8 Legendary Guitarists and Their Signature Pedals

For more than half a century, guitarists of all stripes have been stomping on effects pedals to elevate their sound. Guitar effects pedals come in various shapes and sizes. They are a vital part of the tool kit of electric guitarists. Many pedals produce impressive guitar effects by tweaking the sound in myriad ways. Pedals have different functions and are classified in various categories, including overdrive, distortion, fuzz, chorus, filter, and delay. Several units have stood out from the crowd and become acknowledged as the most coveted, influential, and iconic guitar effects of all time. Ever since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll, guitar icons have been slapping their names on customized gear. Fortunately, that has resulted in several spectacular stompboxes. The likes of Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci, to name a few, all have their astonishing and bizarre signature effects pedals. Signature equipment is about more than plainly guitars, and signature pedals usually provide players with a way more affordable route to the tones of their heroes. Below are some of the best collaboration and signature pedals available on Tonebox.

MXR EVH Phase 90

Legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen is best known as the founder of American heavy metal band Van Halen, which dominated the 70s and 80s hard rock scene. He is regarded as among the most talented, influential, and original rock guitarists of the 20th century. Eddie’s signature tunes include Panama, Spanish Fly, and Eruption.

The EVH Phase 90 from MXR pays homage to the iconic guitarist who first rocked people’s ears on his debut album in 1978. Over 25 years after, the guitar work heard on that album continues to amaze and inspire young guitarists across the globe. A significant part of that classic tone is because of Eddie’s MXR Phase 90. The EVH Phase 90 is a collaboration between Dunlop Manufacturing and Eddie Van Halen that represents a revamped variant of the famed Phase 90, offering even more tonal possibilities that Eddie himself is very proud of. It serves up the same exceptional spacey swirls and trance-inducing warbles that have made the Phase 90 legendary. The EVH Phase 90 incorporates a brand new Script switch that allows users to easily change between a classic, Script Logo phase tone and a newer, in-your-face Block Logo phaser. What’s more, the EVH Phase 90 carries a new blue LED light and wears the most renowned graphics in rock history: the red, black, and white stripes from Eddie’s iconic Frankenstein guitar.

Dunlop Buddy Guy Signature Cry Baby

The “caretaker of the blues,” George “Buddy” Guy, has been cited as a significant influence by wah masters such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. He has been instrumental in establishing the effect as part of the blues language. He is among the titans of the blues, straddling contemporary and traditional forms, as well as musical generations. Guy is popular for his high-voltage guitar playing and raw, blistering vocals. For Clapton, Guy is “by far without a doubt the best guitar player alive…He really changed the course of rock and roll blues.” To honor Guy’s contributions, Dunlop has built the Buddy Guy Signature Cry Baby Wah, boasting the legendary Fasel Inductor for a singing and sweet top end. Meticulously designed and voiced, the Buddy Guy Cry Baby incorporates two discrete user selectable wah voices. Select DEEP for a massive, throaty growl or BG for Buddy’s uniquely warm and bell-esque wah tone. The Buddy Guy Cry Baby also consists of convenient side-mounted LEDs displaying which mode the user is in and another one indicating the effect on/off. The Buddy Guy Cry Baby allows guitars to sing the blues in style with the distinctive Buddy-approved polka dot graphics plus a custom signature tread.

Morley Mark Tremonti Signature Wah

Mark Tremonti is a renowned American musician who is best known for being the lead guitarist in the rock bands Alter Bridge and Creed.

Built to follow the boots of riff god Mark Tremonti, the Morley Mark Tremonti Signature Wah serves up a blissful hybrid of modern and classic tones. It dishes out the wah tone he established as the legendary lead guitarist for Creed. Providing users with the ability to slice through the mix, Mark’s signature wah carries a Boost knob that adds as much as a full 20 dB of Wah gain for anthemic bridges and killer solos. Morley’s world-famous electro-optical, switchless design indicates that the pedal’s tone is enduring—users do not need to fret about wearing out any pot. The Mark Tremonti Signature Wah is housed within a sturdy cold-rolled steel chassis. It features a convenient access battery compartment, diamond plate rubber treadle grip, and LED indication. It is programmed to Mark’s preferred sweep and tone for modern and traditional Wah sounds. The Mark Tremonti Signature Wah gives users exceptional tone for their bass or guitar. The True Tone Bypass buffer circuit guarantees pure instrument tone and output. The Mark Tremonti Signature Wah comes in a standard Morley construction: 9.13″ x 5.88″ x 2.75″ (L x W x H). It works with keys, bass, or guitar.

EBS** **Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Deluxe

The unique playing style of American bassist Billy Sheehan has been widely celebrated and documented. His songwriting, singing, playing, and contributions to his numerous recordings have resulted in sold-out shows, tons of records sold, and Gold or Platinum status across the globe.

The Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Deluxe packs Billy’s trademark sound within a stompbox. When Billy and EBS created the signature pedal, Billy examined his entire rig, and then posed a simple question: “can we do this in a pedal?” Those who are familiar with Billy’s setup and sound know that it is pretty advanced and well thought out. He separates high-end and low-end and leverages both compression and distortion as fundamental ingredients to achieve his tone. It had been “as challenging as inspiring” for them to incorporate Billy’s ideas into a single pedal. Nonetheless, EBS did the job so well that both the original purple one and newer orange Deluxe model have become key components of Billy’s rig ever since. For players who are not so fortunate to gain access to every equipment that Billy employs, the pedal itself is capable of delivering virtually all the ingredients that his whole setup offers—in a tiny box. “My new Deluxe pedal has more gain! It really screams. Much more than the first version, but you can always tone it down if you like. Also, one very unique feature that I think will appeal to a lot of people is the ‘swappable’ 8 pin dual inline op amp. You can basically make it your own signature drive by replacing the main drive chip with another of your choice! Also, there’s a phase reverse switch for the drive channel that gives tones a very different dimension. And a ‘boost’ switch to kick the drive into a much higher gain. All exciting new features that will make it easier for players to fine-tune this device to their own personal needs,” Billy said about the Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Deluxe.

