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Guitar pedals are a necessity for everyone who ever wants to succeed as a rock star. In the 1990s, having the right pedal(s) was even essential for your garage band getting signed to a major label.
While computers have undoubtedly changed music forever, the best guitar pedals can still offer earth-shattering sound. We aggregated millions of actual user reviews, blew out our amps while testing the best models, and can easily tell you the best guitar pedals to get – to really take your playing to the next level.
Our Top Pick
Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal
Immortalized by Kurt Cobain (of the band Nirvana, for you young ones) – the DS-1 gave the band their classic “grunge” sound. Dirty, distorted, and incredibly loud, the DS-1 can actually still be quite clear, depending on what settings you plug in.
Here is a great example of the sound the DS-1 can give, as well as just how much turning a distortion pedal on and off (at the right time), can make a song go from so-so to legendary. Highly recommended, truly every guitar player should have one in their arsenal.
Other Great Picks
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
The Big Muff Pi is most well-known as being one of the defining elements of the Smashing Pumpkins sound. While technically Billy Corgan used the Op-Amp model (also found on our list), the normal Big Muff has a similar sound.
As Corgan would recall, the Big Muff gives you that classic “Sabbath sound” – of course referring to Black Sabbath. If you only have room in the budget for one purchase, and you want a classic “heavy” sound – we have to point to this pedal.
Jimi Hendrix Octavio Mini
Jimi Hendrix – perhaps the most influential musician of all-time. While Hendrix employed a few groundbreaking effects in his heyday, the Octavio is the one most people want.
Best remembered for being used on the solo of Purple Haze, the Octavio “stacks” your sound with a doubling, one octave up from what you’re actually playing. Nearly anything you play through this pedal, sounds monumental and epic – we highly recommend it.
MXR EVH Phase 90
Want a phase pedal? Get this one. Immortalized by Eddie Van Halen, the Phase 90 is absolutely face-melting.
It hardly even needs any settings – it’s simply that good. If you combine a distortion pedal and a phase pedal (or really, any other pedal with a phase) – it gives you about one million new possibilities for your sound. Definitely recommended.
Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus
This awesome pedal combines two great chorus pedals into one. And one of them – the CE-1 – is arguably the most famous chorus sound of all-time.
You can truly craft any tone with this pedal, as well as combining it with any other pedal in your guitar rig. If you only ever want to buy one chorus pedal – this is the one to purchase.
Strymon Timeline Delay Pedal
Want the most insane delay pedal on the market? Here it is. It provides anything you could ever dream up, in terms of weird, outer space, trippy effects – and it does it with style.
If you want to sound like Pink Floyd, this is a great starting point. While this is not the cheapest pedal on the market, it will certainly pay for itself, after just a few gigs. Highly recommended, and if you don’t believe us – here is a demo video showing just a small sampling of what this powerhouse pedal can do.
Boss RV-6 Reverb Pedal
This reverb pedal is really all you need, when you want to add some depth to your sound. Boss is well-known for their dedication to producing great musical gear, and the RV-6 is no exception.
You can hear how the RV-6 sounds in this video, and it’s easy to see how diverse it is. You can get a ton of different reverb sounds, all from just one small pedal. A great investment.
Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pedal
Perhaps most famously used by Trey Anastasio of the jam band Phish, the Tube Screamer has an absolutely great tone. You can adjust the settings to get a range of subtle to obvious, but the sweet spot is often in the middle.
In this brief video, Trey runs down the Tube Screamer, as well as the rest of his guitar rig. While his tone is not solely due to the Screamer, it certainly helps him nail down that endlessly-listenable guitar bliss that Phish is extremely well-known for.
Electro-Harmonix Op-Amp Big Muff
Ah, the Op-Amp Big Muff – the true sound of the legendary 1993 LP, Siamese Dream. This album was of course put out by the Smashing Pumpkins, and Billy Corgan has admitted how much of the sound of that album came right from this pedal.
The Op-Amp has slightly different circuitry than the classic Big Muff Pi (found earlier on our list), so it offers a slightly different tone. Here is Corgan talking about the pedal, as well as tearing through some amazing riffs. We absolutely love this one.
Electro Harmonix Small Clone Chorus Pedal
Most famously used in Come As You Are, the Small Clone might just be our favorite pedal of all-time. Notable for giving everything you play a “watery” sound, it’s also extremely versatile.
All you need to do is change the rate, and you can go from completely psychedelic to subtle, by barely adjusting anything at all. We recommended also experimenting with other pedals in a chain, as the Small Clone can make some awesome modifications to the tone provided by other pedals, as well.
What Is A Guitar Pedal?
A guitar pedal is a simple device, that switches on and off with a press of your foot, and alters your electric guitar’s tone. With a simple input and output, you simply plug your guitar cord into one end, and use another cord to go out to your amp.
Of course, the more pedals you have, the more cords you need. Rather than using settings on your amp, a pedal offers the convenience of being able to alter your tone in the middle of a song, such as the clean verses, and distorted choruses, which became extremely popular due to the band Nirvana.
