The Top 10 Best Guitar Pedals of 2022… So Far!

Guitar pedals have had a renaissance of sorts over the last decade or so. They never fell out of favour with guitarists, but their popularity and appeal has grown exponentially in recent times. With online gear demos becoming a brilliant source for buying advice, and with more players seeking electrifying new sounds to push the musical boundaries — we shouldn’t be all that surprised!

2022 has seen old favourites return and new innovations unveiled. That’s why we’ve rounded up our favourite new guitar pedals to help you find the next exciting addition for your pedalboard!

1. Victory V4 Guitar Amp Pedals

Victory are changing the game in the amp world, building boutique amps at competitive prices. These may just look like pedals, but don’t be fooled. Concealed beneath the chassis is a 180W hybrid amplifier with an all-valve preamp! Whether you’re looking for a compact ampless rig, or an all-in-one amp and recording solution, the V4 Amp pedals do it all. We all love the sound of a real tube amp, which is why you won’t find any solid-state circuitry in these preamps – just pure, unadulterated valve goodness!

The power section is designed for ultimate efficiency and portability, boasting a mind-blowing 180W. You can plug straight into a 4Ω, 8Ω or 16Ω speaker cabinet, with more than enough headroom to handle any home, studio, or gigging situation.

Sat between the preamp and power section is Victory’s revolutionary “Valve Response Circuit” (V.R.C), which introduces a truly authentic valve power amp feel, adding sag, compression and thump that feels dynamic under the fingers.

These Amp pedals are also purpose built for direct recording, featuring market-leading Two Notes Cab-Sim technology for a 2-in-1 speaker emulation and audio interface. With presets designed by Graham Coxon (The Sheriff), Chris Buck (The Copper), Rabea Massaad (The Kraken), Jack Gardiner (The Jack), and our very own “Danish” Pete Honoré (The Duchess).

Every V4 also features built-in reverb, headphone output and a series effects loop. So whichever flavour of amp you like, the V4 series has something for you:

• The Duchess – American Clean
• The Copper – Dual Channel British AC-Style clean and crunch
• The Sheriff – Dual Channel British Plexi
• The Kraken – Dual Channel Modern High Gain
• The Jack – Dual Channel Versatile All-Rounder

2. Boss Space Echo Delay Pedals

The vintage Roland RE-201 Space Echo units are some of the most coveted “holy-grail” effects units in music history, combining stunning multi-head tape delays with a warm, gritty preamp. Boss have flawlessly captured these spellbinding units in compact, reliable digital stompboxes for a perfect blend of vintage and modern.

The fine details of the iconic magnetic tape delay have been meticulously replicated, from the compression and warmth of the tape to the warble and flutter of the motor, for a musical delay with rippling modulation. Boss have also captured the splashy and lush spring reverb from the original unit, to bring space and colour to your sound.

On the RE-2 you can select between any combination of the 3 tape heads for a variety of rhythmic delays. The RE-202 has further functionality, emulating the beloved preamp from the RE-201, colouring your tone with warmth and crunchy vintage saturation when cranked up. You can also toggle between “New” or “Aged” tape to go from shimmery hi-fi repeats to dark, degraded delays which gently bloom underneath your core tone.

Boss have also packed these pedals with modern features for todays players, including extended delay times, onboard presets for one button switching, and MIDI capability to save and store up to 127 settings.

3. Strymon V2 Pedals

Strymon have been the industry standard for digital effects pedals for the last decade. Their incredible DSP technology has kept them at the top of the tree all this time. 2022 sees the release of the second generation of their best-selling dual pedals.

So what’s new? They now have all of the features and MIDI compatibility you would expect from a modern digital pedal. They also boast a new analogue JFET input circuit for a more organic dynamic response and a new ARM DSP chip for increased processing power.

The majority of  the range has also updated from 5 knobs to 6 knobs, allowing you to more easily control all of the pedals’ parameters without diving into hidden secondary controls, for a simplified user experience!

A titanic brand resurrected; Maestro invented the first ever guitar pedal back in 1962. 60 years on and they’re back! It is no exaggeration to say that without the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz, music as we know it today would never have existed. Heard on iconic tracks, such as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones, Maestro were at the heart of the ‘60s British invasion. Read here for more on the history of Maestro.

In 2022, Maestro have relaunched with updated all-analogue takes on their most legendary effects, offering a uniquely authentic vintage experience!

• Fuzz-Tone FM-Z – Of course we start with the return of the first ever pedal. The FM-Z recreates the iconic FZ-1 Fuzz Tone with two different fuzz modes for vintage and modern voicings.
• Ranger Overdrive – A modern overdrive, inspired by the overdriven tones of some the world’s most revered tube amps.
• Invader Distortion – A high-gain distortion with an aggressive sonic character that is rich in harmonic content. It also features a switchable noise gate for further modern usability.
• Comet Chorus – A lush chorus that utilises Bucket Brigade technology to deliver warm, classic analogue chorus tones. It it’s “Orbit” mode it adds amplitude modulation for a very convincing Leslie rotary speaker effect
• Discoverer Delay – A modern, bucket brigade analogue delay with switchable modulation for authentic tape-like “wow and “flutter” effects.

