Down with the noise! Here are 10 options to rid your rig of those buzzy demons.
Unless you’re in a Sonic Youth tribute band, or maybe you’ve finally realized your dream of starting an avant-garde tribute to Neil Diamond, you might have a bit of noise in your signal chain you would want to eliminate. These 10 options aim to slam the door on extraneous buzz and hum, and at high-gain settings, they will keep your rhythm chugs tight.
Boss NS-1X Noise Suppressor
Centered around the company’s MDP technology, this gate aims to eliminate noise without sacrificing feel or response. It also includes an effects loop and a mute mode.
$199 street
boss.info
GUPTech MWAC Noise Gate
Precise and high performance even at lower signal, it excels in all situations—from high-gain havoc to gentler terrain. Available in four colors: red, orange, purple or army green. It's affordable enough for everyone to clean up their act.
$127 street
guptech.ca
Revv G8 Noise Gate
A pedal-sized version of the noise gate in the Generator 120, this stomp offers hold, release, and threshold controls, and a full effects loop.
$199 street
revv.com
MXR M135 Smart Gate
The single-knob design allows for on-the-fly tweaking, but the included extended trigger range and three different noise bands allow for a highly versatile setup.
$149 street
jimdunlop.com
ISP Technologies Decimator II
One of the most popular noise gates, this pedal uses Time Vector Processing to help craft a smoother level of noise reduction. You can also link multiple units for maximum signal tracking.
$143 street
Isptechnologies.com
TC Electronic Iron Curtain
Housed in a rock-solid enclosure, this gate features decay and threshold dials, a switchable mute control, and an entirely analog circuit.
$49 street
tcelectronic.com
Darkglass NSG
With a push of the big knob, you can move between soft and hard gain reduction, which can be adjusted from -65 dBV to +5 dBV.
$199 street
darkglass.com
Electro-Harmonix Silencer
With three different controls (threshold, decay, and release), you’re able to dial in and customize the exact level of gain reduction. It also features an effects loop to help with any noisy pedals.
$80 street
ehx.com
Ibanez Pentatone Gate
Nabbed from the Pentatone preamp, this standalone version offers a dead-simple setup with a single threshold knob and a switch to move between high and low modes.
$99 street
ibanez.com
Pigtronix Gatekeeper 2
A studio-quality gate created around a JFET circuit and a release control that dials in the speed of the gate.
$119 street
pigtronix.com
Who needs a big-body guitar when you can have one of these?
There’s a very specific sound that’s associated with parlor guitars. They tend to deal out the high midrange and will cut through a mix. Not to mention the smaller body size is usually rather comfortable. Here are 10 options for under a grand.
PRS SE P20E
A compact yet powerful guitar that features a solid mahogany top, mahogany back and sides, and a tobacco sunburst finish, and equipped with PRS electronics.
$499 street
Alvarez MPA66ESHB Masterworks A66
This model rocks a solid African mahogany top, mahogany back and sides, and a shadowburst finish. Under the hood, you can find L.R. Baggs electronics.
$829 street
Gretsch G5021E Rancher Penguin
The first thing your eye will notice on this parlor is its shiny accoutrements—whether the gold hardware, gold-sparkle binding, or an optional metallic finish on the solid spruce top.
$549 street
Yamaha CSF-TA
What sets this guitar apart is its TransAcoustic technology, which allows you to experience built-in reverb and chorus effects without the need for external amplification or effects.
$799 street
Takamine GY93E New Yorker
Designed around a grand auditorium body shape, this parlor has a solid spruce top and rosewood back and sides, and is equipped with Takamine’s TK-40D preamp system.
$799 street
Recording King Dirty 30s Series 9
This vintage-inspired design is built with a solid Sitka spruce top, whitewood back and sides, a 25"scale length, 20 frets, and an ovangkol fretboard.
$249 street
Fender PS-220E
This modern parlor comes with your choice of a solid spruce or solid mahogany top, with solid mahogany back and sides, and Fishman Sonitone Plus electronics.
