Best Guitar Effects Pedals For Beginners (Jan 2023 Update)

Overall: Finally got another Whammy V after missing my prior one in a "stupid-sell all-great new multi unit dumb idea". Not sure what to say about this pedal as it would seem of the many vids I have seen on it, I cast doubt if anyone really can understand how to use it without having one for a time. I constantly hear this "weeeeoooo" thing and really that might be of use now and then but what nails this pedal for me is the harmonizer mode section. 8va's and 4ths,5ths, utterly amazing. This is not so much a moving the pedal thing as everyone seems to want to do. Most of th etime mine is parked up or dwn for a specific harmony or maybe a sweep of low to high octave, play a version of Dazed and Confused using this and you may just never be the same. The lowered 5th harmonizer mode on this puppy is probably one of the best all time tones I have ever had the pleasure of playing. A harmonizer, with no set key or scale restriction, polyphonic tracking, true bypass, I'd pay more just for that. The DT model is cool but I am not really doing step tuning variants. Anyway, this pedal is sooooo much better than what you will hear being done on typical vids. Mastering this puppy will afford you a range of really cool tone possibilities nothing else can muster. Those who hate this pedal suffer from the terrible videos of it or the old models that glitch and burble from only being monophonic tracking. The buffer has been removed and this is improved poly tracking tech! Full bandwidth 1M ohm and out. Simply no comparison tech wise to the previous models.Whambam

I love how certain players use this pedal. Bucketed is the absolute master of the Digitech Whammy. I like Buckethead and got a whammy to try for myself. The only time I actually use it during performance as a ad-lib bit. The problem is that when its engaged it sucks the life out of your tone. Its like going from an all tube amp to using an iRig to play your guitar through your cell phones speakers. The effects are crazy awesome though. People that don't know gear that hear you play, bug out when they are trying to figure out how in the world you are getting those crazy sounds. The pedal needs recalibrate all the time. For no reason, even when you have the pedal on heel down, when you engage the unit the pitch will shift. The dive bomb effects are crazy for weird rumbling effects. All in all, typical of my experience with Digitech, they aren the best effects tonally. But if you want to go weeeee-ooohhhhh, weed-ohhhhhh a bunch for the fun of it, this is your pedalSpaceman Spiff

Bought this in a heartbeat to replace my Digitech Whammy IV, which is a fantastic pedal but lacks the sound quality and additional features of this latest version: the Whammy V. For the uninitiated: The Digitech Whammy is a versatile pitch-shifting, harmonizer, octave, drop-tune, and chorus pedal used extensively by at least one of your favorite pro guitarists: Johnny Greenwood, Tom Morello, Jack White, Matt Bellamy, Buckethead, and countless others. I use it not just to replicate parts of their songs–Johnny's +2-octave riff in "Just", the solo in "Like a Stone", the "bass" line in "Seven Nation Army"–but in plenty of my own songs, both live and in the studio. The construction is solid and designed for both touring and in-studio use–durable but not too heavy, big but not obnoxious. Next, the upgrades: This new Whammy comes with two huge improvements. The first is true-bypass switching. Previous models are well known for being tone-sucking beasts, and although there is still a noticeable change in your sound when this latest version is on, when it's off it's off. The other massive upgrade is polyphonic tracking while pitch-shifting, which means it can shift entire chords up or down without sounding glitchy or garbled (e.g., "My Iron Lung"). For people who like that glitchy Whammy IV sound and want the option to use it, there's now a Classic/Chords switch which lets you do just that. On the cosmetic side, Digitech renamed a few modes, reorganized the layout, and brought back the Whammy logo on the expression pedal. All of these upgrades are godsends for long-time users. Finally, the drawbacks: First, as always, there is no "intelligent" harmonizer setting, so you're still limited to choosing an interval–4th, 5th, 7th–and not a key–Bb, C#, E–for your harmonies. Also, this latest version keeps the MIDI jack but ditches the dry output, which is a bummer. Overall, the Whammy V is a phenomenal improvement over the IV and a unique pedal in its own right. 5/5Joe B.