5. Line 6 DL4 Mk. II Delay Modeller Pedal

The Line 6 DL4 was one of the most popular guitar pedals of all-time. It was right at the forefront of digital effects technology back in 1999 when it was launched and has been a mainstay on pro pedalboard for over 2 decades. In 2022 Line 6 unveiled the Mk. II, retaining all the magic of the original, with a whole host of new innovations.

If you were a fan of the original, you’ll be pleased to hear that all 15 of the original effects remain unchanged, with an additional 15 delay types added from Line 6’s industry-leading HX® effects catalogue. From the legendary EP-1 Tube and EP-3 Solid State Echoplex units to the Space Echo and Deluxe Memory Man, the DL4 Mk. II has it all!

The Mk. II is far more powerful than its predecessor, boasting 2 independent loopers with up to 4 minutes loop time, 30 delay options, 128 presets via MIDI, XLR output and stereo in and out.

Chase Bliss have built a huge following for their uniquely innovative pedals, capable creating incredibly creative sounds. Their latest addition, the Habit Echo Collector has been an instant hit!

Described as “a delay with a memory”, the Habit stores everything that you play, so you can revisit & reuse sounds from the past. It’s like a time-travelling delay! With delays, loops and dipswitches galore, we guarantee that there’s music you can make with this that you couldn’t with any other pedal.

For the experimentalists, this has to be the pedal of the year! You can revisit and reuse sounds from the past to build compositions right inside the pedal, gather up loops, design custom echo patterns — the only limit is your creativity!

7. JHS Pedals Overdrive Preamp

The original “grey box” DOD 250 pedal is one of the most coveted and collectable pedals ever made. However in 2019, JHS owner Josh Scott explains “I stumbled across a pedal that didn’t exist. Yeah, cue the ‘Twilight Zone’ theme song. It was a DOD Overdrive/Preamp that predated the ‘Gray Box’ 250 pedals that everyone — myself included — had assumed were the first version ever made.”

Josh decided that a discovery like this deserved to be shared. As well as faithfully recreating the iconic “grey box” circuit, he also replicated the circuit he had accidentally uncovered, marked serial number 75.

The JHS Overdrive Preamp pedal is a stunning overdrive that can fatten a clean sound, add creamy overdrive, or tight, gritty distortion. But more importantly, it is a piece of history – one for collectors, players, and purists alike.

8. Boss GX-100 Guitar Amp & Effects Processor

All-in-one portable amp and effects floor modellers have dominated the pedal market for several years now with the likes of the Line 6 Pod Go, and the Headrush MX5. In 2022, the Boss GX-100 has joined the party! With 23 Amp models and over 150 effects, derived from the flagship Boss GT-1000, the GX-100 has limitless tone right at your feet!

As you would expect from a powerful processor in 2022, it has all the features and functions you could ask for, including: 100 presets and 200 additional slots, an intuitive touchscreen display, MIDI functionality, IR loading and an internal USB Audio Interface. So, whether you want great tones out of the box or infinite tweaking, it’s all possible with the GX-100.

At Andertons we’ve been blown away by the Fjord Fuzz Pedals, and the new Kvasir is no exception. A vintage fuzz with a twist. While most vintage fuzzes use either germanium or silicon transistors, the Kvasir uses power transistors. This completely unique design has a slightly different character that sets it apart from ever other fuzz in existence.

Don’t panic, it still has everything you want from a vintage fuzz – it’ll do thick and chewy, or spitty Velcro-ripping dirt, and retains the quintessential clean up from your volume that you get from vintage fuzz!

With volume, bias, and “thiccness” controls, there’s sure to be a fuzz sound in there for you. The bias control can take you from smooth, chewy sustain all the way through to gnarly gated fuzz with a pronounced upper octave. With the thiccness, you control how much low end you have, from wall of sound Fuzz Face tones to cutting clarity!

10. TC Electronic Impulse IR Loader Cab Sim Pedal

This compact little stompbox from TC Electronic could be the perfect addition to your pedalboard. This super straightforward cab sim pedal will open up a whole new realm of flexibility to your rig, allowing you to go ampless at the push of a button. It’s probably the easiest cab sim pedal to use on the market today!

With 25 built-in IRs, including 12 official Celestion speaker cab IRs, and 5 acoustic guitar IRs, the Impulse truly runs the tonal gamut.

The Impulse boasts true bypass and an impressive 200ms of capture time – 4 times as long as it’s similarly priced competitors. This means that the IRs capture the sound of the cab and mic they’re emulating with far more detail and accuracy.

Honourable Mentions

Here are some more blogs you might like

• Best Guitar Pedals of 2021!
• Klon Centaur: The World’s Most Expensive Pedal
• Chorus Pedals: Are They Cool Again?
• 5 Things You Need to Know About DSM & Humboldt
• 5 Ways to Use Delay Pedals
• Boost, Overdrive, Distortion & Fuzz: A Beginners Guide to Gain Pedals

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