27 Best Guitar Pedals in 2024 (3 of Each Type)

Collecting guitar pedals for many players becomes a hobby just by itself. Once you start buying one pedal after another, it’s almost impossible to stop yourself from buying one more.

The next thing you know, you realize you’ve spent more money on pedals than on guitars (laughs). Done right, pedals can take your guitar tone to the next level. The key is to find the right combination of pedals and really understand the different settings and characteristics of each to dial in the tone you’re after.

So as much as it is exciting, there are few things to keep in mind & know before committing to a brand new pedal. In this article, we’ll just straight into what we think are the best guitar pedals, but if you want to learn more about how to choose the right type for what you’re looking for, we put together a guide on the types of effects pedals and how to choose the right type for what you’re looking for at the bottom of the page. That should get you up to speed on everything you should know before buying a pedal. We also have an entire page explaining the types of guitar pedals every guitarist should have here.

Overdrive Pedals (See Top Picks Below)

1. Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $130
Pedal Type: Overdrive

My Review: Fulltone’s OCD is one of the most sought-after overdrive and distortion pedals around. It features a very easy-to-use design with only three knobs, and it produces a beautiful, warm, crunchy & gritty tone. The pedal reminisces the sound of a tube amp’s natural distortion, and the sounds differ slightly depending on how much voltage you put into it (From 9v to 18v). This pedal can also be used almost as a secondary amp, and when paired with another distortion or overdrive pedal, the possibilities are limitless. However, it has enough firepower on its own to create a full distorted sound, and it features a HP (High peak) and LP (Low peak) for different amounts of distortion and presence. Famous guitarists that use the Fulltone OCD include Eric Johnson, Hozier, Keith Urban, Greg Howe, James Valentine, Paul Jackson Jr., and more. As you can see, Fulltone OCD is used by artists all over the music industry and is a highly versatile overdrive pedal.

Who Will Use This Most:

Fulltone OCD is a great all around overdrive pedal for anyone looking to add their first OD as it comes at a very accessible price point, but its also an amazing addition to have in your established pedalboard. This pedal can create perfect tones for pop, blues, alternative rock, and even hard rock. All of this made it an easy pick for our “Best Value” pick in the overdrive category!

Key Specs and Features:

• Beautiful overdrive and distortion tones
• Huge amount of available settings and variations with only three knobs
• Switchable enhanced bypass or true bypass switching modes
• High peak and low peak gain settings
• 9v, 12v, 18v voltage

2. Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pedal (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $100
Pedal Type: Overdrive

My Review: The Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer has been the go-to overdrive pedal for the past 50 years that it has been around, and it’s still used often by iconic guitarists around the world. Some of the artists that famously use the TS9 include Steve Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Gary Moore, Carlos Santana, Greg Howe, Gary Clark Jr, and more. Although this pedal is very versatile in its use, the most suitable genre would be blues and rock. Tube Screamer can go from gritty and twangy, to hard rock distortion. John Mayer famously uses multiple Tube Screamers at the same time, to create maximum gain and distortion. One another great thing about this pedal is its price point. This classic pedal goes at only $99, and there are boutique versions available like the TS808.

Who Will Use This Most: 

This pedal is one of the most classic guitar pedals, and it’s highly recommended for all-electric guitar blues & classic rock players, especially if you want to overdrive a tube amp for that vintage overdrive crunch! Players of all levels should consider adding one of these to their pedalboard.

Key Specs and Features:

• Drive, tone, level controls
• 9V Power
• The original green metal housing

3. Strymon Sunset Dual Overdrive Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $300
Pedal Type: Overdrive

My Review: If you’re looking for a more boutique overdrive pedal with more settings and sounds, Strymon Sunset is the pedal to get. Strymon Sunset is the perfect mix between analog and digital overdrive/distortion pedal, and it was made by analyzing the top six overdrive circuits and putting them all into one pedal. Not only that, but it also features two channel system, where you can stack or isolate any combination of the overdrive sounds. Strymon has been producing some futuristic pedals in the last ten years, and Strymon Sunset is no exception. It produces some of the highest quality overdrive sounds, and it’s well worth the price.

Who Will Use This Most: 

Strymon is the high end model here. If you’re ok with the price point, you’ll be getting a more detailed and precision overdrive pedal with multiple options and combinations, including the ability to stack 2 drive circuits. The Strymon takes our pick for best overall for its top-notch quality, design, and versatility.

