Making your own guitar pedals can be an enjoyable way to experiment with sounds. These devices can provide everything from subtle delays to full distortion effects.
Pedals are manufactured using printed circuit boards (PCBs). This thin piece of material contains all of the circuitry that makes up each pedal’s inner workings and ensures proper functionality.
Keeley Electronics
Keeley Electronics is one of the world’s top guitar pedal manufacturers, known for their high-quality effects that sound fantastic and use low tolerance components in their products.
Edmond, Oklahoma-based pedal company Tonecraft started out as an indie business, but have quickly grown to be one of the top sellers of guitar pedals worldwide. Their offerings include compressors and wahs. Many famous guitarists use their effects; and Tonecraft pedals are widely recognized for producing some of the highest-sounding pedals on the market.
Popular pedals from this company include compression units, reverbs and delays. Furthermore, an octave fuzz pedal from them has received much acclaim among guitarists as it creates violin-like sustain and raspy biting octave tones – two features many guitarists appreciate greatly.
One of their popular pedals is a limiting amp, featuring basic controls for compression, gain and threshold as well as an LED for overall effect indication.
As opposed to some compressors, this one does not feature controls for attack and release times; this does not pose an obstacle for most players.
This pedal offers more value for the price than you might realize, making the Keeley Compressor Plus an exceptional investment for guitarists of any style and genre. Replicating many popular vintage stompbox compressor tones while providing users with useful new features to easily dial in their preferred settings without getting overly fussy, it makes this piece of equipment appreciated by players of all stripes.
Walrus Audio
Walrus Audio is a boutique guitar pedal company founded in 2011 that has been creating effects pedals. Their offerings span distortion, fuzz and reverb effects. Their products are affordable yet made right here in America.
Fundamental Series pedals from Fender provide all of the essential functions required for an ideal pedalboard setup. Each effect features three control sliders and a mode switch, making them simple and intuitive to use.
Each effect features a true bypass switching design for added peace of mind when dealing with amps or external components that might leak signals, and features budget-friendly pedals with retro designs that make them stand out among their counterparts.
Walrus Audio offers more than just pedals; they also carry other guitar pedal parts such as battery clip adapters for charging them from a 9V battery source.
Footswitches with 4PDT terminals are also available from them, which can be used to switch your effects pedal. This option is especially beneficial if it uses “true bypass” switching design as it gives extra features and switching options to choose from.
Walrus Audio pedal hardware includes an exceptional Power Supply with its 9V battery and its output regulated to produce maximum sound quality.
The power supply features 8 outputs and features a custom wound toroidal transformer. It offers superior noise filtering and cleanest power, providing optimal signal quality. Compatible with various guitars and effects pedals, this power supply makes a fantastic addition for guitarists looking to elevate their sound.
Chase Bliss Audio
Chase Bliss Audio is an effects pedal manufacturer known for creating compact yet innovative pedals. Their signature models all utilize an open control platform featuring six knobs, four three-way switches and 16 dip switches on the back.
Chase Bliss offers one of the more unique pedals on the market with their Habit Echo Collector pedal. While technically classified as a delay-adjacent device due to its array of digital delay algorithms, its true genius lies in being customizable enough for anyone’s unique sounds to come through.
It’s an impressive and complex little box capable of producing an array of effects ranging from short slapback echo to Frippertronics-esque slowly degrading loops. Additionally, this device comes equipped with tap tempo capabilities and can also accommodate different recording timings during sessions – perfect for musicians wanting to experiment.
The Chase Bliss Habit stands out with its 16 dip switches. You can use these switches to change modulation levels, reset clock sequences and more. Furthermore, you can enable Dry Kill mode so there won’t be any unwanted tones when not in use.
Your effects pedals can also be used to toggle reverb on and off live, which is very helpful as it saves you from pressing buttons to trigger MIDI signals. Keep in mind, however, that changing reverb types results in some slight loss in sound quality.
Chase Bliss Audio of Minnesota specialises in crafting high-end electronic audio processors. Their pedals can be found used for guitar, synthesizer and recording studio use alike; known for their innovative designs that include knurled metal knobs with LEDs embedded into tiny metal calderas – something that may also attract customers to these processors.
ZVEX Effects
ZVEX Effects, an effects pedal company from Minneapolis, has quickly become a favorite among DIY builders. Their high-quality hardware is sure to delight, while their array of eye-catching graphic designs is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face!
They’re best-known for their 2-in-1 effects that combine components from multiple devices into a single housing, but they also make some excellent boosters, including the ZVEX Vexter Super Hard-On boost that offers transparent yet punchy boost that opens up your sound.
The Double Rock Vexter Distortion from ZVEX combines two switchable boost circuits into one loud and punchy boost pedal that can add an extra edge to your guitar solos.
Fuzz Factory pedal is another favorite among DIY musicians, offering tonal expansion and experimentation through different sounds. Guitarists who want to experiment can use it to expand their tonal ranges.
It’s simple and user-friendly, with an helpful manual guiding you through its basic operation. Unfortunately, its control section is less intuitive; to maximize its use you must experiment to figure out what will work best with your set-up and experiment until finding what suits your preferences best.
Lo Fi Loop Junky is a small pedal designed to help guitarists quickly create looped guitar tones without any complications or difficulties. It is very straightforward and will help create truly distinctive sounds without hassles or headaches.
This pedal, designed by Zachary Vex and produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota comes with a lifetime warranty and comes handcrafted and painted by their hand-painters.
Friedman Amplification
Friedman Amplification was established by legendary guitarist Dave Friedman in 1995, and is now a premier manufacturer of tube amplifiers used by many top musicians worldwide. Each Friedman amplifier is hand-built in America to Dave’s exacting standards so you know you are receiving top-of-the-line amplifier with unique tones unavailable anywhere else.
Friedman Guitars have long been beloved among guitarists worldwide for their ability to produce big, classic rock tones at any volume level – something indispensable for hard-working journeyman guitarists and weekend warriors. Additionally, Friedman boasts some of the finest master volume circuits, enabling their guitars to sound equally great at small venues as they do large arenas.
Your guitar is at the core of your music, so making sure that its amplifier complements your musical preferences is of vital importance.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a selection of some of the finest Friedman amplifiers currently available on the market. From bass amps and screamers to practice-friendly heads and pedals featuring Buxom Betty sound-effects – there is sure to be something here that meets all of your musical needs!
Friedman offers another powerful amplifier: the Pink Taco is a small, lightweight version of their BE-100 that features all of the same gain and master controls found on its larger sibling amplification system, but has only 20-watt combo and head configurations respectively.
The Pink Taco pedal is an ideal solution for musicians seeking a versatile pedal suitable for use with any genre of music, while being easily transportable. Perfect for musicians on the road!