10 Best Effects Guitars
for March 2023

The Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal has all the makings of a great blues pedal: it's based on a classic circuit, it sounds great, and it's easy to dial in. The BD-2 responds well to nuance and volume changes, and it has plenty of adjustable tones. The pedal delivers warm distortion and overdrive. The pedal has adjustable tone controls that allow you to dial in everything from a heavy, overdriven sound to a clean, tube-like tone. There's also a built-in tuner, so you won't have to use the pedal's on/off switch as often. The Boss BD-2 also has an expression pedal input, so you can control volume changes with a footswitch. The TR2 pedal, our former top pick in this price range, has more adjustable tones, but it's more expensive and not as loud. The BD-2 has adjustable volume, but it's a little quieter, so it's a better choice for small rooms.

The Lekato guitar effect pedal is an easy to operate pedal, with a knob for recording and looping, a knob for looping volume, and a knob for looping time. It has nine loops, which loop for an unlimited amount of time. The pedal also has a tuner built in, for making sure you are in the ballpark. The looping effect is unique in that it lets you play along, or leave the song on repeat. The Lekato also records your loop, so you can practice guitar without recording every note, and set loops on the pedal for practicing specific songs. The pedal is compact, and the looping function can operate, even if your guitar is plugged in. It's inexpensive, and the battery lasts a long time. However, the looping function only works on electric or acoustic. The Lekato Guitar Effect Pedal is an inexpensive, easy to use, and compact pedal.

The MXR M101 is a vintage-sounding phaser pedal that performs well and sounds fantastic. It's one of the most versatile phasers we've tried, with settings that range from subtle to smooth and from subtle to drastic. It's also one of the less expensive phasers, with a street price that puts it within the reach of most guitarists. The MXR M101's analog circuitry gives it a warmer sound than your standard digital phaser, and its modulation effects are smooth, with lots of volume on tap. Its control layout is straightforward, and you don't experience the slight delay or stutter that digital phasers sometimes produce. Overall, the MXR M101 is a great-sounding, versatile effect, and it's more affordable than most of the competition.

The MG-100 provides a lot of bang for the buck, and it's easy to use. The effects sound good, and you can play through them using the unit's large color screen or using the pedal's foot switch. The unit comes with 10 special effect modules, but with an optional expansion card, you can expand that to 58 effects in total (including 65 amp models and 50 cabinet models). The MG-100's sound is versatile, and its built-in 40-second looper makes it easy to practice since you can lay down a rhythm track and then overdub any number of guitar parts. The unit also has built-in speaker simulation, so you can experiment with different kinds of speakers. The MG-100 is more powerful than a lot of multi-effects units in this price range, and it offers a few extra features, such as MIDI connectivity, that make it a good bet for gigging musicians. The only complaint we have is that you can't plug in a microphone for the built-in mics, and while there are optional mics, they can be clunky.

The Zoom B1X Four is one of the biggest and most advanced bass processors we've tested, and it packs in a ton of features. The B1X Four is lightweight, portable, and battery-powered, and features 71 built-in bass effects, including 9 amp models. The B1X can also record up to 30 seconds of audio and loop it, and it has 30-second, 5-second, and 1-second loop modes. The B1X Four's effects include compressor, fuzz, flanger, phaser, distortion, EQ, chorus, delay, reverb, and filter. In addition, the B1X Four has 68 built-in rhythm patterns (including 30 different types of fills), and it has a built-in tuner. The B1X Four has an expression pedal input, so you can connect it to any foot pedal, and it has a tuner output to plug into a tuner. Like most multi-effects processors, the B1X Four has a maximum power rating of 350 watts, so it won't overpower your amp. The B1X Four also has a built-in USB port, so you can use it to transfer custom effects to a computer.

The FLAMMA FX100 packs a lot of features into a fairly compact pedal, including built-in effects, a tuner, a drum machine, and an IR input for effects from pedals and pedals modules. The FX100's 150 effects are similar to those found in the FLAMMA FX350, but with fewer effects available in the blocks. The FX100's built-in effects, tuner, and drum sequencer are extremely useful, and it's nice to have the additional instrument I/Os (including an aux input, a headphone jack, and an IR input). There's also a looper, which is useful for creating backing tracks, and the FX100's IR input makes it easy to use pedals and effects modules that aren't compatible with USB. The FX100's tuner and drum machine aren't quite as advanced as those found in pedals like the MXR M10-Fuzz or the Boss DD-7 Digital Delay (they only support monophonic and 2- or 4-note patterns), but they're more than sufficient for basic applications. The FX100's built-in effects cover a wide range of styles, from guitar effects to bass effects to effects for vocals and keyboards. The 200 presets are organized in 9 blocks, and each block contains effects covering a wide range of types, including guitar effects, bass effects, effects for vocals, keys, drums, and more. The FX100 has a 9-LED display, and it's simple to change preset parameters. The FX100 includes a dedicated editor software, but it's Windows-only, so Mac users will need a third-party editor (like FxFactory or BossTone).

The MOOER PE100 is a super affordable little multi-effects unit that has a ton of power packed into a compact and lightweight design. The effects are easy to use, and there are plenty of presets to get you started. The unit is also versatile, as it can be used as a headphone amp, a tuner, a drum machine, and can even be used as a tabletop music studio. The PE100's small size makes it convenient to take on the road, and the unit's low price also makes it affordable enough to buy multiple digital guitar pedals. The only drawback is that there's no foot switch for hands-free operation and there's no way to store the effects presets on the unit itself. However, the unit does include an SD slot, so you can store up to 99 presets on your computer.

The VOX StompLab 1G Multi-Effects Modeling Pedal for Guitar is a cool little pedal that packs a lot of features into a stylish and efficient layout. The pedal's sound quality and features are a bit more sophisticated than those found in entry-level models, and the stomp switch design is particularly intuitive, making it easy to transition between different effects without switching the name of a program. The pedal's effects are also surprisingly versatile, with models that cover a wide range of tonal possibilities, from shimmery clean tones to gritty distortion and soaring leads. The StompLab 1G's simple editing functions allow you to create custom stompbox patches (up to 20, which you can save in a memory), which is a boon for players who like to experiment with different effects combinations. The StompLab 1G also packs plenty of connectivity options, including 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch outputs, a headphone jack for silent practice, and a USB port for linking to a computer. The StompLab 1G's effects aren't as intuitive to use as some of the effects in the VT+ line, but for players who don't want to spend a lot of time tweaking their effects, the StompLab 1G is well worth considering.

The Getaria Guitar Pedal is a powerful and compact pedal with 8 classic amp tones, 8 effect types, and 3.5mm Headphone output. The pedals are easy to set up, and the built-in battery will last for up to 6 hours of use. The pedal also has an EQ knob to adjust the tone. The pedal doubles as a guitar tuner, which is very useful. The pedal also works with Bluetooth, so you can easily play along with your favorite songs. The pedal comes with 8 IRs, and you can also use your own IRs, which can be loaded via USB. The pedal also works with the Cube-Baby software, which makes it easy to edit and save your favorite sounds. The pedal is not compatible with iOS, but Getaria does make iOS-compatible pedals.

The Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal is a great value. It's significantly less expensive than the Line 6 Spider IV Mk II, and it offers some of the same features, including a high-fidelity tuner and multi-effects processor. The pedal's effects sound good, and the guitar pedal is compact and portable. The tuner is convenient, but it's oversensitive, so if you go past 22.5 Hz, the tuner will register it as 22.5 Hz. The Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal is also less expensive than the Jamm Ultra Pedal and Distortion+ pedals, and it offers more effects, including two reverb effects, an EQ, and a chorus. The Jamm Ultra Pedal and the Distortion+ have additional effects, such as a boost effect, an overdrive effect, and a distortion effect, but we found that those effects were difficult to dial in and they didn't sound as natural as the effects in the Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal. The Jamm Ultra Pedal is significantly smaller than the Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, and the size of the Distortion+ is comparable to that of the Spider IV Mk II. The Jamm Ultra Pedal and the Distortion+ also feature built-in batteries, and they're significantly less expensive than the Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal. Those pedals sound good, and both pedals are portable, but the Jamm Ultra Pedal and the Distortion+ pedals have a smaller, less versatile effects library, and they charge through a USB cord, so they're less convenient than the Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, which requires an adaptor and a power adapter. The Jamm Ultra Pedal and the Distortion+ pedals are also less compact and portable than the Getaria Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, and they sound less natural, especially the chorus effect.