What Should I Buy?

Booker T on a budget? We know our Onions…

I’d love to get some keyboard sounds without the need to learn a whole new instrument. I’ve looked into MIDI guitar stuff, but I find it fiddly and a bit expensive. I know there are pedals that do this stuff now. Just how good are these things at nailing classic organ and synth sounds? H Matthews, via email Late Telemaster Danny Gatton used to mimic a Hammond B3 organ and Leslie rotating speaker combo with a ’53 Tele and the vibrato circuit on an old Fender amp. Drop the tone control, add some dirt and give it a try. Alternatively, here are three excellent stompbox‑shaped organ donors...

1. Seymour Duncan Fooz Analogue Synth Pedal c.£339

The tone nuts behind iconic pups such as the SH‑4B Jazz Blues have combined a square‑wave fuzz machine with modular synth‑like controllability here. Beyond the addictive stuttering fuzz tones you can expand your sound palette with other‑worldly blips and squawks and menacing Clockwork

Orange‑era chord stabs.

2. Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine c£179

Essentially a Stax‑friendly Hammond organ simulator, the B9 also features a decent Doors‑like Vox Continental patch. This is the pedal you choose if you want classic 60s Booker T tones. Go for the EHX C9 pedal if you want to lord over heavier Deep Purple‑style organ and prog stuff.

3. Keeley Synth-1 £179

Like the Seymour Duncan effort, the Synth‑1 allows you to manipulate a fuzz signal for 70s sci‑fi and eerie Exorcist sounds. We love the Chaos switch that triggers a maelstrom of random octave jumps for maximum unpredictability. Throw an optional expression pedal into the circuit for scary robot wah sounds.