Having gone back and forth between digital / emulated effects and analog / practical effects, I decided to add a Small Clone to my pedalboard. If I had one complaint about the unit, it would be that it has a switch for two different depth settings instead of an adjustment pot. That said, when I plugged in I found that of the two settings available for depth there is one that suits me just fine. The pedal is very quiet, and does not color my tone in any way. True bypass is always an added benefit. Electro Harmonix builds these pedals to last, and I can’t see myself ever moving to another chorus pedal from this one. I’m in love. Rig – Fender USA strat with EMGs into a Peavey 6505 head / cabinet. The pedal adds great modulation to both clean tones and leads. BUY THIS.Nick in NH

The Small Clone gives an awesome chorus effect to your sound! I always wanted that full warm grunge sound and so I figured why not put that icing on that cake and get the gear the legend himself used. The quality build is crisp, the sound I'm getting is satisfying and the price is pocket/wallet friendly!! I must say that I'm far from disappointment! So, sit down or stand up which ever you prefer and know this is your chance of being that one step closer of making that 90's defining sound!!! A little something extra…. I was thinking of cleaning the pedal off before I took the pic but then I thought to myself …….. WWKCD? If you're reading this review I could pretty much guarantee 99.9% of you know what "WWKCD" stands for. 😉 PLACE THAT ORDER! THANK YOURSELF FOR MAKING SAID ORDER! IT'S GUARANTEED, YOU'LL BE SMILING AND PATTING YOURSELF ON THE BACK BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT AND LET'S BE HONEST HERE, YOU EARNED IT!Brian

As a solo acoustic finger style player, I was looking for a very subtle effect to enhance instrumental parts. I've owned other choruses in the past, and was skeptical at its rather large size and single control knob–and only a depth switch. I was pleasantly surprised. I run depth on high, the control knob on low, and get a nice fat–but subtle-melodic sound from my Martin. I haven't experimented with it much, since I'm so pleased with this setting. Good value, well made-though perhaps rather 20th century style–and USA made. Just what I wanted for a slightly different sound to bounce between my vocal parts and instrumental/lead parts. The foot switch is loud, but not enough to affect my performance. All in all, very pleased.2 birds

This thing is unbelievably excellent. I’m down with serious chunk and couldn’t find a pedal anywhere that tickled my fancy of fatness of tones and clean as a whistle chugging. If you want metal, this will give you the sound you want, the thing has six knobs and they all do great differences in tone and distortion. My mate is a full blown metaller gtar ist and scoffed at me buying this thing. He came round and I said that I wanted to hear him thru this pedal so he did after I dialed him in to my liking amd he blew himself away with me alongside him He now has one too!!!! HahahaGeoff K.

This is a boss pedal in a plastic case. Great distortion tones, loads of tweakable sounds which is one reason why I like it. I own quite a few "budget friendly " pedals, many if which are equal to more expensive originals. This is no exception.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

The Mosaic pedal is easy to use, and produces a realistic 12 string effect. It comes with it's own power supply, and I recommend using it as it seems to use quite a lot of energy to produce the effect. When I first connected it in my chain, powered by the wimpy Snark power supply, it didn't really work. The light came on when I pressed the on/off button, but the effect wasn't happening. Then I used the power supply that came with it. Suddenly, out came the shimmering sound of an electric 12 string. In short, it might not sound like a Rickenbacker, but its close enough, and much less expensive. If you want the sound of a 12 string, but don't want to spend the money, this may be the perfect substitute.jonaha650

Overall: Ive been using my Roland Gr-55 (w/ GK-3) to add 12 string shimmer to my sound for years. This little box is amazing! Tracking is impeccable, and the controls are so simple I was up and running within seconds! The metal box is sturdily built, and COMES with a muscular 9v, 1.3amp power supply(?!?!) Switching is silent, and the effect tracks tonal changes between pickups well enough that once dialed in, I dont need to touch the tone knob. If I get insanely picky, I kinda wish there was a separate out for the 12string sound, but that would negatively affect the affordable price and kind of defeat the 1 pedal= 2 instrument simplicity. If you never ever wished you had a 12 string, but it antway! You'll see what you've been missingDennis

I have both a 6 string and 12 string Rickenbacker. I don't normally like to take my 12 string gigging because I've got enough other gear to haul around and the 12 string is only used on a few songs. Plus all the associated issues with tuning, string replacement, swapping guitars, etc. The Mosaic does a pretty credible job of making my six string sound like a 12 string. It does not produce a perfect reproduction, but I find it good enough that I'm using it regularly. Considering the technology needed to generate the 12 string sound from a six string instrument, I'm actually very impressed that it does a good a job as it does. And the fact that it is polyphonic is icing on the cake. I've used electronic harmonizers to try and duplicate a 12 string sound, but they always failed in two areas. You could not play chords and the high B and E strings sounded just awful because the harmonizer would try and play notes an octave above on those strings as well (usually rendering this approach useless).. I found that the Mosaic gives a pretty credible 12 string reproduction on the E, A, D, and G strings. Fortunately the upper B and E strings do not get the octave treatment. They remain with the original pitch, but they don't quite have the full tonal resonance of a true 12 string. It isn't bad, just not quite perfect. All in all, I feel its a good product, does a good enough job and I'm happy with the 12 string emulation. I think its a credible option to consider if you need a 12 string sound, but can't justify the cost and issues of owning a true 12 string.bgb92549

