Guitar Pedal Companies

About:

This list is (mostly) limited to guitar pedal companies that have home pages and some retail sales. So, since I can't find a true homepage for Crowther (Hot Cake), so I didn't list it. I made no attempt to search every company on the fantastic Harmony Central guitar pedal page.

Legend:

hi-fi: quality, but also lots of knobs. stuff i'd never build.

outside the box: strange oscillations, bit reduction, etc.

color coded squares: often on the boss naming convention (ds-1, ph-2 etc)

clones: sometimes you just want a great clone.

the bomb: pure opinion on my part.

amp maker: amp companies tend to make good pedals.

nationwide retail: often the easiest to find.

Core: generally fuzz/distortion/overdrive, clean boost, compression. Possibly trem or eq.

TS: Tube Screamer clones and spin-offs.

The Companies:

hi-fi 4ms Pedals: Tremulus lune is the one I hear most about. Nutty.

Addrock: A few core effects, germanium fuzz sounds nice.

Akai: Makes keyboards, and the delay "Headrush"

AMT Electronics: Russian. Lots of sample sounds

reproduces classics Analog Man: Strange site. Cool store by the same guy.

Aphex: A line of "Xciter" pedals.

Armamat: A few core effects.

Artec Sound: S. Korean. "Besides it is designed to be able to add the Resonance"

Asonix: 2 overdrives and a switcher. Nite-Owl was well reviewed.

Austone Electronics: A few core effects.

reproduces classics Baja Tech: Part store, part brand. Mostly clones.

Banzai: A store and a brand. A couple switching peds.

Barber Electronics: Core effects boutique.

Barge Concepts: A few routing pedals and core effects.

color coded squares Behringer: Hey, these look familiar.

reproduces classics BBE: Known for sonic maximizer, stomps keep getting better..

Big John Effects: Belgian

Bixonic: Makes the circular Expandadora

Black Cat: Back in production with 4 fuzz/overdrive types

outside the box Blackout: Interesting, knobby pedals. Does custom work too.

Blackstar: Tubes inside like Damage Control

Blackstone Appliances: Changes the whole word "appliance". A great sounding little pedal for the Klon vs Hotcake debate

hi-fi Boomerang: Looks interesting, despite all the comic sans.

hi-fi in US retail stores Boss: (+Japan): Japanese site is better for some reason.

BSM: German. 17 pedals, all in the smaller-Hammond-size boxes

outside the box the bomb BugBrand: Makes bugcrusher sample rate reducer.

Budda: Makes amps too.

Burriss Amps: Mainly amps, but a nice looking boost pedal.

Carl Martin : Denmark, well respected.

Cat's Eye ESP: A handful of fuzz boxes.

Catalinbread: Core effects. Great graphics.

color coded squares Cherub: Uses Boss's pedal names. Chinese, I think.

reproduces classics Chicago Iron: Tycobrahe clones, including the Parachute.

Chunk Systems: Australia. Focused on bass pedals.

outside the box the bomb Copilot Fx: Makes weird, incredibly cool pedals.

Creation Audio Labs: The clean boost is actually clean.

Cusack Music: A tap tempo phaser

hi-fi Damage Control: Pedals with tubes. Wild looking.

in US retail stores Danelectro: Known for the cheap plastic line.

amp companies make good pedals Demeter: California. Almost all drives and fuzz.

Death by Audio: Mostly core effects, with a few twists.

Deltalab: Multi-effects (like zoon) and small (like MXR) standards.

outside the box Devi Ever: Way over the top distortions. Fun.

Diamond: Nice. Check the Memory Lane delay. Slow site.

Diaz Amplifiers: 3 pedals as well as the amps.

in US retail stores DigiTech: Like DOD, owned by Harman International. Some fantastic pedals, but the terrible website makes you wonder if they're still in business. (They are.)

Dirty Boy: Owned by guitarist Blues Saraceno.

DLS Effects: Fairly hi fi stuff. Chorus sounds really nice.

in US retail stores DOD: Like Digitech, owned by Harman Int'l. Amazingly, the site is worse."DOD is love?"

Dr Scientist: Canada

in US retail stores Dunlop/MXR: Maker of MXR pedals - quality varies.

Durham Electronics: A few core effects

outside the box Dwarfcraft: Wisconsin. Not subtle, similar to Devi Ever.

outside the box Earthquaker: Ohio. Some core fx plus wilder stuff like an update of the Vox Repeat Percussion.

