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7 Jun Strymon has turned "analog" into a luxury brand again. Their Series A line is… GARETH JOSEPH 4 Jun For over a decade, Eventide sold you the best pedal you couldn't operate. One… GARETH JOSEPH

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Pedal Talk is the biweekly letter: one topic, honestly written, no roundups, no sponsor reads. Subscribers get every issue first. The two newest stay locked here until the next one ships, so the list always reads it before the web does.

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№ 31 Latest issue

The 5-question pedalboard audit

I had 13 pedals on my board and used 4. The five-question audit that told me exactly which ones earned their place, and the probation shelf that beats selling.

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№ 30 Unlocks when the next issue ships

The forgotten effect that defined classic rock

The treble booster shaped Iommi, May, and Gallagher's tone, then quietly disappeared. What this nine-component box actually does, and why Vox just brought it back.

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The archive

29 issues · newest first
  1. № 29 This Pedal Charges You Every Time You Use It The Polyend Endless uses AI to build effects from a text prompt, then charges you per generation. Why I put my credit card away, and the 48-hour rule that saved me. Mar 04
  2. № 28 Your fuzz isn't broken Why your fuzz sounds like trash — and the three things to try with the pedal you already own before you sell it. A letter from Gareth. Feb 18
  3. № 27 Why We Keep Falling for Discovered Circuits JHS 'discovered' a lost Big Muff circuit in a dusty workshop. Except it wasn't lost, it was passed over. Why the pedal industry keeps selling us the same treasure-hunt story. Feb 05
  4. № 26 The boring decision that saved my live sound I dragged a wet/dry rig to gigs like a badge of honor and kept sounding terrible. Why I unplugged half my rig, and it instantly sounded better. Jan 18
  1. № 25 What Gear Do You Love That Others Hate? The Metal Zone, the DS-1, the DL4, cheap clones. The pedals the internet loves to roast that pros keep using anyway. Why the gear you're embarrassed about might be your best. Nov 14
  2. № 24 Cloning, Creativity, and the $69 Overdrive Debate Behringer's $69 Klon clone, Bill Finnegan's dismissed lawsuit, and three clones on my desk. What do our pedal choices say about what we actually value? Oct 17
  3. № 23 I Ruined My Pedalboard (on purpose) I built the messiest board I've ever owned, on purpose, and it sounds better than ever. Why chasing the perfect-looking pedalboard was killing my tone. Oct 01
  4. № 22 Why BOSS's New Pedal Has Everyone Arguing BOSS's PX-1 Plugout puts 16 classic effects in one box, and the internet is melting down over the price and micro-transactions. The real question nobody's asking. Sept 03
  5. № 21 What's Your Favorite Under-the-Radar Pedal? A $25 plastic Danelectro fuzz from a dusty used bin gave me a sound nobody else has. Why the best parts of your tone might be hiding in the gear everyone ignores. Aug 20
  6. № 20 The $3,247 Mistake That Taught Me Everything About Tone I spent $3,247 chasing vintage pedal magic in six months and sounded exactly the same. The expensive lesson: character doesn't equal better. Aug 06
  7. № 19 What's Your Go-To Pedal for Live Performances? I took one overdrive to a gig with no backup. Why the pedals that stay on boards for years aren't the flashiest, they're the ones that boot up every time. Jul 23
  8. № 18 The Great Guitar Pedal Debate: Analog vs Digital Analog vs digital, settled (sort of). Where each one actually wins, the touch test I use to tell them apart, and why the best players don't pick sides. Jul 09
  9. № 17 Tell Me Your Top 3 (Here Are Mine) After years of NASA-control-panel pedalboards, I got honest about the only three pedals that really matter: tuner, overdrive, delay. Here's why. Jun 25
  10. № 16 The Lazy Person's Guide to Stacking Drive Pedals Stop overthinking your drive stack. Three stupid-simple stacking rules, my lazy overdrive chain, and a two-pedal test that beats any tone chart. Jun 11