Best price in town on a great little piece of equipment. Honestly, it's amazing what tech is doing these days. This unit is fully staged worthy and has nearly everything anyone could want. There is a learning curve to the unit but it isn't too bad. It isn't perfect out of the box but can be tweaked to preference. Many of the presets are great and as good launch point for sounds you are looking for. As for delivery, my unit came very fast. I think i waited 4 days for my order (which was 5 days earlier than initially estimated).Jeffrey

The GP-200 is a very flexible multi-effects/modeler whose price may suggest something of lower quality, but it's actually a great-sounding and fun unit. I play acoustic and electric guitar with an Acoustasonic Telecaster, and the GP-200 works great for both sounds. You get what's probably hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of amps, effects, and cabinets for a fraction of the cost. The factory presets probably aren't for most people, but the fun is in creating your own anyway. I definitely recommend using the PC/Mac software for this, as it's a little easier on the eyes and a bit more intuitive as far as the interface goes, but working with the unit itself just takes a little time and experimenting to get used to as the documentation isn't as detailed as it could be for the depth of options available. The acoustic guitar IRs are helpful for buffing up a standard piezo pickup; they won't fill anyone into thinking that your $200 guitar is a vintage Martin or whatnot, but they do bring a bit more depth to the sound. I find them a bit brittle-sounding, but perhaps with more EQ tweaking I could minimize that. I highly recommend this unit for people who want a good, flexible modeling solution without paying thousands. I haven't had the opportunity to play with big-name modelers, but this will definitely do the trick for most.Josh

Preface, I use this with an acoustic violin fitted with a BTS pickup (dual piezos/string), OR with a Greek steel stringed laouto to immediately change from standard tuning to a 5th lower (Cretan, Southern Aegean tuning). Pros – This is a mentality saver. You can be a fantastic musician, able to transpose well, yet regardless of the instrument you are using, and still get a little tripped up when you need to switch course and play in some oddball key. Voila! Drop! I learned about this pedal from a class A1 violin player from Greece (composer, lyricist and recording artist who has recorded with just about every big name- this person is no joke, message me for his name if interested). This person can transpose to any weird key you throw at him, why use it? His response? "Because when I'm on stage and I need to switch quickly to an odd key, I can simply hit the button and not have to think about it". So I gave it a try, and have been using it for 2 years now… it's a life saver. I'm just a fiddler, but this saves me from stressing out and I can play free and it sounds GREAT. It tracks so well I can't tell if there is any latency at all. Cons- With my current setup, I find that I need to either play in front of a monitor or near a speaker or use IEM's, as when playing through the pedal with an acoustic instrument, obviously you are going to hear the natural AND the modified sounds and you ARE going to think it sounds like garbage, then attempt to junk it. DONT DO IT! Unless your pedal is defective, your sound from the speakers is clean. This pedal is meant to be used with mainly electric instruments. During sound check, as loud as you can be, you'll still hear the acoustic sound of your instrument, yet once you are playing with the full band (depending on what your band consists of), it will eventually drown out the sound, and you'll be able to focus on your modified tone, but this is not consistent. Just be aware. If you can, I suggest using some sort of IEM system, wired or wireless, or a monitor. My next step is getting an electric violin body to use this tool even more effectively, but moreso in order to truly utilize my pickup. In a nutshell: Do it!pazarinyc

Sound: Unbelievable how well this pedal track's notes and cords with no noticable latency, IMO it sounds better than tuning down. Features: It's a tank ! Sturdy , Solid , Heavy for it's size , no instructions needed , plug and play Ease of Use: This is simple , Standard tuned guitar , twist the knob to earth shaking low's. Quality: As mentioned , it's a tank , solid construction. Value: I hesitated on this purchase because of the price for a one trick pedal , Worth every penny ! Manufacturer Support: I have several DigiTech products , I still have the old RP-1 and it function's like new , I have no doubt this pedal will give me many year's of service. The Wow Factor: I prefer to play my guitars in standard tune , it's always been a hassle to get the right string tension when drop tuning , this pedal just ended that problem for me Overall: Just unboxed this pedal, been playing it for 2hrs , bar none the best pedal I've ever played ! Keeping the guitar in standard tune and dropping it to two whole steps , the notes and cords track perfectly ! No more floppy strings and no more switching guitars, the pedal is a must have for anyone who plays multiple drop tunings. This pedal is a tank solid heavy construction.Dennis

