Guitar Pedal X

Aura AmpsDeep Trip FXDigital ReverbDistortionFire Custom ShopFlangerFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGermanium FuzzGNI MusicKappa ElectronicsKrozz DevicesMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionModulationMonstro EffectsPedal PlanetReverbReverb WorkstationTone Bender Style FuzzTone InkVTR Effects+-

Brazil is a fascinating guitar pedal marketplace - mostly inward looking, and mostly closed off from the rest of the world. I was the first European I believe to get Aura Amps and Tone Ink pedals shipped out of Brazil. Some of those brands have some experience of shipping up the landmass and into Central and North America, but little or nothing ventures across the waters in either direction.

Andy Timmons has long favoured the GNI/ NIG Music OctaFuzz (as pictured left of centre) - where I’ve...

Best of Croatian Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Nov 4, 202408:00 by

Analog DelayBig Muff Style FuzzBitcrushing and Lo-FiBoostCompressorDawner Prince EffectsDelayDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionDryBell EffectsEQFuzzGranular DelayGuitar Synth and SequencerLo-Fi DelayMarshall Style DistortionModulationOddball DelayPedal PlanetPLBR EffectsPolarbear EffectsPreAmpReverbTape DelayUni-Vibe and VibeUtility+-

So I’ve been meaning to do this article for a while, but kept putting it off - in the hope that we might see more brands materialising from this country. That has not been the case though - so now seems as good a time as any to focus on the small but mighty trifecta of Croatian brands - Dawner Prince Electronics, DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory and Polarbear Effects.

I typically have a grid of a 9 for this style of article - so here I’ve selected my favourite 3 choices from each brand...

Best of British Pedal Builders Roundup - an A-Z Overview in 105 parts!

Aug 11, 202308:00 by

Bispell AudioBlack Country CustomsBleak District ElectricColorsoundD*A*M EffectsEffects Pedal MakersEffektrodeEmanating Fist ElectronicsFlattley Guitar PedalsFredric EffectsGreat Eastern FX Co.Hamstead SoundworksHello Sailor EffectsHorrothia EffectsHudson ElectronicsIntensive Care AudioNRG EffectsOrigin EffectsPedal PlanetPete CornishPigDog PedalsRainger FXRedbeard EffectsReeves Electro Guitar PedalsRitual DevicesStone Deaf EffectsTate FXTheGigRigThorpyFXZander Circuitry+-

WARNING! This post is massive, and will probably crash your mobile device! Best accessed via Desktop or Laptop!

Last time I did this exercise I featured just 9 companies in my cover shot, and covered 57 overall - with just videos for the top 9.

While this time around I’ve doubled down - where there are 27 companies in the cover shot and 105 overall! And circa half of those are accompanied by a video - which is a lot! I first cover the 27 Leading Lights group, and then the 78 brands in ...

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An A-Z of less well known Japanese Boutique Pedal Brands

Jun 2, 202313:00 by

AlbitBanana EffectsBananan EffectsBig Muff Style FuzzBlackberry JamBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveChocolate ElectronicsDistortionDriveDual-DriveDumble Style OverdriveEx-ProFlying TeapotFree Fall DiverFuzzGermanium FuzzGlitchKardian Sound TransplantKatanasoundKlone and Transparent OverdriveLeqtiqueLimetone AudioMarshall Style DistortionMASF PedalsMetal DistortionMinimichineModulationOCD Style OverdriveOctave FuzzODR Style OverdriveOrganic SoundsOvaltoneOverdrivePedal PlanetPreAmpRoshi PedalsShigemoriShinosSilicon FuzzSobbatSuper-Fuzz StyleTanabeTDC-YouTimmyTubescreamer Style OverdriveTweed Style OverdriveUmbrella CompanyWeedZenZero Electronics+-

This article was originally suggested by my now good friend Henry Kaiser - leading guitar and guitar effects experimentalist and prolific producer and recording artist. He’s been a long-term friend of Toshihiko Tanabe - of Tanabe.TV fame and thought I should do one of my pedal roundups on Japanese Boutique Pedal Builders.

I had long intended to do a feature on Japanese Pedal Makers - but could not decide on the context or format - as there are so many notable brands. Upon Henry’s suggestion...

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Best of Central and South American Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Jun 11, 201922:23 by

Beetronics FXBig Muff Style FuzzBitcrushing and Lo-FiBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBrown Sound DistortionChorus and VibratoCompressorCopilot FXDarkglass ElectronicsDedalo FXDeep Trip FXDistortionDriveDSM NoisemakerDual-DriveDumble Style OverdriveEffects Pedal MakersEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFire Custom ShopFlangerFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzGlitchGuitar Synth and SequencerKlone and Transparent OverdriveLoop-SwitcherMaestro Style FuzzMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionModulated FuzzModulationMonstro EffectsMulti-DriveOCD Style OverdriveOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOddball ModulationOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdriveParadox EffectsPedal PlanetPedalPalFXPhaserRat Style FuzzRetrohead FXSabbadius Custom EffectsSilicon FuzzSplitter and Frequency SplitterStomp Audio LabsSuper-Fuzz StyleTone Bender Style FuzzTremoloTube OverdriveTubescreamer Style OverdriveUni-Vibe and VibeVox Style Distortion+-

This is the 11th in the Pedal Builders Country Series as such, although I’ve had to cast the net slightly wider as I currently don’t consider there to be enough top-tier / International-level builders in a single country here to satisfy the usual criteria. Brazil and Argentina come fairly close - with Brazil having significantly the most concentrated volume of builders of any Country in that part of the world. Generally Brazil, Argentina and Chile are particularly well represented.

