Boutique Pedals & Effects

Pedal Geek - Here is a very informative site for all the latest buzz on new pedals entering the market. It’s actually an on-line store but it has pretty good information.

Keeley Electronics - Robert Keeley is one of the best electronics designers in the guitar pedal industry. He really gets it! He has faithfully recreated some of the classic pedals of our error. He also makes “the” best compressor on the market! Check out all his effects and services.

Fulltone - Simply nice sounding pedals. Built well and sound impressive. I love the OCD drive pedal, The Octafuzz, and of course the Tube Tape Echo! All very well built!

Xotic Effects - Endorsed by guys like Allen Hinds and Scott Henderson, the RC Booster, AC Booster and BB Preamp are some of the best sounding drive pedals made today.

T-Rex Engineering - Nice line of hand-built pedals including the T-Rex Room Mate; a tube-based reverb pedal.

CAE Boost / Drive - Check out the new Boost / Overdrive Pedal from Custom Audio Electronics (CAE) CAE/MXR

Demeter Amplification - James Demeter is another talented electronics designer. His amplifiers are not my taste but I like the Opto Compulator pedal as used by guys like David Gilmour and Jeff Beck.

JangleBox - Here is another compression pedal that offers a “sparkle” to the overall tone. It is endorsed by Roger McGuinn (founder of The Byrds).

Diaz - They are back! Diaz offers a small line of “Texas-style” floor pedals. My favorite is the Texas Ranger which is based on the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster as used by Eric Clapton while in the Bluesbreakers, Rory Gallagher, Brian May and and Tony Iommi.

Analog Man - Another cool company making cool effect pedals. My favorite is the Beano Boost drive pedal which is also based on the 1960s Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster  which was needed at the time to give a “treble boost” to some of the darker sounding British amps. Also, check out the Analog Man Guide to Vintage Effects book here.

Durham Electronics - These guys are another Texas-based effect pedal company with a lean towards “Texas-style” pedal sounds. They are endorsed by Charlie Sexton. Check out the SexDrive pedal as well as the new Doyal Bramhall II Crazy Horse drive pedal.

Prescription Electronics - Les than 14 years old, PEI, an Oregon-Based manufacturer, has been creating some very interesting guitar effect pedals. Check out their pedals at Pedal Geek including the Experience Otave pedal, the Yard Box (copy of the Sola Sound Tonebender) and the C.O.B. (Clean Octave Bend). Also check out Fuzzbox.com for more reviews of these pedals.

MODboards - On Board Effects. This is kinda cool. I haven’t heard them but the concept is cool. Check out Guitar Fetish on line.

Throbak Electronics - Mostly known for the “Stone Bender” vintage overdrive pedal, ThroBak electronics makes a nice line of effects pedals. They also make a guitar amp which I have not tried.

Austone Electronics - Based on the popular Fuzz-Nutz pedal, Jon Bessent has create a whole line of cool vintage style effect pedals. As Jon says, “these are pedals made by players”.

Clark Amplification - Clark makes a little overdrive pedal call the “Gainster”.  This is a joint project by Michael Clark and David Barber. It’s a nice pedal with a smooth overdrive.

Roger Mayer FX - The Roger Mayer company manufactures a couple of very cool vibrato effect pedals. Check out his site to see the Voodoo Vibe and the Voodoo Vibe Jr. pedals.

Brown Tone Electronics - Designer and builder, Tim Brown, has been searching for the perfect tone for years. He’s finally found it in his new Hoochee-Mama drive pedal. Even Coco Montoya loves it!

HBE Home Brew Electronics - This is a neat little company that makes a whole variety of very cool effect pedals.

T-Rex Engineering - Very nice effects. I love the Replica delay pedal and their new Room Mate tube reverb pedal.

Z-Vex Effects - I see these guys every year at NAMM and I always think they are cool.

Hermida Audio Technology - These guys only have a few effects but they are really nice and sound wonderful. Their drive boxes are very smooth sounding. I love the Zendrive! They also have a tube drive box called Zendrive 2. Their site also has some hot sound samples by some hot players such as Scott Lerner, Garth Weber, and Joe Smith.

