When poet and illustrator William Blake invented his revolutionary “illuminated printing” in 1788 to engrave words and images into his works, he credited speaking to angels as the inspiration. Contemporaries thought he was mad.
Time travel to the 1960s, and artists similarly seeking divine visions to topple musical conventions sought counsel not from cherubs, but chemicals. Psychedelic drugs—whether actually ingested or used more safely as a conceptual stimulus—sparked the pioneering and surreal sounds of the counterculture.
Galvanized by flamboyantly liberated thinking—as well as fuzz boxes and other emerging pedal technology, experimental recording techniques, unorthodox tunings, unshackled improvisation and just plain bizarro ideas—psychedelic music fused rock, folk, Eastern music, jazz and other styles into a galactic rainbow of the possible. It was a scene where you wouldn’t find Bing Crosby or any of the defenders of the old guard. This was a trip into the far reaches of unhinged creativity.
But it’s 2025, so let us “liberate” psychedelia from its drug trip foundations and view altered methods of crafting sound as providing your music with something surprising, powerful and unique. The 10 pedals we’ve chosen as excellent options for psychedelic rock should energize your musical imagination, help you jettison convention and, most importantly, avoid tracks that embrace a pageant of ho-hum. Time to go trippin’ …
Pictured: MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato Guitar Effects Pedal
Table of Contents
Chart of Psychedelic Guitar Pedals
10 Essential Pedals for Psychedelic Music
Turn On, Tune In and Trip Out Your Sound
People Also Ask ...
Chart of Psychedelic Guitar Pedals
|
Head Shop |
The Trip |
Pedalboard Dose |
Hallucinogenic Effects |
Pay the Man* |
|
Delay |
Massive: 6.75” x 5.5” |
Expansive ambient repetitions—sometimes expressed as reality playing backwards |
$406.99 |
|
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Leslie effect |
Standard: 5” x 2.8” |
Immersive, modulated vertigo |
$239.99 |
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Organ emulator |
Big: 4.75” x 4” |
Sweet pads, washes and rhythmic stabs of tonal colors |
$259.50 |
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Mellotron emulator |
Big: 4.75” x 4” |
Ghostly, beautifully imperfect impressions of orchestral sounds |
$259.50 |
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Fuzz |
Standard: 4.8” x 2.2” |
Stampeding demons of distortion and sustain |
$214.01 |
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Modulation |
Massive: 6.5” x 4.4” |
Mutated textures of time and space |
$299 |
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Uni-Vibe |
Standard: 5.5” x 2.5” |
Lush, immersive swirls |
$159.99 |
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Reverb |
Massive: 7” x 5” |
Altered perceptions of space from claustrophobic to vast |
$679.00 |
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Wah |
Tall: 10” x 2” |
Sweeping passages through frequency spectrums |
$149.99 |
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Tremolo |
Standard: 5” x 3” |
Pulsating melodic and chordal vistas |
$219.99 |
Pricing as of December 2025*
10 Essential Pedals for Psychedelic Music
Surrendering to psychedelia is all about your plane of consciousness, as well as your willingness to embrace the strange and mysterious. It’s seeing far beyond the norm. In other words: It’s mad scientist time.
While an adventurous mind should be able to develop panoramas of weird using just about any type of effect—or even no effects at all—we’ve selected 10 well-equipped “pedal laboratories” to inspire you to concoct hallucinogenic soundscapes.
BOSS DD-500 Digital Delay
Why It’s Psychedelicized: So many options to add “delayed” states of consciousness—including the all-important reverse delay.
Things to Consider:
- 12 delay modes
- MIDI I/O
- Powered by four AA alkaline batteries (200mA current draw) or AC adapter (sold separately)
Shop Now: BOSS DD-500 Digital Delay Guitar Effects Pedal
Co-owning my first commercial recording studio provided access to professional tape decks, as well as the thrill of flipping tape reels backwards to create ethereal reverse-reverb effects on guitars, vocals, drums and percussion. It took some work—especially as Jimi Hendrix’s stunning reverse guitar solo on “Are You Experienced” (1967) was both a mindblower and a challenge to achieve psychedelic excellence.
Thanks to the BOSS DD-500, the days of tape manipulation are buried in the past. The DD-500 offers a wonderful reverse reverb with just the click of a footswitch—and there’s much more than one trip in this box. Its variety of delay modes and abundant parameter controls will motivate you to warp already otherworldly delay effects even further. Far out!
