Building the Perfect Shoegaze Pedalboard
With its ethereal tones and ground-shaking wall-of-sounds, shoegaze music has seen a resurgence in the past couple of years. Born in the 1980s, the style is characterized by the use of heavy distortion paired with different modulation effects.
In this article, we will explore the 10 best shoegaze pedals in 2024, plus give you a few tips and tricks to nail that style of tone. Some effect units on our list include fuzzes, distortions, delay, and reverb, among others. Let's dive in!
What is Shoegaze Music?
Shoegaze was born in Ireland and the United Kingdom back in the late 1980s. Characterized by heavy effect experimentation, psychedelic-inspired tones, and an introspective aura, shoegaze musicians often performed looking down at their pedalboards, giving birth to the movement's name.
Some of the most prominent shoegaze bands include Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Ride, and of course, My Bloody Valentine, with its album Loveless (1991) being arguably the most genre-defining shoegaze piece of work.
Shoegaze has seen a resurgence in interest in recent years, thanks to the nu gaze movement. Bands like Maps, My Vitriol, and Silversun Pickups continue to take the genre's legacy further.
What Are the Essential Pedals for a Shoegaze Setup?
Shoegaze is characterized by the combination of different effects to create a wall-of-sound type of tone and heavy textures. These are the essential pedals for a shoegaze setup:
- Fuzz
- Chorus
- Delay
- Reverb
Of course, there are no hard rules when it comes to shoegaze, as the style is heavily experimental. However, these basic effects should give you plenty of tonal options to develop your unique sound within the style.
Nowadays, there are even some unique multi-fx pedals that can be used if you're into more experimental shoegaze tones, such as the Rainbow Machine, but for the sake of this article, we're going to focus on the basics.
10 Best Shoegaze Pedals in 2024
Fuzz
A fuzz is arguably the most essential pedal in a shoegaze setup. With it, you will be able to create a base tone that can be paired with other effects for a more interesting texture. You can use any type of fuzz to achieve that sound, but the most popular among guitarists in the genre are Big Muff style units.
Mojo Hand FX 1979
Main Features
- Op-Amp fuzz inspired by the Big Muff
- Dual distinctive circuits (tone and fuzz)
- Tone bypass level control
The Mojo Hand FX 1979 is currently one of the best options for a shoegaze setup, as it's an op-amp fuzz based on the Big Muff. The unit features two distinctive circuits that you can engage on the fly using the dual footswitches.
What's great about this pedal is that, unlike a traditional Muff-fuzz, it can cut through the mix really well. You can, for example, engage the tone circuit during solos and lead lines, which will bring in a boost in volume.
While this pedal is inspired by the Big Muff, it actually uses op-amps instead of the traditional transistors found on the original unit. You can expect a sound that's familiar yet with a slightly new character to it.
Death By Audio Fuzz War
Main Features
- Versatile fuzz pedal, able to do fuzz, boost, overdrive, and distortion sounds
- Based on a rare vintage Big Muff
- Built-in multi-curve shaping filter
The Fuzz War is a modern classic by Death By Audio, heavily appraised by the punk and garage rock community. It can also be an excellent option for shoegaze since it's loosely inspired by a vintage Big Muff unit.
One feature that caught our attention was the built-in multi-curve shaping filter, which sounds pretty good and allows you to shape the tone and texture of the Fuzz War as you wish. An excellent way to clean up the effect when stacking other pedals to it.
Last but not least, the Fuzz knob is pretty responsive as well, allowing you to get anything from a slight boost, to overdrive and, of course, earth-shaking fuzz sounds.
EarthQuaker Devices Hoof
Main Features
- Hybrid germanium/silicon design
- Hand-matched NOS germanium transistors
- Loosely based on the Sovtek Big Muff
The Hoof is Earthquaker Devices' flagship fuzz pedal. Loosely based on the Sovtek Big Muff, it's a breeze to make this unit sound good, thanks to its responsive parameters. The pedal has a very thick sound when compared to its counterparts.
Some interesting features include the Shift and Tone knobs, which lets you adjust the mid and the bass content of your signal, respectively, something that comes in handy when pairing it with other effects.
What we also really like about this pedal and EarthQuaker Devices' units in particular is the attention to detail and the transparency of the high-quality components.
Chorus
A chorus pedal can thicken up your sound and give it some extra texture with its doubling effect, making it an essential addition to a shoegaze pedalboard. With only a fuzz and a chorus, for example, you can go a long way.
BMF Effects Liquid Sky Chorus
Main Features
- 100% analog chorus pedal
- Speed, depth, and mix knobs
- True bypass
The BMF Effects Liquid Sky Chorus is a fine option for your shoegaze pedalboard, as its a simple yet versatile analog-sounding modulation pedal with superb quality components and a handy mix knob (not commonly found on other units).
The mix knob can be extremely useful when you're stacking this chorus over a fuzz or a reverb, as to make sure it won't overpower the other pedals. The Liquid Sky is quite simple but definitely worth a try.
If you're feeling fancy, consider the Liquid Sky Deluxe, which is an upgraded version of the pedal with dual chorus circuits, allowing for some extra crazy experimentation.
EarthQuaker Devices Sea Machine V3
Main Features
- Chorus pedal with tons of modulation possibilities
- Built-in pitch-shifting and delay/reverb
- Six distinct parameters/knob
If you wish to go a step further with your chorus, the Sea Machine, by EarthQuaker Devices, is a no-brainer choice. It boasts six distinct parameters and built-in pitch-shifting and delay/reverb effects, making this pedal a compact shoegaze powerhouse.