J. Rockett Allan Holdsworth Signature OD/Boost

Considered by Frank Zappa as “a gamechanger for the electric guitar,” British guitar virtuoso and composer Allan Holdsworth has played in several original hybrid bands drawing on progressive rock, jazz, and early electronica in the 1970s. Allan’s styles and brilliance were admired by several of the best in the business. “He’s not trying new things, he’s mastering them,” smooth-jazz hitmaker George Benson stated. According to ex Deep Purple guitarist Joe Satriani, “his brilliant approach to harmony is completely original, beautiful and spellbinding.”

The J. Rockett Allan Holdsworth Signature OD/Boost, created in conjunction with Allan Holdsworth, delivers a light OD and highly tweakable boost section, which enables different EQ emphasis. Users can obtain some pretty searing gain by slapping the OD with the boost. Allan wanted a stompbox to combat backlines but still capture his trademark sound and feel. The Allan Holdsworth Signature OD/Boost exceeded their expectations and has proven to be a staple on their boards. The Allan Holdsworth Signature OD/Boost is two pedals in one—a low to mid gain overdrive pedal and a six-mode boost pedal, both with a shared two-band EQ section. The transparent overdrive takes clean or already breaking up amp into sustain nirvana with a variety of boost options capable of working independently of the overdrive.

Tech 21 Richie Kotzen Signature OMG

American guitarist Richie Kotzen burst onto the heavy metal scene as a lad with a lightning-fast guitar technique. Richie is capable of covering vast tonal territory merely by the way he plays. The Tech 21 Richie Kotzen Signature OMG is designed to be volume- and touch-sensitive, serving up the vibe and tone of a vintage tube amp in the red zone.

More than merely a pedal carrying Richie’s name, the Richie Kotzen Signature OMG was intensive collaborative work. With ears like a bat, Richie was characteristically careful about each detail. It took several prototypes to get the OMG pedal to feel and sound precisely how Richie wanted it. Named not just after Richie’s song, “OMG” is a typical exclamation each time one hears him play. The pure analog OMG boasts a distinctive, quite asymmetrical distortion that simulates single power tube Class A amps, but with a faster, tighter, and snappier response. It has been created to articulate all the nuances of Richie’s dizzying playing style. This overdrive accordingly responds when users play with expression and nuance. The Richie Kotzen Signature OMG is built tough with all-metal construction and consists of controls for Boost, Drive, Girth, and Tone to let users shape their sound.

Suhr Kiko Loureiro Signature Shiba Drive Reloaded

Brazilian heavy metal guitarist Kiko Loureiro is part of bands Megadeth and Angra. He has garnered the highest rankings in numerous polls as “Best Guitarist.” Kiko also landed the front covers of several guitar magazines, including Guitar World, Guitar Player, and Young Guitar.

Since 2015, the Megadeth guitarist has been an avid supporter and utilized an original Shiba Drive as his primary overdrive pedal live and in the studio for both his Megadeth and solo projects. Suhr has teamed up with Kiko to create the Kiko Loureiro Signature Shiba Drive Reloaded. Crafted to work equally great with humbucking and single-coil instruments, the Shiba Reloaded dynamically responds to all the nuances of users’ playing, similar to the overdrive channel of a tube amp. By merely rolling the volume knob, users can conveniently morph from pushed clean to Classic Rock style tones. The Shiba Drive Reloaded delivers more than 50% more gain compared to the original Shiba Drive. The engineers at Suhr fine-tuned its gain stage, raised saturation and upper harmonics, which resulted in more sustain and better midrange articulation, letting the notes sing without compromising low-end definition. A perfect pair to the original Shiba Drive, the Shiba Drive Reloaded is an all-round overdrive pedal that yields an extensive range of overdriven or pushed tones, with an amp-esque feel, all in a portable stompbox. Other features include an FX Link connector, true bypass, and low battery monitor.

Dunlop Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face

Eric Johnson is undoubtedly one of the contemporary masters of tone. The sweet sound of vintage fuzz is part of his preferred lead tone. Johnson got together with Fuzz Face guru Jeorge Tripps to achieve the perfect fuzz tone. Together, they created the Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face, drawing inspiration from the tones of Johnson’s beloved Fuzz Face collection. The Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face is a hot-rodded fuzz pedal that leverages handpicked BC183 silicon transistors for higher gain. It carries custom repro ’68 to ‘69 knobs and sports a vintage-esque hammer tone finish for a unique look. The Eric Johnson Signature Fuzz Face is a beautifully dynamic, powerful, and expressive pedal. It packs Johnson’s beloved fuzz tone into a stompbox. “I first heard the Fuzz Face when I was about 12 and loved playing through it” he shared. “It’s the classic tone used by Jimi Hendrix, one of my greatest influences. No other pedal gets this type of sound. It’s the pinnacle of psychedelic fuzz.”