Guitar effects pedal companies and Reverb launch campaign to support Ukraine humanitarian relief effort
From now until 15 May, top pedal brands including Jam Pedals, Eventide, Gamechanger Audio and more take part in Reverb’s Turn Up For Ukraine fundraising campaign
The online gear retail giant Reverb and a host of top guitar effects pedals companies have launched a fundraising effort to support the humanitarian relief effort in Ukraine.
Reverb’s Turn Up For Ukraine campaign is online now until 15 May 2022, and lists a range of pedals from the likes of Gamechanger Audio, Eventide, Jam Pedals and a lot more, with proceeds going to a quartet of charities operating in Ukraine.
In many instances, 100 per cent of all monies taken will go to one or all of CARE International’s Ukraine Crisis Fund, OM (International Organization on Migration), Razom for Ukraine, and the WHO Foundation’s Ukraine Appeal.
New gear is being added daily, with some stock coming from limited edition runs. Chase Bliss Audio listed 10 of its slider-equipped, super-premium CXM 1978 reverb pedals over the weekend. All sold out, but at present, there is still a veritable trove of top-shelf pedalboard options.
Gamechanger Audio has listed a trio of its unorthodox stompboxes: there’s the Plasma Pedal High Voltage Distortion Unit and Light Pedal Optical Spring Reverb, and its collaboration with Jack White’s Third Man Records, the Plasma Coil Distortion.
Eventide has listed the MicroPitch Delay, UltraTap, Black Hole reverb, and Rose modulated delay pedal, while Origin Effects has listed the RD Compact Hot Rod, Revival Drive Compact and Cali76 Compact compressor pedal.
Other cutting-edge stompboxes include Source Audio’s ZIO Analog Front End and Boost, Red Panda’s Raster digital delay/pitch and frequency shifter, Neunaber Audio’s Immerse Reverberator Mk II, and Jam Pedal’s all-analogue multi-effects unit for Pink Floyd superfans, the Pink Flow.
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Since the Russian invasion began, pedal builders such as Caroline Guitar Company and ZVEX have produced special run units to support Ukrainian charities, and Dusky Electronics has followed suit with its Soniashnyk fuzz pedal.
It is named after the Ukrainian word for sunflower, with sunflowers and Ukrainian colours from Chris Williams bedecking the enclosure, and is based on a Dusky best-seller, the Augustus.
In fact, it is based on an Augustus octave fuzz that didn’t work properly, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sound good. Indeed, as you pull the octave control knob, the Soniashnyk yields a “broken but cool” octave sound that might just be what your electric guitar tone needs.
Head over to Reverb's Turn Up For Ukraine landing page to see all the pedals that are available, and bookmark it to check back in on new pedals as and when they are listed. The proportion of proceeds donated is included with each listing.
Learn more about the charities supported by the appeal at:
CARE
OM (International Organization on Migration)
Razom for Ukraine
WHO Foundation’s Ukraine Appeal
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
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