Key Specs and Features:

• 6 classic overdrive/boost circuits in two channels
• Noise reduction available to remove hum
• True bypass or analog buffered bypass
• Preset switch (saving settings)
• Able to connect expression pedal for volume control
• 9V Power

Distortion Pedals (See Top Picks Below)

4. Pro Co Rat 2 Distortion (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $70
Pedal Type: Distortion

My Review: This historic distortion pedal packs distortion, sustain, fuzz, and overdrive all into one pedal, and has guitarists like Jeff Beck, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl, David Gilmore that swears by these. ProCo Rat 2 was instrumental in shaping the 80’s rock sound, and still maintains the iconic all black design with three knobs – Distortion, Filter, and Volume. A lot of distortion and overdrive pedals work best over a high-gain/dirty amp tone, but this bad boy can go from a clean amp tone straight into a raunchy and hard-rock distortion. The filter knob controls the brightness and the EQ, so you can get that high piercing lead guitar tone to low-end metal power-chord tone with a simple three knob system. This pedal currently only goes for $69.99, and it’s a great stand-alone distortion pedal as well as an additional distortion pedal to achieve a fully stacked hard rock & metal tone.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal works great for any rock – hard rock, alternative, punk rock, classic rock, and metal genres as well. Especially for any guitarists trying to emulate the 80’s and 90’s rock sound, this pedal is a must to have in your pedalboard.

Key Specs and Features:

• 9V DC Power
• Simple Three Knob System – Distortion, Filter, Volume
• Iconic Black Metal Casing

5. Boss DS-1 (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $50
Pedal Type: Distortion

My Review: Boss DS-1 is an even more classic and iconic distortion pedal that has been around for 40 years. With the price point being only $50, a lot of guitarists doubt if the DS-1 is a high quality distortion pedal. But this pedal was used by Kurt Cobain on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album and is still used by guitarists across genres like Joe Satriani, Mike Stern, Steve Vai, Prince, and Glenn Frey. So despite the price point, the DS-1 creates a reliable, huge distortion and it also keeps the original characteristics of the guitar. In my opinion, the DS-1 works best when paired with an amp gain or another overdrive/distortion pedal. With the price only being $49.99, I highly recommend you pick one up and test it out for yourself with your own instrument.

Who Will Use This Most:

This is a great first distortion pedal to get if you’re looking to get a rock, or punk guitar tone. At a price point that’s tough to beat, this was our pick for “Budget Pick”. An excellent choice if you want to add some distortion to your tone and need to do so on a budget. The DS-1 is a classic. It’s been around for a while and it’s not going anywhere soon.

Key Specs and Features:

• Classic Orange on Black Casing with the BOSS Pedal design
• Three Knobs – Tone, Level, and Distortion
• 9V Power

6. Wampler Sovereign Distortion Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $200
Pedal Type: Distortion

My Review: Brian Wampler of Wampler Pedals has been producing some of the best boutique pedals around, and Wampler Sovereign is no exception. Designed to give the players a wide range of distortion straight from a clean amp sound, the Wampler Sovereign comes with four knobs and two switches. Apart from the volume, tone, and gain knobs, it comes with a ‘Mid Contour’ knob where you can go from creamy tone to aggressive distortion tone that can punch through a thick layer of sound. Being able to make adjustments to your mid is especially crucial for lead guitar playing, and this pedal gives you that mid behavior control. It also has a boost function, so this pedal can also work as a boost pedal with a combination of distortion gain sounds. Wampler Sovereign works amazingly well as a shredding, lead guitar pedal, but also as a rhythm guitar & power-chord distortion pedal.

Who Will Use This Most:

Any guitarists looking for a boutique and high quality distortion pedal that can do-it-all, this pedal is a great choice. Wampler Sovereign can create a beautiful warm overdrive tone, as well as hardcore metal distortion.

Key Specs and Features:

• Choice of 9v to 18v power supply
• Boost switch
• True bypass when turned off
• Crunch to metal distortion all packed into one pedal

Fuzz Pedals (See Top Picks Below)

7. Dunlop JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face pedal (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $150
Pedal Type: Fuzz

My Review: Maybe this is biased because I’m such a big Hendrix fan, but Dunlop JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face is one of my favorite fuzz pedals around. To all the Hendrix fans out there, this pedal is a super accurate reproduction of Jimi’s pedal that was used to create some of the most legendary electric guitar records in history. Dunlop stayed true to the original and started producing these hand-wired circuit boards with a turquoise hammer tone finish. It comes with two knobs – volume and fuzz (that’s really all you need in a fuzz pedal), and an on/off switch. Get this pedal to create the iconic fuzz sounds from the golden era of electric guitar!

