The changing world of guitar effects pedals

I have recently discovered a whole new world of guitar pedals. There are so many types, makes, and designs of the same guitar pedals that sometimes have the smallest differences between them. It can all seem a little daunting to someone who is new to the world of effects pedals.

The guitar pedal market is expanding on a daily basis and in particular the cloning market is progressing and changing more than any other. If you look on eBay there are lots of small companies here in the UK selling cloned pedals that have appeared on some of the biggest records of the last 50-60 years and they’re doing a very good job of it, making it possible for guitarist’s to recreate their favourite guitar sounds without burning a hole in their pocket.

At the same time there are companies like ‘JOYO’ and ‘MOOER’ who are producing amazing guitar pedals at very affordable prices. On average the ‘JOYO’ pedals are just £29.99 and the ‘MOOER’ pedals £45 – £65. Although these are relatively new companies they are causing a big stir in the pedal world and if you have a spare few minutes make sure you watch some of the great YouTube videos comparing them to some of the higher end pedals on the market. The quality amazes me.

It now seems if you like guitar pedals there really is something within everybody’s budget you just have to look around. Over the coming months I am going to be doing more pedal reviews, looking at some of the ‘JOYO’ and ‘MOOER’ range and hopefully the hype surrounding these pedals.

Xotic EP Booster review – Cornwall Guitar Lessons

I have continued my pedal buying and selling obsession over the last few weeks in search of my perfect combination of pedals! My latest is the Xotic EP booster.

I have previously used a MXR micro amp and Boss GE-7 as the main boost pedal on my board, both of which are amazing but I was never 100% happy with them. After several recommendations and great online reviews I finally decided to buy this pedal. It took me around two weeks to find a shop that actually sells them in the UK, turns out these boutique pedals are hugely popular and sell out very quickly. When it arrived I definitely wasn’t disappointed with the wait.

The EP booster circuit is said to be based on the famous Maestro EP-3 Echoplex made famous by players like Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, Jimmy page and Eddie Van Halen (the list goes on). At first glance it’s quite surprising how small this pedal is, making it perfect for pedal boards of all sizes. The pedal is extremely simple, stomp on the switch to get a clean volume boost, when stomping the switch a bright blue LED will light up, stomp on it again to switch it off. There is one single knob that controls the amount of boost you have, and it goes stupidly loud without affecting the tone of your guitar. In fact the pedal seems to round of your tone and make it seem thicker in some way, it’s very hard to describe exactly what it’s doing….but when using this pedal the original frequencies in my guitar sound that are pleasing seem to shine through even more. If the pedal wasn’t so expensive I would have two of them on my board.

The tonal options for this pedal are revealed once you remove the back plate of the pedal. There are two dipswitches, which allow you to change the EQ of the pedal. After messing about with all the variations possible I currently have mine set to the default settings. I am currently using the pedal after my drive pedals on my board rather then before them. I have tried it both ways but do prefer it after.

The only down side to this pedal is that you can only mess about with the EQ options by removing the back plate, it would be great if these switches were on the front of the pedal.

Overall I would say this is a must have pedal. It is simple yet extremely effective. It is a boutique pedal and therefore has the price tag that goes with it, but if you are willing to part with the cash you will not be disappointed.