
Updated by Chris
Updated on April 25th, 2023
New roster for 2023, folks. Replaced the original Line 6 DL4 with the new DL4 MK2. Also added the Empress Echosystem and the Boss HM-2w. We've cut our list down to seven total.
In this article we'll cover the best guitar pedals out of what we've tested and actually used. These are not secondhand recommendations based off reading an/or re-hashing product descriptions.
All of these pedals have been bought, played, and used by those who contributed to this article.
We're doing guitar pedal reviews based on those that scored the highest in our rating system. Beneath the top pedals are resources and articles covering other effects categories.
All of these pedals have been bought and used/tested by those that contributed to this article.
7 Best Guitar Pedals Overall (top rated)
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Our disclosure↬

Pedal | Name | Rate | Shop |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Empress Effects Heavy Distortion | 96.5 | |
![]() | Line 6 DL4 MK2 Delay | 94.8 | |
![]() | Strymon BigSky Reverb | 97.3 | |
![]() | TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb | 95.8 | |
![]() | Walrus Audio Fathom Reverb | 98.9 | |
![]() | Empress Echosystem | 95.6 | |
![]() | Boss HM-2w Waza Craft | 90.5 |
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1. Walrus Audio Fathom Reverb


Walrus Audio's Fathom is a unique style of reverb containing four intriguing algorithms, which all sound totally different from one another. You can use the mix knob to completely remove your dry signal from the output, which preserves only the wet side of the effect. This produces some bizarre, ethereal sounds that we haven't been able to duplicate with other reverb pedals.
More Fathom Details
Going through our grading systems shows no glaring problems with the Fathom. In terms of shear tone quality and versatility, the Fathom is one of the best pedals we've ever used. Tweaking it's settings provides a range of significantly different sounds, as opposed to being being a subtle variation on a theme. Those looking for ambience on their pedalboard, and prefer to experiment with different effects and reverb sounds, should consider the Fathom an immediate top recommendation. Even with the boutique-level price tag, we'd say the Fathom is well worth it.
IDEAL FOR: Ethereal ambience for studio and stage
TONE
95
EQ/CONTROL
99
BUILD/STRENGTH
95
COST/VALUE
85
THE PROS
THE CONS
2. Boss HM-2w Heavy Metal Waza Craft Distortion


Easily, the most defining characteristic of the HM-2w's tone is sustain. It has a lot of it at just about every setting. Whether you're on the lower gain side or higher gain, you'll have a really long trail of saturation.
The distortion sound of the HM-2w is modern and modeled after the Swedish "chainsaw" metal sound produced by the original version
These are the qualities that most describe this distortion:
- Very high gain
- Percussive low end
- Swedish chainsaw metal sound
- Lots of sustain
The HM-2w is not a good fit for more subtle styles like blues or classic rock. It's way too heavy for that category. In my demo you can hear how it responds at all the EQ levels. I would note that the high filter seemed to give me more variety than the low.
Where the low is concerned, the pedal usually sounds pretty bass-heavy. I like that sorta thing.
Read the full review: Boss HM-2w Heavy Metal (Waza Craft)
IDEAL FOR: Heavy metal, modern rock, percussive rhythm, and recording.
TONE
96
EQ/CONTROL
87
VERSATILITY
86
COST/VALUE
93
THE PROS
THE CONS
3. Strymon BigSky


Strymon's BigSky is one of the most powerful digital reverb pedals available. It has 12 different reverb modes that can each be adjusted by seven different controls, where two of those - PARAM 1 & 2 - change depending on which algorithm (mode) you're using. There are also 300 different presets available for banking sounds, making the BigSky extremely convenient for session guitarists and live performers.

The Strymon BigSky reverb pedal.
Strymon BigSky Details
However, the BigSky is really expensive, limiting its appeal to beginners or those who are working on establishing their pedalboards. Otherwise, guitar players who rely on ambient sounds will get a ton of use out of the BigSky.
For semi professional and professional guitarists, there's no scenario where we wouldn't recommend the BigSky.
IDEAL FOR: Ambient layering over clean tones, recording, ethereal playing styles, and advanced players who use a lot of reverb
TONE
93
EQ/CONTROL
99
BUILD/STRENGTH
93
COST/VALUE
85
THE PROS
THE CONS
4. Empress Echosystem


Variety is one of the Echosystem's greatest strengths. There's just a ton of different sounds to experiment with, and when I tested it, the tinkering was very addictive. It felt like you really just couldn't get around to everything.
More over, all the tones and models sounded incredibly good, making the tone quality pretty easy to assess.
It was fantastic across the board.
I particularly liked the analog/tape-style models, which were really percussive and rhythm-focused. You could dial in a really punchy rhythm but maintain the chime and sheen of an ambient delay.
This also provided more distinction between the modern digital delay models and the analog-leaning algorithms.
In other pedals, there often isn't a ton of noticeable difference between them.
This is not the case in the echo system.
There's so much variety in the Echosystem that it's hard to narrow in on specific tone qualities, though the overall tone quality is easy to grade. It's absolute fantastic.
I'd recommend setting the mix at 12 o'clock while you test and then move out from there.
It's one of our favorite delay pedals to date. Empress rarely fails to impress.
Read the full review: Empress Echosystem
IDEAL FOR: Clean tone layering, ambient styles, church/worship music, pop, rock, advanced players and general effects-focused rigs
TONE
92
EQ/CONTROL
93
VERSATILITY
97
COST/VALUE
97
THE PROS
THE CONS
5. TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb I and II