Who Will Use This Most:

This classic reproduction is perfect for any Hendrix fans, and to all the fuzz lovers that want to crank up the fuzz and shred!

Key Specs and Features:

• Hand-wired circuit board
• BC108 silicon transistor
• Kept the original housing, knobs, and finish
• 9V Power

8. Electro-Harmonix Op-amp Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $85
Pedal Type: Fuzz

My Review: Inspired by Billy Corgan and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, the Op-amp Big Muff offers a beautiful fuzz tone at a very affordable price. The pedal has three knobs – Volume, Sustain, and Tone, and has an OPAMP switch that allows more aggressive fuzz sound. Compared to the other fuzz pedals by Electro-Harmonix, the Op-amp Big Muff has more coarseness and has a thick grainy crunch that makes this pedal a perfect tool for playing riffs and heavy rhythm guitar playing. This pedal definitely has its own strong characteristics, so I recommend you to first listen or play with it before you purchase it.

Who Will Use This Most:

This fuzz pedal suits all guitarists interested in adding some classic FUZZ to your tone, particularly if you’re looking for a tone close to the Smashing Pumpkin’s signature fuzz sound. Because of the affordable pricing of this fuzz pedal is tough to beat.

Key Specs and Features:

• Captures Billy Corgan’s iconic fuzz sound
• Based on ’70s op-amp equipped V4 IC Big Muff Pi
• True bypass
• Three knobs – Volume, Sustain, and Tone
• 9 Volt power
• Easier compact size

9. ZVex Vexter Fuzz Factory Guitar Effect Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $200
Pedal Type: Fuzz

My Review: There are tons and tons of boutique fuzz pedals around, and fuzz pedals are also the type of pedals that users all have different preferences too. There are no right or wrong choices with a lot of these fuzz pedals, and it’s just simply a matter of taste. That said, Vexter Fuzz Factory from ZVex is a very versatile and fun boutique fuzz pedal to have. Vexter Fuzz Factory produces a dirty, and almost rude fuzz sound – isn’t that what every guitarist wants in a fuzz pedal? And with the five knob system (a lot of knobs for a fuzz pedal), you can go from conservative and dirty fuzz tone to a totally crazy (almost like a synth) sound. The pedal is really a factory for fuzz sounds like the name suggests. If you’re someone who wants to experiment with all kinds of fuzz sounds, then this pedal is for you. This is easily one of the best guitar pedals out there.

Who Will Use This Most: If you have the budget, this boutique pedal is a perfect tool to mess around and create all sorts of crazy fuzz & synth sounds. The possibilities are endless!

Key Specs and Features:

• Made with 2 new old stock ‘60s germanium transistors
• 5 Knobs – Volume, Gate, Compress, Drive, and Stability
• Hand-silkscreened & hand-polished aluminum chassis

Reverb (See Top Picks Below)

10. Boss Digital Reverb RV-6 (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $150
Pedal Type: Reverb

My Review: The BOSS Digital Reverb RV-6 is the newest version of the reverb pedal by BOSS, and it produces studio-quality reverb sounds in a very accessible setting. The reverb modes include Modulate, Spring, Plate, Hall, Room, Dynamic, Shimmer, +Delay – which will suffice most guitarist’s needs. On the left of the modes, there are three knobs – Effect Level, Tone, and Time. So it’s extremely easy to use and all you need to do is pick the mode and control the effect level. The pedal also comes with a stereo or mono input/output system, and an optional expression pedal input. If you’re someone who specifically wants an analog reverb pedal, this pedal isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for a do-it-all, compact digital reverb pedal at a reasonable price, I highly recommend the BOSS RV-6.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is my personal go-to reverb pedal, and it’s recommended to all the guitar players unless they have specific needs for an analog reverb or special reverb effects.

