Greatest Pedals of the Century
In this article, we’re going to attempt to choose the greatest pedals of the last twenty years -- the last millennium, if you want to be a little dramatic-- from the year 2000 through 2020.
To choose the greatest pedals of this century is no small task, and it’s one that I don’t trust my opinions or observations to complete--at least, not alone. For that reason, I’ve appointed my own delegates from the pedal world: Jamie Stillman of EarthQuaker Devices, Matthew Farrow of Disaster Area Designs & Alexander Pedals, and Brian Wampler of Wampler Pedals. Just think of them as the Three Most Important People in the World from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Along with me, these three builders will cast our votes on our favorite pedals, so by the end of this article I should have a definitive answer: what are the greatest pedals of the last century?
We’re going to use several categories: overdrive/distortion, fuzz, compression, modulation, time (which includes delay or reverb), and weird/other.
Let’s start with my good friend Jamie Stillman. Here’s what he had to say.
Jamie Stillman / EarthQuaker Devices
Hi, this is Jamie from EarthQuaker devices, and I'm going to run down my top six pedals within the last twenty years.
For distortion/overdrive, I’ll go with the Timmy Overdrive [by Paul Cochrane]. It's a pedal that lived up to its hype, and then some. It really blends into an amp perfectly as just a little bit of grit or a consented over-the-edge [effect].
For fuzz, I'll go with the Sola Sound D.A.M. Tonebender MKII. I realize it’s [technically] a clone of an old pedal, but it's a perfect clone of an old pedal.
For time-based effects. I'll go with the Strymon El Capistan. It’s a great tape delay emulator. I love the way it repeats; it’s saturated just dirty enough and sits in a mix great. It's also the pedal that changed my mind on tap tempo. It may sound crazy, but I used to think delays didn't need tap tempo.
For modulation, I'll go with the Death By Audio Robot, which I think a lot of people think of as fuzz, but I really like the robot voice setting. It's an excellent looking pedal and a great use of the robot voice chip.
I don't usually use compressors, but if I do, I tend to reach for the Keeley C2 2-Knob Compressor. Even if you're not using it as a compressor, I think it adds just a little something special to the signal, like a little sparkle.
And for my last pedal under the weird/other category, I'll go with the Subdecay M3 Oscillator Mono Synth. It is amazing, and it does pretty much everything that I could want out of a guitar synthesizer. I wish I’d made [this pedal].
All right, this is Josh. Jamie's got some solid picks. Let's go through them. Unfortunately, I don’t have the Subdecay M3 or the Sola Sound D.A.M. Tone Bender MKII in my pedal collection to test it out personally, so I’ll have to defer to Jamie on this. If he says that these two pedals are fantastic, I believe him.
The Keeley Compressor first dropped in 2001, so it’s early boutique and a very important pedal. The Timmy Overdrive is another pedal from the early 2000s, closer to 2004, and it pretty much started the transparent overdrive craze. Paul Cochrane is an amazing dude.
The Death By Audio Robot was an inspired choice for modulation. My friend Oliver overnighted this pedal to me. I plugged it in, put it on Arpeggiator mode and it's crazy. I love it. Now, the El Capistan is possibly my favorite tape delay pedal. I get torn between two or three others, but this is awesome, so I 100% support Jamie’s choice on this one.
Next up, let’s hear from Matthew Farrow.
Matthew Farrow / Alexander Pedals & Disaster Area Designs
Hey, this Matthew Farrow from Alexander Pedals and Disaster Area Designs, sharing the best pedals of the last 20 years.
First up, for an [overdrive] pedal, I'm going to say the Source Audio Soundblox Multiwave Distortion. Multi-way distortion is really cool. It does a fullback distortion, which is something that's really hard to do with analog pedals.
Fuzz pedals are tough. I don't use a lot of fuzz, so I'm going to go with my other favorite [over]drive pedal, which is the WMD Geiger Counter Digital Destruction and WMD Geiger Counter Pro. These are digital pedals that have wavetable and digital distortion. They give you things that you can't get through a Tube Screamer or a cranked amp. There’s no “real” other way to get the same kinds of sounds that the Geiger Counter will give you.
For time-based pedals. I have to pick the BOSS TE-2 Tera Echo. It does some things that really aren't available anywhere else.
The greatest modulation pedal of all time is, without a doubt, the Digitech Space Station XP-300, but it doesn't fall under our time period. So I'll do a shameless plug here and say, my favorite modulation puddle of the last 20 years is the Alexander Pedals Marshmallow Pitch Shifter. It does a lot of the same kinds of things as the Space Station, as the BOSS PS-3, but in a fun and funky way. Now, it's not really a modulation pedal, per se. It's not a chorus or a tremolo or a flanger, but it can do a lot of those sounds plus a whole host of other crazy weird things by virtue of the pitch shifting and the clock control.
