Guitar Effects

Boss has launched a new compact pedal that offers guitarists stomp-sized access to digital recreations of 11 amp tones matched with Celestion Impulse Responses, for "consistent, high-quality sound while performing, recording, and practicing."

IK Multimedia's gorgeous ToneX pedal remains unrivaled at its price point as 2023 comes to a close, replacing your guitar amp with a cornucopia of tone profiles either captured directly from your own rig, or downloaded from thousands online.

Fender says its new eight-core multi-effects and amp modeling floor unit is the best-sounding, most powerful and easiest-to-use digital floor pedal ever built. It's got a legit claim to two of those three titles – but is it undergunned in 2023?

We first got our hands on Lava's oddball carbon-fiber Me 2 smart guitar back in 2021, which was followed by a new model later that year. Now the company has announced the fourth generation, adding a spruce option plus a more affordable Play flavor.

Boss has added a new desktop model to its impressive Katana range of app-enhanced modeling amplifiers for electric guitar and bass. The 35-W Air EX allows for wireless connection between instrument and combo amp, and can also run on batteries.

For more than 35 years the NS-2 stomp has been an effective set-and-forget solution to background noise in an electric guitarist's signal chain. Now it's being joined by a "highly tunable" next-gen noise suppressor and gate called the NS-1X.

Back in 2017, HyVibe launched an Indiegogo for a hybrid acoustic with built-in digital smarts. This was followed by a kit to give such superpowers to any acoustic. Now the company is back with an Essential system that players can install themselves.

Back in 2019, Positive Grid launched an impressively flexible and affordable tone master called the Spark amp. The company downsized the format for the Mini last year, and has now done it again for the ultra-portable Spark Go.

Some 20 years ago, IK Multimedia gathered a complete guitar rig into a software platform and named it AmpliTube. After infusing it with AI power last year, the company has now launched an all-you-can-eat tone box called the ToneX Pedal.

We have to admit that being able to plug a guitar cable into a vinyl record to tap into onboard effects hasn't really been on our wishlist. But now that Romanus Records and ADD Pedals have actually built such a thing, we so want one.

Travel guitars are a great way to maintain your calluses while on the road, but some designs can lack modern features. That's certainly not true of the Nexg, which packs a bunch of useful tech into a carbon fiber smart guitar that weighs under 7 lb.

If you can get past the strange looks, the Lava Me 3 has a carbon fiber sound all its own, and some wicked new digital smarts. A touchscreen interface gives you access to stackable effects, loopers, tuners, high-quality portable recording and more.