2024 Best of the Best New Pedals of the Year
So this is the big one - all the top performers from the year in one selection.
We’ve already covered :
- 35 Boost & Overdrive Pedal Finalists
- 34 Distortion Pedal Finalists
- 32 Fuzz Pedal Finalists
- 38 Modutility Pedal Finalists
- 25 Delay and Reverb Pedal Finalists
Total Overall Finalist Selection of 164 Pedals!
Distilled down to the final favourites selection, where I own 27 of them, and will try to secure the final missing ones next year :
- Coffee Shop Pedals London Fog Tape Delay - $309 CAD / $228 (Delay)
- GFI System Solis Ventus Delay & Reverb - $499 (Delay & Reverb)
- Hamstead Soundworks Redwing Analogue Stereo Modulator - £429 / $599 (Modulation)
- Krozz Devices RoyalBreaker Extended Rat style Distortion - $219 (Distortion)
- MXR Joshua Ambient Echo with Reverb - $240 (Delay & Reverb)
- MXR Layers Stereo 3-Layers Harmonic Sustainer / Freeze - $229 (Modulation)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo Soundscape Textured Reverb - $299 (Reverb)
- Origin Effects Deluxe 55 Tweed Recreation - £270 / $339 (Overdrive)
- Tomkat Pedals Super Heavy Reverb - $350 (Reverb)
So here are the 36 Best of the Best Pedals across the 5 Categories :
[ 6 x Overdrives | 8 x Distortions | 6 x Fuzzes | 9 x Modulations | 7 x Delays/Reverbs ]
- Beetronics Larva Dual Morphing Phaser - $249 (Modulation) [BRONZE]
- Beetronics FX Tuna Fuzz - $99 (Fuzz)
- Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay - $219 (Delay)
- Chase Bliss Onward Dynamic Envelope Sampler - $399 (Modulation)
- Coffee Shop Pedals London Fog Tape Delay - $309 CAD / $228 (Delay)
- Coriolis Effects Ultimate Hail To The King Dual Channel BluesBreaker - $219 (Overdrive)
- Decibelics Reverend V2 Mini Expandora with Remote Fuzz Switch - €175 + €45 / $190 + $49 (Fuzz)
- Diamond Pedals Vibrato - $279 (Modulation)
- Formula B Eighty Master MIAB V2 (JCM800 / Plexi) - €199 / $209 (Distortion)
- GFI System Solis Ventus Delay & Reverb - $499 (Delay & Reverb)
- Hamstead Soundworks Redwing Analogue Stereo Modulator - £429 / $599 (Modulation)
- Horrothia Effects Lütz 3-Transistor Full Range Fuzz - £325 / $445 (Fuzz) [GOLD]
- JHS Pedals Hard Drive High Gain Distortion - $199 (Distortion)
- JHS Pedals Lario Basilio signature The Violet Distortion - $199 (Distortion)
- Keeley Electronics Octa Psi Transfigurating Fuzz - $249 (Fuzz)
- Krozz Devices Krakenheart Abyssal Uni-Vibe - $269 (Modulation)
- Krozz Devices RoyalBreaker Extended Rat style Distortion - $219 (Distortion)
- Life Is Unfair x Boston Manor Bad Machine Boost / Overdrive / FZ-2 / HM-2 / MT-2 - £230 / $313 (Fuzz)
- Menatone Wreck’T Preamp (Trainwreck Express) - $219 (Distortion)
- MXR Joshua Ambient Echo with Reverb - $240 (Delay & Reverb)
- MXR Layers Stereo 3-Layers Harmonic Sustainer / Freeze - $229 (Modulation)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo Soundscape Textured Reverb - $299 (Reverb)
- OneControl Anodized Brown Distortion (EVH) - $179 (Distortion)
- Origin Effects Deluxe 55 Tweed Recreation - £270 / $339 (Overdrive)
- PastFX Kurt’s Cologne Small Clone 3-Era Chorus - $209 (Modulation)
- Poly Effects Ample 56 Amps-in-a-box - $399 (Overdrive)
- Sentimental Bob Electronics Tephra Super Rat / Life Pedal - $180 (Distortion)
- Sinvertek MGAT-1 Golden Era MIAB Hyper Preamp - $350 (Distortion)
- Source Audio Artifakt Lo-Fi Elements - $349 (Modulation)
- Strymon BigSky MX Dual-Engine Multidimensional Reverb - $679 (Reverb)
- Tavysh HARM Multi-Gain Machine Harmonics, Saturation and EQ - $249 (Overdrive) [SILVER]
- ThorpyFX Chris Buck signature Electric Lightning Plexi-style Tube Preamp + Boost - £429 / $535 (Overdrive)
- ThorpyFX x Andertons SixZero Tremo-Fuzz - £249 / $259 (Fuzz)
- Tomkat Pedals Super Heavy Reverb - $350 (Reverb)
- Tubesteader ROY Twin Channel Vox AC30 Top Boost style Tube Preamp - $299 (Overdrive)
- Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] Modulator - $399 (Modulation)
You can refer to all the individual Category posts if you need to read up on further details on each pedal - they each have features on this site too - for even more in-depth reading.
All 36 are highly worthy candidates!
I’m not sure whether the GFI Solis Ventus is for me (never say never!) while all the others are fair game for acquisition next year!
