Today we’re going to introduce you to some of the weirdest guitar pedals we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with. If you think you’ve found one the out does these in terms of weirdness, then please share the pedal name and its weirdest functions in the comments below.
Csidman – Catlinbread
Bizarrely, this pedal was designed to replicate the sound of a skipping CD, a sound the kids of today might not be all that familiar with. But for those of you who were around in the 90’s you’ll remember the awesome sounds that were created when your CD started skipping…wait, hold on, that doesn’t sound right…
Nevertheless, the Csidman does allow you to create a CD skipping effect with your guitar, an effect that we would summarise as a glitchy delay effect. The pedal includes a standard delay function, a Cut knob that controls the distance between each skip, and a Latch knob that determines how long each skip lasts.
VO-1 Vocoder – Boss
The VO-1 allows you to combine a microphone and a guitar, mashing your guitar and vocals into one weird robotic sound. A very useful pedal if you have a terrible singing voice or want to start an ambient or synth-pop band. The pedal is also perfect for replicating Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster vocal effect.
The pedal includes 4 settings, including one that emulates a talk box, but unlike the traditional talk boxes, this pedal won’t make you look like a hospital patient with a tube stuck down your throat.
The Mini-Ark – Snazzy FX
The first weird thing you’ll notice about this guitar pedal is the sheer quantity of control knobs; the Mini-Ark includes 9 knobs, two switches, and two foot switches.
This pedal is a synthesiser and works by taking the input from the guitar and using it to trigger other sounds. This means what comes out is a new signal rather than a manipulated version of the guitar sound as is the case with most other pedals. Using the knobs in creative ways allows you to make all sorts of crazy, weird noises that sound nothing like a guitar. Exactly what everyone wants from a guitarist, right?
Turd Fuzz – Dr No
The weirdest aspect of this pedal is not the sound it creates but its shape. Yes, this pedal comes in the shape of a turd. Why? Who knows. It’s weird. That said, the Turd Fuzz pedal does give you a pretty incredible fuzzy sound to play with. The pedal also comes in mini.
Dr Freakenstein’s Dwarf Bleep and Igor – Rainger FX
The first part of this two pedal combo, the Dwarf Bleep, initially appears to be a standard fuzz pedal, but wait! When the signal from your guitar drops below a certain volume the pedal’s bleep function will be triggered and the pedal will start to play a continuous bleep until you begin playing again. Yup, pretty weird.
The second part of the pedal, Igor, is a pressure sensitive foot-switch that adds a filter into the mix. Less weird to be sure, but when combined with the Dwarf Bleep this pedal definitely makes the list.
Hot Hand 3 – Source Audio
In truth the Hot Hand 3 is more of a pedal accessory than a pedal in its own right, but it’s pretty weird so we’re including it anyway. The Hot Hand 3 allows you to control a setting on your pedal using a wireless, motion sensitive ring.
As you move the ring up and down the setting will be adjusted correspondingly. It gives you a very different kind of control over settings as opposed to the traditional foot switch and has the added advantage of making you look like a guitar playing Power Ranger.
Miku – Korg
Do you love J-pop? Obviously, who doesn’t! Well today’s your lucky day. The Miku guitar pedal by Korg lets you turn every song into a J-pop classic and is possibly one of the most peculiar pedals ever created.
It would be fair to ask how this pedal came to be, well, let us enlighten you. After a Japanese media company decided dealing with real singers was too much hassle, they created a virtual singer using a selection of samples. A digital persona was then attached to the voice called Hatsune Miku, a 16-year-old girl with pigtails. Miku has performed live concerts as a projection and now, with the Miku guitar pedal, you can access the samples and play them on your guitar! Brilliant, no?
Check out Hatsune Miku in action:
Think you’ve found a weirder pedal than these? Share the pedal name and its weirdest functions in the comments below.