Best distortion pedals 2023: our pick of the top gain stages for guitar
Bring the filth with 11 of the best distortion pedals for hard-rock, metal and beyond
FX pedals
All the latest guitar pedal and effects news, reviews and tips on MusicRadar
Latest FX pedals news
The Strymon Cloudburst is the top-selling new pedal on Reverb in 2023, but overall Boss is still… the boss!
An old-timer distortion pedal comes out fighting this year
This Ariel Posen video masterclass in how to use tremolo, rotary and filter pedals might make you reconsider your entire pedalboard
A brass slide on an electric guitar in B standard through a filter pedal really is something… Do I now need an Eventide H9? The answer might well be yes
Stone Deaf just dropped the ultimate wake-up call for electric and bass guitar tone, pairing octave-up fuzz with OctaPulse tremolo for the Rise And Shine
A digitally controlled analogue stompbox to file under vintage-modern, Rise And Shine caters for blues, rock, metal, grunge etc, and has five modes, adjustable subdivisions and more
Nail David Gilmour’s Wish You Were Here tones with Crazy Tube Circuits’ Hi Power, an amp-in-a-box drive pedal based on a Hiwatt amp and Coloursound Power Boost
CTC’s latest deluxe drive pedal packs a “faithful” yet modernised Power Boost on one side, a Hiwatt amp-style drive on the other, and has an effects loop for more routing options
Wampler has made a new version of its wonderful Tumnus overdrive pedal – so is this Germanium version better or just different?
Klone wars
Catalinbread opens up the Sinkhole, “a harmonically-rich ‘hole’ reverb with an impossibly deep four-voice chorus” for other-worldly guitar sounds
Described as the Portland, Oregon effects company's “most ethereal” reverb to date, the Sinkhole looks a fun place to visit for adventurous players
Has guitarist Andy Wood just made the ultimate Eddie Van Halen pedalboard?
Expert choices here – and even the 'board has the stripes
An Alex Lifeson signature pedal has arrived much sooner than we expected: you can get the Lerxst By-Tor Drive pedal right now
"By-Tor is a British-voiced amp in a box pedal designed to capture the sound of the 50-watt Lerxst Omega in pedal form"
Latest FX pedals tuition
Meet 4 unsung hero effects pedals and learn the great ways to use them
Give these effects a chance on your pedalboard and they might be game-changers for your tones
3 top guitar pedal makers on the secrets of truly great gain tone
We asked the experts to share their guitar tone tips - and some common pitfalls to avoid
How to maximise tone and reduce noise on your guitar rig with gain staging
The first step in structuring the correct gain levels from guitar to amplifier
Pedal gain stacking: everything you need to know
Take your overdrive and distortion tones into new territory
Latest FX pedals reviews
Erica Synths Black Stereo Reverb review
- £280
- €328
- $289
We get to know this latest Black range release, whose USP is simplicity
Universal Audio UAFX Del-Verb Ambience Companion delay and reverb pedal review
- £325
- €379
- $349
Updated review: We rejoice as UA's latest firmware update addresses a previous usability issue
Arturia FX Collection 4 review
- £389
- €499
- $399
Yet another (huge) bundle of plugins from Arturia, but does this latest update do the same for effects as V Collection does for instruments?
IK Multimedia ToneX Pedal review
- £355
- €399
- $399
The software titan targets live players with a stompbox version of its ToneX capture technology
Warm Audio ODD Box V1 Hard-Clipping Overdrive Pedal review
- £111
- €129
- $119
The Texan company pays tribute to one of the most legendary overdrives ever made
Arturia Rev LX-24 review
- £99
- €99
- $99
The French brand adds a digital classic to its reverb line. We flex the Lex
Universal Audio UAFX Max Preamp & Dual Compressor pedal review
- £325
- €379
- $349
Taking compression options to the max
Universal Audio UAFX Galaxy '74 Tape Echo & Reverb pedal review
- £325
- €379
- $349
Space-time continuum
