My stompboxes are the lifeblood of my tone - here are the 5 effects I'm choosing in the massive Sweetwater Memorial Day sale

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With pedals from JHS, EarthQuaker Devices, Line 6, Catalinbread, Red Panda, and more all seeing significant discounts, Sweetwater is the place to shop for guitarists this Memorial Day

Three guitar pedals on a blue gradient background
(Image credit: Revv/Line 6/Ross Pedals)

There are few words more likely to catch my attention than ‘pedal sale’, so I was immediately drawn to Sweetwater’s Memorial Day Pedal sale when it dropped this morning. Offering us pedal junkies savings of up to 40% on huge brands like JHS, EarthQuaker Devices, Line 6, and loads more, it's one of the best Memorial Day sales for musicians and it didn’t take me much convincing to start picking pedals out for my ‘board.

Having owned and reviewed countless stompboxes over the years, I recently sold a second unused pedalboard that had been gathering dust in my home studio. Of course, the only reason I sold them was to buy more pedals! For me, there’s no better feeling than building a new pedalboard or just adding something fresh to my main gigging ‘board, so here are the 5 pedals that I’m looking at. 

Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra: $179.99, $143.99

Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra: $179.99, $143.99
Designed to replicate the sound of Tony Iommi’s Rangemaster into a cranked Laney Supergroup, the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra is a must-have for anyone who wants that Black Sabbath tone or stoner rock sounds in general. It’s got a $36 discount in the Memorial Day sale at Sweetwater taking it below $150 and for our money, it’s one of the best pedals for classic metal tones you can buy.

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Revv G3: Was $229, now $183.20

Revv G3: Was $229, now $183.20
A brilliant pedal for super tight metal sounds, the Revv G3 gives you that modern 6505-type tone in a small purple box. Perfect for modern metal, it cuts through the mix even with bags of gain applied, and it’s super easy to dial in a great tone. The $45.80 discount in the Sweetwater sale makes it a tempting offer to turn your regular amp into a proper fire-breathing metal monster.

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Ross Phaser: Was $189, now $151.20

Ross Phaser: Was $189, now $151.20
Yes, it’s an orange phaser pedal but the Ross Phaser is no Phase 90 clone. It does traditional phase sounds of course, but there’s a mode switch that changes it to a more Uni-Vibe-inspired sound. The two controls keep things simple, but you can unlock a wide range of sounds with some tweaking. With a tasty $37.80 discount at Sweetwater, it’s a great pick for a new phaser pedal at just above the $150 mark. If you want to learn more about this and the others in the lineup, check out our full Ross Pedals review. 

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JHS Pulp 'N' Peel V4: Was $229, now $183.20

JHS Pulp 'N' Peel V4: Was $229, now $183.20
A great compressor is a must-have on any pedalboard, and the JHS Pulp ‘N’ Peel is one of my favorites. The blend knob makes it great for subtle, always-on style compression and there’s plenty of flexibility to use it as a boost or to really squash the peaks of your guitar tone down. A $45.80 discount in the Memorial Day sale at Sweetwater takes it down to just $183.20, and the useful EQ gives you a brighter or darker tone. It’s also got a handy dirt switch, which makes it act like a straight-up overdrive pedal. 

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Line 6 HX One: Was $299.99, now $249.99

Line 6 HX One: Was $299.99, now $249.99
A chameleonic pedal that can be whatever you want it to be, the Line 6 HX One offers the full selection of HX Effects, allowing you to use anything from overdrive and distortion to reverb and delay. If you’re playing in different bands or you chop and change your effects a lot, having one of these on your ‘board can be super useful, allowing you to change effects per set or even per song and get more out of your effects without carrying around pedals you only you use for one song. Despite being brand new, it’s already gotten a nice $50 discount in the Sweetwater sale, and if you want to know more before buying have a look at our Line 6 HX One review. 

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Matt McCracken
Matt McCracken
Junior Deals Writer

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at MusicRadar. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on audio interfaces, studio headphones, studio monitors, and pretty much anything else home recording-related. Responsible for over 60 buying guides, a large part of his role is helping musicians find the best deals on gear. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including Guitar World, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog. 

A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and producing bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the country in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at. When he's not holed up in his home studio recording new songs or downloading new plugins, you’ll find him making a racket with Northern noise hounds JACKALS.