Our Grand Champions for the year are :
- Horrothia Effects Lütz 3-Transistor Full Range Fuzz - £325 / $445 (Fuzz) [GOLD]
- Tavysh HARM Multi-Gain Machine Harmonics, Saturation and EQ - $249 (Overdrive) [SILVER]
- Beetronics Larva Dual Morphing Phaser - $249 (Modulation) [BRONZE]
All 3 are worthy winners - where the Lütz and HARM were GOLD winners in their own respective Categories, while the Larva only came 3rd [BRONZE] in the Modulation Category. While I’m so enamoured with that - even though there are more expansive effects within that category - and where the Beetronics Larva is just the absolute Ultimate Phaser Pedals for me - and thus earns the 3rd seat here!
Further details on each below :
Horrothia Effects Lütz 3-Transistor Full Range Fuzz - £325 / $445 (Fuzz) [GOLD]
Controls - Output Curly Cable Capacitance Simulation : Light (short) / Off / Dark (long), Input Curly Cable Capacitance Simulation : Light (short) / Off / Dark (long), Power Sag (Starve) : 5V > 9V, Volume, 12-way HPF Input Filter (c. 3Hz > 2kHz), 12-way HPF Output Filter (c. 3Hz > 2kHz - different set of capacitors!), Bias (Character & Gain) : Cold > Hot, Cap Defeat Footswitch (for Harmonic Overtones, Octave & Oscillation), Main Bypass Footswitch, Buffer On - Gain Boost Footswitch.
This is one of the greatest ever Classic Fuzzes designed - wholly delivering for you the full spectrum of Classic Fuzz tones - and straddling both Fuzz Face and Tone Bender tones and timbres - with a really smart set of conrols - which also allow you to take he fuzz into Harmonic Octave and Oscillation territories.
I don't believe there has ever been anything quite like this previously - it truly looks a phenomenon inside and out - and the execution is every bit as good as he concept deserved - with so many neat detail ouches - like the curly cable capacitance emulation. This is one of the most complete effects pedal you buy - it fully encapsulates every key aspect of the classic fuzz cannon.
Tavysh HARM Multi-Gain Machine Harmonics, Saturation and EQ - $249 (Overdrive) [SILVER]
Controls - MAIN GAIN } Gain, Master Volume, Clip : Hard / Off [OpAmp] / Soft; MID BOOST } Boost : Min [some] / Off / Max [lots]; FUZZ / HARMONICS } Gate [Fuzz Character] : Some / Off / Lots, Overtone [Octave] : Some / Most / More, Drive / Fuzz / Overtone Gain; EQ } Filter [LPF], HPF : Some / Off / Lots, Active Treble, Active Bass.
When I first glimpsed this pedal I felt as if it had been created based on my own '12 Degrees of Saturation' methodology - so closely did it match my own vision of the different aspects of the gain spectrum.
And in practice - this is even more impressive than he first impressions in how this pedal can deliver all those sounds right across the spectrum - from Clean Boost, through subtle, then textured Overdrives of various stripes, then Fuzzy-Drive, Fuzz, and onto Searing Heavy Meal High Gain distortion - this pedal has something in the tank for all of those. That's not to say it 100% replicates every tiny nuance of every gain pedal there ever was - but it does get you unerringly close in almost all instances. Every tone you dial in can be heard to be authentically of that genres - and often at the highest percentile - or 99% of the way!
This is kind of screaming our for some sort of Kernom style digital control layers - so you can save some of those myriad presets / settings that this pedal is able to generate. It's not for everyone - as there is some patience required on occasion to get the dial-in just right. But those who apply proper due diligence and have the patience for it - this is probably the most expansive gain machine to have ever been created - and certainly within the compact enclosure format. The Overtone / Fuzz Gate elements and that super handy Mids Boost are just genius - this is truly the ultimate 12 Degrees of Saturation Multi-Gain Machine!
Beetronics Larva Dual Morphing Phaser - $249 (Modulation) [BRONZE]
Controls - Phaser 1 Rate, Phaser 1 Depth, Phaser 2 Rate, Phaser 2 Depth, Ramp Speed, Ramp Shape : Phase 1 > 2 Stay / Phase 1 > 2 > 1 alternating directions / Phase 1 > 2 Momentary with immediate return, Preamp Gain, Resonance, Master Volume, Effect : Preamp / Phaser / Vibee, Tap/Ramp Footswitch (Tap for Tap Tempo / Hold for Ramping), Bypass Footswitch (Double Tap to Flip Phase 1 <> 2 Playback / Hold for Secondary / Alternative Parameters).
All 3 of these pedals are utterly perfect as they are - there is no need for further refinements or iterations, while it would be nice to have digital controls / persist on the Tavys Harm - that's still a nice to have. For this Beetronics Larva Dual Morphin Phaser - that is surely the pinnacle of Phaser design - certainly for my preferences and sensibilities.
The main fuzz voicing just sounds amazing - I have no other phaser than sounds quite as good as this one, and it marries up that beatiful voicing with the most ingenious dual-morphing control topology - giving you all manner of smart dynamic playback possibilities.
This is every way the perfect Phaser for me - if you're into Phasers you really need this one!
![First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine](https://d6a2e7ghqts3o.cloudfront.net/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/556/2024-GPX-Walrus-Audio-Mako-II-M1-Y-7001.jpg "First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine")