$829 street
Journey FP412
Not only is the FP412 a rock-solid parlor guitar, but it also has a folding-neck design to make travel a breeze.
$749 street
Cordoba C9 Parlor
This parlor-sized classical guitar rocks a solid Western red cedar top and solid mahogany back and sides.
$989 street
Guild P-240 Memoir
This parlor features a solid Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and has a 19-fret mahogany C-shaped neck with a pau ferro fretboard.
$529 street
When you need sparkle, there’s no better place to turn than an acoustic 12-string.
Nothing quite compares to the warm, lush, chorus-y sound of strums and well-articulated arpeggios played on a 12-string acoustic guitar. Whether you’re trying to cut through the mix, fill out your collection, or take it to the stage, this list has something in every price range.
Guild F-512
This high-end jumbo has a solid AAA Sitka spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, and scalloped Adirondack spruce bracing, and is available with an optional pickup.
$4,099 street
Taylor 254ce
A Venetian cutaway offers upper-fret access on this 12, which features the company’s grand auditorium body, a Sitka spruce top, layered rosewood back and sides, and Expression System 2 electronics.
$1,199 street
Martin Grand J-16E 12-String
This jumbo is constructed with a spruce top, East Indian rosewood back and sides, and the company’s high-performance taper neck profile. Fishman Matrix VT Enhance electronics are included.
$1,349 street
Ovation Timeless Balladeer Deep Contour 12-String
Featuring a deep contour Lyrachord body and a pearl oak leaf rosette, this 12 also includes the company’s OCP1K pickups and OP-Pro preamp.
$1,064 street
Breedlove Oregon Concerto 12-String CE
Featuring a locally sourced myrtlewood top and a concerto body style, this acoustic 12 also has a maple neck and LR Baggs EAS VTC electronics.
$2,799 street
Epiphone Hummingbird 12-String
Inspired by the Gibson classic, this cherry sunburst square-shoulder dreadnought includes the model’s signature pickguard design on a solid Sitka spruce top and includes a Fishman Sonitone pickup system.
$899 street
Takamine GD30CE-12
This dreadnought is an affordable entry into 12-string acoustics and comes with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, plus an onboard preamp.
$669 street
Godin A12 Natural SG
The chambered body—made of maple and Canadian Laurentian basswood—of this 12 sets it apart, as does the custom Godin transducer and top-mounted preamp.
$1,659 street
ESP TL-12
The sleek rock ’n’ roll looks of this thinline 12 is sure to stand out onstage. Features include Fishman
electronics, a spruce top, and a mahogany body.
$749 street
Yamaha FG820 12-String
The most budget-friendly model on this list still packs a punch, with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and scalloped bracing.
$379 street
Live in the moment with this collection of real-time sound manipulators.
Expression pedals are probably the most underutilized pedals around. With a simple rock of your foot, you can alter any number of different parameters your favorite effect units. Yeah, there might be a bit of under-the-hood tweaking needed to get the full results, but trust me—it’s worth it.
Dunlop DVP4 Volume (x) Mini
Purely on a value-per-inch basis, this volume/expression comes in heavy. At half the size of its larger counterpart, the mini offers an internal trim pot that controls minimum expression values, plus the aux output can also function as an always-on tuner output.
$139 street
Moog EP-3 Universal Polarity Expression Pedal
In some corners of the sonic-sculptor set, using a Moog pedal without an expression control is near criminal. This wildly affordable pedal is universally accepted among pedals, synths, and more thanks to a polarity switch.
$59 street
Lehle Dual Expression Pedal
What if you need to control more than one pedal? This dual expression pedal offers a ton of features that include accommodating TS, TRS, or RTS inputs, switchable polarity, momentary or latching switching, and a USB port for MIDI capabilities.
$259 street
Electro-Harmonix Expression Pedal
This lightweight, rugged design from one of the most esteemed pedal makers of all time features a polymer housing, range control, polarity switching, and a reverse switch that allows you to change the direction of the parameter you’re controlling.
