The defining feature of the White Stripe’s is the member line up, consisting only of Jack White on guitar and Meg White providing the rhythm section on drums. This arrangement though comes with challenges when playing live, and that is why Jack White uses such a variety of pedals to reinforce the sonic presence of their live shows. Below I have highlighted some of the most important effects pedals that Jack White uses to achieve his signature sound.

The DigiTech Whammy IV – Jack uses this pedal to achieve rapid  pitch modulations during his solo playing.

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Distortion – This pedals provides a very fuzz like distortion with almost endless sustain. This is Jack White’s primary distortion pedal, and I can speak from experience that this pedal is awesome. It is the one that I use and could not imagine playing without it.

MXR Micro-Amp – This effects pedal is used to boost your signal when playing. It is primarily used for Jack’s solo work, and can add a considerable amount of gain. It is great when some signal loss occurs because of long effects pedal chains.

Polyphonic Octave Generator (POG) – This pedal creates a polyphonic octave effect that Jack uses to thicken his sound. It’s effect is ultimately making a 6 string guitar, sound like a 12 string. The most noticeable use of this pedal is heard in the White Stripe’s song, “Blue Orchid”.

These pedals aren’t guaranteed to make you sound just like Jack White, but they are definitely enough to inspire your playing. Take the sounds they create and make them your own. After all, defining your own guitar playing style is what being a true musician is all about. Plug in and have fun!

The video below shows Jack White’s effects pedals in action. It is a great performance of the song, Blue Orchid.

This iconic red effects pedal is a legend among guitar players. It produces a tone that sounds like it came straight from the 60s. This is the Dunlop Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face Pedal, which is a remake of the fuzz pedal that Jimi Hendrix and other musicians used to achieve their legendary sounds. This Fuzz pedal closely follows the design of it’s forefathers that made their sounds so legendary. It is made to the original vintage specs, and has the same Germanium PNP transistor design contained in it. This Fuzz pedal rocks straight out of the box, and no extra mods are required to get real Jimi Hendrix-like tones.  Plug this into a Stratocaster, crank a Tube Amp and let the Purple Haze fill the room.

Overall Quality: This Fuzz pedal is definitely made to last. It has a steel case, and a very sturdy foot switch that could handle many years of abuse.  It also has a heavy duty rubber mat surrounding the foot switch to protect the pedal, and to give you traction if resting your foot on it.

Sound Quality: The sound quality of this Distortion/Fuzz Pedal is really amazing. If you are looking for a Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin type of vintage sound, then this is the pedal for you. It does take a little bit of manipulation between the volume level on your guitar, and the volume knob on the unit though to achieve the perfect tone.  I like to crank the volume on the pedal all the way up, and back off the level on my guitar to get the desired sound.

Overall, this is high quality Fuzz Pedal that delivers some awesome tones. It is simple to use, and produces great tones. It is perfect for any guitar player looking to achieve those class vintage tones made by the iconic rockers of he 60′s and 70′s. I highly recommend this Fuzz Pedal for the novice, to experienced professional.

The video below is a great demonstration of the Dunlop Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face Pedal

Buy the Fuzz Face here.

I have been using the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Effects Pedal in my setup for a few years, and I have to say, this thing rocks! It offers precision tone controls that allow you to dial in the perfect amount of room shaking, sustain filled distortion. The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone comes equipped with a 3-Band EQ also which allows you to set your High and Low shelving, as well as tweak the mid band parametric sounds. The pedal also allows you to control the overall volume level, and distortion level.

This pedal can achieve a variety of different distortion sounds because of the EQ Tone controls on the pedals front. All of the sounds though are HEAVY. This pedal is designed for Hard Rock and Metal in mind. It allows you to really nail blazing solos,  tackle intense hammering and also pinch harmonics.

Overall Quality: The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal creates high quality sounds, and is built to last. It is made of sturdy steel which will hold up nearly forever, and can really take a beating and keep working. The effect and EQ controls are also a great feature on this pedal. They work flawlessly, respond immediately and allow you to really dial in your sound.

Sound: This pedal is Heavy, with a capital H. It can make a mid quality amp sound like a Marshall Stack. The sound quality is excellent, and the possibilities of sounds are endless with the MT-2 precision controls. It is perfect for Thrash Metal but, can also create a good fuzz tone or a heavy muffled distortion ton.

Check out the video below to really see what the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Pedal can do

Shop for BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone Pedals Here

For this review, I will be taking a look at the most recent addition to my effects pedal chain, the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Distortion / Sustainer pedal. This effects pedal is a reissued model of the legendary Electro-Harmonix USA Big Muff Pi Distortion/Sustainer Pedal made popular in the 70′s. It’s claim to fame is the harmonic like distortion, and near limitless sustain it can produce.

I bought this pedal because I was actually in the market for a good quality fuzz pedal, and this thing does not disappoint. It has a great fuzz tone, and the three control knobs really make it easy to dial in just the right sound.  The Big Muff Distortion has the standard volume knob to control the output level of the pedal, a sustain knob to dial in the perfect amount of smooth sustain and a tone knob to accentuate both your lows, and highs.

Pros: Awesome fuzz tone, and the sustain sounds great. It is perfect if you love high gain distortion sounds and are looking for a pedal to beef up your solo work, or your power riffs. It is also made it America, and it very sturdy. I have not had any problems with the functionality of mine since I’ve received it, and I use it a lot!

Cons: The pedal was initially a bit on the noisy side. It taks a little bit of time to tune the knobs in just right, but once you do things really do sound great and a lot of the noise is suppressed. This pedal is also not for someone looking to play arrpegiated chords, it is definitely a heavy distortion pedal.

This video gives you a great demonstration of what this pedal can do.