The Most Popular Guitar Pedals featured on Pedal Haven in 2020

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2020 has been a rough year for just about everybody.

In the Pedal Haven world, we’ve been trying to keep the spirits up by continuing to post pedalboard photos on the @pedalhaven Instagram

And after a year of posting hundreds of your pedalboards and thousands of pedals in 2020, this got us thinking…

What are the most popular pedals that were featured on our Instagram account this year?

So we looked at EVERY. SINGLE. PEDAL. that was featured on the Pedal Haven Instagram feed and crunched the numbers in order to find the most popular pedals of 2020.

 

Key Findings:

  • The TC Electronic PolyTune was the most popular pedal across the pedalboards we featured in 2020 – Not surprising, everyone needs a tuner, and the PolyTune is a great choice.
  • The most commonly featured non-tuner pedal is the iconic Dunlop Cry Baby (featured 44 times). Followed closely by the Strymon Timeline (featured 42 times) and the TC Electronic Ditto Looper (featured 40 times)
  • Overdrive is the most popular effect type in the study – with 535 of the 3181 pedals featured being overdrive pedals.
  • BOSS is the most popular pedal manufacturer in the study. Followed by TC Electronic, Electro Harmonix, and Strymon.

The Most Common Guitar Effect Types of 2020

With countless guitar effects like overdrive, delay, reverb, and chorus, we were curious to see what the most popular types of guitar effects were. Here’s a look at the top 10 most common effect types that people used on pedalboards in 2020:

Most popular effect pedal types

 

 

The Top 50 Guitar Pedals of 2020

After taking note of every single pedal from every single pedalboard that we featured, we were left with a list of over 3,000 pedals. Then we did some fancy sorting to find what pedals showed up the most across the hundreds of pedalboards we looked at. Here is a look at the top fifty pedals that we featured in 2020:

ManufacturerPedal NameHow Many Times Was It Featured?
TC ElectronicPolyTune136
BOSSDD Series55
BOSSChromatic Tuner53
Ernie BallVP Jr.47
DunlopCry Baby44
Strymon EngineeringTimeline42
TC ElectronicDitto Looper40
Electro HarmonixPOG39
Strymon EngineeringBig Sky36
IbanezTube Screamer35
DunlopDVP435
MXRPhase 9031
MXRCarbon Copy30
KeeleyCompressor29
Strymon EngineeringFlint27
FulltoneOCD26
TC ElectronicFlashback25
Walrus AudioJulia25
TC ElectronicHall of Fame24
ProCoRAT24
Electro HarmonixBig Muff22
JHS PedalsMorning Glory22
BOSSReverb22
XoticSP Compressor22
TC ElectronicSpark22
BOSSLoop Station21
Earthquaker DevicesPlumes20
Strymon EngineeringEl Capistan19
1981 InventionsDRV18
Walrus AudioSlö17
Origin EffectsCali7616
BOSSDD-50016
Line 6HX Stomp16
BOSSTremolo16
BOSSBlues Driver15
Strymon EngineeringblueSky15
BOSSChorus15
XoticEP Booster15
MXRAnalog Chorus14
MXRDyna Comp14
Strymon EngineeringIridium14
Greer AmpsLightspeed14
Chase Bliss AudioMood14
KorgPitch Black14
BensonPreamp14
Electro HarmonixSoul Food14
BOSSCompression Sustainer13
Walrus AudioDeep Six13
KlonKTR13
Strymon EngineeringMobius13

The Most Popular Pedal Companies of 2020

The guitar pedal world is dominated by giants who have been making pedals for decades, like BOSS, Electro Harmonix, and MXR. But every year we see new and exciting pedal companies forming and creating amazing new pedals. Here’s a list of the top fifty pedal companies that had pedals featured on pedalboards from the Pedal Haven Instagram:

Manufacturer# of Pedals Featured
Boss371
TC Electronic317
Electro Harmonix248
Strymon193
MXR167
Earthquaker Devices108
Walrus Audio104
JHS Pedals99
Dunlop97
Xotic60
Keeley57
Ibanez54
Chase Bliss Audio52
Fulltone51
Ernie Ball49
Wampler37
Digitech35
Line 635
Empress33
Mooer31
ProCo27
GFI System26
Vertex Effects24
Meris19
Origin Effects19
Korg19
Source Audio18
1981 Inventions18
Analog Man17
Way Huge Pedals16
Jackson Audio15
Vox15
DOD15
Old Blood Noise Endeavors15
ZVEX15
Eventide15
Greer Amps15
Klon15
King Tone14
Benson13
Neunaber12
Fairfield Circuitry12
Catalinbread11
J Rockett11
T-Rex11
Joyo11
Bondi Effects11
Friedman10
Montreal Assembly9
Vemuram9

 

What Are the Top Pedals in Each of the Top Effect Types?

From the iconic Big Muff to the Strymon Timeline, we wanted to know what the most popular guitar pedals were for each of the most popular effect categories. So after we discovered the most popular effect types, we broke the data down even further to find the most popular pedals in each of the top effect categories.

 

The Top Overdrive Pedals of 2020

Having an overdrive pedal on your board is almost essential. But with so many to choose from, here’s a look at the top 10 most popular overdrive pedals we featured on pedalboards in 2020:

The Top overdrive pedals of 2020

 

The Top Delay Pedals of 2020

Whether you’re playing screaming solos or washed-out ambient soundscapes, a delay pedal is a solid choice for any guitar player. Here are the top 10 delay pedals that we featured in 2020:

Top delay pedals of 2020

The Top Reverb Pedals of 2020

One of the most popular, and my personal favorite, guitar effect is reverb. There is an endless sea of incredible reverb pedals to choose from but here’s a look at the top 10 reverb pedals we saw in 2020:

Top reverb pedals of 2020

 

 

 

The Top Fuzz Pedals of 2020

Everyone needs a fuzz pedal on their board. Here’s a list of the top 10 fuzz pedals that we featured on our Instagram in 2020:

Top Fuzz Pedals of 2020

The Top Compressor Pedals of 2020

If you’re looking to bring a bit more clarity into your playing, then a compressor pedal is the right choice for you. Here are the top 10 compressor pedals of 2020:

Top compressor pedals 2020

The Top Distortion Pedals of 2020

Distortion pedals rock – That’s all there is to it. Here are the top 10 distortion pedals that we saw on our Instagram in 2020.

Top Distortion Pedals 2020

The Top Boost Pedals of 2020

A boost pedal can be a bit of a secret weapon on your pedalboard. Switch it on to give your sound a bit more volume and kick to help your solos cut through the mix. Here are the 10 most popular boost pedals that we featured in 2020:

Top boost pedals of 2020

The Top Chorus Pedals of 2020

Chorus pedals help add some movement and modulation into your tone. Chorus can be a really interesting effect if used in the right setting! Here are the top 10 chorus pedals featured in 2020:

Top chorus pedals 2020

The Top Tremolo Pedals of 2020

Like the chorus pedals mentioned above, a tremolo pedal is a solid choice if you’re looking to add a bit more modulation and interest to your playing. Here are the top 10 tremolo pedals of 2020:

Top tremolo pedals 2020

 

Be sure to stay up to date by following @PedalHaven on Instagram (and submit your pedalboard photos while you’re there!)