$72 street
M-Audio EX-P
Crafted out of molded plastic, this expression pedal offers a slip-resistant surface, integrated TRS cable, and a polarity switch, which allows it to work with a wide range of controllers and pedals.
$29 street
Fender Tread-Light
Created around an original Fender circuit, this combo volume/expression pedal uses top-mounted jacks in order to squeeze into cramped spaces. It includes a switchable LED light and operates on
9V battery or center negative AC Adapter.
$119 street
Boss EV-1-WL Wireless MIDI Expression Pedal
If wireless is your preferred routing solution, this expression pedal uses wireless MIDI in addition to Bluetooth, USB, and TRS to control any parameter you can think of. It also uses an iOS/Android app for even deeper editing capabilities.
$169 street
Mission Engineering SP-1
The company’s most universal expression pedal is built to handle the rigors of night-after-night rocking. It’s designed to work with nearly any digital amp, effects pedal, or MIDI controllers with a single TRS cable.
$149 street
Source Audio Dual Expression Pedal
This fully customizable pedal features two TRS outputs and a 3.5mm sensor output designed for the company’s line of SoundBlox pedals. It also includes a range adjust knob that controls the sweep of the expression sent through the outputs.
$119 street
DOD Mini Expression Pedal
Space is never an issue with this pedal. It’s only 5" long and 3" wide and built from solid steel. It also has selectable output modes (TRS, TS, or RTS) to ensure it works with nearly anything you can throw at it.
$119 street
From low-gain American tones to high-powered gain machines, this collection of plugins can cover nearly any tone you can dream of.
Thanks to modern technology, you can chase the sounds in your head with a rather minimal setup. Each of the 10 guitar plugins listed below offer unique features, a wealth of options, and—maybe most importantly—less chiro visits.
Neural DSP Archetype: Petrucci
As one of the company’s most comprehensive plugins, it features four amplifiers, a pre-effects section with a wah, compressor, and four stompboxes, and a post-effects section with rack-design stereo chorus, delay, and reverb.
$169 street
Universal Audio Friedman Buxom Betty
This plugin aims for an exact representation of the original EL34-powered amp. It includes 100 recording chains, a host-syncable vintage delay unit, and preamp and power amp bypass.
$149 street
STL Tones Tonality: Andy James
Developed from Andy James' signature guitar sounds, this plugin suite uses advanced modeling algorithms to provide real-time simulations of his amps. You can also employ an 808 emulation and James’ signature preamp pedal.
$119 street
Softube Amp Room
Softube's professional audio guitar and bass platform offers a wide range of precisely modeled amplifiers, cabs, pedals, studio effects, and more, as well as several IR Producer Packs.
$149 street
Blue Cat Axiom
A fully customizable amp simulation based on Blue Cat's Destructor, this software has a flexible routing system with two parallel amp simulation channels, input and master sections, and more than 70 built-in effects.
$199 street
bluecataudio.comWaves GTR3
This collection of amps comes with Fender, Marshall, Mesa/Boogie, and Vox plugin models, in addition to over 30 different cab simulations and 25 stompboxes, including distortion, delays, and modulation.
$129 street
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6 Pro
Here’s a setup that offers a range of classic vintage tones and modern high-gain sounds, and artist presets from Yvette Young, Vernon Reid, Pete Thorn, Zola Jesus, and Eric Krasno.
$199 street
IK Multimedia TONEX
TONEX is a standalone application that allows users to create, play, and share 400 of their own Tone Models of amps, cabinets, combos, and pedals. It comes with 40 amps and 20 pedals.
$149 street
ikmultimedia.comLine 6 Metallurgy Collection
Using this collection of Metallurgy’s Modern, Thrash, and Doom plugins, you can select a variety of high-gain tones drawn from the company's HX line of amps and cabs.
$199 street
Overloud TH-U Eric Gales Expansion Pack
One of the most astounding blues guitarists of his generation, Eric Gales, has collaborated with Overloud on this plugin that emulates his live rig. It includes three amps, three cabs, and 15 effects.
$59 street