We can’t imagine any of you out there have been searching for an effects pedal that turns your guitar tone into, erm, fart noises, but just on the off-chance you have, it is with mixed emotions that we can confirm your search is finally over.
Enter the Fart Pedal. A “bespoke” – not our word – fart sound effects machine, which is custom-tailored to guitar amps and tuned for live performance. Because why not?
And, as an added layer of gravitas – this is all very serious stuff, after all – each pedal will come with a signed and numbered letter of authenticity.
Conceived and designed by self-labeled "serial silly projects guy" Steve Gadlin, who identified an inexplicable fart pedal-sized gap in the market, the Fart Pedal has recently gone up on Kickstarter, with Gadlin seeking financial backing to put the pedal into production.
Said Gadlin, “Sometimes you Google something and you realize it doesn’t exist, so you pull up your boot straps and you invent the damn thing yourself. A few months ago after an exhaustive Google search at two or three in the morning, I realized no such thing existed.
“I approached an engineer friend of mine, Jon Halverson, and asked, ‘Is it possible?’ Well, he told me, ‘Steve, of course it’s possible, but who the heck is going to want a guitar pedal that turns your guitar noises into fart noises?’ Well, I sure as heck would.”
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So, how does it sound? Well, we aren’t sure if ‘really good’ is the correct term to use, but it certainly offers up some pretty realistic sound effects. And, thanks to the onboard Wet/Dry toggle switch you can dial in a whole range of fart noises. Seriously.
The Gadlin Mystery Pedal (I Don't Know What This Pedal Does) - YouTube
Still unconvinced? Check out bassist Amos Heller – whose credits include Taylor Swift and Thomas Rhett – put the Fart Pedal through a blind review in the video below. The results are, as you can imagine, quite spectacular, especially when Heller’s serious two-minute preamble is rewarded with a barrage of squeaky fart noises.
And if that doesn’t succeed in selling it to you, don’t worry – Gadlin and co have recorded a series of quick-fire snippets that show how the Fart Pedal copes with classic rock tracks.
For those of you who can’t bear the thought of hearing Highway To Hell, Stairway To Heaven or Johnny B. Goode transformed into fart noises, avert your ears pronto.
Of course, the whole project is just another one of Gadlin’s light-hearted design ideas, so much so that the pedal even comes with faux fuzz label decals, meaning you can give it to your buddies under the guise of a regular old pedal to stink out their tone.
The Fart Pedal currently has a financial target of $30,000 in order to put a first-run line into production, and at the time of writing has received $5,103 in donations. People are surprisingly keen for the fart effects, clearly.
Head over to Kickstarter to find out more about the Fart Pedal. Trust us, you’re really going to want to check it out.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