Key Specs and Features:

• 9V Power Supply
• Digital reverb pedal
• Classic BOSS stompbox casing
• Stereo and mono input options
• Expression pedal Input
• Seven different reverb modes available

11. TC Electronic Hall of Fame Mini (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $100
Pedal Type: Reverb

My Review: The HOF Mini comes at an extremely affordable price point for a reverb pedal of high quality. It also suits anyone who needs a small reverb pedal that can fit their pedalboard, and it’s controllable by TC Electronic’s TonePrint technology. The user can access a limitless library of reverb presets and your personal settings from your phones, and all you need to do is load it up to the pedal. If you’re someone who is more old school, this pedal might not be for you. But if you’re a tech savvy person, the TonePrint technology might be the future of guitar pedals, so you’ll love this pedal! The design is also super simple with just one knob for controlling effect level.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is highly recommended to anyone that wants a high quality reverb at the cheapest price point, and it’s also recommended to anyone that needs a small reverb pedal for storage purposes.

Key Specs and Features:

• Digital reverb pedal
• Controllable from TonePrint App
• One reverb knob
• 9V power supply

12. Strymon Blue Sky Multidimensional Reverb Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $480
Pedal Type: Reverb

My Review: This beauty of a pedal will definitely cover all possible needs from a reverb standpoint. Think of an amazing multi-effects pedal, but all things related to reverb. It comes with 12 different types of reverb created from the most popular reverb sounds in history, but at the same time has 8 different knobs for individual controls – Decay, Pre-delay, Mix, Tone, Mod, Param 1, and Param 2. So you could even control the low end and the high end of each individual reverb sounds. And just like a sophisticated multi-effects pedal, you could save up to 300 presets, and you could load up three presets at a time by using the three footswitches. Users can also connect their expression pedal to create dream-like swells and jaw-dropping landscapes with this pedal.

Who Will Use This Most:

Because of its steep price, I recommend this pedal to anyone looking for the most diverse amount of reverb sounds and controls. Many guitarists who need to create huge landscape-like sounds and swells will benefit from purchasing this pedal.

Key Specs and Features:

• Digital Reverb – 12 types of reverb
• 9V Power
• MIDI Controllable
• Expression Pedal Input
• 300 Customizable Presets

Delay (See Top Picks Below)

13. MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay Pedal (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $150
Pedal Type: Delay

My Review: This is definitely my go-to delay pedal because it creates a gorgeous analog delay sound, and with the mod button, you can produce some heaven-like chord sounds with this pedal. The pedal comes with simple three knobs – Mix, Regeneration, and Delay, and one MOD button. After trying many different delay pedals, this pedal has one of the most beautiful blends and works well in most genres. With this pedal on, you might not even need a reverb pedal, because it carries a gorgeous ambiance by itself. The MOD button has almost like a deep, chorus effect, and it can be controlled internally by adjusting two trim pots. It might be hard to create tempo specific delay effects compared to other digital delay pedals, but this will definitely create beautiful, ambient delay effects.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is highly recommended to all analog delay lovers and guitarists who need a delay pedal that blends really well with the rest of the pedalboard.

Key Specs and Features:

• True Bypass
• 9V Power
• 100% Analog Delay
• Top-mounted Modulation Switch
• Simple 3 Knobs – Delay, Mix, and Regeneration
• Blue LEDs

14. TC Electronic Flashback Mini Delay Pedal (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $120
Pedal Type: Delay

My Review: This is another one of TC Electronic’s mini pedal series, and it comes at a slightly lower price point than most high quality delay pedals. It’s a smaller version of the TC Electronic Flashback pedal, and it comes with three knobs – Delay, Feedback, and FX Level. Just like the TC Electronic Hall of Fame Mini pedal, there is a wide range of custom made presets already available on TonePrint app. You could tweak and make your own presets on TonePrint and load it up on the pedal.

Who Will Use This Most:

Flashback Mini is perfect for guitarists who need a no-fuss, simple delay pedal at a low price point. It also doesn’t take up a lot of space on your pedalboard.

Key Specs and Features:

• True Bypass
• Feedback, delay, and FX level controls
• Mono Delay Pedal
• Instant Access to TonePrint
• Road ready design

15. Strymon Timeline Delay Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $450
Pedal Type: Delay

My Review: Similarly to the previously mentioned Strymon Big Sky, Strymon Timeline Delay pedal is another top-of-the-line multi-effects pedal for all things related to delay effects. It comes with 12 studio quality delay presets with 8 controllable knobs – Value, Time, Repeats, Mix, Filter, Grit, Speed, and Depth. It comes with 200 factory presets and you can tweak and save new presets. The pedal also includes a 30-second looper, where you can play around and mix all sorts of delay effects. Another important feature is the tap switch for locking into a certain tempo of a song. With this feature, you can sync up the delay effect very accurately to the song that you’re playing. It’s almost impossible to find a flaw in this pedal except for maybe just the price.