Actually if you play with the balance knob and harmony knob that control how much high octaves and low octaves and keys of various harmonies with the blend in guitar you can get this thing to sound kinds like Brain May's 3 part harmonies. You have to fiddle with it for days by your self and write down your settings….there a lot of bad ones and tracking can get loss if you add to much octaves or balance…play with it and experiment. I got at least 4 great harmonies. Example – I have it in F mode for instance and play in the C position on guitar and can get this to play a convincing double lead on one guitar in Bad company's "Cant get enough of your love" …it will work with things like "the boys are back in town"…etc. Work with it and take your time .Remember the trick is in the first knob and then find the best other settings that holds the harmonies in the best keys you choose. Not all of them will work great but like I said you can get steady 3 note and even two note harmonies to sound convincing enough to get by easy. Listen to alotta Queen for a starting point and try to match some of those harmonies and experiment in the different keys and minor and major positions …and then write down the settings that sound good to you. Being patience is the trick here. It took me a couple of weeks to get nice things out of it. But it was worth it. P.S. if you haven't got the patience to give this pedal…then it's not gonna work for you.perfect_christian.123

I decided to go with this lens after owning my previous Nikon f2.8 telephoto zoom lens basically because it is way lighter and more portable and I found myself usually struggling to take my f2.8 zoom with me just because it was huge and super heavy. Moreover I also found out that I was only rarely actually using the lens at f2.8 but mostly at f5.6 to f11 and sometimes at f4, so no big reason to carry the extra weight of a f2.8 one. The f4 aperture can still blur enough the backgrounds. Besides when I want fast apertures I always prefer my faster primes. And finally IS adds a very nice bonus to that for when you need to shoot at lower light or just be sure that you won't end up with a shaky image even by using medium shutter speeds like 1/250 for instance that can stiil be shaky especially at the longer end of the lens. The Canon EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM is a great option at an affordable price. I think it is a good upgrade to the original non IS version and a good alternative to the bigger f2.8 ones. I find the lens super sharp across the image at every aperture, super fast focusing and the IS is performing quite well. Being an L lens also means it is very well made and with weather sealing. I highly recommend this lens to anyone who doesn't really need f2.8 for action shoots and anyone that wants to carry this lens around without having second thoughts about it. By getting this lens you are not sacrificing any of the optical performance compared to the f2.8 lenses. You get the same lens only smaller and way lighter. It also works amazingly well with both Canon DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.georgeworst

Wow!!! Just Wow!!! I have had this for a few weeks now and i can't stop playing with it. There is a lot packed into this little effect and you really need to spend some time getting to learn all the little nuances of the pedal. I'm still finding new things with it. Individual effects can change drastically depending on the guitar used and the pickup/volume/tone control settings so you really need to experiment. It's very versatile. For an interesting use try running each output through it's own set of effects and amp. It truly sounds like two individual guitarists rather than one person playing through a single pedal. Having an Expression pedal input adds a lot to this already great pedal as well. Playing at moderately fast to fast speeds creates some tracking/latency problems. I found a few other minor annoyances but there is not enough space here to list them in detail. All in all this is a nice little addition to any pedal board and I would recommend it.Jim9k

From slight dirt to full on creamy plexi distortion. It’s all there. Cleans up with the guitar volume knob. Pairs well with other exotic effects. I have two SL drives, one for grit and the other set for lead, as well as an exotic AC booster before to add a bit of boost. I run the EP booster at the end for nice volume boost. Synergy with all exotic effects.Charlie

I chose the SL Drive from a huge amount of drives on the market as I wanted something that fit on a small pedalboard, could provide a Marshall style sound at all gain levels as an alternative to amp gain, and which could work well with the BB MB pre-amp also by Xotic. This pedal really delivers. Although it takes time to set up and find the best sounds for personal preference, it provides a variety of useful tones across the spectra of volume, gain, and equalisation. The design is just so thoughtful and I like the possibility of running it at 18v, although at the moment 9v is better to my ears. Recommended as a piece of gear that should fit with most set-ups.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I've had the SL drive for awhile now and try as I might I can't find anything that can kick it off my board. I've tried numerous other amp in a box pedals(Marshall and otherwise),overdrives and distortions but I keep coming back to this little guy. I guess I keep trying because I find it hard to believe that a pedal this small and this inexpensive(relatively) can't be outdone. I use this in conjunction with a standard Tumnus and the 2 together just can't be beat for me and I'm done spending $ trying.mike smith

Have still to explore all the tonal possibilities of this aptly-named dual distortion pedal but first impressions have been very positive. The unit is smaller and lighter than I expected but the two foot switches are well separated. With six controls for each channel plus shared 'hi' and 'lo' EQ there are plenty of tone-shaping options. The user manual helpfully suggests some settings to get you started. The internal noise gate has so far proved very effective left on the 'natural' setting. You can adjust the threshold to suit your guitar's output, but having used the pedal with guitars loaded with vintage, medium output and hot humbuckers, I've found no need to alter the default factory setting. If you're in the market for a versatile high-gain distortion pedal I would strongly recommend taking a look at this one.Christopher D.