Compression is an easy one. My favorite compressor is the Diamond BCP-1 Bass Compressor. I've got two of the big ones and one of the junior versions. They're all incredibly useful. As a bass player, I really like it because it evens out the difference between pick style and fingerstyle playing.
My other/weird selection is really easy for me. It's the Panda Audio Future Impact Bass Synth. The Panda Audio Deep Impact is one of the greatest pedals of all time, and the Future Impact is the updated and improved version of that. I have one on my board [right now], and I’ll never take it off. Unless a better version comes out, I’ll never swap that out for anything.
Okay, Josh here again. I chose Matthew because I knew he would have a totally different perspective than Jamie, Brian or me because he's very digital. He does a lot of coding. He's a different style musician, a brilliant guy, and his pedal choices reflect that.
Let's start with the Source Audio Soundblox Multiwave Distortion. This is a first era Source Audio pedal in a funky little enclosure. Let me be clear: this pedal is bonkers. It has a ton of settings, but I favor setting number nine, which is foldback. It’s so aggressive, and yet so subtle and amazing. I really don't know how to describe it. This setting is nothing like what I would think about distortion, but then when I plug it in, I'm in love with it.
The BOSS TE-2 Tera Echo is really cool. I think it came out 2012, 2013, and it’s a BOSS delay that feels like no effect that you've never heard. It does echo, but it's doing all kinds of sweeping things as well. Now, I don't have the Diamond BCP-1 Bass Compressor, but I do have the Diamond CPR-1 Compressor. It’s time-tested, kid-approved, Mom-approved, just an amazing compressor. Go buy yourself either of these pedals and you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve actually used Matthew’s Marshmallow Pitch Shifter on several episodes, so I can vouch for this one personally. I really enjoy setting this up like a double chorus modulation pitch thing, but this pedal is truly wild. It has so many sounds, and I've barely touched the surface. The Panda Audio Future Impact Bass Synth also has incredible range. I'm going to use setting 91 straight out of the box, but you could probably play around with this pedal for another century and still come up with different ways to use it each time.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the WMD Geiger Counter Digital Destruction. I used to have one, but that’s another story for another day.
Brian Wampler / Wampler Pedals
Hey, guys, Brian Wampler here, giving you my favorite pedals for the past 20 years.
Greatest overdrive/distortion pedal is going to change from day to day, but right now at this very second, I’d say my favorite overdrive is the Analogman King of Tone overdrive. For whatever reason, I'm really into Bluesbreaker-type stuff this week. The Analogman King of Tone really is such a good circuit, and Mike did such great mods to that circuit to make it what it is.
I would say one of my favorites [fuzz pedals] that I've loved to use and I love talking about is the Pelican Noiseworks Pelitaur Fuzz. It's a great pedal. If you haven't seen it, it looks just like a Klon [Centaur], but it's really two different styles of fuzzes inside. It's a great sounding pedal. I always love the look that people give me when they think it's a Klon, then I kick it on.
For reverb/delay, [I’ve picked] two of them. When I first played the Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler years ago, it was like, “Oh wow, this is fantastic. This is amazing.” I loved it. I still like it. You’ve [also] got to give props to Strymon and Arion in an area like reverb and delay. They completely nailed it, just knocked it out of the park. The Strymon Timeline Delay is the [other] obvious choice there.
My opinion on modulations is probably going to be a little different than most people’s. One of the things I love is the different algorithms that Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer/Effect Processor came out with, that you could download or tweak all you wanted to. That's what I like to do. I like to take those algorithms and tweak them. Their use of the app is one of the reasons why I probably like that device the most for modulation-type stuff.
My favorite compressor over the past 20 years is the Keeley C2 2-Knob Compressor, which is what made me even think about the Ego compressor. I created the Wampler Ego because I loved the Keeley C2 Compressor so much. Huge respect for Robert [Keeley] in that area, for sure.
[My favorite] other/weird gear for the past 20 years? I would be even more of an idiot than I normally am if I didn't talk about the Korg Miku Stomp, (which I apparently mispronounced in a few different videos). That one is a lot of fun to make videos for and still a lot of fun to pull out and just kind of screw around [with] people.
Okay, this is Josh. I gotta say, Brian's choices are fabulous. He brings a really good perspective on pedals because he has so much knowledge. I love the sounds and the pedals that he chose, so let's go through them. Before we can do that, though, I have to point out a problem: like Brian, I really wanted to use the Line 6 DL4 as my choice for delay, but the DL4 was actually released in October of 1999. I know it's only two months, but rules are rules. The Line 6 DL4 is disqualified.
Fortunately, Brian gave us two choices for this category, so let's talk about the Strymon Timeline Delay. This came out in 2011, and the same way that the DL4 opened the door to digital DSP finally being accepted, valued and used as a serious tool in guitar, the Strymon Timeline basically crushed the door down. It's an amazing pedal. I enjoy using it on the ice setting, but you have a lot of options with this pedal, too.