BOSS RT-2 Rotary Ensemble
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Lends an ethereal Tilt-A-Whirl vibe to guitar histrionics. Hang on tight.
Things to Consider:
- Three rotary modes
- Drive control
- Virtual rotor lights track speed
Shop Now: BOSS RT-2 Rotary Ensemble Effects Pedal
As was often the case in the days of psychedelicized audio exploration, gear that was intended for one use might be usurped for another. The Leslie rotary speaker cabinet, for example, was designed for organ players. But players such as Eric Clapton (“Badge,” Cream, 1969) “stole” the Leslie for their own spaced-out sonic voyages. Vintage Leslies are as big and heavy as refrigerators—Clapton had a crew of roadies, but you probably don’t—so rotary speaker effects housed in pedals opened up the swirls for all.
The BOSS RT-2 Rotary Ensemble simulates classic rotary speakers and adds two additional modes—one with expanded frequency range and another with wilder modulation. The BOSS RT-2 not only conjures psychedelic tonal textures, it also provides a groovy “light show” display that evokes the trippy and colorful liquid projections at ’60s Fillmore West and Fillmore East concerts.
Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ Machine
Why It’s Psychedelicized: The C9 puts a collection of classic organs at your feet and fingertips.
Things to Consider:
- Nine simulated organ and keyboard sounds
- Can be combined with B9 Organ Machine (sold separately)
- Includes 9.6V DC power adapter (200mA current draw)
Shop Now: Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ Machine Guitar Effects Pedal
Organ sounds—such as those heard on “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (Procol Harum, 1967) and “See Emily Play” (Pink Floyd, 1967)—were trippy components of psychedelic rock. The Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ Machine has a number of organ presets that are wonderful for your own psychedelic adventures. My favorites are Prog (it’s prog-y, but can be twisted into outer space timbres), Compact (spell-like echoes of Ray Manzarek and the Doors), Lord Purple (what you’d expect, but that Deep Purple organ grit is so vibey), Blimp (a Led Zeppelin feel that’s great for moody pads) and Telstar (this sound predated psychedelic rock, but it’s synth-like strangeness is a trip—especially when used with fuzz).
Of course, all of the sounds on the C9 Organ Machine can inspire psychedelic melodies, counterpoint lines, textural washes and more. An added killer app: You can adjust the Dry and Organ Volumes to dial in spooky vibrations behind your guitar parts, go full keyboard or achieve any blend in between. Outta sight!
Electro-Harmonix MEL9
Why It’s Psychedelicized: The Beatles famously used a Mellotron on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” This is a Mellotron shrunken down into a pedal. Fab!
Things to Consider:
- Nine simulated tape replay instruments
- Awards from Guitar Player, Guitar World, Electronic Musician and others
- Includes 9.6V DC power adapter (200mA current draw)
Shop Now: Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine Guitar Effects Pedal
Ever since hearing the dreamlike instruments imitated by the Mellotron on songs such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” (The Beatles, 1967), “2,000 Light Years From Home” (The Rolling Stones, 1967) and “Tuesday Afternoon” (Moody Blues, 1967), I yearned for someone to produce a credible Mellotron effect for guitar. In 2016, the Electro-Harmonix MEL9 finally made my wish come true. The MEL9 offers super vibey emulations of Mellotron sounds, such as orchestra, cello, strings, flute, brass and choir. I love adjusting the MEL9 Sustain knob for spooky swells. Even hipper, the Mellotron emulations can track string bends—which is awesome for conjuring craziness—and they work brilliantly with an EBow for invoking infinite waves of hypnotic sound.
By the way, the MEL9 ain’t just for tone seekers nostalgic for the Summer of Love era. Mellotrons were used on “Wonderwall” (Oasis, 1995), “Unintended” (Muse, 1999), “Run” (Foo Fighters, 2017) and other post-hippie songs. So there …
JHS Muffuletta
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Blows your mind with five classic Big Muff fuzz sounds and a new JHS version.
Things to Consider:
- True bypass
- 4mA current draw
- Requires 9V DC power supply (sold separately)
Shop Now: JHS Pedals Muffuletta Distortion/Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal
Fuzz is indispensable to psychedelic guitar. The frazzled, untamed distortion and harmonics of fuzz lend themselves perfectly to altered moods and expanded minds. (Learning to ice skate as a youngster became a trance-like activity with Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” playing at my local rink.) While not all ’60s-era psychedelic fuzz sounds were created by an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, the JHS Muffuletta celebrates that iconic stompbox with six ferocious variations that will bring the power of paisleys and patchouli to your guitar tone.
