pedal comes equipped with tape, analog, and digital delay emulations complemented by a collection of standard delay controls, three ping-pong panning settings, and modulation. These features alone would result in a rock-solid delay, yet Gamechanger Audio then completely breaks the mold with a patch panel that gives you the power to control the delay via your playing dynamics, note selections, or both. Assign a rhythmic delay to your low notes while your high notes remain dry; control self-oscillation with your playing dynamics; play echo-laden chords with soft strums while keeping your leads clean — the possibilities are almost endless, resulting in a pedal that’s guaranteed to inspire your most creative and unorthodox tones yet.

Hailing from Keeley’s ultra-versatile 4-in-1 series, the Keeley Angry Orange puts two all-time-classic distortion circuits at your command. This analog pedal’s split sonic personality captures the hard-clipping grind of an iconic orange-colored MIJ (Made in Japan) distortion circuit along with the smooth soft clipping of a classic Soviet-style fuzz. To swap between these two tones, simply flip the 2-way switches underneath the Tone and Drive controls — you can even combine the tone setup of the hard-clipping circuit with the drive circuit of the soft-clipping circuit, and vice versa! Thus, this flexible fuzz/distortion hybrid truly lives up to its 4-in-1 title, arming you with a grand total of four searing sounds to explore. Whether you’re after infinite singing sustain, rip-roaring distorted rhythms, or anything in between, the Keeley Angry Orange has you covered.

While Walrus Audio is revered for their boundary-breaking boutique designs that burst with knobs, switches, and even (on occasion) joysticks, the Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Ambient proves they’re just as capable of crafting rock-solid pedalboard staples. This pedal’s laser-precise aim is to outfit your rig with rich, atmospheric reverb in three distinct flavors: Deep, Lush, and Haze. From haunting low-octave ’verb to crystalline chime to lo-fi crackle, the Ambient lives up to its name with a vast palette of enveloping echoes. In classic Walrus Audio fashion, they buck the norm with a cool array of old-school slider switches that dial in the pedal’s parameters. Topped with buffered-bypass switching and switchable reverb trails when the pedal is disengaged, the Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Ambient pedal is an accessible option for any guitarist seeking ethereal echo tones.

Turn down the fidelity with the Source Audio Artifakt Lo-fi Elements — a pedal brandishing a multi-effects library of glitched-out tones to explore. The Artifakt provides a veritable history lesson in the art of sonic artifacts with seven modes of lo-fi goodness to dive into. A 7-way knob offers a vast array of ways to rip and rend your signal from radio static to bitcrushing, 8-bit reverb, vinyl crackles, tape aberrations, digital audio glitches, and the envelope/LFO modulation of the Ladder mode. Once you’ve secured the fragmented sound of your choice, the Artifakt allows you to save up to 128 of your favorite sounds. Plus, while the Source Audio Artifakt re-creates technical glitches of the past and present, the pedal’s tone-shaping tools and extra features are as rock-solid as they come, comprising MIDI control, tap tempo for the delays/filters, stereo I/O, and a surgical degree of sound-sculpting potential available via the Source Audio Neuro software editor.

Electro-Harmonix’s POG series of pedals has stood beside guitarists since 2005, and the Electro-Harmonix POG3 Polyphonic Octave Generator bolsters that time-tested formula with enhanced control and functionality. This pitch-generating powerhouse puts six polyphonic voices at your disposal, ranging from octaves to fifths, all boasting spot-on, glitch-free tracking. Classic POG appointments include Attack, Filter, and Detune sliders further aided by an Envelope knob on the multimode filter. Did we mention the POG3’s stereo output with individual voice panning and a detune spread parameter? It’s a pedal with limitless potential for sonic experimentation that includes the much-welcomed ability to save up to 100 presets of your favorite patches alongside effortless navigation via the high-visibility OLED screen. It’s topped with an expansive I/O section (including MIDI and USB-C) and access to the EHXport app for editing and transferring presets.

Perfect for guitarists who run sprawling pedalboard setups, the Dreadbox Psyclop comes packed to the brim with rig-simplifying utility. This multi-tool of a pedal allows you to manage and organize all sorts of signals, starting with a footswitch effects loop for TS signals and a handy blend control to adjust your wet/dry mix. Next, the Psyclop’s mixer knobs allow you to boost or cut signals by up to 20dB, further bolstering this pedal’s utility. Plus, if you’re rocking a pedal with CV control — a feature found on plenty of Dreadbox’s own stompbox creations — the Psyclop boasts the ability to convert your expression pedal’s output to CV for effortless connectivity along with 3.5mm CV I/O for serious signal-chain experimentation. Packed into an ultra-compact enclosure, the Dreadbox Psyclop provides serious signal utility and represents a seamless bridge between your pedal and synth setups.

Analog delay pedals may have been around since the mid-1970s, yet the Suhr Discovery analog delay pedal proves that old-school echo boxes still have room for innovation. This pedal’s analog heart begins with a quartet of MN3005 bucket brigade chips, which provide you with a seriously wide 40ms–1,100ms range that can be expanded to 17ms–2,000ms by utilizing the Discovery’s subdivision and tap tempo controls. And for guitarists who crave the wash and warble of vintage analog modulation, the Discovery comes equipped with a robust modulation selection with three distinct waveform selections. Finished with a powerful EQ section, true/buffered bypass, a 7-segment LCD, and a smattering of digital accoutrements — including 127 preset slots and MIDI — the Suhr Discovery takes the most sought-after analog echoes of the past straight into the 21st century.