I bought the GNX for less than we would pay for a single function stomp box, so in that regard, it was a heck of a bargain. I use this for recording and band practice (to avoid carrying my rig). I considered using it on stage but it pops loudly and there is a lot of latency when changing presets. When running through the mains that is a big issue. So, when playing live I still use my pedalboard and guitar amplifier. Still, in my home studio and during rehearsal, this is not an issue, and, with presets modified to my personal liking, the thing is quite good. If I had paid full, new price for it I would be a little disappointed, but for my applications, it was a terrific bargain (used) at $110 shipped.140ina70

Well, this is the 3rd whammy that i buy. I always buying used products to save money but this one doesn't have a long life and the problem is it has a big demand thats why i think is better buy new, be patient always there are offers with new whammy just $20-10 more than a used. The first one broken in a couple of months (used), the second one comes with a desperfect in the pedal (returned), the 3rd one new works and looks perfectly. And i can say it has a great solid building. Great for jammin, covers, have a lot of fun. But is monophonic you can't make chords. Now i have a Boss PS-5 too, and both have similar quality sound…very similar, but i think whammy looks killer. For harmonix quality the better sound comes from a Electro Harmonix POG (but you can't connect a expression pedal in that, just in the HOG but is $450 f*ck)jc.povea

I purchased the Whammy V. I picked this up specifically to use as an octave pedal, but after a few hours of playing, I found that it has a wide variety of options that really shine. 1. The octave effects are very clean and clear, no digital artifacts and the chordal bending is spot-on. Both the Harmonic Octave and the Whammy octave work excellent. 2. I found that the detune feature really works as a Chorus. It is quite nice, very shimmery. Not a warm chorus, but a very icy, shiny chorus. 3. The harmonies are all lots of fun, but many are impractical, or just too dissonant for my taste. Things like +2, -3 Harmonies are just not really useful. +5, +4, -5, -4 are all really cool though. 4. The Whammy effects are great for the most part. The extremes (+2 Octaves, -2 Octaves, Dive Bomb) all suffer from sounding very digital. Especially the 2 and 3 octaves down. Most amps just can't handle that set of frequencies, so you just get a farty, flabby mess. This is easily the best whammy yet, lots of great tones in it and the addition of true-bypass, Chordal pitch bend and smaller size, add up to an excellent addition to your board. Be sure to look around. They retail for $200, but can be found new for $190 or less. I paid $160 for mine. It was a store demo, but was in perfect condition.saxguy80

First, let me say I have been a huge Trower fan since 1974 and just had to check the Robin Trower overdrive pedal ( RT-OD) out myself. I tried this with using a Strat with Texas special pups through a Marshall vintage/modern 2×12- 50 watt combo amp. Its a nice pedal, but I already have 2- OCD's and a Fulldrive- 2 so in the end could not justify keeping the RT-OD for the higher price. In a shootout with the OCD, the RT-OD does have more gain much sooner as you turn the drive knob from min to max and seems to have more mid range tone but I just like the harmonics and versilitility of the OCD better, for me. The RT-OD is not exaclty the same as an OCD but has many similar qualities but lacks the HP/LP switch. From what I read while researching, Fulltone developed this pedal for Robin so he would not have to switch back and forth from the OCD and Fulldrive pedal setups but I saw he still uses an older Fulldrive prior to this RT pedal on You Tube. I did not find the RT-OD to be an OCD + Fulldrive in 1 pedal. Buy if you do not mind spending the extra money over other products and/or are a collector of signature pedals and just have to have it. Skip if you want a pedal with more than the basic 3 knob configuration ( check out a Wampler Ecstacy instead, same price), or if you are already happy with your OCD, Fulldrive setup. In the end I returned it and I'll just go with the set up Robin used prior to this pedal coming out in 2008, OCD and Fulldrive. Standard 3 knob controls – (for the price should have more features) Great Fulltone quality, all componets are heavy duty. If you have or are familiar with an OCD its the same type of enclosure minus the HP/LP switch.J blues

I loved this pedal. I think it sounded on par with the Zendrive, if not better. I used it in front of my Fulltone OCD occasionally, and got a nice, thick distortion. On it's own, it has some serious growl, a great overdrive tone, and even a great distortion. It sounds similar to my HBE Powerscreamer, but not too similar. I love the tone, I wish they could have added more versatile features, but it definitely rocks out of the box.Wes-.xIjP

I bought this pedal because the distortion built into my head really just kinda sucked. So i decided to experiment with pedals and ended up getting a mxr fullbore metal pedal and that thing had no balls.. when i got this IMMEDIATELY i was impressed! Built like a tank and could take a beating.. if you're a metal musician looking to find a distortion pedal with BALLS this is your pedal!uhhhhhhhhhhhh....

