Shoegaze reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 140 Reddit reviews across 11 subreddits and 26 posts to rank the best Shoegaze brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/shoegaze, r/guitarpedals, r/GuitarAmps, r/pedals, r/synthesizers. Top-rated brands include Roland (4.8/5), Fender (4.9/5), Electro-Harmonix (4.6/5).
Stats
Reviews140
Subreddits11
Posts26
Brands52
Products87
140 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Roland
4.8
(17)
"Jc120 or peavey classic 50 4x10. tons of headroom and those mids push so fucking nicely"
"Roland Jazz Chorus"
"Any Roland JC, most peaveys are sleepers, I really enjoyed a solid state fender Princeton chorus despite its weight size and poor condition."
"Those Peaveys are all over man, if I didn’t buy my JC-120 way too early into playing guitar I’d probably have bought a Stereo Chorus and still be playing it."
"Honestly? Just get the Jazz Chorus. Even if it is used."
"You can find JC-120s used for around $500 if you’re patient enough. the end all be all amp for shoegaze"
"Roland jazz chorus, not tube but really good for the shoegaze, with the right pedals."
"Jazz chorus"
"Honestly nice board and I’m sure it sounds killer. Anyway id recommend a jazz chorus."
"Look into a jc77 or jc90, the same 2x10 jazz chorus but higher wattage, and both are around 13kg."
#2
Fender
4.9
(13)
"For around £150 you can get the Fender Reflecting Pool - this one flies under the radar, but it’s an awesome Shoegaze machine."
"The Blues Jr. is a fantastic amp!"
"The Tone Master Deluxe Reverb is a fantastic amp and takes pedals *really* well."
"Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Clean headroom for days."
"+1 for the Princeton. I love my JC40 but if OP wants a tube amp the PR would be perfect and they sound really good."
"Super Reverb"
"I’d go hot rod deluxe! Ultimate pedal platform, can be loud but sounds good quiet."
"Twin Reverb, Super Reverb or Bassman! Unless you need something smaller, but all those would be great with this board."
"I use a small fender Princeton. Great for bedroom"
"More headroom in the amp definitely a thing I think ull need for shoegaze like if 1500 is ur budget u could maybe look at a fender Deluxe Reverb...22 watts single speaker and a damn good pedal platform."
#3
Electro-Harmonix
4.6
(9)
"EHX Oceans 12 has been doing great for me."
"Oceans 11 or a used Oceans 12, maybe a used Eventide Black Hole. Zoom Ms70 CDR+"
"If I could only have one on your list it would be the Holy Grail Max. There are no bad settings, they're all useable and all exceptionally nice sounding imo."
"Memory man hazarai does the spx 90 emulation the best for a modern pedal"
"For shoegaze you really want something like a big muff pi that can give you that thick heaviness."
"EHX has the Cathedral pedal and I just learned about their Holy Grail Max. Both have reverse."
"The afterneath is rad, super fun to experiment and record with."
"I use the Oceans 11 pretty much exclusively for the reverse reverb."
"EHX Oceans 11 does so so much."
#4
Vox
5.0
(7)
"Depending on your budget or wants you should look into the Ac15 2 speaker or the Ac30 both are used by some amazing bands like mbv and fleeting joys for example"
"AC15 and/or Fender Deluxe. I use both in my rig and run them in a dry/wet dual mono configuration."
"I’ve decided to go with Vox AC30S1, thank you so so so much for your help."
"I’ve decided to go with Vox AC30S1, thank you so so so much for your help."
"I think that I’ll go with either vox ac15 or ac30s1 (ONE SPEAKER VERSION!)"
"I think that I’ll go with either vox ac15 or ac30s1 (ONE SPEAKER VERSION!)"
"Yeah, the blonde comes with the bright cap issue fixed out of the box. It’s super light, and sounds incredible!"
#5
Slowdive
5.0
(7)
"You probably would want the likes of mazzy star, slowdive, mbv, and smashing pumpkins"
"When the Sun Hits by Souvlaki is great for a bleak snowy night."
"Slowdive - No Longer Making Time."
"My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush maybe?"
"As is "everything is alive" by Slowdive"
"I really liked the new slowdive last year"
"Everything is alive by Slowdive"
#6
Boss
4.3
(7)
"I have a RV6 Boss and love it.. it’s also dead quiet, has trails with time and about 10 great reverb tones."
"The RV-6 has a reverb+delay mode that's nice for dreamier shoegaze tones."
"Might just be able to grab yourself a Boss ME-50. That gives you access to basically most of the sounds you'll need"
"I'd suggest looking at a Boss RV-5 or RV-6 for reverb - try running that into your MD-2 for some walls of sound."
