Bart Provoost's Effects Database - The World's Greatest Pedal Resource - Celebrates 20 Years

There are two historic absolute killer Internet-based Effects Pedal Resources - the more narrowly and fuzz-focused ’Kit Rae’s The Big Muff Π Page’, and the much broader and more holistic / comprehensive ’Effects Database’ - which covers every type of effect - world-wide.

Bart describes how this all started with a relatively focused pet project website called ’DisqoFreq’s Envelope Filter Site’. Created really for similar reasons as to why I created Guitar Pedal X originally - where Bart was keen to understand what Envelope Filters were available to him as options - so he started specifically documenting those. Beginning with a list of 20 different devices - very much in the format of a sort of directory which we have all come to know so well. Where GPX was more from a basis of comparison and head-to-head recommendations - in a similar way to Bart - I was trying to figure out what would work best for me and my preferences - while Bart’s site evolved to have a much wider remit. Where he pivoted from just Envelope Filters initially - to all types of Filter devices - including Synth Modules.

Bart then started to add Octavers, Ring Modulators, Vocodes, Talkboxes, Fuzz Pedals, Phasers, Flangers and Tremolos - until such a point Bart decided that his website should feature All Pedals - including the thousands of Distortion and Overdrive Pedals. And all this started way back in 2003 - a whole 2 years before YouTube even materialised!

Right from the earliest days Bart decided that it was critical to include all the smaller builders - many of which only had a presence on Ebay and forums like Harmony-Central.

A lot of those early brands have long since disappeared - as still continues to this very day - some take a hiatus and return later, while many more just disappear into the aether - so the Effects Database is vital to preserving the record of what came before and the ongoing evolution of pedal innovation - it is so much THE Archive of all Effects Pedals - current and historic - and I encourage you to give support via Effects Database’s Patreon like I’ve done - it’s vital that we keep this resource going!

Pedal evolutions come in waves - and I feel we’re currently living through the second or probably more likely the third Golden Age of Effects. Obviously this all started back in 1962 with the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzztone - the 60’s was the first Golden Age of Effects. Then I feel the 80’s was the next big wave in the wake of Boss’s and MXR’s late 70’s compact enclosure innovations. And Bart feels that the current Golden Age started at around the last major final crisis - so from around 2008 onwards!

Astute followers of the Effects Database site will have noted a period of slow-down not so long ago - when some of us really wondered if Effects Pedals was going to survive - as there was a period of inactivity. While it was simply a tricky time for Bart - where he was contending with a number of different challenges at the time as happens to all of us at some stage, and Effects Database had to take a back-seat for a while as it were.

So we followers were delighted to see the site back in action with the regular New Brands and Pedals postings, and Top 20 Videos features once more.

I personally use this resource on a daily basis - as much as I use Google and Wikipedia for general stuff, Effects Database is one of my main research resources when delving into particular effects pedals segments and categories.

I asked Bart to give me the top-line stats for the site after 20 years of continuous growth - and those stats make for some very interesting reading. The only figures Bart didn’t have to give me was the number of countries covered - 68 - where I’m still slightly sad that no one from my original homeland of Iceland has seemingly created a pedal - there probably is some tiny ’pedals for friends’ operation going on somewhere - but I’m not aware of it. The Effects Database is just a superb all-round resource for getting the general landscape of different pedal categories. You of course do need to do further due diligence and follow-up yourself - as pedal companies come and go fairly frequently. So you need to use the Effects Database in conjunction with various retail resources to see which pedals are still current and in ongoing circulation!

The fact that there are over 26,000 pedals on the site - from over 4,200 brands - is just incredible. In fact because of the needed slow-down for the Effects Database - there are now approximately 1,500 new brands still to be processed and validated - so the Database is still growing pretty rapidly - and there will soon be more than 5,700 brands covered there!

Bart does the full world-tour of pedals - while GPX is a slightly more curated affair and based more on deep-dives and head-to-head recommendations - so the those two sites work really well together - in fact we may very likely collaborate on some features at some stage.

No one has a bigger reach than the Effects Database - its scope is unique and magnificent - and should be cherished, protected  and preserved at all costs!

I’m looking forward to another 20 great years of pedal xplorations - and it would all be so much harder without having the Effects Database in your corner!

Many and Hearty Congratulations and a sincere thank you for your 20 years of service Bart!

Remember to support the Effects Database on Patreon.