The empress heavy reminds me of the type of crunch that typically comes with a tube amp. I would say that this pedal even gives some tube amps a run for their money in the crunch and tweak-ability factor. It sounds great with my crate 4×12 cab with it's stock speakers, but sounded absolutely mean coming through a friend's Randall RD212-V30 combo which has Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. I think the coolest features of this pedal are the mid frequency switches, and the weight nob. I wanted a pedal that would allow me to boost my mids and still sound heavy, and this pedal does it for me. But I really like being able to adjust my bottom end sound. I can make it super tight, or pretty sludgy. (Wish it would go just a little sludgier though) The pedal has a built in noise gate, and it does what I expected. The noise gate will slightly effect the tone of the pedal if used, but it's pretty negligible. There are only two things about this pedal that are keeping me from giving it a 5 out of 5. Number 1. I want more gain/distortion out of it. It's not like you'd mistake it for a blues pedal or anything with the gain maxed out, make no mistake, this is a metal pedal. But more gain would be awesome. I might even put a tube screamer in front of it to see how it sounds. Number 2. The "heavier" channel on this pedal does not actually sound any heavier to me. All in all, it's still an awesome pedal. I think for this pedal to really shine you're going to want active pick ups to push the gain as far as possible, and a cab/combo with high end speakers to push all of the bite. I would consider this to be a stand alone pedal to be ran through a clean channel on your amp. I wouldn't run it through a gain channel to boost it. I would recommend this pedal to any one who has a solid state amp who wants a tube amp style crunch for metal. If you want an old school metallica tone, or a deathklok tone, this might work well for you.some guy

I recently replaced a 5 watt Roland cube street with the more powerful cube street EX. I was disappointed that the EX did not come with Roland JC setting. The clean setting on the EX produced a sterile, cold sound that I warmed up nicely with the Behringer tube modeler. This was my only reason for purchasing this pedal. I have occasional use for a battery operated amp and this pedal allows me to get the warm tones that I require.Richard

Case is plastic to evidently help with cost. With the cost of musical equipment any help is great. I take very good care of equipment so I do not "stomp" on them. Pedal has quality sounds that seem to work within relm of eq'ing. This pedal has it's own drive built in although a bit sensitive. Take your time and you can dial in some quality tones and sounds. I play lots of various music ranging from southern, blues and Christian rock and have been able to fine something nice that works with each style or genre. Again the pedal controls seem a little sensitive so take your time when you start with the pedal. I enjoy expermiemting so this facet is a-ok by me. Over all good pedal.Bo L.

I used this at home with 10 other effect pedals. I really liked the sound quality and ease of use. I was very disappointed when the footswitch broke after about a year or so. Read online this brand has an issue with the switches so that's a deal breaker for me. I went with an MXR delay to replace it because I've had several MXR pedals for many years with great sound and no trouble.Scott

Perfect for practicing. Lay down a simple rhythm loop then you can practice over the top – it's like having an inexhaustible rhythm guitarist jamming with you. Easy overdubs & undos means you can also build up interesting sounds with lots of depth and different sounds. (tip: play your progression through, then without stopping hit the button on the 'one' beat to start recording, then hit it again on another 'one' beat to stop recording/start playing the loop. can be as many bars long as you like – 5 min recording time is way more than I'd ever need!) With only one button and one volume knob it's very simple to use. Many other loopers are so complicated (boss rc-3 I'm looking at you), they take the fun out of just plugging in and jamming. Of course if you need the complication of a drum machine built in to your looper pedal then this one isn't for you). The sound out of this thing is perfect. I use it with many pedals and they all sound great recorded and played back (an analog delay, a few fuzzes, metal zone, overdrive, distortion, phaser, big muffs, small clone, tube screamer) – just be sure to put the looper last in your pedal chain. I'd highly recommended this to anyone thinking about getting a looper. The build quality is great, the button feels sturdy & it's very small. The only thing I'd change about it would be to add the ability to export your recorded loop via the usb, but on this model the usb is only for updating it's firmware. I think the more expensive ditto loopers have this function… but overall I think it's the best pedal I've ever owned!girlbefore

How odd. This review was flagged for writing Big Mu** using the two F's 🙂 For the money, this is a really hard pedal to beat. It goes from mild and laid-back to wild and intense. The controls feel great…like as in excellent quality. This is a reissue of the original Big Mu** PI. I tried a Big Mu** PI with Wicker and forget about it. It hissed so loud in Wicker mode that I couldn't even here myself think and it got even worse with the tone switch off. And even in the so-called Big Mu** PI mode, it didn't sound anywhere near as good as this Rams Head does. And, the Rams Head is quiet compared to the BM PI with Wicker. One more thing, The BM PI with Wicker does not say anywhere on it nor in the included paperwork where it's made, whereas the RH BM PI clearly says New York City on the face of it…Vincent