  11. № 15 The Secret to Finding Your Unique Guitar Sound A glitchy solo at a Budapest jam night that made me ask 'is that even a guitar?' Why your tone is a story, and the only way to find your own is to break the rules. May 28
  12. № 14 The Gain Trick Hiding in Plain Sight Your guitar's volume knob is the most expressive tone tool you own. How rolling it back turns one gain pedal into a full dynamic range, no footswitches needed. May 14
  13. № 13 Is Your Tone Lost Under Too Many Pedals? I spent years thinking great tone was one more pedal away. It wasn't. Why tone is built on you, not your board, and a simple three-pedal challenge. Apr 30
  14. № 12 Why My Drive Pedal Woke Up at 7am A tired 7am mistake put my compressor right before my overdrive instead of first in the chain. The accident that woke up my drive tone, and how to try it. Apr 02
  15. № 11 I Finally Played a Klon Centaur. Here's the Truth After years of clones, I finally played a real Klon Centaur. The six things that actually make it tick, and why it isn't the germanium diodes. Mar 19
  16. № 10 The Mistake That Changed Guitar Tone Forever The ProCo RAT was born from a wiring mistake in a rat-infested basement. How one wrong resistor created the most influential distortion in rock. Mar 05
  17. № 9 Jeff Beck's 50-Year Pedal Jeff Beck kept one pedal, a '70s Maestro ring modulator, on his board for nearly 50 years. What that says about mastering your gear instead of endlessly swapping it. Feb 19
  18. № 8 My Favorite NAMM 2025 Pedals (So Far…) The NAMM 2025 pedals that got me excited about effects all over again: Marshall's amp-in-a-box family, the MXR Rockman X100, Walrus Canvas Rehearsal, and the DigiTech MonoNeon Whammy. Feb 05
  19. № 7 The Forgotten Pedal That Changed Everything How a late-night listen to The Smiths sent me down a tremolo rabbit hole, the 'breathing chord' technique it taught me, and a challenge to rediscover an effect you've neglected. Jan 22
  20. № 6 Set Your Ultimate Pedal Goal for 2025 A new year, a fresh slate for your board. My 2025 goal, why simplicity wins on stage, and how to set a pedal goal you'll actually hit. Jan 08
  1. № 5 How Reverb Can Make or Break Your Guitar Tone Reverb is a spice, not the whole meal. Why too much drowns your clarity, where it actually shines, and how to use it like a pro. Dec 11
  2. № 4 Are You Stuck in the Pedal-Tweaking Trap? Endless tweaking kills the flow. Why obsessing over the perfect tone pulls you away from playing, and the five-minute rule that fixed it for me. Nov 27
  3. № 3 What I'd Do If I Had to Start My Pedalboard Again Isolated power, tested cables, Dual Lock, and buying for sound not hype. The pedalboard mistakes I'd undo if I were starting from scratch. Nov 13
  4. № 2 This Will Sink Your Tone Faster Than the Titanic The hidden tone killer most guitarists never check: impedance mismatch. Why stacking too many true bypass pedals can quietly wreck your sound. Oct 30
  5. № 1 Why I Believe the Perfect Overdrive Pedal Is a Myth There's no magic overdrive pedal — chasing one tone to sound like the greats is a trap. Why the real answer is learning to use what you already own. Oct 23

About Pedal Talk

Pedal Talk is a biweekly newsletter about guitar effects pedals, tone, and the people behind the gear, written by one person, to one person at a time. No roundups, no affiliate dumps. One topic per issue, argued honestly, sent every other Sunday.

This archive holds every past issue. New issues go to subscribers first; the two most recent stay locked here until the next one ships. Subscribing is free, biweekly, and you can leave whenever you like.

Pedal Talk covers the same ground as the rest of PedalPlayers, drive, delay, reverb, modulation, fuzz, the lot, but in a looser, more opinionated register than the reviews and guides. It's the letter where the takes live before they're polished into articles.

New here? Start with the fuzz isn't broken letter, then put your email in so the next one finds you before it finds this page.

Read it before the web does.

One email, every other Sunday. One topic, honestly written. Subscribers read every issue first, and the two newest stay subscribers-only until the next one ships.

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