It’s conceivable a stylistic aficionado with a fervent devotion to history might peek at a blues guitarist’s pedalboard with disgust and outrage. But while plugging a scruffy old guitar directly into a busted-up amp pays homage to some of the early legends of electric blues, such a minimalist approach is likely impractical (due to the potential expense of vintage gear) and monochromatic (as blues has evolved sonically since the 1930s).
However, you can embrace the now and supercharge your blues without going so far afield from traditional sonics by utilizing guitar pedals that enhance growl, grit, wail and space. The five stompboxes we’re recommending in this article are designed to add fury and ambience to your blues moves. Yet they do their jobs from the recognizable foundation of what a basic guitar and amp setup could sound like—whether the pedal is simulating a shredded speaker in a small combo, a player manipulating their guitar’s tone knob, or the snappy echo of a spring reverb.
From there, it’s totally your call if you’d rather use these pedals to create stratospheric psychedelic blues riffs designed to topple convention and blow minds.
Pictured: Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Control Knobs
Table of Contents
Comparing the Best Pedals for Blues
Five Essential Blues Pedals
As Bluesy as You Please ...
Comparing the Best Pedals for Blues
|
Model |
Type |
Controls |
Current Draw |
Power |
|
Overdrive |
Level, Tone, Gain, Mode switch |
18 mA |
9V battery or optional AC adapter |
|
|
Wah |
Two modes |
1 mA |
9V battery or optional AC adapter |
|
|
Overdrive |
Drive, Tone, Level |
8 mA |
9V battery or optional AC adapter |
|
|
Echo |
Time, Feedback, Level, Rate, Depth, A and B switches |
160 mA |
Optional AC adapter |
|
|
Signal Boost |
Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass |
6 mA |
9V battery or optional AC adapter |
Five Essential Blues Pedals
Pictured: Keeley HALO Andy Timmons Dual Echo Signature Effects Pedal Control Knobs
BOSS BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft
Why It’s Bluesy: It produces a natural amp sound—so much so, that many blues guitarists simply leave the pedal “always on.”
Things to Consider
- Custom-crafted special Waza edition
- Standard and Custom tone modes
- Responsive to touch, attack and guitar-volume manipulations
Shop Now: BOSS BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft Effects Pedal
Introduced in 1995, the BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver was aimed at new-gen blues players, such as the late Jeff Healy. The updated and upgraded BOSS BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft offers the organic overdrive of the original model, while also providing a “Waza-fied” Custom mode for players seeking bolder, gritter and more singing tones similar to Gary Clark Jr.’s aggro romps on “Maktub” and “Don’t Start” (from 2024’s JPEG RAW). The BOSS BD-2W is an excellent choice for those who dig a little classic-rock raunch in their blues and also want the option to unleash more feral sounds without tipping the tonal scale over to heavy metal.
Dunlop BG95 Buddy Guy Wah
Why It’s Bluesy: If Buddy Guy uses it, it’s bluesy. You don’t mess with Buddy Guy.
Things to Consider
- Fasel inductor
- Two selectable wah modes
- Side-mounted LEDs display selected mode and on/off
Shop Now: Dunlop BG-95 Buddy Guy Wah Pedal
Buddy Guy is recognized as one of the players who popularized the wah pedal within the blues genre. “It was an exciting moment I wasn’t looking for,” he told an interviewer for Dunlop. “I punched this thing, and I got something I didn’t know I had.” The signature Dunlop BG95 Buddy Guy Wah is his latest version of that “thing,” and he customized the pedal to his liking. (“I’m not an engineer—I just say, ‘I’d like to have this and I’d like to have that.’”) His BG95 wah uses a silky smooth Fasel inductor—likely the red version—and offers two modes. Deep mode produces a guttural snarl (low pass 250Hz-330Hz; high pass 1.3kHz-1.6kHz) and BG mode delivers Guy’s preferred clean chime (low pass 290Hz-390Hz; high pass 1.5kHz-1.9kHz). As I’m wah-switch challenged—I never seem to be able to seamlessly click the wah on or off (ugh)—I’d like to thank Dunlop and Buddy for putting LEDs on the BG95. Now, I can see whether the wah is active, as well as what mode I am in. No more wah-wah blues for me!
