The Anasounds Spinner is an expression pedal with a twist: instead of a rocker you push with your foot, it has a three-blade metallic star that you kick and set spinning. How fast the star spins is what gets sent to a connected pedal, so you control a tremolo's rate with a flick of your foot rather than a sweep. Anasounds is blunt about why it built the thing, arguing that what players usually call an expression pedal is really just a control pedal, "a control pedal that would have the exact same effect as turning a knob with your foot"1. The Spinner is their answer to that.
It comes in two versions: a DIY kit and an already assembled version built by Anasounds' own workers, with nothing to assemble2. Both connect to a compatible pedal through a 3.5mm jack, and a jack cable is included23.
What it does: a kicked spinning star that controls rate
The Spinner does not process your guitar signal at all. As Anasounds puts it, "the Spinner is an expression pedal, so it doesn't generate any effect"4. It sits off to the side of your board, you kick the star, and the rotation rate is transmitted to whatever compatible pedal it is plugged into.
Connected to the Anasounds Trémolo in accelerator mode, the effect is direct: "if the Spinner is spinning fast, the Tremolo Rate will accelerate"5. In the first two modes there is a further trick: you can kick the star while your main pedal is switched off, and the Spinner will trigger the effect for a limited time, until the star stops turning23.
How it works: magnets and a three-blade star
The mechanism is a magnetic detection system. The star, which Anasounds describes as boomerang-like with three blades, is mounted on a screw inspired by a skateboard, and each blade carries a magnet. A sensor detects the magnets passing and sends your rotation rate to the circuit23.
The jack carries three wires: +5V, ground, and data (Tx)4. The Spinner sends the rotation speed, an indication of on and off switching, and the mode chosen with the back switch4. If you see a "tx'" marking in the kit, it is the same as Tx, and it is there in case you want to add a jack and control two pedals at the same time4.
The metallic star itself is milled from aluminum blocks by Joffrey Legouet, a local French craftsman Anasounds tracked down to build the made-to-measure part34.
The controls and modes
A three-position switch selects the operating mode. On the assembled pedal it sits on the back, placed there, Anasounds says, so it does not get in the way of your kicks2; on the kit it is next to the jack4.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Speed up | The faster the Spinner spins, the more the tremolo accelerates, up until the Spinner stops turning36 |
| Slow down | The effect is slowed down instead3 |
| Killswitch | A stuttering sound synchronized with the rate of the Spinner2 |
With the Ages harmonic tremolo pedal, the top position accelerates the tremolo while the middle position activates what Anasounds calls "a strange kill switch that alternates between bass and treble"4.
Inside the pedal are three trimpots for tuning the behavior23:
- Activation threshold: the minimum speed for the effect to activate, including turning it on when the pedal was off234
- Deactivation threshold: the minimum speed for the effect to stay activated24
- Impact: whether the rotation has a big or small impact on the effect, that is, the acceleration or deceleration rate24
History: from the Anasounds Trémolo
The idea came to Anasounds while working on the Trémolo pedal, and it took them months of research to arrive at the magnetic system2. The kit version was released during Winter NAMM 2020, as Anasounds' Alex explained in the assembly guide4. At the time of the kit's documentation, Anasounds said a new Spinner-compatible pedal would be released at the next NAMM4; the current compatibility list is the Trémolo pedal and the Ages harmonic tremolo pedal, with more compatible pedals in development23.
The kit version is covered in detail on its own page: Anasounds Spinner kit.
What reviewers said
A published reviewer's verdict leaned on what the device opens up rather than what it replaces: "the Spinner brings out so many cool new possibilities that it could do what the DigiTech Whammy Pedal did upon its intro"7. That is a comparison to a pedal that changed how players thought about foot control, and it frames the Spinner as an idea pedal, one that might inspire players to find their own ways to use it.
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Questions
Which pedals work with the Anasounds Spinner?
The Spinner is compatible with the Anasounds Trémolo pedal and the Ages harmonic tremolo pedal, and it ships with a 3.5mm jack cable to connect to them. Anasounds has said more compatible pedals were in development, and the kit's data output can be wired to control two pedals at once.
Does the Anasounds Spinner work as a normal expression pedal?
No. Anasounds describes it as an expression pedal in the sense that it controls another pedal rather than generating an effect, but it does not behave like a rocker pedal. Instead of sweeping a value with your foot, you kick a spinning three-blade star, and its rotation rate is what gets sent to the connected pedal.
Can I update the Spinner kit firmware?
Yes. The kit is Arduino-based, with the chip sitting in a socket, so you can update the firmware yourself at home by removing the chip. Anasounds also offers to send a replacement chip with updated firmware if you prefer not to flash it yourself.
What does killswitch mode on the Spinner do?
Killswitch mode makes a stuttering sound synchronized with the rate of the Spinner. With the Ages pedal, the middle switch position activates a kill switch that alternates between bass and treble, rather than simply speeding up or slowing down the tremolo.
Is the Anasounds Spinner kit hard to build?
Anasounds positions it as a good first DIY project, with few components to solder and an enclosure they describe as ultra simplified to build. One care point: the hall sensor should be soldered with its legs at maximum length and sit as close as possible to the enclosure for correct detection.
Sources (7)
- Tremolo concept, Anasounds, 2021-03-24
- Spinner | Expression pedal | Already assembled version | Anasounds, Anasounds, 2025-10-23
- Spinner | Expression pedal | Kit version | Anasounds, Anasounds, 2026-04-04
- Assemble your spinner kit, Anasounds, 2020-03-21
- the tremolo effect: origins, mechanisms and improvements!, Anasounds (anasounds.com), 2020-02-22
- trémolo | Anasounds, Anasounds, 2021-03-24
- Anasounds Spinner, Ages and Sliver Pedals review, Guitar World, 2020-10-14
