Donner

Beyond budget pedals, Donner has shown growing ambition. Its recent releases include more ambitious designs with art on the case¹, and in 2024 it launched its highest-profile project yet: the Triple Threat, a collaboration with Jack White's Third Man Hardware.

What Donner is known for: low-cost pedals

Donner's reputation rests on inexpensive pedals that cover nearly every effect type a player needs. The range includes²¹⁶:

• Distortion and overdrive pedals such as the Alpha Cruncher and Alpha Force⁷⁸
• Delays and echoes, from the original Yellow Fall to the White Tape stereo delay¹⁹
• Modulation pedals including the Pearl Tremor phaser and Tutti Love chorus
• Utility pedals like the DT-1 tuner and the Noise Killer noise gate¹⁰¹¹²
• Multi-effects units like the Pocket Go and Pocket X¹²¹³

The Noise Killer, a two-mode noise gate pedal designed to eliminate unwanted noise, is typical of the range: a single-purpose effect in a small box at a low price². The White Tape stereo delay shows the maker's broader reach, with Donner noting it suits synthesizers and drum machines as well as guitars¹⁴.

Delicious Audio has noted that Donner's recent releases show more ambition than the early no-frills boxes, including artwork on the pedal cases¹. The company's position in the market is comparable in spirit to Behringer, which Guitar World describes as making "affordable copies of celebrated pedals"¹⁵, though Donner's catalog is built largely around its own designs, including the circuits that trace back to its first pedal.

The Third Man Hardware collaboration and the Triple Threat

Donner's most talked-about release is the Triple Threat, a 3-in-1 analog multi-effects pedal made with Third Man Hardware, the pedal company founded by Jack White¹⁶. White took interest in Donner's Alpha series pedals, released in 2017, feeling their quality and value was ideal for Third Man Hardware's beginner guitarists¹⁷. He then worked with Donner to design and manufacture the pedal¹⁸.

Donner has also worked with other partners on joint releases, and the Triple Threat is one such collaboration pedal¹⁹. It packages multiple effects in one box:

The Triple Threat is a Donner-built pedal developed in partnership with Third Man Hardware¹⁹²¹¹⁸. Third Man Hardware's other pedals were made with different partners and without Donner²², so the Triple Threat stands as a one-off pairing between the two companies.

What reviewers said

Published reviewers were broadly positive. Guitar World's Paul Riario wrote:

Guitar.com's reviewer found the phaser and echo sections carried Donner's earlier circuits forward with meaningful upgrades, and noted the shared Alpha-series chassis⁹. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley found the pedal's what-you-see-is-what-you-get controls easy to use, while cautioning that it "might be a little tricky integrating with a pedalboard or your amp's effects loop"²³. Pedal of the Day described it as a multi-effect collab between Donner and Third Man, highlighting the echo's warm analog tone and rich feedback²⁴.

Other collaborations and recent releases

Donner's collaboration history extends beyond Third Man Hardware. The company has also run crossover projects with partners outside the guitar effects world, including work with a designer fashion brand and with music education institutions²⁵.

Its recent product releases show the same widening scope:

• The Arena 2000, a multi-effects pedal²⁶
• The Circle Looper, a looper pedal²⁷
• The Pocket X, a compact multi-effects pedal¹³
• The DP-1, a power supply²⁸

The Arena 2000 in particular marks Donner's move into full-featured multi-effects territory, a long way from the mini pedals that built the brand's name²⁶²⁹⁶.

Where Donner fits for a player

For a beginner building a first pedalboard, Donner's catalog offers nearly every effect type at low prices, and the Triple Threat's origin story, Jack White choosing the Alpha series for beginner guitarists, speaks directly to that use¹⁷. For experienced players, the interest lies in the circuits: the Yellow Fall delay line that began in 2013²⁴⁹¹⁴, the Pearl Tremor phaser that was upgraded for the Triple Threat⁹, and the White Tape stereo echo that works with synths and drum machines as well as guitars¹⁴.

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