Way Huge Electronics - This is an interesting company. Again, they don’t make a large line of effects but they are very unique. I personally love the Aqua Puss analog delay unit. See more information on these pedals at Tone Frenzy.

Pharaoh Amplifier - Contrary to the name, this manufacturer makes a line of interesting pedal effects.

Love Pedal - There are couple of these pedals I really like. My favorite is the “Eternity” Love Pedal. Check out Josh Smith video HERE. It simply sounds great!

Mainstream Pedals & Effects

Carl Martin - Endorsed by guys like Andy Timmons, I’m sure these pedals sound great. Check out the new Quattro pedal. There is a lot for a small package here.

BBE Sound - BBE creates a nice line of boost pedals. They are fairly clean and transparent. They also have some good line direct boxes and EQs which sound pretty good.

Electro-Harmonix - I’m not a great fan of these pedals but here they are. And...they are just too damn big!

Line 6 - You’ve got to hand it to these guys. They started a whole new trend in amplifiers with their modeling software.

TC Electronics - Beautifully design effects pedals. I have used them on and off over the years.

Maxon - Seem to be a solid builder of floor pedal effects. They have a line of “Real Tube” effects as well as a whole line of solid-state effect pedals.

Voodoo Lab - Very clever pedals by Voodoo Lab. I love the Sparkle Drive! They all sound pretty damn good!

ToneBone - Radial Engineering manufactures top of the line pedals that are built like a tank. I personally use the Hot British Tube Distortion pedal. Take a look at their line up.

Hughes & Kettner -  Aside from the professional amplifier line, they also design and manufacture tube-based effect pedals. They are great sounding pedals. I love the Replex pedal which simulates the old EchoPlex delay unit.

Visual Sound - Nice pedals with a vintage flair. I love the Route 66 pedal with the base boost.

Boss - Boss pedals have been a standard for many players over the years. It’s just good engineering with good sounds.

Rocktron - These guys have always had nice effects. They have a full line of floor pedals now.

Pedal Board Switching Systems, Power Supplies & Accessories

Loop-Based Switchers

CAE Switching System - Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics has been designing and building custom pedal board switching systems for many years now. He now has a full line of off-the-shelf switching systems. Read his discussion on switching systems here. If you want the best, here it is!

Ground Control and Commander - Voodoo Lab manufactures a nice “loop-based” effects switching system and pedal board called Pedal Switcher and Commander. Click to their site for more details.

Axxess Electronics FX1 - Here is another nice pedal effect switching system. They have a whole line of amp controllers, line drivers, switching matrix modules and pedal boards.

Loop Gizmo - This simple switch uses no Midi or other switching gear. They claim to be the first “True Bypass” pedal looper and function switcher.

Skrydstrup R&D - These guys are the CAE of Europe. They are serious pedal board switchers with rock solid engineering, attractive design ideas and sophisticated electronics. Users include The Edge (U2), John Petrucci, Steve Morse, Dan Spitz (Anthrax) and Steve Stevens to name a few. They also make all sorts of interface electronic boxes and guitar amplifiers. Have a look!

Rocktron All Access - This unit has an excellent reputation for it features and reliability.

The Gig Rig - This is a very nice and clean system. Check out how these guys do it. Very good demo on the site too.

Foot Loose Wireless System -  Here is a wireless solution for remote control of effects and amp switching.

Off-The-Shelf Pedal Boards

Pedal Train - Here is a manufacturer who makes some nice straight forward  pedal boards.

Gator Pedal Tote - The Gator Case Company offers very helpful products. Here is a pedal board system that is compact and well designed.

Power Supplies

Fuel Tank PSU - Here is a nice small multi-output power supply block made by T-Rex Engineering for your pedal board. Newly released this in November, 2006.

Gator G-Bus-8 PSU - The Gator Case Company offers very helpful products. Here is a power supply unit that is very compact for those crowded pedal boards.