Overall: Floats like a stone and stings like a nest of angry hornets! This box has the buzzsaw sound down pat. The fuzz is a thick, smooth, and consistent. I like this kind of fuzz in particular because it’s less fuzzy and little more distortion-like. The Tone knob has a really wide sweep from boomy bass to mid-range Hades. It has plenty of gain on tap and even sounds pretty good with the guitar’s volume rolled back a skosh.I’ve never used the original Green Russian Muff and have only heard them compared through videos online, so I can’t speak as to how they’re different/alike. I got it because I didn’t want to haul my vintage Black Russian Muff around from gig to gig anymore because it’s getting valuable and since it was a pretty jenky design to begin with, it’s liable to break with heavy use. That being said, the reissue Green Russian Muff has a different sound than an original V8 Black Russian Muff. It doesn’t sound as good to me, but it’s not so different that I wouldn’t use the Green Russian live in lieu of the Black Russian for the aforementioned reasons. One huge plus for the Green Russian is its pedalboard friendly size. The Black Russian is the size of an 80s metal lunchbox and took up an awkward sized chunk of the pedalboard. Now there’s more room for other unnecessary boxes (gulp)! One noteworthy ding for this pedal is how difficult it is to see the script on the top of the pedal. The words are printed right underneath the knobs, so if it’s kinda dark (which it usually is) and the lights are all in front of you (which they usually are) the words are impossible to see. Overall it’s a nice fuzz especially for the price. It’s noisy, but once the music gets rolling you won’t even notice it.Brad

I like the sound of my guitar live…
The likes stop there… the vocal processor is extremely subpar for a unit costing this much.
The looper, even with updated firmware, is way to short to use practically…I use my 75.00 dollar pedal with 3 hrs of loop time. The volume on mine does wonky things, starts out pretty good…then jumps loud…tried it in recording situation….good god no….sounds like a diesel truck… worth about 1/4 the cost….scott monthony

It has been really fun to try the different presets. The harmonies are very nice and clean. To my ear they sound great. I haven't played a gig with it yet….so we will see. There are some basic things that I wish i had known about the interface. Some fundamental orientation videos would be good. I had the most basic problem with not understanding that the buttons were so sensitive. It is almost comical! I would PRESS the button and nothing would happen! But i finally discovered just to TAP the button and everything worked fine. Seriously. Holding the button firmly down did nothing. Just tapping it though… .and it worked as it should. 🙂 Really weird to me! But overall, I think the guitar effects and voice are very good. i'll enjoy this thing I am sure.mhs9417

I went back and forth between a few different models of reverb. Generally I use reverb only a few ways: (1) A small touch of hall reverb just to wet the sound a small bit, (2) a room reverb sound for a little tight punch, and occasionally (3) a deep spring sound to do a little bit of surf guitar. I decided I'd buy three at once and just keep the one I liked the best. I bought this one, a Holy Grail Plus, and a Verbzilla. Also tried the Boss/Fender in-shop which was okay, but overpriced and not versatile enough for me. As far as sound, at least for my purposes, I thought the EHX won by a landslide. It's very smooth and natural sounding in the Hall and Room modes, and has an extremely credible Spring mode. The flerb effect I don't like and I don't see myself using that ever, but it's solid in the three modes I need. I was a little concerned about the bypass and the "it colors your sound" some people complained about, but I think it sounds great. Very simple operation and controls also – it's reverb, after all. [It's in the effects loop by the way, as the rest were when I tested.] The Verbzilla is a tallish pedal that is just okay; it was on a closeout sale and very inexpensive compared to the other two, about half its normal price. It's somewhat artificial sounding. It does have a couple neat modes that would interest people but I'd consider it an intermediate-grade pedal. And I certainly wouldn't suggest buying it at it's regular price or even close. Finally there's this HOF which I'd heard so much about. In short, it does a lot, but nothing particularly well. It feels light but built okay, though the switch feels a little flimsy, and the dial to choose settings could use a hard click or something so you can feel the change better. Those are minor things. It doesn't have the same heavy, solid feel that a Boss does. The sound though is very hokey and not especially clean. Forget the stock spring sound, it's horribly fake. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't, but you certainly won't mistake this for a classic spring tank. The other sounds are so-so and all of the dialing in didn't help at all. The TonePrint bank is a good idea I think, and there was a spring sound I downloaded that was an improvement. Nothing special though. A couple years ago I had an X3 Live multi-effects unit for a few months. It didn't work out, but I thought the reverbs in that were at least as good as what I can get out of this pedal. Anyway, this pedal – definitely versatile and doesn't cost that much. And it's far from the worst pedal I've ever used. It's just the Jack of all Trades. Not even the Jack, maybe just a 9 of all trades with a 5 for the spring sound. I could work with it if it's all I had but that's about all I can say for it. Gear: I went into both a JetCity 20w combo & a Bugera V22 combo. Range of guitars including a Warmoth Strat w/ TS pickups, Schecter w/ EMGs, Ibanez 450m with Air Norton/Tone Zone, LP with '59s, and an Ash Tele Deluxe with some kind of Seymours I don't remember. Both amps tube w/ distortion I played with a bit, plus a Boss BD and Joyo Vintage OD. ISP Decimator in front and a few other pedals I didn't turn on when testing. I would definitely hop in the car and try before you buy.Jay 8188

