Effects Pedals > 20 GBP to 49 GBP Effects Pedals > by Manufacturer

Advantages: Authentic fuzz
Disadvantages: not too sturdy

Everyone who's anyone has a Big Muff. I hung on till Electro-Harmonix reissued the 70s USA Muff. It's meant to sound better than the previous Sovtek version (I haven't had a chance to compare them yet), but its probably the coolest looking stompbox that will ever grace my pedalboard. As with all the Electro-Harmonix pedals, it comes in a quality wooden box (although it's a bit too big, and my Muff rattles around in it). Having paid £65 for it, I ...
...for a distortion when everybody has this effect on their amp). With the sustain (gain) control turned up all the way, I set the level so it matched my clean channel, and fiddled around with the tone control. Personally, I bought the Big Muff for its low, muddy, rumbly fuzz. And, oh my God, does it rumble! With virtually any guitar and amp you can sound like Billy Corgan (if you want to). The pedal can also produce some great lead sounds, with the ... Read review

Advantages: Wide range of tones, 2 pedals in one, solid as a rock
Disadvantages: Overdrive could be better

...As the name suggest, this Boss pedal gives you both overdrive AND distortion. You have 4 knobs to play with - volume, tone, gain, and overdrive/distortion. The first 3 of those are found on virtually every pedal in history, so I shan't explain those. The overdrive/distortion (O/D) is quite cool though. Turn it fully anti clockwise, and you get pure overdrive. All the way clockwise gives you pure distortion, and setting it to anywhere in the middle ...
...- very much like the Boss DS-1 in tone, it will suit just about anything you want to play that needs some real noise. With the gain turned all the way up, its a beast of a sound. Rating - Excellent. The overdrive by itself though is a little disappointing - it just lacks depth, warmth, and sounds a little artificial. If it wasnt a Boss, I would have expected that type of sound, but since it comes from one of the best pedal makers in he market, I ... Read review

Advantages: Good sound, flexibility, reliable
Disadvantages: Almost too much to fiddle around with!

Boss have been producing good quality guitar pedals for many years now and are probably the best know name in guitar pedal manufacture. The pedal I am reviewing here is the GE-7 Equaliser pedal. I purchased this pedal a second hand about four years ago and I paid £49 for it. Out of interest, this particular pedal is an earlier Boss Japanese model. These are regarded by many as better quality than the newer models which are now made in Taiwan. Construction ...
...with the other single function Boss pedals I have the sound effect is pleasingly warm which doesn’t mess up your guitar tone. You can alter the sound frequencies over a wide range, which I imagine have been specifically chosen by Boss to match the frequencies that the electric guitar produces. The frequencies available to be adjusted from lowest to highest are, 100Hz, 200Hz, 400Hz, 800Hz, 1,6kHz, 3.2kHz and 6.4kHz. Each slider has a boost/cut of ... Read review

Advantages: Sustain
Disadvantages: Tone

...the case. My experience with Boss has usually been ok with robust pedals that aren't half bad but the CS-3 was the first let down I had from Boss. The pedal is nice and robust and looks like it'll take a beating and still give you everything it's got. Only complaint with it construction wise is the battery connector. The cover peeled off the battery connector when I took out the battery making it a fiddly job to disconnect batteries now without ...
...Tone wise is where it all goes downhill. All the controls do their job ok and sometimes you can get an ok tone from it if you fiddle with it (at least I can with my Strat, not my Les Paul) but it seems to take away from your tone making it sound dull, lifeless and flat. Apart from that it works as it should. It compresses nicely and does aid with sustain (it does get to a point it gets noisy though as you increase the sustain using the sustain dial, ... Read review

Advantages: Good starter pedal.
Disadvantages: It's nowhere near a Big Muff.

Boss can always be relied on to produce (at least) competent effects at a reasonable price. The SD-1 is just such a pedal, with the added bonus of being extremely simple to use, as it only has three knobs (volume, tone and drive). When turned on, it produces a decent enough overdrive mode, although nothing that will take your head off. I'd recommend it to effects-novices who are buying their first few pedals, and aren't particularly clued-up on ... Read review