One of the most ubiquitous pedals ever made has inspired generations of offshoots.
The little green box has graced the pedalboards of so many guitar legends. Here are 10 options across this subsection of variation and innovation, ranging from budget-friendly reproductions to over-the-top, all-in-one affairs.
Wampler Moxie Overdrive Pedal
This mini monster was inspired by the now sought after TS10 (thanks, John Mayer!) and features two different EQ settings via the voice switch and additional MOSFET gain via the fat switch. Featuring the classic 4558 chip, it can be powered with an 18-volt adapter for increased headroom.
JHS Bonsai
Having trouble deciding what Screamer to grab? Why not get the “greatest hits?” Josh Scott nabbed his favorites and faithfully recreated nine variations in a single stomp—warts and all.
Emerson Custom Scranton Screamer
Stick it to those geeks in Utica with this Dundie-winning overdrive that features an active 2-band EQ plus two different clipping modes (symmetrical and asymmetrical).
Origin Effects Halcyon Green Overdrive
The real twist in this circuit is the addition of the company’s adaptive circuitry, which adjusts the dirt voicing to the dynamic aspects of your playing. Based on the classic TS808, it also features an alternate mod mode aimed at boosting already cranked high-gain amps.
EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Small Signal Shredder
Dubbed a “small signal shredder,” this pedal offers the Trinity of Screamer controls (level, tone, and gain), but throws in a three-position toggle that allows you to move from no clipping to either LED or asymmetrical silicon for a looser feel.
Maxon OD808
The original designers of the 808 circuit offer up a faithful reissue full of that trademark compression and low-end cut. It also uses the same JRC4558 chip and has a lower noise floor than the original—useful for when you’re pushing high-gain stacks that are cranked to the gills.
Electro-Harmonix East River Drive Classic Overdrive
Pedal legend Mike Matthews’ take on a Screamer-style circuit is this wildly affordable and dead-simple overdrive that stays faithful to the roots of the original but tweaks the sound to give it a unique edge.
Way Huge Green Rhino MkV
A new, smaller version of Jeorge Tripps’ classic interpretation offers up two new controls for fine tuning your tone. The freq knob cuts or boosts either 100Hz or 500Hz while curve helps tame any harsh high end.
MOOER Green Mile Electric Guitar Overdrive Pedal
This extremely affordable Screamer-style pedal not only will save you space on your pedalboard, but it comes equipped with two different modes (hot and warm) to give you increased gain and presence.
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod Overdrive Pedal
Featuring a unique clean level control, Voodoo Lab’s flagship overdrive offers three different gain modes that go from vintage 808-style to more modern hi-gain fare.
Streamline your stage or studio rig and increase your tone options at the same time with one of these speaker-simulation pedals.
Torpedo C.A.B. M+
Designed to be the missing link between a guitarist’s rig and the PA or audio interface, this pedal is loaded with 32 Two Notes cabinets, eight power amps, eight mics, and eight rooms to choose from.
Red Box 5
This handy DI and speaker simulator offers powerful control over your sound, including cabinet size and cab tightness, and a means to avoid miking up your rig onstage.
OmniCabSim Deluxe
Designed for guitarists who want to create their own cabinet response settings, rather than rely on presets, this pedal allows players to define their sound and get an accurate reproduction of it when gigging or recording.
Iridium
This pedal has mathematically modeled every aspect of three iconic tube amps, and includes nine of Iridium’s IR cabinets with 24-bit 96 kHz resolution for the entire 500 milliseconds of its impulse responses.
CabClone IR
Featuring two banks of eight Mesa cab presets for 16 proprietary IRs and the ability to upload third-party IRs, this pedal also functions as a tone-rich, silent practice tool with a set of headphones.
Element
With five cabinet simulations, a multi-channel USB-C audio interface, and Bluetooth tech to listen to backing tracks, this pedal was designed with practicality in mind, to empower modern musicians.
Radar
With 30 cab models to choose from and microphone and power-amp simulation ideal for recording or silent practice, this mini can help transform a pedalboard into a complete guitar rig.
Cabzeus
This two-channel cabinet/speaker/miking simulator uses advanced DSP processing techniques coupled with clean and robust circuit designs for minimal noise and optimal headroom.
CabDriVR
Featuring 14 guitar- and bass-cabinet impulse responses and dual inputs and outputs, this emulator also has separate level controls so players can balance each cab’s volume in the mix.
Omni IR
This compact pedal houses 40 legendary guitar and bass cabinet IRs, a 4-band EQ with 12 dB boost/cut, and a hi-res OLED screen for easy operation in any recording or live scenario.
An octave stomp can open creative doors in myriad ways—from adding muscle to your sound to unleashing octave-fuzz assaults, simulating a 12-string, and more.
Whether fattening up your clean tone, creating an all-out octave-fuzz assault, simulating a 12-string, or something just completely different, an octave effect can turn your guitar into a whole ’nother animal and inspire your sound crafting. We’ve rounded up a sampling of 10 solid options for you to get your octave on.
Octave OC-5
Features on this updated classic include a vintage mode for the mono sound of the OC-2, a poly mode for chord playing, and a new octave-up effect which can be blended with the octave-down effects.
Purple Platypus Octidrive MkII
Like the original, this stompbox has a frequency doubler to create an octave-up effect, which cleans up nicely for ring-modulator-style sounds to all-out huge octave fuzz.
Sub 'N' Up
This polyphonic octave pedal features an old-school monophonic octaver and individual blend controls for dry, octave-up, and two sub-octaves—to cover everything from complex chords to groovy single-note lines.
Tentacle V2
This analog octave-up pedal features the octave effect from EarthQuaker’s Hoof Reaper, and makes easy work of going high and tearing loose with it’s no-control design.
Pure Octave
Featuring 11 different octave modes and the ability to adjust the lower, upper, and sub sections of a signal, this mini was designed to deliver precise octave effects with no distortion.
Octapussy
This pedal’s preamp section is specially voiced for very dynamic playing response for high-octave lead tones on the neck’s higher registers, but also a big array of fuzz tones anywhere else on the neck.
Luminary
Here’s a quad-octave generator that provides the ability to conjure up any combination of four separate octaves, and features three presets, a filter control, and a tremolo effect.
Quint Machine
Offering octave-up, octave-down, and a 5th up, this pedal boasts ultra-fast polyphonic tracking, individual volume controls, and a master-mix dial.
Nano POG
The smallest member of the POG family, this polyphonic octave generator was designed for stellar tracking, features separate level dials for dry, sub-octave, and octave-up, and houses an extra dry out.
Jonny Octave
This analog octave-up pedal lets you play up either one or two octaves, and features separate volume dials for each channel along with four internal gain trimmers to adjust for playing style.