The reverb effect finds its most appealing, somewhat-low-cost option in the Hall of Fame pedal series from TC Electronic. The unit has several different modes of reverb, along with a decay, level (wet/dry mix) and tone control, giving you tons of varied reverb sounds to experiment with. At the price, it's incredibly functional and a perfect alternative for those that want to avoid the sticker shock of the BigSky and other expensive units.
Hall of Fame Details
If you're using an amp or PA system without onboard reverb (or a reverb you just don't like) the Hall of Fame can supplement nearly any type of ambient sound you could want. With so many modes and the level control, you can have a thick reverberated covering or just a subtle layer of ambience. It's useful in any scenario, regardless of playing style.
IDEAL FOR: Basic ambience, budgets, beginner to intermediate pedalboards, recording, amps without reverb
TONE
90
EQ/CONTROL
90
BUILD/STRENGTH
90
COST/VALUE
92
THE PROS
THE CONS
6. Line 6 DL4 MK2 Delay


There are two categories of delay algorithms in the MK2, which give you a total of 30. This is made up by old modes that were on the original DL4 and new ones that are unique to the MK2. These new modes are similar to some of the algorithms in the Line 6 HX Stomp.
Read the full review: Line 6 HX Stomp
Here's how the effects in the MK2 break down:
- 15 legacy modes (original Line 6 DL4 modes)
- 15 MK2 or HX modes (modes unique to the MK2)
A couple other new features we really like:
- MIDI controllable
- More presets
There's a lot more in the way of combining effects like reverb, modulation, and even pitch-shifting, which we're seeing more often in digital guitar pedals. It's not a multi-effects pedal, but it certainly gives you more effects categories that you can use to get more out of a single delay algorithms.
The HX modes in the MK2 are definitely taking this approach.
Both the legacy and HX delays sound excellent - no issues with tone quality.
We'll leave you with Bonedo's demo below. He always does a great job.
Read the full review: Line 6 DL4 MK2 delay
IDEAL FOR: Those who loved the original DL4, clean layering, recording, playing live, pop, rock, church, pretty much anything
TONE
96
EQ/CONTROL
98
VERSATILITY
98
COST/VALUE
87
THE PROS
THE CONS
7. Empress Effects Heavy


This Empress Effects distortion pedal is completely analog with two channels and a three-band EQ dedicated to each one. It packs a modern, Mesa-sounding distortion capable of tons of smooth gain and low-end punch. It's expensive, but also worth the price of admission as the highest-functioning distortion pedal we've ever tested.
Empress Effects Heavy Details
In our rating system, "EQ Comprehension" considers how much control you have over a pedal's sound. The Empress Heavy scores a 98 in that category with a three-band EQ for each channel and two global EQ controls. This is one of the Heavy's most notable strengths, along with its overall tone grade. It's a perfect distortion for live performance, recording, or even as an amp or preamp replacement.
IDEAL FOR: All modern distortion needs
TONE
98
EQ/CONTROL
98
BUILD/STRENGTH
92
COST/VALUE
90
THE PROS
THE CONS
How Guitar Pedals Work (the basics)
For electric guitar players, how do guitar pedals work? That's the question we're going to answer in this article. We're not going to look at the intricacies of the circuits or the different types of effects. Instead, we're just going to cover the basics and keep things really simple. This is ideal for someone who is just looking to get started with guitar pedals and perhaps add a few to their electric guitar rig for the first time.
In this article, we'll answer the following questions:
- What do guitar pedals do, exactly?
- How do you hook them up?
- How do you power them?
- What does the end result sound like?
Answering these questions will show you how guitar pedals work at a basic level. For some of these items, I'll link to other resources I've written that explain the topic in-depth, if you're interested in a more detailed account.
Otherwise, read on to learn the basics about how guitar pedals work and how they can make your electric guitar way more versatile.
What Guitar Pedals Do
Guitar pedals (also called "stompboxes") usually come in the form of a small metal encased pedal with an on/off switch. Inside these metal boxes are digital or analog processors that change the input coming from your electric guitar.

A guitar pedal is a small, usually metal-encased foot pedal, like this one.
This processor works by using a digital algorithm or analog circuit to alter the sound wave, making the output sound different.

Electric guitar signal goes in one side and the "processed" signal comes out the other.
In simpler terms, guitar pedals change the sound of your electric guitar. There are a ton of different sounds that can result, but primarily guitar pedals alter one of the following audio qualities:
- Gain
- Time
- Waveform
- Volume
- Tone
Depending on the type of guitar pedals you're using, you'll almost always be altering one of these five aspects of your electric guitar's sound.
How to Hook Up Guitar Pedals
You might be thinking, "This sounds great, but how in the world do I set all this up?"
It can sound complex at first, but hooking up guitar pedals is actually quite simple. Let's say, for example, you have a few guitar pedals, like these from my own collection:

You start with a few guitar pedals.
You'll then use an instrument cable to go from your guitar to the input on the right side of whatever pedal you have placed furthest to the right. Look for the side labeled "input". From there, you'll go from the left output of that pedal to the right input of the next and so on in that order until you get to the output from your last pedal. That output will connect to the input of your amplifier.

Basic connections for a few guitar pedals.
In most cases, the cables in between the pedals are quite short and are referred to as "patch" cables. The cable coming from the electric guitar to the first pedal, and from the last pedal to the amp, should be much longer.
The End Result
Once this is setup, depending on the types of pedals you have, you can make a lot of different sounds with your electric guitar. Here are a few examples of things I've recorded with some of my own guitar pedals and the pedals we've reviewed.
This is a reverb pedal, played through a six-string electric guitar and amplifier: