Made in small batches, these effects pedals give you the ability to truly customize and create a tone all your own. The innovations and modifications have given you the ability to find a pedal that will suit your style and make you sound original. It’s all about the details when it comes to boutique pedals. These units are sometimes hand soldered, have non-standard hardware, high-quality components and some are even hand painted with original designs. The look, feel and sound are created by enthusiasts looking to build on the traditional to give you something totally different. As such, it’s a good idea to figure out the basic effect you are looking for and then take a look at what the innovators are doing to make it even better.
Brands like T-Rex Engineering offer their own twist on phase shifters like the Tonebug Phaser Pedal which gives you the option of using a switch to go between either vintage or modern effects. This little innovation streamlined the process for guitar players. Instead of having to tweak the depth and resonance yourself, T.Rex designed it so you just have to flip a switch to go between effects styles. They also offer an array of other tweaks on classics with their Mudhoney Distortion Pedal, Compnova Compression Pedal, RoomMate Tube Reverb and many more. The pedals are all ones you recognize but are made more impressive due to an interest in making them as sound unique as possible.
Some brands, like Mad Professor, create pedals to imitate very specific time periods. For instance the 1 Guitar Effects Pedal gives you the ability to turn up the ‘Brown’, a guitar tone popular in the late 70s, while their Hand Wired Mighty Red touts being able to give you 80s style overdrive. While you could play with ordinary effects pedals and eventually get the same result, these enthusiasts do the work for you and make it easier than ever to get the specific tone you want.
There are so many innovators and experimenters looking to create new and modified effects pedals. Whatever specific or non-specific sound you are looking for, there will be a boutique pedal to match it. These people know and love effects so you can be sure you’re getting a unique and quality product.