Guitar pedals run the gamut of delay effects, phase effects, reverb effects, wah effects, distortion effects, and so many others. Quite simply, if there’s a sound you can dream of in your head – chances are, there’s a pedal out there that will make that sound a reality.
What Is A Guitar Pedal Used For?
Punk and space rock made pedals essential – as you simply couldn’t really get the tones needed for these types of music, without some outside help. For punk, overdrive (and/or) distortion pedals are needed, while space rock almost always requires reverb and/or delay pedals.
The classic clean electric guitar tone is used less and less in popular music, but switching from heavy tones to clean tones (or others), can have a huge impact on the emotion and feeling you are trying to get across with your playing. Quite simply – try playing a simple riff a few times, then step on your distortion pedal and play it again – it’s a powerful rush!
What Pedals Should Every Guitarist Have?
This will ultimately come down to what guitar sound you want to have, but ranges from distortion to chorus to delay. All of these effects are very commonly used by professional guitarists, albeit sparingly.
One mistake beginners make, is to crank up the settings of their pedals too high. What this means, is that your tone becomes too effect-heavy – the pros usually use low settings, so they get about a 60/40 mix of clean and “dirty” signal.
You can’t use a pedal to cover up poor guitar technique, which is another mistake many beginners make. You should be an expert with your guitar all on its own, before you start to buy 10 or 20 pedals.
What Guitar Pedals Should I Buy First?
This one is (of course) down to your own individual taste, but we recommend a simple distortion pedal (like the Boss DS-1), when you’re first starting out. A simple pedal like this will give you a lot of variety and new ideas, but it’s not complicated to use.
It’s also important to get your timing and playing down first, and a DS-1 will help you with its classic on-off switching technique (made famous by the Pixies and Nirvana). Try some early Kinks riffs, and a nice, crunchy DS-1 tone, if you’re just starting out on your electric guitar journey.
Did Jimi Hendrix Use Pedals?
Hendrix used a variety of pedals, and they definitely enhanced his sound. Most famously, a wah pedal was used on Voodoo Chile, though Hendrix also popularized the Octavio (on our list), the Univibe, and the classic fuzz pedal.
Often, Hendrix would combine a pedal with a unique playing style, or incorporate how the pedal sounded, into each song he wrote. To be honest, while certain pedals definitely help to make you sound Hendrix-ish (especially the Univibe) – you’ll need to constantly work on your chops, to get anywhere near Hendrix’s skill level.
Do You Really Need Guitar Pedals?
It’s hard to argue that a guitarist should own absolutely zero pedals – as that would eliminate almost all popular music that was recorded after 1960. However, you likely don’t need as many as you think, and it certainly doesn’t make a bad player great.
You should find 4-5 pedals that work very well for the sound you want to achieve, and sporadically experiment with new ones after that. Most of the time, only 1-3 pedals will ever be turned on at the same time, and it’s also important to have a great clean tone (as well as excellent chops) to start with.
Do I Need To Spend A Lot On Expensive Guitar Pedals?
This is another popular misconception. You can get very cheap pedals – and become an absolute legend.
Just look at Kurt Cobain or Billy Corgan – they were operating with second-hand pedals, that they bought for almost nothing. It was their songwriting that really struck a chord with the masses, and a guitar pedal can’t write hit songs for you.
However, you should invest in the right pedal for your desired sound – and sometimes (like in the case of a great delay effect) – this can be a bit pricey. However, we recommend mastering your chords, timing, and finger techniques with just a DS-1 (to give you some crunchy distortion) – before you start to spend a ton on more advanced guitar pedals.
What Is A Boutique Guitar Pedal?
Much like boutique clothing, these guitar pedals are sparingly made, and sort of collector’s items. These pedals are essentially premium quality, and offer a very distinct sound.
They will almost always be made from high quality parts, as well as having unique artwork. Think of them as VIP guitar pedals, that sometimes are not worth their (very high) price tags.
How Many Guitar Pedals Are There?
There are 23 categories of guitar pedals – although this could vary slightly, depending on exactly how you count. Filter effects, compressors, pitch effects, volume effects, and time effects are some of the most common.
Try combining 2 pedals (like a distortion pedal and a delay pedal) – to develop your own, far out sound. Jimi Hendrix was a particular master of this, and in this video, you can see how he amazingly combined different guitar tones inside of just one song.
While you don’t need to be Hendrix, you can certainly experiment with 3-5 guitar pedals, to start to hone in on your own original tone. We are also partial to a filter envelope, combined with a delay, to get some really interesting sounds – but your mileage may vary.
The Best Guitar Pedals
There you have it – our top picks for the best guitar pedals on the market. With a huge variety of models to choose from, guitar players have more ability to experiment than ever before.
With this choice, comes a much-improved ease to find your own (unique) sound. This is what helps bands break through into the mainstream, so be sure to grab a few of the best guitar pedals – and add them into your practice rig.