I am determined to find great tone for under $100. Behold! I have unearthed the best cheap pedal deals from Boss, MXR, Electro-Harmonix, JHS, Walrus Audio and many more

Walrus Audio Fundamental Series: $99 now from $79
Walrus Audio’s answer to the JHS 3 Series, the Fundamental Series pedals are almost just as affordable, equally easy to use, and also cover a vast tonal range. Here, there are three voices per pedal, and (get this) sliders to control the parameters. Nifty, eh? A selection of fuzz, overdrive, distortion, reverb and all sorts of other pedals are now available from $79 thanks to Guitar Center’s discount.

JHS 3 Series pedals: Was $99 now $74.25 each
Even at $99, the JHS 3 Series pedals are a bargain. The comprehensive lineup covers quite literally all tonal bases – overdrive, distortion, chorus, fuzz, delay, screamer, reverb and tremolo included – and each unit is so easy to use it practically operates itself: just three control knobs and mode-switching toggles. Plus, they’re built by JHS, so you know you’re investing in a top quality pedal. They are now a generous 25% off at Guitar Center.

The BD-2 is one of the most ubiquitous overdrive pedals on the planet, and with good reason: its rich tones warm up any amp, and it makes a great booster, too. Boss pedals hold their value like no others, so this 21% drop is awful tempting.

One of our favorite cheap looper pedals has had $50 slashed off the price. One footswitch covers your record, overdub, undo-redo and loop erase functionality, and you can store up to 11 loops on the pedal itself. With its easy-to-follow LEDs, it’s a great entry point into looping, especially at this price tag. Sweetwater has already sold out, but we’ve found a few more units lurking at Walmart – just be quick!

The Boss DS-1 Distortion is an absolute classic of the genre. Stomped by everyone from Kurt Cobain to Joe Satriani, its affordability and rampant gain have made it one of the most popular guitar pedals of all time. Perhaps that’s why I’ve owned two in my lifetime, after regretting selling the first – but, incredibly, I’m now considering buying another.

Full-sized wah pedals are SO last century. Mini wahs are where it’s at right now – maximizing pedalboard real estate while still getting the same tone. And they don’t come much better than Dunlop’s venerable Cry Baby Mini. Boasting the Fasel inductor you’ll find in the full-fat version, plus three adjustable voicings – Low, Vintage and GCB95 – this is all the wah most players will need. And it’s now under $100!

Its form factor may be diminutive, but this Donner mini pedal is deceptively well-featured. For starters, it features three loops, with up to 30 minutes of looping time, plus unlimited overdubs and undo/redo functionality. It will save your loops when the pedal powers off, and its built-in display shows where you are in the duration of your loop. It’s a steal at $59.

This pedal combines the classic aesthetics of the famed Klon Centaur with an impressive sound that makes it a top contender among Klon clones - and a firm favorite among us at Guitar World. Save $90 at Guitar Center.

One of our favorite Tube Screamer clones, the Plumes is an absolute bargain at this price. As you’d expect from a good TS clone, it’s perfect for pairing with a mid-scooped amp and stacks nicely with other drives, too. Its versatile tones will fit into any guitar rig – and with $20 off this dashing Cherry Bomb, there’s no excuse not to find out why this is a modern overdrive classic.

Fun fact: Boss literally invented the pedal tuner in 1998. Before that, nobody had a tuner on their pedalboard. Isn’t that nuts? All of which is to say that you can trust the TU-3 Chromatic Tuner to keep you in tune. Glare-free display, multiple tuning modes and rock-solid Boss build quality for $79. Let’s go.

I’m gonna let you in on a secret: the FOD Drive is just a rebadged Dookie Drive – ya know, the pedal that captures Billie Joe Armstrong’s sought-after modded Marshall Plexi crunch from the Green Day album of the same name. Which makes this $99 deal an absolute bargain. A blend knob goes between two different amp characters, allowing you to fine-tune your gain, while a three-way scoop switch gets those mids dialed in juuuust right. Get it! Now!

Tech 21 is clearing out its SansAmp Character Plus range: four compact pedals that act as Guitar DIs, preamp and multi-effects in one. Your options include the Fender-ish Screaming Blonde, Gilmour-targeted English Muffy, Hendrixian Fuzzy Brit and Beatles-friendly Mop Top Liverpool. As a backup to stow in your gigbag, these are a fine investment – especially at 60% off.

Looking for Klon-esque midrange drive from a standard-sized pedal? MXR has got you. The Fat Sugar is more faithful than many other Klones: it blends your clean signal at the start of your sweep, and offers increased headroom via an onboard voltage doubler. There’s also a choice of buffered and true bypass. But, let’s face it, most importantly, it’s pink and sparkly. And $40 off.

ProCo RAT2: Was $126.99, now $88
Capable of everything from the filthiest, fuzzy guitar tones to being used to top up your lead licks, the RAT 2 is one of the most popular distortion pedals of all time. And now it's cheaper!

As far as simple loopers go, it's hard to look past the RC-1. In our review, we said, "The Boss RC-1 Loop Station is a really easy-to-use looper pedal with great functionality, 12 minutes record time, stereo ins and outs, and superb build quality. This pedal is perfect for simple looping in a live performance setting or for writing."

Read more: Boss RC-1 review.

At just $99, the Pigtronix Constellator is a brilliant deal at Sweetwater thanks to a huge $80 reduction. It's an analog delay pedal that delivers a luscious warm wash that belies its budget price point. It's a seriously underrated bit of gear, and we love the modulated tones it can deliver, as well as the mini size that means it's easily able to fit onto any 'board.

Remember when the internet went bananas for the DigiTech Bad Monkey? Wampler did, and then made the Triumph – a drive pedal that JHS head honcho Josh Scott called “better than the Bad Monkey”. If all of that means absolutely nothing to you, let me just say that the Triumph is a superb Tube Screamer-derived drive with extra flexibility, via a three-band EQ and a Smooth/Punch switch for classic and modern tones. For Cyber Monday, it’s under $85. Now that’s bananas.

The cheapest entry point into the Line 6 HX ecosystem is this no-nonsense, easy-to-use offering that spans amp modeling, distortion, modulation, delay and reverb. All with tap tempo, presets and a dedicated headphone output. It uses the same tones as the full-fat Helix, and even has its own dedicated editing software. $129 is a ridiculously low price for this kind of functionality.

The best-selling pedal last year, according to Reverb – and the most powerful amp modeler for its size bar none, according to us. This pint-sized pedals has the potential to revolutionize your rig. Use it as a do-it-all overdrive/fuzz pedal, an end-of-chain amp-in-a-box, or to create digital models of your own gear. More than 56,000 ToneModels are available to play with, including amps, cabs, EQs, overdrives and more. $149.99 is a steal.