PEDAL CRUSH - Stompbox Effects For Creative Music Making

by Kim Bjørn, Scott Harper

PEDAL CRUSH is the ultimate guide to effects pedals and their creative use. If you run a guitar, bass, keyboard, or other instrument through stompboxes, PEDAL CRUSH will open new doors for you in ways you never imagined.

- Over 800 Pedals
- 50 Interviews with artists and pedal makers
- 200+ Tips and tricks to get the most out of your pedalboard
- Foreword by master guitarist (and pedal crusher) Steve Vai
- 376 colorful pages printed on high-quality certified-ecofriendly paper
- Hardcover format (9.8" x 9.8" / 25 x 25 cm)

PEDAL CRUSH is a trip into the expansive, eclectic, and mesmerizing world of effects pedals. These addictive little boxes have long since transcended their modest beginnings, maturing into truly creative tools for every kind of musician.

This book examines the stompbox phenomenon as a means of creative expression and personal sound shaping. Bursting with color photos and illustrations, it systematically covers over 800 pedals – from vintage to cutting edge, from the essential to the exotic, from popular classics to boutique wizardry. PEDAL CRUSH also dives deep into techniques, tips and tricks, pedalboards, software, and more. If you have a crush on pedals, this book will document your love affair like none other.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

375 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Osku · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty thorough book on (guitar) effect pedals. I was a bit skeptical first if this was going to be a book that will be outdated in a year with all the new pedals coming out. That's not the case at all. The book goes through all different pedal types in some detail (not engineering/boring level) with feature and sound texture examples varying from some of the first pedals to some of the most recent. There are also informative graphs that help the reader to grasp how these things really work. And plenty of pictures of old and new (and everything in between) pedals. And tips on how to achieve certain effects/sounds. And interviews with musicians and effects makers. Obviously the emphasis is on guitar and bass but other uses are also discussed. Fantastic.

[Gordo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me several months to digest the contents of this astoundingly comprehensive tome on guitar pedals. Having been a lifelong musician and working in a pedal shop for some time I THOUGHT I had absorbed a lot of knowledge about pedals…this book proved me wrong lol. This book has helped me to better understand and assimilate the innumerable concepts, contexts and creations involved with signal processing and pedal manufacturing. Filled with hundreds of illustrated examples and a swath of interviews with classic and current pedal makers, it is easy to understand why Pedal Crush is considered a ‘holy grail’ amongst books of its ilk and irreplaceable as an excellent reference source worth returning to time and time again. A+

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a long book. You have to really be interested in guitar pedals and by extension music to read this book. I previously bought two books on guitar amps that I realize I never got around to reading and they ended up in storage when I went to live abroad. But during Covid I watched a lot of YouTube videos which is probably where I learned about this book. It is odd I read a book this long on guitar pedals considering I own none, I don't even own an electric guitar, I think in 2023 I'll rectify both situations as I'm now overqualified for creative music making it seems.

[Erlend Bergsagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this book i excellent!

I started with the intention reading it from cover to cover. But no.
The content is massive and thorough.
The interviews are excellent. I read ca halfway before I only read all the interviews.
Now I use it as an encyclopedia when I need to know more about guitar pedals and amps or that I am curious/need to know more and/or is in the right mood.

I have learned a lot more about the way different guitar pedals- and how the signal works because of this book.
And my interest in guitar pedals has blossomed.
And I haven't even mentioned the photographs yet.

[T. Alan Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Everything you ever wanted to know about guitar pedals and then some. I started the book knowing very little about pedals, and now I’m dizzy with all the possibilities. The book feels very up-to-the-minute in its references to pedal offerings, covering from the inception of the pedal industry to 2019. The book is chock full of pedal photographs to go along with the descriptions. Will definitely keep as a reference guide on my shelf.

[Daniel Vinklar · Rating 5 out of 5]

more pictures than reading... total eye-candy... ! if you are an experimental, electronic, acoustic, live musician like me, than this is the definition of WANT! my collection of effect pedals and effect boxes is growing! :)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this fully expecting a thoroughly nerdy pedal-porn coffee table book but it’s actually a book with interesting words, information, interviews and yes - thoroughly nerdy pedal porn. Chuffed.

[Tony Espy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good, but beware the hidden cost of reading this book...

[Nicholas Why · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for effects pedals lovers. You might just discover a new effects pedal you never knew you needed!