2021 Best of the Best New Pedals for the Year

Controls - 4 Stage} Speed / Barber Fall or Rise, Sweep : Classic / Barber / Envelope, Depth / 4 Stereo Spread, Mix / Midi Expression, Left 4-Stage Engage Footswitch, 6 Stage} Resonance : Off / Mild / Strong, Speed / Midi Sync, Voice / Stacking - Phasing / Flanging / Chorus, Depth / 6 Stereo Spread, Right 6-Stage Engage Footswitch.

It really makes sense in this 'Year of the Phaser' that the most versatile and capable example in that category should get the key accolade here. I've been hugely impressed with the Zelzah - and just how smartly configured this pedal is and how many varieties of tones can be found here - most of the key types of classic modulation can be found onboard - including besides the various forms of phaser - Chorus, Vibrato, Flanger, Uni-Vibe, Rotary, and Envelope Filter to name but a few.

Also we have a unique combination of the two sides of the pedal - the 4-Stage on the left channel, and the 6-Stage on the right - with multiple combinations and output options. I love the fact that it's full stereo in and out - albeit stereo in is courtesy of TRS cable. And in fact this pedal is incredibly easy to dial in - and where the secondary / alt functions are actually pretty intuitive too.

I'm of course quite used to Stymon pedals by now, but feel that chief engineer Peter Celi and his team have really knocked this one out of the park - particularly in light of how impressive the best of the Analog Phasers are these days - like the Flower Pedals Castilleja, Sitek Phasia and Thorpy Pulse Doppler. Each of those are genuinely different and properly stand-out - while the Zelzah offers a little bit more all-round.

I typically prefer my Modulations to be Analog, while the Zelzah is the first Digital one really that justifies its selection among and along those others. The modulation is incredibly nuanced and natural sounding - while you can of course get some unusual and quirky tones too. I feel this is the high water level and a new benchmark for this sort of device. It really does deliver an incredible array of properly stellar complementary Modulation voices - marking this out really as a Multi-Modulator or Multi-FX really.

All in all I feel this is a deserving winner and solid marker for 2021 - do you agree?

Controls - Depth / Regen / Ramp Mode, Rate / Divisions / Ramp Rate, Mix, Chop / Random / Ramp Target, Lag, EQ, Tap / Ramp / Tap Target Footswitch, Engage / Alt / Dry EQ Mode Footswitch. Stereo out via TRS Cable.

It's funny that the top two place should both be modulations - but I feel that the Demedash T-60 Analog Modulator is another classic in the making and really takes the Chorus effect into new territory. I've already mentioned how enamoured I'm with the Analog LFO Modulation here in tandem with Resonance and the smart Chop of Sample & Hold effect - which delivers incredible aquatic bleeps, blurbs and bubbles.

You can go totally straight-laced and classic here - or ramp up the wet signal and Randomness of modulation - for the most incredible deconstructed Lo-Fi textures. In core Mono mode this pedal is truly spectacular every which way - and does amazing Chorus, Vibrato and Flanger voicings with ease. My only proviso here is that I had mixed results with stereo output while still largely spectacular tones - just at a lower output level.

This is so much more than a stock Chorus / Vibrato pedal - it really enters new territory here which I feel will pretty much put this in a class of its own. I would love to here how you are using yours, and what weird and wonderful tones you have discovered yourself.

This pedal is amazing wihen used with the Boss SY-200 - it makes every voicing there sound analog and organic! And warms up the signal and gives is that gooey analog feel. For sure there is a bit of a learning curve here - and there is quite a lot of secondary and tertiary knob functions to get used to. While if you spend time with this device you will be magnificently rewarded!

Controls - High Cut, EQ : In/Out, Octave Mix, Fuzz Engine : Single Transistor / ’M’ for Maestro / ’Smiley’ for Fuzz Face / ’Th’ (Thermion) Symbol for Muff, Low Cut, Volume, Clean Mix, Gain, Bypass/On Footswitch, Add Clean Footswitch, Add Octave Footswitch.

There were some incredibly cool new fuzzes this year - but I really felt on balance that José Manuel Martínez García-Casarrubios' 'Greatest Hits of Fuzz' Cornucopia that is the Thermion Stone Age - really deserved high honours in the Best-of-the-Best finale.

This is the first pedal to my knowledge to combine 5 Classic Fuzz Circuits in the one enclosure - with of course added EQ, and Clean Blend, and where the Octave can be applied to each of the 4 core voicings - Single Transistor, Maestro Style, Fuzz Face Style and Muff Style.

The footswitchable Clean Blend gives you optimal nuance and finesse - and allows you to get into all those different Fuzzy-Drive variations. It's a little on the larger size for sure - but its combination of circuits, components, features and functions is exemplary. 

This is the only one of the winners not in the collection quite yet - that should hopefully be happening very early next year!