Who Will Use This Most:

Strymon timeline is recommended to any guitarists that have enough budget for the perfect highest quality delay pedal with a built-in looper and MIDI inputs.

Key Specs and Features:

• True bypass
• Expression pedal input
• 9-volt power
• Onboard SHARC DSP for powerful processing
• Stereo ins and outs
• Delay tones range from clean to dirty
• Made with durable aluminum chassis
• MIDI in/thru

Chorus Pedals (See Top Picks Below)

16. TC Electronic Corona Chorus Pedal (Best Value)

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Estimated Price: $130
Pedal Type: Chorus

My Review: The TC Electronic Corona Chorus Pedal is one of the most versatile and sweet-sounding chorus pedals around. Right off the bat, you will notice that the pedal has three different options for chorus sound – Normal Chorus, TonePrint, and Tri Chorus. Toneprint technology allows you to load up any presets made on the TonePrint app, and this includes hundreds of presets made by artists and companies that you can all tweak to your taste. The Tri Chorus gives you a more lush and wide sounding chorus, and with these settings, the possibilities of a great chorus sound is endless. This pedal is perfect for producing chorus sounds for clean guitar rhythm guitar to distorted lead guitar shredding.

Who Will Use This Most:

At a price point of 128.99, this pedal is perfect for any serious guitarists that need a versatile, all-around chorus pedal for rhythm guitar and lead guitar all across genres.

Key Specs and Features:

• Stereo input and output
• 9V power
• Speed, Depth, Color, and Level controls
• TonePrint technology available
• Small size for saving pedalboard space

17. MXR M234 Analog Chorus Pedal (Budget Pick)

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Estimated Price: $100
Pedal Type: Chorus

My Review: The MXR Analog Chorus Pedal comes at a slightly cheaper price of $99.99, and it’s definitely a lot more simple chorus pedal to use compared to the Corona Chorus. The pedal is analog, and it produces more organic chorus sound that is controllable by five knobs – High, Low, Level, Rate, Depth. Although a lot less versatile than the Corona Chorus, it can create refreshing and lush chorus effects that can suffice most guitarists’ needs.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is perfect for anyone looking for a simple, organic sounding, no-fuss chorus pedal at a cheaper price point.

Key Specs and Features:

• Five control knobs – High, Low, Level, Rate, and Depth
• Mono input and output
• 9V power
• Analog Bucket Brigade Circuitry

18. BOSS CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus Pedal (Best Overall)

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Estimated Price: $200
Pedal Type: Chorus

My Review: Back in 1976, BOSS released a Chorus Ensemble Unit called the CE-1, and even though it was beloved by the guitar community, players demanded a smaller version that could fit into their pedalboards. That smaller version was the CE-2. Then 40 years later, BOSS released the CE-2W, which is a combination of both the CE-1 and CE-2, including a vibrato effect. The CE-2W has an amazingly simple easy-to-do use design with only two knobs – Rate and Depth, with a switch to go from Standard, CE-1, and to a vibrato mode. Even with these simple controls, the pedal produces some beautiful, sparkling chorus sounds with a stereo effect, and this pedal is perfect for any serious chorus lovers out there.

Who Will Use This Most:

To have the vintage chorus sounds of both the CE-1 and CE-2 in one, this pedal is a dream come true. At just $199.99, this pedal is highly recommended to any serious chorus lovers!

Key Specs and Features:

• Recreates the classic BOSS CE-1 and CE-2 effects
• Switch between the standard CE-2 effect, to CE-1 vintage chorus and vibrato effects
• Rate and Depth knobs for precise adjustment
• Analog Bucket Brigade Technology
• 9V power

Honorable Mentions (More of Our Favorites)

19. MXR M102 Dyna Comp Compressor Pedal

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Estimated Price: $80
Pedal Type: Compressor

My Review: Compressor pedals aren’t the most exciting thing to purchase, but the subtle benefit of having a great compressor pedal is undeniable. If I were to recommend one compressor pedal, I recommend the MXR Dyna Comp Compressor Pedal. Dyna Comp gives a great sustain and evens out the guitar signal. It comes in a very simple two knob design – Output and Sensitivity. Output controls the volume while the sensitivity knob controls the amount of compression applied. Dyna Comp also comes at a great price point of only $79.99.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is highly recommended to any guitar players wanting a slightly more sustained and even guitar tone, and it’s a great first compressor pedal because of the friendly prince point.

