Our 10 Favorite Guitar Pedals with Amazing Artwork

Those of us who are old enough can still remember a dark time before the modern era of boutique pedals — long ago when the most flair you could expect on a reverb box was a unique color and maybe a cool logo. After seeing the wild and flashy artwork on these 10 pedals, we hope you’ll agree with us that we live in a much better world now!

Friedman BE-OD Deluxe Dual Overdrive

The Friedman BE-OD‘s stunning design was created by Sweetwater’s own Melanie Werner, and Sweetwater is the only place you can get it! We love how Melanie’s intricate clockwork-gear pattern perfectly represents this endlessly adjustable overdrive pedal’s wealth of knobs and switches — we wouldn’t be too surprised if it looked like that on the inside, too (OK, maybe a little bit surprised).

Friedman BE-OD Deluxe Dual Overdrive Pedal – Clockworks Edition Sweetwater ExclusiveAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Catalinbread Cloak Room Reverb with Shimmer PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Catalinbread Cloak Room Reverb with Shimmer

Is it a druid? A hooded specter? A member of Sunn O)))? Whatever the Catalinbread Cloak‘s mascot is, it certainly fulfills all the standard buzzwords for a great shimmer reverb: haunting, ghostly, and otherworldly! The cloaked figure is surrounded by several all-seeing eyes and some rune-inspired handwriting that make this pedal the ideal choice for playing dark, ambient drones at your standard midnight candlelit Stonehenge gig.

Walrus Audio Julianna

Designed as an upgrade to the Julia chorus pedal, the Julianna‘s artwork is described by Walrus Audio as “Julia’s big sister emerging from the depths that Julianna once ruled.” While we’re impressed with Walrus Audio’s dedication to continuity in the effects-pedal narrative universe, what really drew us in was how Julianna’s spooky aquatic-monster artwork so perfectly matches the watery, seasick sounds that this excellent chorus/vibrato pedal offers!

Walrus Audio Julianna – Limited-edition Gold, Sweetwater ExclusiveAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Gamechanger Audio Third Man Records Plasma Coil High Voltage Distortion / Octave PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Gamechanger Audio Third Man Records Plasma Coil High Voltage Distortion/Octave

This pedal’s early 20th-century style comes courtesy of Gamechanger Audio’s collaboration with the one and only Jack White. While the shocking towers that adorn this pedal are certainly eye-catching, the real reason we chose the Plasma Coil is the xenon tube in the center. It allows you to literally see the high voltage charging through, like a baby Tesla coil that reacts to your playing. Plus, it’s not just a visual effect; when your supercharged signal comes out the other end of that tube, it sounds nasty. This pedal’s dense fuzz and octave tones will have you thinking that Jack White must be trapped inside — not much of a surprise, considering he’s been using it extensively since his album Help Us Stranger with the Raconteurs.

Walrus Audio Polychrome Flanger

A psychedelic rainbow iguana? We’re sold. Walrus Audio’s Polychrome flanger features a colorful reptilian mascot with an unusually piercing gaze — almost taunting you into stomping on that footswitch. Thankfully, Walrus Audio has made appeasing this lizard easy; if you’re a fan of rich, all-analog flange and vibrato tones, then you’ll rarely be tempted to turn this one off!

Walrus Audio Polychrome Flanger PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Keeley Katana Clean Boost Pedal – New Light Pink, Sweetwater ExclusiveAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Keeley Katana Clean Boost

A clean boost with a clean design! In a list filled with rainbow iguanas, orange-velvet fuzz, and hooded specters, the Katana has a somewhat understated appearance, but we love how sleek and intentional every aspect of the design is. While it works great as a piece of minimalist art, it also functions as an excellent JFET clean boost that’s perfect for hitting your tube amp with some extra power. The side-mounted speed knob is a bold aesthetic touch, but it’s also designed for a utilitarian purpose: to easily adjust your gain on the fly with your foot.

Dreadbox Kinematic Compressor/Filter

When we first received the Dreadbox Kinematic, we weren’t sure whether it was a guitar pedal or a long-forgotten piece of a midcentury Japanese space console! The Kinematic is emblazoned with a stark red and blue finish and Japanese katakana script that spells out this pedal’s name (ki-ne-ma-teiku). If this pedal’s seriously impressive combination of a compressor, overdrive, and envelope filter isn’t enough, then this pedal is also an excellent choice for those looking to replicate a mid-1950s Godzilla movie set.

Dreadbox Kinematic Compressor/Filter Effect PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Walrus Audio Iron Horse LM308 V3 Distortion PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

Walrus Audio Iron Horse LM308 V3 Distortion

Walrus Audio has an entire range of pedals with animal artwork, but perhaps none are more fitting than the Iron Horse‘s gritty gallop. That explains the ink-splash warhorse design, but why the iron? That’s because the Iron Horse’s classic LM308 chip construction gets heavy with a sound that’s reminiscent of a legendary dirt pedal with a much smaller rodent mascot.

Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box Fuzz

Guitarists are a simple bunch. We love loud amps and half-century-old instrument designs, and all of us subconsciously wish that our pedals were covered in an orange-velvet fuzz. Sadly, most of the world has had to simply do without that last one... that is, until Warm Audio decided that enough was enough and gave us the Foxy Tone Box fuzz! This fuzzy, orange box is a component-by-component replica of one of the most sought-after octave-up fuzz pedals of the ’70s, championed by guitarists ranging from Billy Gibbons to Beck.

Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box Fuzz PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar PedalAdd to cart Add to listLearn More

EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar

The EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas is a sonic replication of Wata’s (of legendary genre-defying rock band Boris) favorite fuzz pedal: the Elk BM Sustainar. True to its heritage, this pedal’s twin rabbits are adorned with antlers and surrounded by a border of twisted guitar cables that terminate in flowers. Believe us, listen to a few Boris albums, and this pedal’s trippy design will make a lot more sense! The Hizumitas is based on a classic Big Muff (Elk BM Sustainar) and delivers raw and crushing fuzz tones that are worthy of a band that titles their albums with names like Amplifier Worship and Noise.

If you’re looking for an amazing pedal(s), then Sweetwater carries literally hundreds in any category you could want. We’ve got the pedal you’re looking for, so give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. We’ll get you connected with the perfect pedal.
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