The Hall of Fame has everything you could ask for a reverb and more! It features world famous reverb types, such as Hall, plate, church, spring, wich are pretty accurate in my opinion. It also features a really awesome reverb called "mod" which consists in a reverb with a triple chorus modulation. The best from this pedal is the Tone Print feature, that allows you to beam presets designed from famous guitarrists, or build your own presets using the PC app, you can create reverbs using modulation from other TC electronic effects, such as Corona Chorus, Tremolo, and many other. Overall, the sound of this pedal is rich and clear, and its true bypass! or you could set it up to be buffered bypass with a DIP switch, its also stereo.santiagobs15

This is an extremely versatile reverb pedal. Plenty of premade effects to choose from, but if none of them are exactly to your liking there are a bunch more you can download from the internet and upload into the pedal via the Tone Print feature and a smartphone. And if none of those give you what you want, you can download the effect editor for PCs from their website and upload your changes into the pedal via USB. Quite a variety of parameters to fiddle with, and some parameters are assignable to the control knobs. The unit is very solid feeling. Bottom cover opens with a large screw, so have a penny or dime with you when you're going to need to change the battery. Footswitch action was a nice touch. It is true bypass, but there's no loud switch click; there is a click, but it's very quiet and comes from inside the pedal.southcityjoe

It arrived a few days ago from MF. I want to highlight what I like about it without repeating the contents of its manual. Bottom line, for my usage replacing a Fender black panel Deluxe, a spring reverb, and a Tube Screamer, it is excellent. I am using the Vibro King amp model for most of my tweaking, but I also set up the Twin Reverb (super clean), Super Reverb, and Marshall JCM800 (crunch even with the guitar volume relatively low). The Twin model would not distort without a boost included in the "scene" even with my guitar and the model volumes at 10. That was the one anomaly from my expectations. I like the Vibro King model, amplified by my QSC CP8 (on the floor, on its side, backside EQ set to floor monitor), and do not prefer my now sold Tone Master Deluxe. The first thing I did was download the 2022-10-31 Firmware update and install it. Instructions to put the pedal in "DFU" mode to accept the update were missing. A YouTube video found via Google explained to hold both foot switches while powering up. Next, I installed the main NuX App for my Mac. I disabled the third "scene" such that the "scene foot switch" becomes a "scene" toggle (one cleaner, one with the Tube Screamer engaged, both with spring reverb). I then went through the amp models I planned to use (two "scenes" each, which must be done individually) and set all the controls to 12 o'clock. I tweaked the amp, spring reverb, and Tube Screamer to taste. I now have three ways to boost for an overdriven solo starting with the Vibro King as my clean base: turn up the guitar, foot switch to the Tube Screamer "scene", or foot switch to the JCM800 amp model. I explain all this detail because it took about an hour and without this work the pedal is disappointing. The software was almost easy enough to use without the nonexistent manuals (to do it again it would take much less time). Once done, everything can be adjusted via the knobs and optionally saved with the left foot switch. No menus to navigate at a gig. You can see in the pictures that it is quite small (Tube Screamer for reference), weighs exactly 1 lb. (less than that Tube Screamer), and draws only 3 watts. Leaving it run over night only gets it to room temperature. My old HX Stomp would have been hot to the touch and required a 20-watt power supply. Is it a Universal Audio quality Twin Reverb, Super Reverb, JCM800, or Vibro King modeler? Impossible for me to know. But for what I want, a classic black panel 60s Fender amp tone, spring reverb, and foot switchable Tube Screamer, it is a complete solution in a small package. No aspect of IO is missing (XLR, USB-C, ¼", 3.5mm, MIDI over USB). It also has an effects loop, graphic EQ, all the usual reverb types, 1024 IR loader, a selection of boost/overdrive/compression pedal models, and a noise gate which I've not tried. If one of the amp models is acceptably flat response you could use its 1024 IR loader, reverb collection, and compressor collection for your acoustic guitar too. Wow! What's missing? For my usage a master volume not associated or saved with an amp model "scene" would be nice. It does make a click when switching amp models or "scenes". Sometimes when switching amp models there is a noticeable delay.Jon