Crazy Tube Circuits Sidekick

The Crazy Tube Circuits Sidekick is a multi-effects pedal from Greek maker Crazy Tube Circuits, released in 2019. It packs three time-based effects into one double-width enclosure: a bucket brigade flanger/chorus, a 700ms echo/delay, and a three-mode reverb, in that order in the signal chain¹². Crazy Tube Circuits pitches it as "time based effects and creative tools in a compact design, ideal for any fly-rig or small board setup"³.

The Sidekick is discontinued. Crazy Tube Circuits lists it as "discontinued - old stock" and its own store shows it sold out, at an original price of €309.00 marked down to €219.00³. Its smaller successor, the Sidekick Jr, remains in the line.

Modulation, delay and reverb in one pedal

The Sidekick's appeal is having the three most common time-based effects on tap at once. Pedal of the Day framed it as bringing together four effects, counting chorus and flanger separately, "placing them all in one pedal with multiple options for each sonic layer"⁵. Each effect has its own separate controls and footswitch, so the sections can be run individually or stacked¹.

The signal chain runs in a fixed order:

1. Bucket brigade flanger/chorus
2. Echo/delay, up to 700ms
3. Three-mode reverb¹

For players who build small boards or fly rigs, that replaces a chorus pedal, a delay pedal and a reverb pedal with one box, at the cost of a double-width footprint. Guitar.com's Josh Gardner described the original as "a pedal that sought to combine all of the most desirable and popular time-based effects into one single double-width pedal"⁶.

The three sections and their controls

Each section draws on circuits and sounds the maker is known for.

The chorus is the analog heart of the pedal. Delicious Audio described it as "a fully analog, lush BBD chorus" for three-dimensional sounds, and the same write-up notes the flanger mode is reached by switching the chorus circuit itself rather than adding a separate algorithm¹. The reverb's exciter algorithm was carried over from the maker's Splash mk3 reverb pedal¹.

Buffer, DI and headphone outputs

Beyond the three effects, the Sidekick carries utility features aimed at silent practice and recording. It has DI and headphone outputs with switchable amp/speaker simulation, which Delicious Audio noted suit personal in-ear monitoring, silent practice, or connecting straight to an audio interface or mixing console¹. Pedal of the Day highlighted the same outputs as a way to "always have your personal in-ear" monitoring setup wherever you play⁵.

There is also a switchable studio-quality buffer/preamp, which the maker says is taken from its Magnifier pedal¹. For players running long cables or many true-bypass pedals, a switchable buffer at the end of the chain is a practical addition; see buffer pedals for how one works.

History and the Sidekick Jr

The Sidekick arrived in 2019 and found a following among players who wanted ambient textures from one box; Delicious Audio later called it "a 2019 pedal popular among shoegazers"⁷. In September 2023 Crazy Tube Circuits announced the Sidekick Jr, a compact successor that Guitar.com's video review summed up as taking the original concept and squeezing it "into an even smaller enclosure"⁶.

The Jr is more than 50% smaller than the original and offers almost twice as many algorithms⁷. The trade-offs are real, though: the Jr drops from three footswitches to two⁸, and MusicRadar's Rob Laing noted "the jettisoning of the speaker sim DI and headphone output from the larger Sidekick"⁹. The delay section grew from one algorithm to two, combining tape echo options with digital delay inspired by '80s digital rack units, and the chorus mode is inspired by the bucket brigade Boss Chorus Ensemble alongside a Dimension C-style ensemble mode⁹. The Jr is a hybrid circuit, draws 210mA, and is made in Greece¹⁰⁴.

Reviewers have been broadly positive about the Jr's sounds and ease of use. Guitar.com's Josh Gardner praised "some seriously inspirational reverb and mod sounds" and found it really easy to use, while flagging "limited and slightly underwhelming delay sounds" and noting that for the price he expected something a little more inspirational from that section⁸. MusicRadar's review likewise lists easy to use among its pluses⁴.

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