EBS Sweden: May be all bass pedals.

Eden Analog: A few core effects a very nice chorus pedal.

outside the box Effector 13: see Devi Ever.

Effectrode: Phaseomatic Deluxe Looks interesting.

in US retail stores hi-fi Electro Harmonix: Easily my favorite large company. Small Clone!

EMMA: Denmark. Nice effort, but the graphics have got to go.

hi-fi Empress Effects: Interesting extras on a trem, delay, and eq

outside the box the bomb Exp. Anonymous: Mainly short runs & custom work, but too cool to leave out.

Euthymia: Some fuzzes.

hi-fi Eventide: Hi fi delay and mod pedals, website could do more.

amp companies make good pedals Fender: They don't seem to want to sell these. Look in "Accessories".

First Act: Strange. Pedals are here.

the bomb Foxrox: Very musical. Designer is quite a good player, has clips at YouTube.

Foxx: Makes the popular "Tone Machine".

hi-fi Fractal Audio: The rack-mount "Axe-FX". Sister company to Atomic.

Framptone: Guitarist Peter Frampton's small, basic line.

Frantone: An old EH employee, makes the Peachfuzz, and Glacier ring mod too.

Frostwave: Australia. A theremin, a ring mod, interesting...

amp companies make good pedals Fuchs: New Jersey. Full range of pedals. Not sure on the pronunciation.

amp companies make good pedals Fulton-Webb Amps: Fulton owns the only (IMHO) guitar store in Austin TX.

Fulltone: The big little guy, a host of boost/drive/fuzz and more.

outside the box FuzzHugger: A maker and store.

FX Doctor: Pedal mods and new pedals, including a Nintendo controller "spoof".

G2D: New Zealand.

George Dennis: A variety of rocker (wah style) pedals.

hi-fi Gig-Fx: Next generation rocker pedals.

amp companies make good pedals Greer Amplification: Georgia. Great looking amps, a host of boosts and drive pedals.

Greedtone: Seattle. One $300 distortion pedal (used by PJ's Mike McCready). Since '92.

Guyatone: Makes those very small pedals, including the super-accurate MD-3 delay.

reproduces classics Hartman: Fuzzes and a compressor.

HBE: Core effects, a phase, a chorus. Needs better samples.

amp companies make good pedals Hermida Audio: "Home of the Mosferatu" will always be "of the Zen drive" to me.

amp companies make good pedals HiWatt: Really famous for their amps.

amp companies make good pedals Hughes & Kettner: Famous for their amps.

in US retail stores Ibanez: Still makes a Tube Screamer w/ mixed reviews.

ISP Technologies: With names like "Fetish Distortion" and "Totally Blues"... um...

J. Everman: Overdrive and core type pedals.

reproduces classics Jacques: French. A double TS.

Joe Meek: Of rackmount fx fame. Hi-fi compressor

color coded squares Johnson: Green overdrive, purple flanger, buy 'em at Target.

Kaden Effects: 4 core-type pedals

Keeler Designs: One boost pedal at the moment.

Keeley: Legendary mods of other pedals.

Klon: Makes the legendary Centaur

in US retail stores KORG: Keyboard makers. Guitar line is "Toneworks".

Krank Amps: Appears metal oriented.

Landmine: 2 round pedals.

outside the box Last Gasp LAL: Very cool looking stuff. Has sound samples.

Lee Jackson: A handful of stompboxes.

hi-fi Lehle: Next gen switching pedals. (LEE-lah)

in US retail stores Line6: (+Demos:)Makes the POD multi-effects.

Loooper: (w/ 3 "o's") Wide variety of looping and A/B boxes.

Lovekraft: A few core effects.

Lovepedal:Interesting overdrive oriented pedals.

hi-fi the bomb Lovetone: Fairly expensive, probably worth it. Out of business?

Mad Professor: Finland. Has a TS and an analog delay.

Malekko: Looks fun. Needs more sounds, has dead pages.

Maneco Looper : I don't know.

in US retail stores amp companies make good pedals Marshall: As with Vox, pretty good pedals for an amp co.

amp companies make good pedals Masotti: Yes, they're Italian. Mostly boosts and switching.

Maxon: Made Ibanez's Tube Screamer, now uses own name.

the bomb Menatone: Most famous for "Howie" - Dumble sim. Love 'em.

