Whether you’re putting together a grab n’ go board or trying to cram 50 pedals on a Pedaltrain PT-Nano, every musician knows the importance of saving space on their pedalboard. Here are a few budget-friendly pedals that can curb your G.A.S. all while fitting comfortably into any live setup.
Click on the images below to see pedals for sale on Reverb.
1. Henretta Engineering - Bluebird Fuzz
As a player who loves tweaking settings, I was a bit hesitant about purchasing the Bluebird Fuzz. There are no knobs. It’s a 2”x2” box with a footswitch and LED - that’s it. If you open the bottom you’ll find a trim pot with output volume control and a small presence switch for darker amps. The Bluebird Fuzz is one of eight micro pedals in the line at Henretta Engineering with others ranging from an EP3 preamp to an analog octave up. These bad boys run $125 new and anywhere from $80-$100 used.
2. ZVEX - Fuzzolo
Most players know ZVEX for creating the unique and versatile Fuzz Factory pedal. Almost twenty years after its release, a new and smaller-sized fuzz has entered picture, appropriately named the Fuzzolo. This straight up sub-harmonic, rich-sounding pedal has controls for volume and pulse width. With the pulse width to the left you get traditional, girth-like fuzz sounds and the other end scrunchy gated sounds. It’s a great way to save pedalboard real estate and get a picture of a buffalo on your pedal. Definitely a win-win.
3. Mooer Spark Series - Echo
Just over two years ago a company named Mooer began offering some tasty little treats in their micro pedal series. Fast forward to present day, Mooer has 48 pedals in their micro series. This includes pedals that sound like everything from a ProCo Rat (Black Secret) to a Boss DM-2 (AnaEcho) to a Demeter Tremulator (Trelicopter). Their new square shaped "Spark" series includes a brand new Echo pedal that resembles an Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master. For less than $100 you can have the best of both worlds when it comes to delay and reverb. With the reverb added to the delay trails you can get some creative sounds. Back off the delay time and crank up the reverb to get a washed out ambient sound.
4. Lumpy’s Tone Shop - SLPre Treble Boost
Tommy Castellucci or Lumpy’s Tone Shop is a one man guitar effects operation based out out of Altoona, PA. Tommy’s craftsmanship is incredibly detailed in every pedal he builds. If you’re a pedal builder or like clean wires, Lumpy’s website has detailed shots of all his pedals. The SLPre Treble Boost is based on the high treble input of a '60s Marshall Super Lead. With up to +14dB of boost - you can go from clean and sparkly to an ear bleeding overdriven amp. Tommy also has a custom shop for all your (micro or not) effect fantasies.
5. Malekko Heavy Industry - Chicklet Reverb
With the surprising discontinuation of the beloved Spring Chicken Reverb pedal, Malekko released another ground-breaking, appropriately named micro pedal called, the Chicklet. Experience all the great sounds of a giant reverb tank squashed in to a tiny enclosure. The best part about this pedal (besides its size) is the ability to “trail” when bypassed, giving you luscious soundscapes that naturally end when turning off the pedal. You can find a used Chicklet anywhere from $80-120. Be aware that Malekko’s newer SPRING version does not trail when bypassed.
6. Dunlop - Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini
With more and more micro pedal effects hitting the market, it was only a matter of time before Dunlop jumped on board and produce a mini Fuzz Face pedal. With the original Fuzz Face having a gigantically awkward pedalboard presence, the new mini fuzz line enables players to fit one, two or even three of the new pedals comfortably on a pedalboard. With a more mid-enhanced tone, the Jimi Hendrix model sings when cranked and cleans up nicely when the guitar’s volume is backed down. Don’t be afraid to open up the pedal to be greeted with an additional ‘bias’ trimpot to get those dying battery like sounds (although it sounds best when cranked all the way up).
7. AMT Electronics - Mini Expression Pedal
AMT is most notably known for introducing a compact wah and volume pedal, helping pedalboards feel less crowded yet still give the player all the functionality of a larger sized version. With the overwhelming requests to design a smaller expression pedal, AMT released the EX-50. A tiny 4”x2” expression pedal with not only 1 but 2 outputs capable of controlling a wide variety of effect pedals. With such a small footprint you could fit multiple EX-50s on your board to have even greater control of your effects. Now you can do that quad pitch shift you’ve always dreamed of - with one foot!
8. Joyo Iron Man Series - Clean Glass
Joyo is adding another amp simulator pedal line to the market but this time they’ve simplified the controls and fit them in a mini footprint. Based on a Fender style amp, the Clean Glass pedal has the ability to plug straight in to an audio interface without the need of an amp to sound good. This is a huge convenience for DIY recording enthusiasts who don’t have the money to spend on expensive mics, cables and amps. It’s also great for musicians living in shared spaces that want their rig to sound great when run directly into a computer.
9. Guyatone - Micro Octaver
Inspired by the original '70s Guyatone circuit, the MO-3 is a 100% analog octave divider featuring outputs for one octave down, two octave down and a dry blend. There’s also a filter shift switch which takes the pedal into synth territory when you roll the dry blend back. Although the Guyatone micro series is discontinued, you can find these used for less than $100. This line of micro pedals feature a battery compartment which if taken out of the design would make for an even smaller update. Step up your game Guyatone!
10. Hotone - Wally Looper
Is it Ho-tone or Hot one? Whichever, the Wally Looper packs a whopping 15 minutes of loop phrases with the added ability to save even after it’s turned off. Just like all other Hotone Skyline effects, the Wally features a super cool LED on its clear top knob so everyone will know how you’re creating those magical 15 minute loops. With limitless overdubs, an undo/redo function and the ability to change the pitch of the recorded loop, it’s safe to say this really is a “hot one.”
11. TC Electronic - Shaker Mini Vibrato
TC Electronic recently shrunk part of their compact effect pedal line down to a mini-me like size. These new versions include the standard controls plus the added benefit of being TonePrint enabled. For those of you not familiar with TonePrint, it’s a process where you can “beam” presets down to your pedal via your smartphone. Pretty cool, right? TC Electronic took it one step further by giving you access to their TonePrint Editor giving you the flexibility to create unique sounds with all large and mini pedals. Go from trippy psychedelic warble to a fast leslie throb in just a few clicks and beams. Edit, beam, play… repeat!