Top 10 Guitar Pedals for your Christmas Wishlist

With countless pedal brands constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of stompbox design, the bar seems to be raised every year. We've tried out lots of fresh and inspiring guitar pedals that certainly peaked our interest.

To give you some inspiration for Christmas this year, we believe our top 10 list will help you decide on the pedal you’d like Santa to leave in your stocking. There’s tons of variety, so we’re sure you’ll find something interesting to add some Christmas glow to your pedalboard!

Landlord FX are newcomers to the large and competitive world of stompboxes, but over the last year they’ve already made a serious statement with their super-affordable mini pedals! Okay, so we know that these count as more than one, but their lineup is so diverse and inexpensive that we just couldn’t resist adding them to our list!

With the tiniest of enclosures, you can easily find a vacant space on your board for one of these petite pedals - or a few! With dirt pedals, modulations and time-based effects like reverb and delay available - Landlord FX has catered for just about every player. Oh, and their pedals are all true bypass too!

Landlord Pedals on Andertons T.V.

Tone City pedals have been among our best-selling products for a few years - and there's a good reason for that! Much like their Landlord FX contemporaries in terms of their pedal sizes and affordability, Tone City boasts a bigger range that includes almost every effect type under the sun.

In 2019, Tone City released some new pedal designs - for the first time in over 4 years! All fitted in their large dual-stompbox chassis', the Flexo Drive overdrive/boost, Mad Stone fuzz and Metal Storm distortion pedals prove that Tone City still mean serious business.

Tone City also released an incredibly inexpensive pedal power supply - the Substation 1. With 10 high-current outputs, this all-encompassing pedal PSU can provide juice for power-hungry digital stompboxes and large pedalboard setups in general.

Tone City Pedals on Andertons T.V.

Comprehensive but easy looping for less than £50? The Digitech Jamman Express XT is both a smart and simple-to-use looper pedal all-in-one. It has a straightforward control scheme of one footswitch and one control knob but with smart features like JamSync and Silent Clear.

With 10 minutes of stereo looping time, Silent Clear, true bypass, and the ability to synchronise loops with other Express XT and Jamman Solo XT pedals there's a huge number of possibilities contained within this affordable pedal!

Key Features

• 10 minutes of looping time
• JamSync for automatic loop synchronisation with other Jamman pedals
• Silent Clear for clearing loops quietly
• Stereo outputs
• Battery or PSU powered
• True bypass

Even if you’re new to the world of guitar effects, there’s a good chance you’ll recognise Boss pedals. Boss have grown to a legendary status thanks to their amazing array of sounds, that iconic compact design and nigh-on indestructible construction. They’re used by bedroom jammers and pro musicians alike and you would have heard them used on countless records.

Boss pedals are small enough to fit on a beginner’s pedalboard and offer a wide variety of tones – perfect for gigging musicians who need flexibility in their setup. They super easy to dial in a great sound and are guaranteed to last you a lifetime. There’s not much more you could ask from a pedal at any price.

BOSS BD-2 Overdrive on Andertons T.V.

From the brains behind Chapman Guitars, the Snake Oil Fine Instruments pedal brand was officially launched at NAMM 2019. Kicking things off with two striking stompboxes that wouldn't seem out of place in a Clint Eastwood wild west movie, the Marvellous Engine distortion and Very Thing boost pedals are guaranteed to "cure all known bad tone". We certainly wouldn't disagree, as these gorgeous stomps offer sounds that match the beauty of their intricate enclosures!

The Marvellous Engine is a raunchy distortion pedal that features two separate clipping stages to achieve harmonically-rich overdrive, offering a convincing amp-like feel with plenty of dynamic range. Also sporting four versatile controls for precise tone-shaping, you can adjust the Marvellous Engine to suit the character of practically any amplifier.

The Very Thing boost is a much simpler affair, but equally as glorious when it comes to tone. Driven by a desirable 4558 dual op-amp for stunning symmetrical clipping, this pedal can be used as an "always on" pedal that adds extra spice to a dull-sounding amp, or to eek out more saturation from an already overdriven sound.

Snake Oil Pedals on Andertons T.V.

Some of the year's hottest releases come from the 200 Series pedal lineup unveiled by industry leaders BOSS. If you're looking for a fun, inspiring pedal this Christmas, you can't really beat a good looper pedal.

Offering 6 hours of recording time, this compact looper is crammed with features that include 16 versatile drum sounds taken from Roland's popular TD-17 electronic kit. Able to bring your loops to life with percussive accompaniment, the RC-10R is even smart enough to trigger fills between sections!

Beyond the RC-10R, Boss' selection of looper pedals is enviable to say the least. The mainstay RC-1 is a simple design to get you up and running quickly on Christmas day. Meanwhile, the more advanced RC-3 can recall up to 99 loops and offers a longer recording time. If you're serious about looping, you'll love the RC-30, which contains extra effects to flesh out you loops - a great addition when playing live. And finally in the range is the monolithic RC-300, a full-on pedalboard sized looper ideal for creating sprawling tracks on the spot.

BOSS RC-10R on Andertons T.V.

Morley is a legendary name in the world of guitar effects. Known for their robust, tank-like wah pedals, they also produce a number of other effects in the boost, distortion and fuzz categories.

With a lengthy list of artists including Steve Vai, Mark Tremonti and the late Cliff Burton, their reputation speaks for itself. We have a great selection of their signature wah pedals, as well as their distortions/overdrives and utility pedals. Check it out!

Walrus Audio is part of a new wave of American pedal brands looking to really push the envelope. Synonymous with shoegazers seeking absolute tonal nirvana, the Slö reverb pedal was a warmly-received addition to their lineup. Allowing players to create lucsious ambient soundscapes with its 3 reverb algorithms and effective control set, the Slö is an experimentalist's perfect pedal!

Put the Slö into 'Dark' mode and you'll add a creepy sub-octave to your reverb trails, while the 'Rise' setting is akin to an auto-swell that increases in pitch rather than volume. 'Dream' offers more of a string pad, synth-esque sound. These reverb engines, combined with the option to change wave shapes from smooth 'Sine' to pitch-changing 'Warp', makes the Slö a pedal tweaker's dream.

Walrus Audio Slö Demo with Rabea Massaad

We've cheated here a little, as this particular pedal actually came out in 2018. But the ThorpyFX 'The Dane' has been so popular with our customers that we think it definitely deserves a mention! Andertons TV’s very own Peter "Danish Pete" Honore collaborated with the British pedal brand to create a signature 2-in-1 overdrive and boost pedal.

Finished in a stunning chrome and purple colour scheme, this pedal is also in a smaller enclosure than ThorpyFX’s other dual pedals. This allows you to easily mount the unit to your pedalboard, especially with the ergonomic top-mounted jacks.

In terms of how it sounds, the overdrive circuit has a responsive and high-headroom quality that excels for styles such as blues. Reacting beautifully to the placement of your guitar’s volume pot and your picking attack too, this pedal lets you play with loads of expression. The boost side is super-fat and warm, providing creamy lead tones and long-lasting sustain when used in conjunction with the overdrive circuit.

ThorpyFX 'The Dane' Demo with Peter Honore

Xotic pedals are handmade in the USA using only the finest components, with extreme functionality and durability in mind. One of the most coveted names in the guitar effects world, they've helped define the tone of countless influential players, including Steve Lukather, Andy Timmons, Greg Howe and many more.

Their pedals will simply make your rig sound better - from lush saturation to just the right amount of refined dirt. We stock a great range including their BB preamp selection and the red-hot AC booster. Once these are on your board, they aren't coming off!

Xotic Effects on Andertons T.V.