PEDAL BOARD

On the catwalk this month, a pedal that can be anything you want it to be, classy new reverb and compression units, and an intriguing quartet featuring drive, distortion, fuzz and echo…

Once upon at time, you went to buy an effects pedal, got it home, stuck a battery in it, rigged up your guitar and amp and you were away. Ah, the charm of the analogue age. These days, you buy a pedal that can be absolutely any effect you desire, load an app from your phone via Bluetooth, change your mind, load another one and… welcome to the 21st century! Such is the case with the new Hotone Xtomp, with its chameleon-like ability to adapt to all your effects-related desires in an instant. We reveal all over the page.

MXR has been releasing effects units for decades and is renowned for its high-quality, innovative products. Such is the case with the latest reverb and compression pedals, which roll up and take their bow on p126.

Last – and certainly not least – on p128 we have a foursome from CKK Electronics, including the Destruction Drive, which offers an almost inhumane level of distortion, the Royal Fuzz, a pedal intent on producing some of the most regal fuzziness you’ll ever hear, the Soul Echo, an experience you’ll want to repeat, and finally, the Lunar Drive, which is a stompbox on a mission to produce overdrive that’s similar to the legendary Dumble amplifiers. Enjoy!