tap tempo

Our columnist’s tongue-in-cheek sketch of a “generic” effects pedal.

Pedal enthusiasts’ preferences when it comes to stompbox controls range from simple and easy to use to complex and highly customizable, and manufacturers just can’t please ’em all.

Stompboxes have been a part of musicians’ musical journeys for over 50 years. They’ve been packaged up in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. They’ve also featured a large array of different effects types, and allowed us to manipulate them with various control parameters. It’s these control parameters that are the focus of this article. Recently, I’ve been thinking, “How many knobs are too many, and how few knobs are too few?”

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