Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Pedalboard
Guitar Pedals The ultimate guide to pedal board essentials (and what order to put them in)
Red Witch Apothecary Series Pedals: these beautifully crafted stompboxes have colour-coded aluminium dials, floral designs and some unique analogue circuits.
Guitars Exquisite stompboxes, built to last a lifetime, meet Red Witch’s new Apothecary Series
Superbooth 2025
Synths 12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
A Boss IR-2 amp modeller pedal
Guitar Amps Best amp modellers 2025: High-tech tone solutions for all guitarists
Fortin Fourteen Dual Boost Overdrive: the new tricked-out green stompbox from Mike Fortin packs two Tube Screamer OD flavours in one housing and is packed with features.
Guitars Fortin Amplificiation triples down on the modded-TS-style boost and drive with Fourteen
Plugins
Plugins To mark Plugin Week, here’s our pick of the most out-there sound design plugins you should grab now
Donner x Third Man Hardware Triple Threat
Guitar Pedals “A sandbox for experimentation”: Donner x Third Man Hardware Triple Threat review
  1. Guitars
  2. Guitar Pedals

The 14 best new guitar effects pedals of 2018

News
By MusicRadar Team last updated 3 February 2020

This year's top stompboxes

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

10. HeadRush Gigboard

10. HeadRush Gigboard

The Total Guitar/MusicRadar Best in guitars 2018 polls received an astonishing 126,000 votes, and we're now ready to roll out the winners. The nominees were what we considered to be the guitarists and guitar gear that have excelled in 2018. Here, we present the best new guitar effects pedals of 2018. 

Taking up positions 14 to 11 are:

14. Hamstead Soundworks Odyssey
13. Ernie Ball Expression Tremolo
12. Source Audio Ventris Dual Reverb
11. Fender Pugilist Distortion

Kicking off the top 10 we have the HeadRush Gigboard...

We say: A scaled-down version of the company's Pedalboard, the Gigboard shines thanks to its easy-to-use touchscreen, while it boasts the same formidable quad-core processing as its big brother in order to deliver utterly convincing amp and effect modelling.

The MusicRadar Best in guitars awards are brought to you in association with Ernie Ball. #colorsofrocknroll

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
9. Gamechanger Audio Plasma Pedal

9. Gamechanger Audio Plasma Pedal

We say: The much-hyped Plasma Pedal legitimately boasts a distortion sound never before available to guitarists, namely clipping caused by high-voltage discharges as the guitar signal is fed through a tube of xenon gas. It looks spectacular, and we found ourselves giggling with joy on first plugging it in.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
8. Rainger-FX Reverb-X

8. Rainger-FX Reverb-X

We say: A comparatively tiny contender, the Rainger FX is a fully-featured oddball. Like the Météore, it doesn’t seek to provide pristine, studio reverb sounds, but instead seeks to tread darker and dirtier sonic territory. 

Read the review: Rainger-FX Reverb-X review

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
7. EarthQuaker Devices Pyramids

7. EarthQuaker Devices Pyramids

We say: An incredibly comprehensive and inspiring array of studio quality flanger sounds crammed into a very approachable pedal.

Read the review: EarthQuaker Devices Pyramids review

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
6. Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer

6. Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer

We say: As the name implies, the goal of the Tube Screamer was to sound like an overdriven tube amp. Thanks to incorporating Korg’s Nutube vacuum tube into the circuit, this is now a reality.

As you play, you can see the tube responding to the attack, and the resulting sound is thick and harmonically rich.

Read the review: Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer review

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
5. Origin Effects RevivalDrive Custom

5. Origin Effects RevivalDrive Custom

We say: A staggeringly versatile overdrive that delivers awe-inspiring amp-style tones. This pedal offers the sound and feel of a vintage amp, adaptable to work with any amp.

Read the review: Origin Effects RevivalDrive Custom review

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
4. Boss GT-1000 Guitar Effects Processor

4. Boss GT-1000 Guitar Effects Processor

We say: While it's not the easiest multi-effects to get to grips with, Boss's latest is the company's best yet, and a worthy competitor to Fractal and Line 6.

