Guitar Tricks presents Favorite Pedal Brands for Specific Pedal Types

(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!)

Favorite Pedal Brands for Specific Pedal Types

By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons.

Of course many guitar effects unit builders create pedals that provide a variety of methods to change the signal. If you like sticking to one brand, that is fine as you will likely be able to get all you need. But, if you want a unique tone it helps to mix it up a little and try many styles out. And while there are no hard rules when it comes to guitar pedals, here are some of the best pedal brands for specific effects.

Distortion – EarthQuaker
Acapulco Gold, Sunn O))) Life Pedal, Bit Commander

Many brands have great distortion but EarthQuaker has a few awesome ones to choose from. Acapulco Gold will give you vintage tube distortion and Sunn O))) gives you deep medal droning. EarthQuaker has a variety of ways to change the filter, amplitude, octave, clipping, and all the features necessary to achieve a heavy, dark, ambient, or doom sound.

Delay – Strymon
El Capistan, Dig, Brigadier, Timeline

Strymon has a knack for time-based effects like delay, echo, and reverb. Their pedals are higher budget but you can hear it in the final sound. The new TimeLine Multidimensional not only provides every kind of delay possible, but it also has a simple looper included. If you are looking to add space and depth to your guitar vibe, then Strymon is a great brand. If you can’t get your hands on an original Space Echo, then a modern Strymon works just as well, if not better.

Reverb – Universal Audio
Dream 65, Del Verb, Galaxy 74

Most of us guitar players cannot afford a real vintage mid-60s tube amp with reverb, but Universal Audio has perfected digital modeling of analog gear. They are higher budget pedals, but their final sound is just as good as the original, and obviously more portable and safer (no hot tubes!). For perfect classic reverb, UA has you covered along with other amp modeling effects.

Compressor – Wampler
Ego, Wong Compressor

Wampler makes compressors with incredible dynamics. The Ego provides great clarity for a variety of genres, and funk and jazz guitarist Cory Wong also has a popular compressor model. It has great clean saturation for jazz, rockabilly, and other styles that have that vibe. It even has an XLR output for those who want a higher audio quality, which is the point of the compressor!

Chorus – Eventide
Tricerachorus

This pedal is inspired by vintage chorus tones of the past along with modern features, so it’s like having a mix. When it comes to the modulation effect of chorus the more control you have over the signals, the better variety of sounds you can get. That is why this pedal is so great for this effect, it can be used for different eras and genres when needing a simple or complex chorus.

Overdrive – TC Electronic
MojoMojo, Tube Pilot, Cinders

There are many options for overdrive pedals, but some of the best value for sound is a few of the TC Electronic models. Like Boss, TC makes a lot of simple and effective pedals, and if you want that classic tube overdrive they are a great choice. It’s not necessary to get too fancy with an overdrive, you just need to clip that signal like the gain of a vacuum tube!

Tremolo and Vibrato – Walrus Audio
Julia, Julianna, Monument Harmonic

Of course tremolo is the change of volume while vibrato is the change in pitch, they are two different effects that Walrus Audio has great pedals for. The Julianna provides both vibrato and chorus and the Monument has an array of tremolo abilities. They are two simple guitar effects, yet these pedals still provide many sonic choices.

Equalizer – MXR
10 Band

Like Boss and TC Electronics, MXR makes every kind of guitar effects unit, their 10 band is one the more famous and reliable equalizers. It’s not too expensive and gives you a lot of choice on shaping the range and tone of your guitar. Now the only problem is learning exactly how to set all the sliders for your style!

Flanger – Boss
BF-3

Boss makes many great pedals for every effect, but they for sure make one of the most popular and best sounding flangers. Unlike many other pedals on this list, this only has one goal and that is to copy the flange effect from a reel-to-reel tape player. Boss is always a great brand to choose when you just want a simple straightforward signal change!

Fuzz – Catalinbread
Giygas, Karma Suture, Dreamcoat

The Giygas will give you a classic fuzz sound while the Karma Suture provides extra harmony with it. Either way Catalinbread pedals are great selections for specific fuzz distortion. They have octave fuzz, echo fuzz, and even Blood Donor fuzz, clearly they have this effect covered!

Phaser – Electro-Harmonix
Nano Small Stone, Blurst

The Nano is a new take on the original Small Stone phaser pedal, it brings all the old modulating abilities but with new modern tech. And the Blurst is pricier but will give you more ability to shape your sound with a phaser effect. Electro-Harmonix is great at making pedals that allow you to modulate the signal for all genres of music.

Harmonizer – Meris
Hedra, Enzo, Polymoon

There are many famous harmonizer pedals that allow you to layer your signal made by EHX and Boss. However the Meris Hedra gives you a lot more pitch shifting and rhythmic control. Besides regular pitch shifting among semitones you can also add in micro tonal changes. The pedal gives you far more choices than other harmonizers. And it can add a variety of other effects and vibes when dialed in right.

Remember, you don’t need to be an experienced guitarist to start using pedals. Even if you are just starting out with online guitar lessons, getting a couple choice pedals under your feet will set you down the path to understanding your instrument that much deeper.

Of course all these brands make guitar pedals for almost every effect here, and if you find a pedal you like why not check out some more of their products. Of course the boutique pedals will provide more ways to change the signal, so if you want more from a stomp box get one that has multi-effects. Otherwise it is best to think of the signal effect you want and then go look at the best pedals for said effect.

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