Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • Tiny Dancer
  • Browser DAWs
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Restring your guitar
  1. Guitars
  2. Guitar Pedals

The best guitar effects pedals of all time

News
By The MusicRadar Team
Published 17 February 2012

You'll never get bored with these on your board

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The best guitar effects pedals of all time

The best guitar effects pedals of all time

What is the best effects pedal of all time? Issue 336 of Guitarist magazine was a bumper celebration of all things stompbox, with the team compiling a list of the best guitar effects pedals ever produced.

Whether for innovation, influence, sound, sheer popularity, or all of the above, each and every unit that made the cut is a tone-shaping tool worthy of a place on a pro pedalboard.

Click onwards to read about - and in many cases hear - the greatest guitar effects known to man or woman, split neatly into three categories: drive pedals, delay/echo units and modulation and filters.

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
The 42 best overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals of all time

The 42 best overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals of all time

Dirtbox lovers and FX addicts of the world unite!

See the 42 best overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals of all time here.

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
The 17 best delay pedals and echo units of all time

The 17 best delay pedals and echo units of all time

From analogue and digital stompboxes to tape echoes.

See the 17 best delay pedals and echo units of all time here.

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
The 33 best modulation and filter pedals of all time

The 33 best modulation and filter pedals of all time

Flangers, chorus stompboxes, tremolos, wah-wahs and more!

See the 33 best modulation and filter pedals of all time here.

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
The MusicRadar Team
The MusicRadar Team
Social Links Navigation

MusicRadar is the internet's most popular website for music-makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, DJs or producers.

GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.

TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.

STARS: We talk to artists and musicians about their creative processes, digging deep into the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music-making that no other music website can.

Read more
Neural DSP Quad Cortex
Guitar Pedals Best multi-effects pedals 2026: Our pick of the best all-in-one guitar FX modellers
 
 
A worn, dirty pedalboard with a variety of different guitar pedals
Pedalboards Best pedalboards 2026: top choice 'boards for guitarists
 
 
Three new additions to the $99 JHS Pedals range: Glitch Delay, Bit Crusher and Ring Modulator – all compact stompboxes with white enclosures and three knobs
Guitars Meet the $99 stompbox that’ll crush your bits – JHS expands its affordable 3 Series with three exotic effects for your pedalboard
 
 
Crazy Tube Circuits Triptychon
Guitars Crazy Tube Circuits’ Triptychon might just be the only pedal you need for classic rock
 
 
Meris Ottobit X
Guitars Meris unveils the Ottobit X, a high-end purveyor of lo-fi guitar sounds inspired by the ‘80s
 
 
Strymon TimeLine MX
Guitars Strymon supercharges its flagship delay – meet the TimeLine MX
 
 
Latest in Guitar Pedals
Warm Audio x Dirty Boy Junior Series
Guitars Dirty Boy teams up with Warm Audio for affordable versions of its boutique stompbox classics
 
 
Electro-Harmonix Dual Op-Amp Big Muff Pi 2 Deluxe
Guitars “The final boss of the lost Dual Op-Amp circuit”: Electro-Harmonix unveils Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2
 
 
Strymon TimeLine MX
Guitars Strymon supercharges its flagship delay – meet the TimeLine MX
 
 
Walrus Audio Lüm Texture Engine
Guitars Walrus Audio’s Lüm is a feature-packed “Texture Machine” for when your guitar tone feels predictable
 
 
Electro-Harmonix Dual Op-Amp Big Muff Pi 2
Guitar Pedals Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi 2 Dual Op-Amp Fuzz review
 
 
A Blackstar ID:X Floor Three multi-effects pedal and amp modeller on a worn, wooden floor
Guitar Pedals “An effortlessly usable unit that delivers dynamically playable sounds”: Blackstar ID:X Floor Three review
 
 
Latest in News
Sophie Lloyd shreds on her signature Kiesel
Artists Sophie Lloyd pays tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with a shred cover of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid
 
 
Razorlight perform at STEREO Covent Garden to celebrate 20 years.COPYRIGHT 2026PhotographicGenius.com
Artists Razorlight’s biggest song was originally intended for another artist, says Johnny Borrell
 
 
Moog Minimoog Model D 2022
Samples SampleRadar: 493 free Moog synth samples
 
 
charli xcx
Artists How Charli XCX's producers ran a jam session through an AI sampling plugin to make No One Lasts Forever
 
 
Jay Weinberg and Bruce Springsteen
Artists Jay Weinberg on the Bruce Springsteen test that left him “deathly afraid” when sitting in with the E Street Band
 
 
Ray Davies (left) and his brother Dave Davies, of The Kinks, at a soundcheck before a session for the BBC at the Playhouse Theatre, London, 7th September 1964.
Guitarists “I don’t know, but never say never": Dave Davies isn't ruling out a Kinks reunion
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...