9 of the Best Pigtronix Pedals
Beyond its most recent Mini Pedals, Pigtronix is another brand which seems to be floating somewhat under the radar today in most regards. They have a number of innovative and classic pedals - some of which alas have been discontinued fairly recently, but all are very worthy contenders in their respective genres / categories.
They’e one of the brands that has increasingly focused on Mini Pedals of late - which include some incredibly innovative and state-of-the-art pedals for that form factor - including those 3 Minis pictured.
I have three from this lineup to date - 2 minis and one compact - and would probably seek to complete those selections - while for the large format pedals I have other preferences really - and where some of those I deem to be unnecessarily large to a degree.
For the 3 minis - the Moon Poll Tremvelope Phaser, Octava Octave Fuzz and Pigtronix Micro Disnortion - I own the latter two - I also like the look of the Mini Space Rip Analog Synth - while the other recent addition - the Constellation Modulated BBD Analog Delay - is in essence identical to Xvive’s Echoman Delay. Note that Pigtronix is sister brand to Supro USA too!
In the middle row I have the Mothership 2 - while the Resotron and RingMaster have been on my wishlist for a while - I’ve long intended to get those, but other priorities have prevailed. There is some added complexity with the RingMaster as I keep vacillating between which Ring Modulator I should get - the RingMaster, DOD Gonkulator, or Subdecay Vitruvian Mod all feature.
Of this lineup - the RingMaster, Echolution Ultra Pro and Rotation are all already discontinued - even though the are fantastic examples of that type. Those are definitely worthy seeking out if you can accommodate them on the board - some are somewhat larger than they need be!
Pedals are listed by size, then alphabetical order :
Moon Pool Micro Tremvelope Phaser - $179
Controls : Phase Speed, Trem Speed, Depth, Sensitivity, Trem/Phase : Tremolo/Both/Phaser, Phaser Dynamics : More Speed/Default/Less Speed, Tremolo Dynamics : More Speed/Default/Less Speed.
This is the most interesting of the recent batch of 3 mini pedals - launched at this year's Virtual NAMM alongside the Constellation Modulated Analog Delay and Space Rip Analog Synth. The Moon Pool has an envelope follower which allows you to trigger accelerated or decelerated Tremolo and Phase effects either separately or in combination. Reminds me a lot of how my Anasounds Ages Harmonic Tremolo works - which is a lot of fun. This is certainly on my list for future acquisitions but not a high priority really currently.
Octava Analog Micro Octave Fuzz - $119
Controls : Volume, Blend, Filter, Fuzz Button, Drive.
This is actually my most recently acquired here and has been featured several times on this site. A really smart Octave / Drive pedal with optional Fuzz voicing via push-button. Sounds really excellent, and I have used this a lot in combination with the recent Wampler Ratsbane - to produce a sort of pseudo EQD Sunn O))) Life Pedal - i.e. Rat + Boost + Octave. Works really well.
Disnortion Analog Micro Fuzz / Overdrive / Distortion - $129
Controls : Gain, Volume, Drive, Fuzz Shape x 6, Series/Parallel button.
Fuzz Shape : No Filter | Mid Bump (808) | Low Pass (Carlos) | Mid Scoop (Muff) | Low Pass (Bass!).
This 6-Mode Drive, Distortion, Fuzz was my very first Pigtronix pedal quite some while ago and often features in my mini pedal roundups. I know of no other more versatile mini gain pedal - which is why it gets selected so often - really smart for such a petite form factor!
Mothership 2 Analog Synth - $249
Controls : Square Wave+Sub, Clean Blend+VCD, Output+Glide, Dynamics+Tune, Sync, Timbre+Sweep, Mode : Octave/Manual/Unison.
This was actually an incredible feat of miniaturisation as Pigtronix managed to shrink the original Large Format Mothership down to compact dimensions - while keeping the full feature set intact - all 12 controls - accomplished by no less than 5 dual-concentric knobs and 2 x toggle-switches. This is a great sounding analog Synth - but a little sensitive and fiddly to set up and calibrate. To such an extent that I much prefer to use my Boss SY-1 and DigiTech Dirty Robot on the #3 slot. You can of course get some excellent sounds on the Mothership 2 - but it can take quite a lot of patience - compared to the much more rapid adjustment of the other pedals mentioned.