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Why It’s Bluesy: Stevie Ray Vaughan loved it and used it. That’s a pretty epic endorsement.
Things to Consider
- Reissue of original TS9
- Organic, amp-like overdrive
- 1980s-approved sick-green chassis
Shop Now: Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Effects Pedal
Although the circuit originated in the late 1970s, the appearance of the initial Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer in 1981 was a landmark event for overdrive pedals. Due to the TS9’s natural, amp-emulating grind, it found its way onto countless pedalboards—a “must-have” according to Guitar Player—and became an essential signal-chain partner for players such as SRV (mentioned above), Gary Clark, Jr., Gary Moore, Eric Johnson and others. Although the following applications aren’t owned solely by Tube Screamers, they are indications of this iconic pedal’s tone-shaping versatility. For example, some players leave the TS9 constantly active, so that it becomes a core component of their guitar sound. You can also choose to deploy the pedal as a clean boost by cranking down the Drive control and raising the Level knob. A popular third use—no surprise for this one—is to supercharge solos by boosting the TS9’s midrange-forward Tone knob, upping the Level to bust out of the mix and dialing in the Drive to produce everything from silky sustain to screaming distortion.
Pro Tip: The mid-forward circuit of the TS9 is extremely beneficial when plugging into mid-scooped amplifiers, such as Fender black- and silver-panel amps.
Keeley HALO Andy Timmons Dual Echo
Why It’s Bluesy: Adds vibe, mojo and space to tonal expressions of joy and melancholy.
Things to Consider
- Two delays in one pedal
- Includes 8 factory presets
- Jack for (optional) expression pedal
Shop Now: Keeley HALO Andy Timmons Dual Echo Signature Effects Pedal in Cosmos
Andy Timmons is a bit of a stylistic chameleon, so not surprisingly, his signature Keeley HALO Andy Timmons Dual Echo has the goods to create ambient landscapes for anything from blues to prog to rock, metal and beyond. Blues players can keep it simple with a saturated slapback that emulates a tape delay or jump into the expansive ambience of Timmons’ HALO preset. There’s so much power in this single pedal that you could call it a delay workstation. You get two dedicated delays (A and B), each with up to 1,500ms of delay time, and enough rhythmic and textural control to match whatever blues moods you choose to play.
Xotic RC Booster
Why It’s Bluesy: Old-school blues aficionados can use the RC Booster to slam the front end of their favorite amp to keep the drive organically ferocious.
Things to Consider
- Offers up to 20dB of clean signal boost
- Treble and Bass controls
- True bypass
Shop Now: Xotic RC Booster Classic Effects Pedal in White
The Xotic RC Booster lets you play it safe, or go for broke. On the cautious side, you can dime the RC’s Volume control and get a transparent boost that shouldn’t anger any traditional blues-tone authorities. But if you want to unleash some sonic strife, simply play with the pedal’s Gain, Treble and Bass controls to craft tones that could frighten puppies and small children. There’s a good amount of range to the 2-band EQ—±15dB for the Treble and Bass—and 20dB of boost should ensure you can get back any signal loss from long guitar cables or massive pedalboards, as well as send your solos soaring over dense band mixes.
As Bluesy as You Please ...
Apologies for stealing the above subhead from guitarist Cub Koda—who co-wrote the All Music Guide to the Blues and Blues for Dummies (as well as the chart-topping rocker “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” with Brownsville Station)—but the phrase nicely encapsulates what you can do with these five pedals. In short, you can go “trad” or go “mad.”
Pictured: BOSS BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft Effects Pedal
On that note, if you want to expand your pedal options to explore even deeper, wilder or stranger blues moods, click to the following guides:
By the way, if you start adding lots of boxes and are fretting over how to arrange them on your pedalboard, check out our tutorial, What Is the Best Guitar Pedal Order?
Personalized assistance is always at hand, as well. You can talk blues with one of our knowledgeable Gear Advisers, or strut into your local Guitar Center and start plugging in pedals until you discover something awesome. Selected stores even have a dedicated “pedal table” that makes it easy to test a bunch of stompboxes without moving from a comfy seat. Who says the blues always have to be hard?