Pedal Power - Voodoo Lab manufactures a great little power supply block. It has 8 standard outputs and 2 higher power outputs for dual pedal stomp boxes.

Godlyke Distribution Power Supply - Really, a nice little power supply.

Visual Sound 1 Spot Combo - Again, a nice little package for pedal boards.

Dunlop DC Brick - Jim Dunlop makes a nice power supply block as well.

Valvulator 1 - If you are REALLY into tube power supplies for your pedals, then here it is. I can’t imagine that this really effects your tone.....kinda of a waste but go for it dude!

Big John - And finally, Carl Martin makes a nice PSU for your pedal board.

Cables & Connectors

Zaolla Cables - Here is a cable company that was referred to me by John Hildebrand who is a web designer, digital artist and guitarist. See John’s site here at Complex Stuff. According to John, this cable is better sounding and quieter than Monster Cable but expensive.

Monster Cable - Here is the home page for Monster Cable. This cable is true and tried.

George-L Cable - Very nice cable. Quiet, affordable and easy to make connections.

Lava Cable - This is the cable that I use on my pedal board. This is an ex-military guy who really understands how electronics work and how good cable should be built.

Planet Waves Cable - Planet Waves makes some nice product that is fairly affordable. It doesn’t compare though to the more expensive cable but it works well.

Klotz Cable - Here is a super expensive guitar cable that is know for its quality. Gerald Weber at Kendrick swears by this cable. I’m sure it is very very good considering the cost.

Pedal Snake - After making my own snakes for years, finally someone came out with an off-the-shelf product. Very nice.

AB Switchers

Star Touch AB Pedal - Here is a high-quality AB pedal that claims to be superior to all other AB pedals.

SwitchBone - Radial Engineering manufactures top of the line pedals that are built like a tank. The Switchbone is an AB-Y Switcher. Also see their LoopBone switcher.

Framptone - Peter Frampton has help design a small line of amplifier AB & Y Switchers.

On-Line Stores, Reps & Information Sites

Guitar Fetish - This is a nice site for miscellaneous guitar parts but also carries the on-board guitar effects.

Tone Factor - These guys are dedicated to offering the finest in hand-made analog boutique effects. Very nice site.

Pedal Tuners & Accessories

Fetish Pedal Tuner - This is a new product release from Planet Waves. Very compact and easy to read.

Strobo Stomp Tuner - Here is a small floor pedal-based Strobe Tuner by Peterson.

Korg DT-10 Tuner - Korg has always made great electronics. This is a nice addition to their line.

Rocktron XTune - Roctron recently came out with this chromatic tuner. It’s a nice unit at a low price.

Loopers

Boss RC-2 - This is the latest looper from Boss based on the RC-20 and RC-50. It was designed as a small compact loop but still has a tremendous amount of power. Up to 16 minutes of record time, quantize, overdub, undo....it’s all there.

Boss RC-20XL - This looper can save up to 11 loops and has 16 minutes of record time. There is a nice “Undo” function which is incredibly helpful. The built-in quantize is also a nice feature.

Boss RC-50 - Based on their popular RC-20XL, here is an expanded version of the Boss Looper. It includes 7 foot switches for real time control, plays up to 3 stereo tracks simultaneously, and has up to 49 minutes of record time. A very sophisticated loop I should say. I love the “Undo” feature.

Boomerang Phrase Sampler - Create loops up to 4 minutes long, reverse, unique “foot roller” control.

Electro-Harmonix 2880 Multi-Track Looper - This is a more extensive looper with 4 tracks but you can bounce them down to a single track and continue to layer.

DigiTech Jam Man Looper and Phrase Sampler - This is a nice twin-pedal looper. Very similar to the Boss RC-20.

Z-Vex Lo-Fi Loop Junky - Here is a nice and small “20-second” looper for short phrases. Sometimes, this is all you need.

T-Rex Replica - This is a nice little “Analog” delay unit but can be used as a short looper (up to 1550ms of delay) when required.