Resotron Analog Filter Synth - $249
Controls : Cutoff Frequency, Glide, Peak, Sensitivity, Filter : HPF/BPF/LPF, Blend, Follower : Envelope Up/Pitch/Envelope Down, Oscillate button.
This will likely be the last acquired of my Filter pedals capsule collection - and is just after the Subdecay Prometheus DLX in priority. Based on a very similar foundation / format to the Mothership template - but with no dual-concentric knobs this time around. No doubt a very smart Dynamic Filter pedal - but where I already have a number of slightly more preferred pedals in the collection.
Ringmaster Analog Multiplier - discontinued - $249 when new
Controls : Rate/Depth, Source/Ring Modulation, Output/Clean Blend, Gain/Tune, Follow, Speed/Amount, Tremolo.
This has the same impressive number of 12 controls as the Mothership 2 - and again mostly courtesy of 5 dual-concentric knobs. This is a sort of Mix of Ring Modulator and Analog Synth - and should be a great companion piece to the Mothership. While it seems this never took off adequately and was rather soon discontinued. I will likely pick up a copy at some stage - of course if I can acquire one at a reasonable level of discount!
Echolution 2 Ultra Pro - discontinued - $449 when new
Controls : Repeats, Expression : Repeats/Time/Mix/Speed/Depth, Mix, Presets, LFO Waveforms : Triangle/ Square/Ramp/Random/LFO Sync, Depth, Time : Short/Medium/Long/Pong/Halo, Delay Time Ranges, Special FX : Pong/Halo, Taps : 1|3/4|2/3|1/2|Phi, Filter : Low Pass/Tape/Comb/Sweep/Crush, Speed, Delay Line I/O : Trails/Listen/Normal/Dry Kill, Special Functions : Reverse/Duck, Engage Footswitch, Tap/Preset Footswitch.
This formidable Delay Workstation pedal has competed with the best of them in the upper echelon of Delay Pedals for quite some while. I was a little surprised to see this discontinued - with no natural heir in the range yet. I would have thought Pigtronix would create some sort of compact edition eventually - and certainly before they retired this classic - but no. Possibly not quite up to par with some of the later best Workstation Pedals - TimeLine, DD-500, EchoSystem and Future Factory - while their equal in many aspects.
Infinity Looper Hi-Fi Stereo Double Looper - $449
Controls : Master Volume, Presets, Stop Mode : Full/Trail/Fade/Arm/All, Input Split, Series Loops, Sync Multi : x1/x2/x3/x4/x6, Loop 1 Volume, Loop 2 Volume, Stop/Erase Footswitch, Loop 1 Play/Rec/Dub Footswitch, Loop 2 Play/Rec/Dub Footswitch.
This behemoth of a looper is still in the range somewhat surprisingly - but not exactly, as it's one of just a handful what can sort of compete with the Boomerang Looper in the top echelon of large scale looper pedals. Certainly considerably too large for my needs, but I can see it's appeal for certain types of users. No doubt a classic of its type.
Rototron Rotary Speaker Simulator - discontinued - $425 when new
Controls : Ramp, Slow, Fast, Depth, Slow/Fast/Brake Footswitch, Engage Footswitch.
And last but certainly not least we find the Rototron Rotary Speaker Simulator - another high quality contender for proper full-range stereo Leslie Style Effect. It is however somewhat large in dimensions - and I can surely see Pigtronix making a more compact version of this at some stage, as it was very highly regarded as one of the best sounding of its type.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
I feel this is a solid selection which stands up well to scrutiny. Like I mention - I have 3 of these to-date - the Octava Octave Fuzz, Pigtronix Micro Disnortion and Mothership 2. And I fully intend to acquire the Moon Pool Tremvelope Phaser, Resotron Tracking Filter, and RingMaster Analog Multiplier.
I don't exactly know when - as none of these are particularly high priority for me of this moment. I will no doubt though snap them up if I come across one at an attractive price point. As always I have a lot of priority juggling to do and a large network of builders to cover - so things shift around considerably from day to day.
I feel there is merit in each of these - while some will obviously have higher appeal. I would also like to mention the Philosopher's Tone Mini Compressors which exist in two varieties - both of those are excellent too - especially the warmer and slightly grittier Germanium Gold edition.
How about you dear readers - anything here which takes your fancy? Or do you already have a favourite Pigtronix pedal?