Key Specs and Features:

• Simple two knob and one switch design
• 9V power

20. Fulltone Supa-Trem Jr Tremolo Pedal

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Estimated Price: $160
Pedal Type: Tremolo

My Review: Designed based off of gorgeous tremolo on the tube amps of the 1960s, Fulltone Supa-Trem Jr is the smaller and more affordable version of the original Supa-Trem. This thing packs some serious Tremolo, and comes with three main knobs – Volume, Mix, and Rate. There’s also a switch that you could choose between Square, Warble, or Sine. One of my all-time favorite tone is a warm overdrive paired with one of these Supa-Trem Tremolos. Supa-Trem also solves one problem that comes with many tremolo pedals, which is when turned on, the tremolo effect brings down the overall volume. But by adding a volume knob on the tremolo pedal, not only does it solve this problem but it can also act as a clean boost. This is one of our favorite tremolo pedals around! If you’re looking for the best guitar pedal and want a tremolo pedal specifically, this is a great option.

Who Will Use This Most:

Anyone looking for a tremolo pedal, Supa-Trem or Supa-Trem Jr is the way to go!

Key Specs and Features:

• Tap Tempo Switch for adjusting to the exact tempo of the song
• Square/sine/warble waveform options offer huge possibilities
• The volume knob can double as a clean boost
• Tremolo Speed ranges from ultra-slow 10 second cycle to ultra-fast 220bpm
• True bypass
• 9v-18v power options

21. MXR M101 Phase 90 Phaser Pedal

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Estimated Price: $80
Pedal Type: Phaser

My Review: This pedal is a very important pedal in rock guitar’s history, with famous endorsers such as Eddie Van Halen to Dave Grohl. It comes in the most simple design possible, with just one Speed Knob and an on/off button. And in my opinion, this is really all you need in a great phaser pedal like this one. The sound is very organic and produces a timeless phaser sound.

Who Will Use This Most:

This pedal is highly recommended to guitarists, keyboardists, bassists, and vocalists that need a phaser effect. It also comes in a great affordable price range.

Key Specs and Features:

• Simple one knob design
• Wide range of sounds for guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals
• 9V power

22. Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress Flanger/Chorus

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Estimated Price: $230
Pedal Type: Flanger/Chorus

My Review: The Electric Mistress comes in a very appealing design with only three knobs – Rate, Flanger Depth, and Chorus Depth. A great advantage of this pedal is instead of having just one separate pedal for flanger, it also has a built-in chorus effect. The Electric Mistress also comes in stereo options, and has both amazing flanger and chorus sounds available!

Who Will Use This Most:

Because flanger effect alone could be an obscure effect to spend more than $100 bucks on, this pedal is great for anyone interested in both flanger and chorus effects.

Key Specs and Features:

• Flanger, chorus, and filter effects
• True stereo
• Heavy-duty construction
• 9V power

23. TC Electronic Ditto Looper Pedal

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Estimated Price: $110
Pedal Type: Ditto

My Review: In recent years, this has been one of the hottest and revolutionary pedals, and rightfully so! It comes in a shockingly simple design with just one knob in a looper, and many people first wonder if it would even work properly. Ditto Looper comes with 5 minutes of looping time and has an unlimited amount of overdubs. The use of this looper is very highly intuitive, and within a couple minutes of messing with it, you’ll figure out how to easily record, stop, and add infinite layers to your loop. It’s an amazing tool for producing creative music by yourself, and also a great practice tool.

Who Will Use This Most:

Ditto looper is recommended to all guitar players for practice and creativity purposes!

Key Specs and Features:

• One knob system and very easy to use
• 5 minutes of looping time and an unlimited amount of overdubs
• True bypass
• 24-bit uncompressed audio
• Internal memory retains loops even after shutdown
• Super small for easy carry and takes no space on pedalboard

24. MXR Ten Bend EQ

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Estimated Price: $130
Pedal Type: EQ

My Review: Not all guitar players need an EQ pedal, but for the ones that do need it, they need a precise EQ pedal to control all aspects of their EQ. MXR Ten Band EQ offers a super accurate EQ controlling in an affordable price point. It comes with Volume and Gain sliders, as well as 10 EQ sliders to control the High, Mid, and the Low of your guitar sound. This MXR pedal can also work as a gain boost and can work perfectly for other instruments like bass or keyboard.

