The 5 Best Effects Pedals of 2025: From Perfect Beginner Tool to Premium Boutique Effect
A look back on to a year filled with exciting releases!
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The 5 Best Effects Pedals of 2025: From Perfect Beginner Tool to Premium Boutique Effect · Source: Tone King
2025, what a year for pedals! We got a new Helix, Boss stumbled a bit, there was Behringer’s torrent of Boogs rain, it never got boring! After 2024 brought us mainly mini pedals and new modelers, the best effects pedals of 2025 are, above all, versatile. Let’s take a closer look at this year’s best pedals!
Pedal Highlights: Our Picks
The Best Effects Pedals of 2025: NAM, NAM, NAM
Whereas 2024 brought us a host of mini versions of large modelers in the form of Tonex One, Kemper Player, and Nano Cortex, other kinds of pedals took center stage in this segment in 2025. Kemper and Neural DSP showcased new modeling algorithms, while Line 6 finally released a new Helix generation with its Agoura amp modeling technology. But the influence and popularity of the open-source modeling format NAM is growing.
Currently, you mostly find NAM compatiblity in entry-level and budget models such as the extremely popular Valeton GP-5 (see below), Soinccake Pocket Master, or the Darkglass Anagram bass preamp. Which also some of the best effects pedals on the market. Of course, there is also the Dimehead NAM Player, which is a fully equipped NAM loader, but it currently doesn’t offer the corresponding ecosystems that Neural DSP, Kemper, IKM, and others do. But I stand by my opinion: sooner or later, NAM will find its way into all major modelers.
Who’s the Boss Pedal?
Then, Boss surprisingly stumbled a little (to put it mildly) with the PX-1. The idea of being able to load up to 16 virtual pedals from famous, popular, and, in some cases, rare Boss pedals into one pedal is not a bad one. But the proximity to the Roland Cloud universe and the mere suggestion of DLCs and subscriptions rubbed many people the wrong way. Let’s wait and see if other manufacturers have taken note.
Also, Behringer jumped on the pedal bandwagon with full steam. By the end of 2024, their intention was pretty obvious with Centava, Fuzz Bender, and 69 Vibe. And this year, the big B continued this direction with might. After Brassmaster Fuzz, B-Tron III, and Octavia, Behringer released no fewer than five Moogerfooger clones over the course of this summer. Personally, I’m most interested in the Analog Delay, but there seem to be a few delivery delays.
What else? The NOTADÜMBLË caused a stir. Ans at NAMM 2025, several amp manufacturers released series of classic amps as pedals, namely Marshall with their Signature pedals, Peavey with their Preamp pedals, and MXR with the Rockman. Speaking of preamps, numerous pedals set out to emulate the dreamy, broken sound of Mk.Gee and the preamp of a Tascam 424. Let’s check out our picks for the best effects pedals of 2025!
Valeton GP-5: NAM, Bluetooth, Stereo
It’s a bit ridiculous just how many features Valeton has crammed in to the GP-5. And at what price. NAM loader, over 100 effects (up to 9 simultaneously), IR loader, stereo input and output, Bluetooth… Will the next firmware update get it to make coffee as well?! Just this versatility alone makes it one of the best effects pedals of 2025.
The GP-5 has a lot to offer, and the Bluetooth and smartphone app connectivity is fantastic. However, the NAM profiles have to be downsampled to a lower resolution so the tiny pedal’s CPU can handle them. And not all the effects sound close to the classics they emulate.
But overall, what the GP-5 offers makes it pretty much the perfect practice and beginner multi-effects pedal on the market. For the price and size, you simply can’t expect more. I own one and love how easily you can throw together a few virtual pedals for a quick jam. Check it out at Thomann*. The best effects pedals of 2025 wouldn’t be complete without it!
EHX Pico Atomic Cluster: Spectral Decomposer
The Pico Atomic Cluster caught me off guard. Not because EHX isn’t known for making everything a little weirder, a little more broken, a little more offbeat. But until now, the small Pico series mainly featured mini versions of larger EHX pedals or individual features as tiny stompboxes. However, a large Atomic Cluster has nowhere to be seen (yet).
What Electro Harmonic presented in the demo video in terms of new sonic territory really caught my attention. Basically, it goes in the direction of Mood and Microcosm’s glitchy micro-chops. But the glittering soundscapes of this Atomic Cluster have a character all their own.
And with its compact size, the pedal can easily be put onto the crowded pedalboards of ambient and shoegaze fanatics. I can’t wait to see what the larger version will be capable of. The best effects pedals of 2025, including the Pico Atomic Cluster, show that pedal manufacturers should try to be more daring. The most creative pedal on our list of the best effects pedals of 2025. Check it out at Thomann*.
Tone King Imperial Tube Preamp: Legendary Amp Sounds
This one was one of the stars of the show at NAMM 2025. Tone King seems to have hit the sweet spot in preamp pedals with the Imperial Tube Preamp. Three 12AX7 tubes are at the heart of it, and they sound alarmingly similar to the great MKII amp they are modeled after.
But Tone King doesn’t stop there with this two-channel pedal amp. The tremolo and spring reverb, while digitally modelled compared to the amp version, sound excellent. Add to that a stereo FX loop, headphone output, both jack and XLR outputs, and an IR loader. Just wow.
The Imperial Tube Preamp also supports MIDI and offers a USB-C port, but it also draws a lot of power: 1 A at 9 volts. You’ll have to check whether your home power supply can handle that. But “The Best Effects Pedals of 2025” wouldn’t be complete without the Tone King Imperial Tube Preamp. Check it out at Thomann*.
Quilter Elevate: Simple Multi-Effect
In the ever-accelerating world of modeling, the Quilter Elevate was a pleasant surprise. It’s a minimalist multi-effect that competes more with an HX Stomp than a Quad Core. 14 effects, 10 effect blocks, every setting and setup directly on the pedal or in the web app, it doesn’t get much more purist than this!
Sure, if you really wanted to, you could complain that there’s no dedicated amp modeler included. Or that there’s only one variation of each effect. But I find this product policy refreshingly different. It’s better to do what you do well than to implement a ton of features that don’t meet the same standard. Take a closer look at it at Thomann*.
Best Effects Pedals 2025: Hotone Verbera – Reverb Cloner
The Hotone Verbera is essentially a convolution reverb pedal, i.e., a reverb effect that works with impulse responses. While this is pretty common in the world of VSTs, it is rather rare when it comes to pedals. Verbera comes loaded with 120 impulse responses, even one from a NASA aircraft hangar, and offers space for a total of 1024 IRs.
But what is truly innovative in the world of pedals is that you can generate your own impulse responses directly on the pedal. In other words, you connect the pedal to other reverbs, such as a Lexicon 480L, a Bricasti M7, or your favorite reverb plugin in the DAW via the audio interface. Vebera then automatically generates an impulse response. Neat!
Plus, there are endless free IR bundles available online from many popular reverbs and weird spaces. And once you’ve gotten to know the pedal, you can create an IR of your bathroom or stairwell in no time at all with it. All details are available at Thomann*.
Conclusion: What was your pedal highlight of 2025?
Let’s finish with your best effects pedals of 2025, dear readers. What was your pedal highlight? Which new pedal surprised you? Which pedal did you finally add to your collection?
Or perhaps: Did a much-anticipated pedal disappoint you? Let us know in the comments! Here’s to a pedal-filled 2026!
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
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