JHS Mode is the company’s own interpretation of the classic Muff circuit. Venturing forth, you can choose 1973 Ram’s Head (think Ernie Isley), 1969 Triangle (David Gilmour), 1977 Pi (Frank Zappa, Pete Townshend), 1991 Civic War (Thurston Moore, John Fogerty) and 1999 Russian (Muse. Dan Auerbach). Free your (fuzzy) mind.
Kernom Elipse
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Drops six modulation moods with the ability to morph seamlessly between effects.
Things to Consider:
- Save up to 128 presets
- Full MIDI control of parameters
- Requires 9V DC power supply (sold separately)
Shop Now: Kernom Elipse Modulation Effects Pedal
As psychedelia seeped into the mainstream, shrewd record producers, engineers and artists began looking for ways to craft more and more weirdly “with it” sounds. Many found their Eureka moments in modulation effects such as flanging, phasing, chorus and automatic double tracking—often crafted using tape manipulation techniques that, in some cases, had been discovered decades before the Summer of Love.
The Kernom Elipse not only puts some of the hippest psychedelia-approved auras in one device (flanger, phaser, chorus/vibrato, vibe, rotary and harmonic tremolo), it also lets you morph between effects to create shifting perceptions of reality. Can you dig it?
MXR M68 Uni-Vibe
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Hendrix at Woodstock. That’s all you need to know.
Things to Consider:
- True bypass
- 5mA current draw
- Powered by 9V battery or 9V adapter (sold separately)
Shop Now: MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato Guitar Effects Pedal
Jimi Hendrix’s legendary performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock was a musical protest against the Vietnam war, an example of his mythic sonic creativity with a Fender Stratocaster and, according to Guitar Player, “a deeply psychedelic soundtrack”—thanks, in part, to the sound of a Shin-ei Uni-Vibe pedal. The MXR M68 Uni-Vibe delivers a massive dose of the original’s lush modulation, and even shares many of the same controls: Volume, Chorus/Vibrato and Intensity for the ’60s O.G., and Vibe (chorus/vibrato), Level, Speed and Depth on the MXR version. The MXR Uni-Vibe will bathe your tone in psychedelia the moment you step on the pedal.
Strymon BigSky MX Reverb
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Trippy tracks require fantastical atmospheres, and there are entire universes of ambience in this box.
Things to Consider:
- 12 different reverb types
- Comes with 22 Impulse Responses
- Requires 2.1 mm center-negative 9V DC adapter (sold separately)
Shop Now: Strymon BigSky MX Reverb Workstation Effects Pedal
If you want to take a listener’s perception of reality into the psychedelic Twilight Zone, just mess with their grasp of space. You can make your guitar appear small, big, galactic, or lush and shimmery by using different reverb effects. And if you want a bevy of primo reverb options, the Strymon BigSky MX is your ambient Be-In. The BigSky MX can run two different reverb programs simultaneously (serial, parallel or split) and incorporate IRs (preloaded or user-captured with editing capabilities), as well as offering enhanced control via MIDI, USB-C and expression pedal (sold separately) jacks.
The BigSky MX provides you with the freedom to freak people out in pleasant and exciting ways. One of my favorite psychedelic tricks is to call up an enormous reverb program and set the BigSky’s Mix control to mostly dry, so the gigantic ambience appears as a ghostly presence behind the much drier source sound. The two distinct planes—one clearly in focus and in your face, and the other an apparition in the background—animate sounds in a very trippy and cinematic way.
VOX V847A Wah
Why It’s Psychedelicized: Filters solos, riffs and chords through hallucinatory experiences.
Things to Consider:
- Comes with cool VOX gig bag
- 0.54mA current draw
- Powered by 9V battery or 9V adapter (sold separately)
Shop Now:
The wah pedal is basically a foot-controlled filter sweep, but its power to transform common guitar lines into alien-like vocalizations of cosmic quirkiness makes it a crucial element of psychedelic guitar craft. The VOX V847A Wah is a faithful recreation of the pedal used by far-out guitarists in the 1960s, so the psychedelic pedigree is in full sonic force. But there are also some post-flower power improvements, such as an input buffer that maintains your guitar tone when the wah is idle, expanded dynamic range and enhanced frequency response.
Walrus Audio Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo V2
Why It’s Psychedelicized: C’mon. “Crimson and Clover?” So boss.