MI Audio: Core effects.

outside the box Mid-Fi Electronics: Bizarre bit-crushing, pitch shifting type effects.

reproduces classics MJM: Fuzz, octave, etc, a Univibe clone... YouTube

Modmax: Moog like. Very nice. Confusing website.

Modtone: A dozen or so small-box pedals.

Mojo Hand: Ge+Si fuzz, amp sims. Sounds at ToneFactor.

Moollon: Korean. Coolest looking pedals ever.

outside the box hi-fi Moog: Rhymes w/ vogue. Crazy pedals.

Morgan Hill: A rocker tuner/volume/pre-amp for acoustics.

Morley: Mostley rocker (wah-style) pedals.

NOC3 Effects: One pedal called the Pure Drive.

color coded squares Nobels Electronics: From Germany.

Okko: Germany. Great looking site. 3 pedals.

Option 5: Small boutique with interesting stuff.

PedalWorX: Nice core effects, old site needs work.

Penny Pedals: Connecticut. Hand made.

Pete Cornish: British. Worked with Queen. Pricey but nice.

reproduces classics Phoenix Custom: Mostly fuzz and boost type effects.

Pignose Amps: Just two as of January 2008.

hi-fi Pigtronix: Envelope phaser, unique stuff. Super slow site.

Plush: Very cool looking tube effects line by Fuchs.

reproduces classics Prescription Electronics: Quirky clones. Money order only?

Pro Analog: One pedal - the MK II

Pro Co/Rat: Makers of the ubiquitous Rat Distortion.

Real McCoy Custom: A few wahs and effects. Comic Sans.

Red Witch: Chorus, Fuzz, Phaser, Trem.

RedZone Effects: A looper, distortion, ABY. By Snarling Dogs designer

reproduces classics Retro-Sonic: A TS808, CE-1, DD-2, etc. Looks nice.

Retroman: More knobs on a few classics. Clips sound decent.

amp companies make good pedals Rivera: An amp maker with an interesting router.

RGW Electronics: Just the "Bad Bob" booster, I think.

Rockett Pedals: Hi-Fi boost, good guitarist in the demos.

color coded squares Rocktek: No real site at the moment.

RockTron: Better known for rackmount gear.

outside the box hi-fi Roger Linn: Wow. Moog-like hi-fi box called AdrenaLinn. Can't tell if it's overwhelmingly digital sounding, but I need it.

Roger Mayer: Worked w/ some Jimi character. Site needs work.

Rothwell: UK. Makes audiophile gear too.

RTZ Audio: Vibezilla is a Univibe evolution.

Seymour Duncan: "Not just pickups anymore"

SIB: Delay sounds great. Can't hear anything else.

Skreddy: Nauseating site. Pedals sound good though.

Smrckaeffects: Pedalboardy? Efekty? Russian is easy. Not in English (June 2008)

outside the box Source Audio: Has pedal line affected by the motion of your hand.

outside the box the bomb Squarewave Parade: Not a full production co., but too cool to leave out.

Subdecay: A few fuzz types and a phaser. Fairly well regarded.

reproduces classics Sweet Sound: Uni-vibe type pedals, as wells as a few fuzz boxes.

T. Miranda: Brazil. The whole range of effects.

hi-fi TC Electronic: Rackmount & software too, check out the Nova line.

T-Rex: Denmark. Nice. Lots of hype for the Replica.

Tech 21: It's SansAmp pedal is better known than the company.

hi-fi ToadWorks: Sounds a bit digital to me. Could be the samples.

Tone Freak: "Classics with a twist".

hi-fi ToneBone / Radial: Great design for a sample page if you can find it. Mostly wanky shredding sound clips though.

ToneCandy:California. Core effects and a reverb.

Urso Music: One effect - the Splinter.

Visual Sound: Makes the 1-Spot power supply. Sound samples from single coil and humbucker (everyone should do this). Employs the legendary R. G. Keen.

in US retail stores amp companies make good pedals Vox: As with Marshall, pretty good pedals for an amp co.

Way Huge:Jorge Tripps' creations are back in production via Dunlop. Lore rivaled only by Klon, Timmy, etc...

Wolftone: Confusing website shared with Modmax.

X-Otic: Boosters and core effects.

outside the box Zcat: Latvia? Sequenced step filter.

Zoom: A division of Samson, a staple of Ebay.

the bomb Zvex: Highly recommended, an iconic "boutique" maker.

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