Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Pedal Alley 2019: Reader Boards

Whether it’s collections of old-school straightforward stomps or elaborate circuits for spacey experimentation, each year we’re blown away by the different pedalboard setups our readers come up with. Here’s a dozen for the tonal takeaway.

13. Jim Grana: Vibey Guy

Chicago Southsider Jim Grana enjoys playing in classic-rock bands, covering anything from AC/DC to ZZ Top. His go-to favorite stomp is his Dunlop Cry Baby that he’s had for over 40 years. Moving counter-clockwise on his pedalboard is another pair by Dunlop—an MXR Dyna Comp and a Phase 90. He uses a J. Rockett Animal for a “brown sound” distortion, and a DLS RotoSIM for swirling solos. Coming around after that is a JHS Unicorn Uni-Vibe (his favorite), an Analog Alien Rumble Seat for rockabilly, a Fulltone Supa-Trem, and a Strymon Deco.

His second board starts with the Strymon Mobius and includes a plethora of great studio-type effects: the Tube-Vibe by Effectrode (his newest toy), a Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo, a Catalinbread Echorec, and an Option 5 Destination Delay X2.

“I’m always changing it,” Grana says. “I've got about 100 pedals. Funny thing is,

I just bought a Line 6 HX multi-pedal unit. Oh Jim, will you ever learn?”

It’s that time of year, when Premier Guitar readers wow us with the intricate details of their pedalboards. A few highlights for 2019 include a surf board station, a bright board with LED lighting, a Nashville guitarist who gigs on Lower Broadway, and a pedal setup with no frills … and literally no board at all. (All this player needs is beer and broken glass.) As an added bonus, a pro pedal builder shares his demo board and tells us why and how he started building pedals from scratch. Read on, play on, stomp on!

Versatile guitarist Nathaniel Murphy can be seen and heard on YouTube and Instagram, where he has over 450,000 followers, and demos for Chicago Music Exchange.

Nathaniel Murphy and Steve Eisenberg join the PG staff to wax poetically on what their signature pedal might sound like.

Question: What would your signature pedal sound like?

Read MoreShow less

Featuring studio-grade Class A circuit and versatile resonance switch, this pedal is designed to deliver the perfect boost and multiple tonal options.

Read MoreShow less

After eight years, New Orleans artist Benjamin Booker returns with a new album and a redefined relationship to the guitar.

Photo by Trenity Thomas

It’s been eight years since the New Orleans-based artist released his last album. He’s back with a record that redefines his relationship to the guitar.

It is January 24, and Benjamin Booker’s third full-length album, LOWER, has just been released to the world. It’s been nearly eight years since his last record, 2017’s Witness, but Booker is unmoved by the new milestone. “I don’t really feel anything, I guess,” he says. “Maybe I’m in shock.”

Read MoreShow less

Blackstar Amplification unveils its new AIRWIRE i58 wireless instrument system for guitar and bass.

Read MoreShow less