Read the review: Boss GT-1000 Guitar Effects Processor review

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
3. Line 6 HX Effects

3. Line 6 HX Effects

We say: The rest of your pedals, analogue or digital, had better watch out: the HX Effects might just replace the lot.

Read the review: Line 6 HX Effects review

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
2. Mooer Preamp Live

2. Mooer Preamp Live

We say: One of our standout stompboxes of NAMM 2018, the Preamp Live can be loaded with 12 independent preamp channels, from a choice of 50 via the supporting software and mobile apps, which operate using USB and Bluetooth.

For guitarists seeking to capture a colossal range of gig-friendly amp tones on a budget, it's a no-brainer.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Winner: Electro-Harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb

Winner: Electro-Harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb

We say: A very efficient way to put some reverb on your ’board both in terms of cost and size. Compact size, a variety of reverb types and footswitchable performance options make this a tough one to beat.

Read the review: Electro-Harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb review

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
MusicRadar Team
MusicRadar Team
Social Links Navigation

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

  • GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.
  • TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.
  • STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.
Read more
Pedalboard
The ultimate guide to pedal board essentials (and what order to put them in)
Red Witch Apothecary Series Pedals: these beautifully crafted stompboxes have colour-coded aluminium dials, floral designs and some unique analogue circuits.
Exquisite stompboxes, built to last a lifetime, meet Red Witch’s new Apothecary Series
Superbooth 2025
12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
A Boss IR-2 amp modeller pedal
Best amp modellers 2025: High-tech tone solutions for all guitarists
Fortin Fourteen Dual Boost Overdrive: the new tricked-out green stompbox from Mike Fortin packs two Tube Screamer OD flavours in one housing and is packed with features.
Fortin Amplificiation triples down on the modded-TS-style boost and drive with Fourteen
Plugins
To mark Plugin Week, here’s our pick of the most out-there sound design plugins you should grab now
Latest in Guitar Pedals
MXR MB301 Bass Synth: the six-knob pedal is pictured in use against a petrol-blue background.
“Thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects with killer tracking and sustain”: MXR unveils the MB301 Bass Synth – instant funk for your pedalboard
V863-CA Semi-auto Wah
Vox V863-CA Semi-Auto Wah Pedal review
Crazy Tube Circuits Mirage: the dual reverb features two independent DSP engines each equipped with 16 reverb modes – and there are flexible routing options.
With dual reverb engines, 16 algorithms, Crazy Tube Circuits’ Mirage is one serious reverb pedal
Behringer BM-15M Murf Box: this vintage-style multi-filter pedal has eight filters, selectable patterns and MIDI control
Behringer unveils the BM-15M Murf Box, a $129 animated filtering pedal based on a ‘00s Moog classic
Catalinbread Proto Club Triton Pitch Echo
“The Tritone was universally loved by the crew but the vibes clashed with the palette of the Soft Focus Deluxe”: Catalinbread is selling off its prototype guitar pedals, and the first is a “B-side” pitch echo from its smash-hit shoegaze stompbox
The KHDK Electronics Digital Bath was co-developed with Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, who is pictured here in a white T-shirt and black trousers, performing at Lollapalooza 2024.
KHDK teams up with Chino Moreno for a “melancholic” delay that promises an iconic Deftones tone
Latest in News
Joe Armon-Jones
Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired All The Quiet
Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control
Melbourne Instruments' Roto-Control gets Bitwig Studio integration following 2.0 firmware update
Waves 4th of July
Waves just made building a pro-level plugin chain a lot cheaper - grab 2 for $59.99 or 4 for $99.99
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Celebrate the 4th of July in style with hundreds slashed off gear from Gibson, Fender, Alesis, Roland, Yamaha, Boss and more
Paul McCartney at the piano at Live Aid
Bob Geldof on how Paul McCartney’s Live Aid performance was almost a disaster
ai band
Who is behind The Velvet Sundown, the AI-generated band that blew up the internet?

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...