The Noodles Tone Shaper is a 3-band active EQ/boost pedal from Montreal-based Ground Control Audio, announced in December 2020 and available from January 2021. Instead of one flat boost pedal, it gives you three separate boosts, one each for bass, mids and treble, and each boost is shaped around a selectable frequency within its band. Every channel has its own footswitch, so you can stack any combination of the three on the fly12.
The idea, as gearnews.com put it, is "kind of like having three easy-to-adjust boosts at your disposal: a very handy tool indeed!" for sculpting guitar tones going into the front end of an amp3. Delicious Audio described the result as "just the best of both and a nice kick in the tone to push your amp right past the edge of breakup"4.
Three switchable boosts, each shaped around one EQ band
The pedal features three channels, each tied to one EQ band: bass, middle and treble1. What separates the Noodles from a simple treble boost or clean boost is that each channel is frequency-limited: it does not boost everything, it boosts a chosen region within its band. Guitar.com described the pedal as allowing you to "switch in three frequency-limited boosts"1.
Each channel has three of its own "frequencies of interest" to be shaped around, selected with a push button1. With three channels, three frequency choices per channel and an on/off state for each, the pedal offers a total of 64 different filter combinations5. When a channel is engaged, its output is mixed in equally with the other engaged channels and with the dry signal, which always comes through1. That mixing behavior is what makes the pedal feel like layering flavors rather than swapping them, and it is the basis for the 64-combination count2.
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found this structure practical in use, "giving you complete tone-sculpting control over your entire rig, or just perfectly dialing in your favorite amp"2.
The controls: gain knobs, frequency buttons and footswitches
The control layout is the same on every channel, which keeps it quick to learn674:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain knob (one per channel) | Sets how much boost the channel adds; MusicRadar describes it as the purple knob you turn to set how much gain to dial in7 |
| Push button (below each gain knob) | Cycles through the channel's three selectable frequencies1 |
| Footswitch (one per channel) | Enables or disables that channel1 |
The workflow is simple: choose which frequency you want to boost, turn the gain knob to set how much, and engage the channel with its footswitch7. Each band can be toggled with a press of its switch, and any combination of bands can be on at once2.
The frequency choices on the bass, mids and treble channels
The specific frequencies reported by different outlets do not fully agree, so both sets are given here26.
Bass channel, as roll-off or boost points:
Mids channel, as bell EQ ranges:
| Setting | GuitarPlayer6 | Pedal of the Day2 |
|---|---|---|
| Mids I | 400Hz to 2.8KHz | 250Hz to 500Hz |
| Mids II | 800Hz to 2KHz | 400Hz to 1KHz |
| Mids III | 1KHz to 1.5KHz | 1KHz to 1.8KHz |
Treble channel, as roll-off or boost points:
| Setting | GuitarPlayer and Guitar World65 | Pedal of the Day2 |
|---|---|---|
| Treb I | 2.8KHz | 1.8KHz |
| Treb II | 4KHz | 3.2KHz |
| Treb III | 6KHz | 6KHz |
The two accounts agree on the lowest bass points and the top treble point but differ on the rest, so treat these as approximate guides to where each boost sits rather than exact specifications. In use, the treble settings are aimed at presence and bite, with Pedal of the Day describing the band as "providing plenty of eye-opening tonal brilliance"2.
History: from the Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi preamp circuit
The Noodles did not come from a blank sheet. It uses the same preamp technology as Ground Control Audio's Amaterasu bright preamp and Tsukuyomi midrange booster, two earlier pedals from the maker4. MusicRadar likewise reported that the Noodles "deploys the same preamp tech as found on its Amaterasu bright pre-amp and Tsukuyomi midrange boost"7, and Guitar World confirmed the lineage5. In effect, the Noodles bundles that preamp circuit into three band-limited channels in one box.
Under the hood, the pedal is a hybrid design: a fully-analog signal path with a digitally-controlled signal routing system1. Delicious Audio describes this as "a digitally-controlled solid state analog signal routing system built around the ARM Cortex-M microcontroller platform"4. Your audio stays analog; the microcontroller handles the switching and routing.
The pedal was announced on 10 December 202037, with preorders open at an introductory $229 and shipping slated for January 20213. It launched at a suggested retail price of $2494. Visually, MusicRadar noted that "the enclosure is very easy on the eye, with purple controls and cup noodle graphic on a cream metal enclosure"7.
What reviewers made of it
Coverage across the press was consistent about the pedal's usefulness rather than its flash. Pedal of the Day opened its review by noting that "Equalization and Boost pedals are not always flashy" before settling into what the Noodles offers2. gearnews.com's take was that the three footswitchable channels "really opens up what you can do with a simple amp setup and could make the Noodles Tone Shaper a powerful tool in your rig"3. For players comparing EQ pedals, the recurring theme in reviews is flexibility: three independent, frequency-selectable boosts blended over an always-present dry signal, rather than one fixed curve.
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Questions
Is the Noodles Tone Shaper analog or digital?
Both, in a way. The signal path is fully analog, but the routing of that signal is controlled digitally. Ground Control Audio describes it as a digitally-controlled solid state analog signal routing system built around the ARM Cortex-M microcontroller platform, so your tone stays analog while the switching is handled by digital control.
Can the Noodles cut frequencies or only boost them?
The channels are described as boosts. Guitar.com characterized the pedal as three frequency-limited boosts, and gearnews.com called it three easy-to-adjust boosts. Delicious Audio's product page lists a boost/cut knob per band, but the pedal's core function as described across coverage is boosting selected frequencies rather than cutting them.
Is the dry signal always present when a Noodles channel is on?
Yes. When a channel is enabled, its output is mixed in equally with the other engaged channels and with the dry signal, which always comes through. That means you are layering boosted frequencies on top of your original tone rather than replacing it.
How many tone combinations does the Noodles Tone Shaper have?
64. Each of the three channels, bass, mids and treble, has three selectable frequencies plus an on/off state, and every enabled channel is blended with the dry signal. Ground Control Audio and multiple outlets describe this as a total of 64 different filter recipes or combinations.
How much did the Noodles Tone Shaper cost at launch?
Preorders opened at an introductory price of $229 direct from Ground Control Audio, rising to a suggested retail price of $249 when shipping began in January 2021. The $249 figure is the list price given by Guitar.com, GuitarPlayer and Delicious Audio.
Can you use the bass, mids and treble channels at the same time on the Noodles?
Yes. Each channel has its own footswitch, so you can engage any combination of the three bands at once. When multiple channels are on, each one's output is mixed in equally with the others and with the always-present dry signal.
Sources (7)
- Ground Control Audio announces the Noodles Tone Shaper, Guitar.com, 2020-12-14
- Ground Control Audio Noodles Tone Shaper EQ Boost, Pedal of the Day, 2021-05-12
- The Noodles Tone Shaper: Triple-boost your guitar tone with 64 EQ combinations!, gearnews.com, 2020-12-11
- Ground Control Noodles Tone Shaper, Delicious Audio, 2021-08-03
- Ground Control Audio serves up an EQ and boost feast with the Noodles Tone Shaper, Guitar World, 2020-12-10
- Ground Control Audio Debuts New Noodles Tone Shaper EQ/Boost Pedal, GuitarPlayer, 2020-12-14
- Feed your amp a three-course feast of EQ/boost with Ground Control Audio's Noodles Tone Shaper, MusicRadar, 2020-12-10