I used 4...

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Best of Polish Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Apr 24, 201913:27 by

AmpsAnalogWise PedalsBig Muff Style FuzzBoostBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoDelayDigital ReverbDistortionDriveEffects Pedal MakersExar ElectronicsFlangerFloor-AmpFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzGigging AmpG-Lab Guitar LaboratoryGlitchGranular DelayHexe Guitar ElectronicsHome-Play AmpLongAmpMarshall Style DistortionModulationOccvlt PedalsOctave FuzzOverdrivePedal PlanetPower SuppliesReverbSilicon FuzzSitek Guitar ElectronicsSuper-Fuzz StyleTaurus AmplificationTube AmpUtilityYankee Power+-

Poland was both trickier and yet eventually easier to rationalise than originally perceived. I have scanned through many a country now, and Poland seems to be the last of those with sufficient numbers of high calibre pedal builders to warrant a dedicated feature*. As noted before - these sorts of article take quite a lot of work to complete - and so this is the last of these I will be doing for a while.

* Note that USA and Japan are the leading pedal builders of the world still and too ...

Best of Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Apr 21, 201913:41 by

BJFEBjörn JuhlBoostBoost and OverdriveCompressorDarkglass ElectronicsDistortionDriveDual-DriveEBS SwedenEffects Pedal MakersElektronFuzzGlitchGuitar MaintenanceGuitar Synth and SequencerHimmelstrutzMad Professor EffectsMarshall Style DistortionOverdriveParasit StudioPedal PlanetPladask ElektriskSilicon FuzzSoundBrutUtility+-

As mentioned in my Danish/Denmark pedals feature I had initially intended to do the Best of Scandinavia, but Denmark has so many internationally known brands I had to separate them out. For the remaining Scandinavian countries Sweden is obviously the strongest here with 6 featured in the Top 9 listing, then 2 Finnish and only 1 Norwegian brand of significant note.

Probably the most significant persona in Scandinavian pedal design / building is Swede Björn Juhl - who has pretty much ...

Best of Danish Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Apr 19, 201914:00 by

Boost and OverdriveCarl MartinCioksDelayEffects Pedal MakersEmma ElectronicsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGermanium FuzzKlone and Transparent OverdriveLooperLunastoneModulationNordvang CustomOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOpAmp FuzzOverdrivePedal PlanetPower SuppliesRat Style FuzzReuss EffectsSilicon FuzzTape DelayTC ElectronicT-Rex EffectsUni-Vibe and VibeUtilityVulvan Mulciber+-

Denmark is a country which is known for punching above its weight - particularly in the field of exports - with a number of globally renown brands in several categories - including Bang and Olufsen, Ecco shoes, Georg Jensen jewellery, LEGO, The Republic of Fritz Hansen furniture (Arne Jacobsen etc.) and Stelton homewares. So it’s no surprise really that so many of its pedal brands are well-known too - particularly of course TC Electronic - which is one of the overall Big 4 along with Boss, ...

Best of Spanish Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Apr 17, 201900:15 by

Aclam Products for GuitarAnalog ReverbAnanashead EffectsBig Muff Style FuzzBoostBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoDecibelicsDistortionDon Poniz FXDriveDual-DriveEffectivy Wonder PedalsEffects Pedal MakersEl Músico Loco FXFuzzKlone and Transparent OverdriveMegaBeat AudioModulationOverdrivePedal PlanetPhaserReverbThermionThunderTomateTone Bender Style FuzzUtilityVolumeVox Style Distortion+-

As I assumed per my first couple of recce’s - Spain was going to be a tricky territory to cover/feature compared to all the others that came before it - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Greece. None of the current Spanish builders have yet attained wholly global recognition as of the moment - unlike a number of brands from the other featured countries.

Probably the most significant Spanish builder to-date has been Roberto García and his ThunderTomate brand - which shipped over 6,...

Best of Greek Guitar Pedals and Pedal Builders

Apr 14, 201920:07 by

Bad Pixel PedalsBoostBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoCrazy Tube CircuitsDistortionDreadbox FXDriveEffects Pedal MakersFlangerFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionJAM PedalsModulationMulti-DriveOverdrivePedal PlanetRat PedalsRat Style FuzzSide EffectsTone ConceptsTsakalis Audio WorksVS Audio+-

This article continues the series which I started with Best of British, Canadian, French, German and Italian Pedal Builders - some of which could do with updating probably, but frankly I prefer doing new stuff. It turns out that Greece is actually a significant hub of activity with a number of Internationally renown brands.

I feel the big 3 are Crazy Tube Circuits, JAM Pedals and Tsakalis Audioworks, while VS Audio also has had some significant publicity fairly recently and particularly in ...