Brian mentioned a pedal called the Pelican Noiseworks Pelitaur Fuzz. Let me tell you a story here. I bought this pedal the moment I got his memo. I ordered it overnight, and UPS lost it. Like, they literally lost it, like that extra sock that never makes it out the dryer. Is that a tragedy? Heck yes. Am I going to buy a third Pelitaur just to keep my pedal collection current? Not right away. Luckily, I still have the Pelican Noiseworks Half Horse Fuzz, which is pretty darn comparable and is a really great choice. I wish I had the other one, but you know, at least I have a pedal to play.
The Analogman King of Tone came out in 2003, and it’s the first boutique Bluesbreaker overdrive. I like to think that my Morning Glory overdrive followed in these footsteps. Like the Strymon Timeline, it opened a lot of doors for future builders. TLDR, this pedal is really important. I've also used the Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer/Effect Processor on several boards. I love that Brian mentioned that ability to get in here and build modulations. It’s one of the pedal’s best features.
For those keeping score at home, both Brian and Jamie listed the Keeley C2 2-Knob Compressor as their top compression pedal, which is kind of a big deal. And for the other/weird pedal, Brian chose the Korg Miku Stomp. In this week’s demo, I used the Miku on the “pahh” setting, but this thing is pretty much a treasure trove of different modes. You can have a lot of fun with it if you take the time.
Last but not least are my choices. Get comfortable, because this may take a minute.
Josh Scott / JHS Pedals
For my favorite delay, I'm going to go with the BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay, released in 2003. If you told me I had to pick one delay for the rest of my life, I’d pick this over everything else that exists, even fancy pedals like the Strymon Timeline. I have played so many gigs with my Giga Delay...so many sessions, and it's awesome. I'm going to force it on other people I know. I already bought one for a friend, so they’re going to have to use it. It's important to me. In this week’s demo, I used it on the twist setting. What I love about the Giga Delay is that it has this cool feature, like an Easter egg. It’s explicitly mentioned in the manual, but let’s be real: nobody reads the manual. If you press down on one section of the pedal and hold it, then it oscillates to a pitch and back. It's amazing.
For modulation, I chose the ZVex Instant Lo-fi Junky Vexter Chorus/Vibrato. This was designed by Joel of Chase Bliss, back when he worked for ZVex. I like to use this pedal for a wobbly, low-fi flanger-type setting.
I’m going to go with the majority here and also do the Keeley C2 2-Knob Compressor, with all the knobs set to noon. This is a quality piece of gear, so just leave it alone to work its magic.
I'm going to do my own shameless plug for my distortion/overdrive pick, simply because I love this pedal. I made it for me and I just have to choose it because I don't want to use any other overdrive. Naturally, I’m talking about the JHS Morning Glory Overdrive. This is another pedal that I just leave on for the whole session. I'm not ashamed that I love this pedal so much. I’m proud of it, and that’s a nice feeling.
For fuzz, I'm going with the Death By Audio Supersonic Fuzz Gun. Again, for those keeping score at home, that's two votes for death by audio. Oliver's killing it. In this week’s jam session, I set this up with the bias so it squelches back after a note has died. It's awesome.
For my weird/other pedal, I’m going with Brian and choosing the Korg Miku Stomp. It’s seriously one of the most plain fun pedals I’ve ever used; for example, for this week’s jam session, I literally just put it on the “random” setting and let whatever crazy noise it chose come out. It was super fun.
The Results
Okay, so tallying up the responses, there are only a few categories where I can declare a definite winner. That said, here are the results. The winners are--
Compression: Winner by three votes is the Keeley C2 2-Knob Compressor.
Weird/Other: Winner by two votes is the Korg Miku Stomp.
Time (Delay/Reverb): 4-way tie between the BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay, BOSS TE-2 Tera Echo, Strymon Timeline Delay and Strymon El Capistan. **It’s worth noting that Strymon and BOSS both have two different pedals in the top four in this category.
Overdrive/Distortion: 4-way tie between the Timmy Overdrive by Paul Cochrane, Source Audio Soundblox Multiwave Distortion, Analogman King of Tone and the JHS Morning Glory.
Fuzz: 4-way tie between the Sola Sound D.A.M. Tonebender MKII, WMD Geiger Counter Digital Destruction, Pelican Noiseworks Pelitaur Fuzz and Death By Audio Supersonic Fuzz Gun.
Modulation: 4-way tie between the Death By Audio Robot, ZVex Instant Lo-fi Junky Vexter Chorus/Vibrato, Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer/Effect Processor and Alexander Pedals Marshmallow Pitch Shifter.
I think we can call this experiment 120% successful. We’re going to reach out to viewers of the JHS Show in the coming weeks to ask for their input, so we’ll update this article as that new information comes in. In the meantime, rock on and prosper!