Who Will Use This Most:

Semi-hollow, hollow guitars, and acoustic guitars oftentimes need an EQ control to remove the unwanted frequencies. And this pedal can also work to control the overall shape of the guitar tone.

Key Specs and Features:

• 10-band graphic EQ sliders
• Each slider offers 12dB of cut/boost
• Volume and Gain sliders
• Perfect for controlling unwanted frequencies

25. Voodoo Lab ISO 5

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Estimated Price: $120
Pedal Type: Power Supply

My Review: Pedal powers are essential to a great pedalboard, but they are not often talked about. Bad pedal powers can cause damage or hums to pedals itself, and Voodoo Lab ISO-5 is one of the best choices around. The great thing about this pedal power is that it comes with a separate, isolated 9V, 12V, and a separate 18v. A lot of times guitar players purchase multiple power sources to use all their pedals, but this pedal power solves all those problems.

Who Will Use This Most:

Highly recommended for all pedalboard users!

Key Specs and Features:

• Five isolated outputs
• Four 9v power inputs, one 12v input, and an 18v input
• Powers BOSS Twin, Eventide, Line 6 modelers, and TC Electronic Nova pedals
• Compact design
• Includes cables and AC cord
• Operates on 110V power

26. Dunlop Original Cry Baby Wah Wah Pedal

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Estimated Price: $80
Pedal Type: Wah

My Review: With such an iconic guitar effect like the Wah, there’s so many signature models and options around. But this is the original cry baby pedal, and honestly, it’s all you need! It’s built with heavy-duty diecast construction for reliability and it’s a historic pedal that needs to be on every rock guitarist’s pedalboard.

Who Will Use This Most:

This is recommended to all rock guitarists that need a reliable and simple Wah Pedal.

Key Specs and Features:

• The original Dunlop Cry Baby Wah Effects Pedal
• Used by greats like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton
• Heavy duty construction
• 9V power or optional Dunlop ECB-003 AC Adapter

27. BOSS Super Octave OC-3

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Estimated Price: $130
Pedal Type: Octave

My Review: Octave pedals are getting more popular in different genres like rock, jazz, and experimental music. This Super Octave Pedal covers all you need in an octave pedal and more! It goes two octaves below, and also has a revolutionary mode called “Poly”. The Poly mode allows you to activate the octave effect only to the range you set. So for example, if you set the range of the Poly mode to low C on the guitar, the rest of the guitar will remain unaffected while all the notes below the low C will have the octave effect. This mode gives you endless inspiration and solo guitar ideas! The drive setting also gives a real crunchy, high-quality overdrive to your low octaves.

Who Will Use This Most:

Super Octave is highly recommended to any guitarists that want to have an octave effect!

Key Specs and Features:

• Poly mode and drive mode
• Up to two octaves of a low octave effect
• Bass input available
• Includes the original OC-2 mode

Types of Guitar Pedals Explained

Before going off and buying a bunch of new pedals, you need to ask yourself: What kind of guitar tone do I want? What kind of music do I play? Especially if you’re someone who is just starting to get into pedals and effects, you need to know what you’re looking for in your sound. Are you trying to get a warm, overdrive tone like John Mayer? Or distorted, and fuzz tone like Jimi Hendrix? More clean but sharp tone like BB King, or a full, clean sound like Jim Hall? Now there are obviously many ways to achieve this, but you must understand the basic pedal types. Continue reading below for more basic info on guitar effects pedals or click here.

Distortion, Overdrive, and Fuzz Pedals

These types of pedals alter or increase the volume of the guitar. Distortion pedals are the most commonly used and popular type of pedal, and it literally distorts and turns up the gain of your guitar tone. Pure distortion pedals, overdrive pedals, and fuzz pedals all work a little differently, but they all crank up the drive of the guitar tone. You can think of overdrive like the gain knob in a tube amp, where it takes the natural sound of the guitar and pushes it into distortion. Many great overdrive pedals try to mimic the classic tube amps like the Fender Deluxe Reverb, and therefore creating a warmer and more natural distortion. On the other hand, the distortion pedal will take your natural guitar sound and change it into something else entirely. Distortion pedals completely saturate or alter the signal, and the result is a lot more aggressive than of the overdrive pedal. Because of this aggressive distortion, distortion pedals are mostly used in rock or metal. Lastly, fuzz pedals distort the guitar sound even more and creates a square wave clipping that almost sounds like a synth. It’s mostly used in hard rock, and Jimi Hendrix famously used fuzz pedals to get his signature sound!