Things to Consider:
- Multiple wave shape options
- Tap tempo
- Footswitchable tremolo rate for ramping up and down
Shop Now: Walrus Audio Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo V2 Effects Pedal
Tremolo has been around since the 1940s, and Link Wray famously used it with distortion in 1958 to get his song “Rumble” banned from the radio. You can’t get more outlaw than that. Psychedelic-flavored uses of tremolo include “Crimson and Clover” (Tommy James & the Shondells, 1968), “Gimme Shelter” (The Rolling Stones, 1969) and “Riders on the Storm” (The Doors, 1971). The Walrus Audio Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo V2 goes beyond the usual confines of vintage amp tremolo to offer five different waveforms (sine, square, ramp, lumps and Monument Mode), four note divisions (quarter, triplet, eighth and sixteenth), tap tempo and expression pedal (sold separately) control. The Monument questions tremolo authority, so that you can break the mold and explore marvy warbles.
Turn On, Tune In and Trip Out Your Sound
Pictured: Strymon BigSky MX Reverb Workstation Effects Pedal
Unless you fit the ’60s definition of a square, man, it should be fun incorporating psychedelic elements into songs or soundtracks without fear of triggering a bad trip (musically speaking). I dig it when artists challenge themselves to metamorphosize normal-sounding song arrangements to pull listeners deeper into the sonic drama. Hooks, after all, are the currency of popular works—even hallucinogenic ones. Come on and go with the flow.
If you’re still a bit timid, we can offer our psychedelic sentinels—known more commonly as Guitar Center Gear Advisers—to answer any of your questions and offer guidance. Fearless adventurers are encouraged to look for bona fide ’60s and ’70s pedals in our always changing collection of vintage effects.
You can also expand your search for other pedals that might realize your psychedelic dreams by digging into our guides to "The Best Delay Pedals of 2025," "The Best Reverb Pedals of 2025," "The Best Fuzz Pedals of 2025," "The Best Flanger Pedals," "The Best Phaser Pedals of 2025" and "The Best Chorus Pedals of 2025." Nostalgic futurists can create complete digital psychedelic rigs—effects, amps and cabinets—with solutions covered in "The Best Multi-Effects Pedals of 2025."
People Also Ask ...
Left to Right: BOSS DD-500, MXR M68 Uni-Vibe, VOX V847A Wah, Strymon BigSky MX
What is psychedelic music?
Conceived predominantly by rock and folk artists of the 1960s, psychedelic music sought to translate the altered states of consciousness produced by taking drugs such as LSD into songs and sounds. While many creators of psychedelia did experience drug trips, not every psychedelic song was written or produced by an acid head. The hippie culture—along with the success of psychedelic music on the pop charts of the day—was often enough to inspire artists, album producers and record labels to embrace hallucinogenic motifs.
Who are some renowned psychedelic bands?
During its initial rush of popularity, lots of bands and artists joined the hippie happening—either as authentic musical tripsters or ambitious creators looking to cash in on a cultural phenomenon. Austin, Texas’ The 13th Floor Elevators are considered pioneers of the style and are acknowledged as the first band to call their music “psychedelic rock.” Big bands that tripped into psychedelia include The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Moody Blues and Cream. But also listen to influencers and outliers such as Amboy Dukes (Chicago, 1964–1975), Count Five (San Jose, California, 1964–1969), Electric Prunes (Los Angeles, 1965–1970), Iron Butterfly (San Diego, 1966–1971), Love (Los Angeles, 1965–1975), Moby Grape (San Francisco, 1966–1969), Quicksilver Messenger Service (San Francisco, 1965–1979), Spirit (Los Angeles, 1967–1973), Strawberry Alarm Clock (Glendale, Los Angeles, 1967–1971), The Mystery Trend (San Francisco, 1964–1968) and Vanilla Fudge (Long Island, 1967–1970).
What are some important psychedelic rock songs?
Influential psychedelic rock songs encompass pop-chart toppers, FM radio staples and deep cuts. Songs such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Beatles, 1967), “Purple Haze” (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1967), “White Rabbit” (Jefferson Airplane, 1967), “Eight Miles High” (The Byrds, 1966) and “White Room” (Cream, 1968) were all over AM radio. Popular examples of psychedelia, but perhaps more off the beaten pop-radio path include “Astronomy Domine” (Pink Floyd, 1967), “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (The 13th Floor Elevators, 1966), “Dark Star” (Grateful Dead, 1968) and “The Red Telephone” (Love, 1967).