While you can get some traditional chorus tones with this pedal, you can also spice it up with a few extras. The animate knob, for example, controls how far the pitch-shifted signal swings, and cranking it up will yield some very wild results.
If you wish to add some ambiance to your tone, the dimension can do anything from slap-back delay to reverb-like ambiance that starts to self-oscillate once you turn the knob all the way right. Definitely a great choice for experimental-oriented shoegaze players.
Delay
A delay pedal is a great way to add some extra size to your shoegaze setup. There are many options on the market, but we recommend choosing a unit with extra features such as modulation.
Cusack Music Tap-a-Delay
Main Features
- Digital delay with analog flavor
- Up to 750 ms of delay time
- Built-in modulation
- Tap speed footswitch
The Cusack Music Tap-a-Delay is an echo powerhouse with many unique traits, such as the built-in modulation and the brake mode. Being a very versatile delay pedal, it is going to work wonders alongside other effects such as fuzz and chorus.
A very interesting feature of this unit is the eight distinct types of modulation, which can be selected with the rotary knob. If you're on a budget, this could be a great substitute for a chorus pedal, despite its limitations.
Death By Audio Echo Dream 2
Main Features
- Advanced echo modulation unit
- Built-in fuzz function
- Two types of modulation
The Echo Dream 2, by Death By Audio, is currently one of the best delay options for shoegaze guitarists, thanks to its myriad of extra functions, such as the unique fuzz knob and two distinct types of modulation (sine and square waveforms).
As you can see, the pedal layout is divided into three sections. On the left, you can control the time and feedback of the delay effect. In the middle, you have the master, delay (mix), and fuzz functions. On the right, you can tailor the modulation to your liking.
The two more interesting features are the previous-mentioned fuzz knob and the built-in modulator. Cranking up these two effects should give you a very shoegaze-ish tone without much need for fine-tuning.
Reverb
No shoegaze pedalboard is complete without some ambience to wash out your riffs and chords. In fact, some of the most iconic riffs from the genre are drenched in reverb. Here are some pedals that can get you there with the push of a button.
Maneco Labs Shoegazer12
Main Features
- Lo-fi 12-bit reverb and modulation machine
- 12 factory preset modes
- Stereo output
With such a suggestive name, we had to include the Maneco Labs Shoegazer12 on our list. As the name implies, it is a lo-fi 12-bit reverb paired with modulation capabilities that is perfect for that shoegaze sound.
This pedal allows you to fine-tune all of its parameters, such as pitch exp and waveform. There are also four foot switches that you can use to change your tone on the fly and 12 factory preset modes.
As for the reverb effect, it pairs extremely well with the built-in modulation. Something quite interesting as well is the stereo output capability, a feature that many shoegaze guitarists love to make use of.
Wonderful Audio Technology Ancient Echoes
Main Features
- Reverb pedal with built-in delay and modulation
- Dual circuit that splits your signal into two copies
- Summon effect activated by footswitch
The Ancient Echoes combine reverb, delay, and modulation in a single unit. This pedal can do subtle plate-style reverb to warbly cave reflections and everything in between. The mod section sounds pretty good, as it adds some extra texture to the ambience this effect provides.
One of the main distinct features of the Ancient Echoes is the signal splitting. The unit splits your signal into two copies, creating a feedback loop that's then sent into the reverb section. The resulting effect is a tone that's very suitable for shoegaze.
The Ancient Echoes also has an extra trick up its sleeve: the Summon effect. When activated via the footswitch, it momentarily turns the Reflections parameter up, creating some very experimental sounds on the fly.
Bonus: Multi-Fx Pedals
OBNE Beam Splitter
Main Features
- Unique pedal combining overdrive and delay to create chorus effects
- Built-in expression jack
- Stereo output option
While the OBNE Beam Splitter isn't exactly a chorus pedal, it can help create that extra-thick doubling effect. The unit splits your signal into three copies with distinct overdrive voices and delay times, allowing for some unique experimentation.
As you can see, there are two sections of knobs, each controlling the two extra copies of your signal generated by the Beam Splitter, with independent gain, volume, tone, time, and decay controls.
As an extra, the Deviate knob lets you add some randomness to the delay time, which creates an interesting natural chorus effect. This pedal is definitely a great choice if you're into the more experimental side of the shoegaze style.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Kind of Guitars Are Used in Shoegaze Music?
The most popular guitar model used by shoegaze musicians is the Fender Jazzmaster, thanks to its iconic look and tone, and its unique-sounding whammy bar. The Fender Jaguar and Mustang are also very popular within the genre.
What Is the Best Amplifier for Shoegaze Music?
There is no particular amp that's better than others for shoegaze music, but some popular choices within the genre include the Fender Twin Reverb, the Roland JC-120, and the Vox AC30.
Conclusion
These are our 10 best shoegaze pedals in 2024. Use this article as a guideline rather than a set of hard rules, and make sure to mix and match different effects to create your own unique shoegaze tone, after all, the style is heavily experimental!
Below, you can find all of the pedals featured in this post. Thank you for reading this article!
|
Effect Type |
Pedal |
Price |
|
Fuzz |
$169 |
|
|
Fuzz |
$180 |
|
|
Fuzz |
$179 |
|
|
Chorus |
$249 |
|
|
Chorus |
$199 |
|
|
Delay |
$195 |
|
|
Delay |
$280 |
|
|
Reverb |
$395 |
|
|
Reverb |
$225 |
|
|
Multi-Fx |
$229 |
You can check these and many other pedals in our store!
Bonus: Use the code IASN10 at checkout for an extra 10% discount!