Boost and Compressor Pedals

Boost and compressor pedals can be used to boost the signal without distorting the sound. A boost pedal will simply boost your sound and increase your presence while maintaining your clean sound. It’s one of the least popular types of pedals, but it does make a difference when you have one of these things on. A compressor pedal will take the highs and lows of your guitar sound and it will “clean it up”. And in the process, a compressor pedal will increase the sustain of your note, and also boosting your overall signal. Finding your favorite pedal(s) of this kind and knowing the different settings and tones within that pedal will be super essential to finding your own sound!

Delay and Reverb Pedals

These are arguably the second most popular type of pedals after distortion, and knowing how to use these pedals will add ambiance and fullness to your sound. Delay pedals repeat the notes of your guitar and add ambiance to the sound. Delay pedals can also be used for specific echo effect like the famous riff in “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie or from that performance of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nuno Bettencourt. The modern delay pedals will allow you to control the precise milliseconds of “slapbacks”, and you can create all sorts of landscapes with a modern delay pedal. Reverb pedals recreate the ambient sound in various spaces, and it can add a layer of thick lushness to your sound. For example, the modern reverb pedals can recreate spaces like a large hall, stadium, small room, studios – almost anything in your imagination. This pedal can be used in almost all the different genres across the board and these should definitely be one of the first pedals you purchase!

Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Flanger Pedals

Now we are moving onto more special effects category, and obviously there are countless different special effects pedal you could purchase. But these four are the most commonly used special effects pedals. Chorus pedals duplicate the notes of your guitar and make a wall of sound. Some iconic chorus pedal riffs are Nirvana’s “Come as you are”, or “Every Breath You Take” by the Police or even “Green Tinted Sixties Mind” by Mr. Big. It’s used heavily in rock and it is almost inseparable from the iconic clean rock guitar tone. Phaser pedals are also a popular effect – a swirling sound effect notably used by Eddie Van Halen. Phaser effect combined with some hardcore distortion makes a thrilling guitar tone that keeps the listeners on the edge of their seats. Tremolo is one of my personal favorites, and it creates a sort of wobbly or chopping effect in your sound. And with the right settings, you can play some gorgeous chords with this effect. Tremolo adds a certain depth to the overall guitar tone, and it is perfect for genres like folk and ballad. Finally, flanger pedals create a swooshing sound that can be used for different atmospheric and space-like effects!

Looper Pedals

Looper pedals are one of the most fun toys that a guitar player can have, and it can improve your time and playing ability drastically. Loopers literally loops whatever you play, and with looper pedals, you set the amount of duration looped with the tap of your foot. The modern looper pedals have an unlimited amount of loops that you can add, and combined with other pedals on your pedalboard, comes limitless possibilities and layers. There are many revolutionary loopers that came out, and they provide a powerful looping system in a smaller size. Constantly recording yourself with a looper, and hearing back will take your guitar playing to the next level. You can also improve your rhythm and time because when you are recording layers on the looper, the notes have to be in time for it to work with the other layers. Plus, it makes you more creative by constantly composing music and it will develop your producing ability as a musician.

EQ Pedals

Some guitars naturally have more low end or high end, and with an EQ pedal, you can control the overall output of your guitar tone. For example, a lot of hollow-body electric guitars tend to have more low end, and one can use an EQ pedal to control the frequency output of that hollow body guitar. You can also use an EQ pedal to boost your clean guitar sound, or just shape the overall frequency of your output. EQ pedals are also useful in a large ensemble or big band situation, where you need to bring out certain frequencies so that you can stand out or blend in better with the ensemble.

Wah Pedals

Another one of the most iconic rock guitar pedals is the Wah Pedal. You can think of the Wah pedal as that classic sound of Jimi Hendrix in his song “Voodoo Child”. It gives a thrilling and wailing guitar tone that is an essential part of the rock guitar identity. The modern Wah pedals can also act as a volume controller with your foot, and there are even Auto-Wah pedals that you can set it to various rates.

Conclusion:

I hope that this article was helpful in finding your next favorite pedal! Even though buying pedals are super exciting, always remember to spend a good amount of time with each.