"Also anything from Boss's DD series for digital delay."
"If you're looking for an extra gain stage, I'd suggest an EQD Plumes or a Boss BD-2."
"Boss Metal One."
#7
Walrus Audio
4.7
(6)
"Walrus Fundamentals Ambient"
"If you want a reverb that decays for days (for shoegaze) try a Walrus Fathom."
"Grab a used Walrus Slö. Has three great modes, including a latch on the third mode."
"Grab a used Walrus Slö. Has three great modes, including a latch on the third mode."
"Used Walrus R1 MK1 with firmware updates. Those go for $150 used on average."
"Walrus Audio Melee is a lot of fun."
#8
Pinkshinyultrablast
5.0
(4)
"I LOVE PINKSHINYULTRABEAT! one of my favorite shoegaze bands"
"I love this album but my fav is definitely sea of worry, specifically dracula bells & sea of worry"
"Everything else matters by pinkshinyultrablast"
"Try any thing by PINKSHINYULTRABLAST"
#9
EarthQuaker Devices
4.5
(4)
"EQD Afterneath"
"The afterneath looks great!"
"If you're looking for an extra gain stage, I'd suggest an EQD Plumes or a Boss BD-2."
"A plumes into a big muff with a cheaper reverb (second hand oceans 11) could get you there."
#10
Flyying Colours
5.0
(3)
"Flyying Colours 🤩🤩"
"That Flyying Colours album is kind of perfect"
"Flyying Colours and Ovlov FTW"
#11
Airiel
5.0
(3)
"Airiel winks & kisses eps"
"Add some Airiel for sure."
"Modern Young Lovers by Airiel! Insane ass drumming, almost New Order like!"
#12
Mojave 3
5.0
(3)
"Love songs on the radio by mojave 3"
"Mazzy Star and Mojave 3"
"Mojave 3. Features members of slowdive. It’s literally country shoegaze"
#13
Lush
5.0
(3)
"Lush (specifically the album de-luxe)"
"Lush"
"My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush maybe?"
#14
Hum
5.0
(3)
"Love Hum! I own Astronaut and Downward on CD, Inlet is a banger too!"
"Hum is the correct answer"
"HUM is the heaviest and the sickest."
#15
Death By Audio
5.0
(3)
"Well I was gonna post this but I will go for... Death By Audio Echo Dream 2"
"Death by Audio Echo Dream"
"Death By Audio Rooms."
#16
Digitech
4.3
(3)
"The Digitech Digiverb is easy to find for around $120 and has very nice gated and reverse reverbs."
"I use a Digitech Polara but those are used right around $200."
"Find a reverb pedal with a reverse reverb setting (digitech digiverb is one you might find used for cheap)"
#17
Orange
4.3
(3)
"Orange Tremlord. Great pedal platform. Tons of headroom. Attenuate 30w, 15w, 2w, 1w. Crazy reverb and trem."
"I use an Orange Crush35. I think it’s a solid pedal platform: could probably find one in the $200 range used."
"Orange Micro Dark is fun to play if you dont need the loudness of 100w."
#18
Eventide
5.0
(2)
"Eventide Space. Hands down."
"Eventide space is the end all be all reverb for me, darker and colder sound than the big sky which i prefer."
#19
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
5.0
(2)
"Brian jonestown massacre"
"- The Brian Jonestown Massacre (band)"
#20
My Bloody Valentine
5.0
(2)
"You probably would want the likes of mazzy star, slowdive, mbv, and smashing pumpkins"
"My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush maybe?"
#21
Peavey
4.5
(2)
"Peavey Stereo Chorus 212. It’s a 2x12 solid state amplifier based off of a JC-120. Super loud super clean for under $200."
"It’s a solid state combo amp - not a tube amp
A shoegaze classic that takes pedals well though"
#22
Keeley
4.5
(2)
"Keeley has a new one with a soft focus setting for 99 bucks."
"My shoe gaze tone is created by running a Keeley Parallax into an overdrive pedal."
#23
Zoom
4.0
(2)
"I use the ZOOM MS-70 CDR. I’m not sure if it’s under 200 but it’s still very cheap considering the quality and quantity of its effects."
"Zoom ms70cdr+"
#24
Akai
4.0
(2)
"MPC One or Sp404 mk2, would rec the MPC because I love loading 909/707 drums so I can play shoegaze like astrobrite with it"
"Any MPC or a used Maschine+"
#25
Seymour Duncan
5.0
(1)
"Seymour Duncan Silver Lake is a great one for shoegaze. It’s usually under $200 used."
#26
Overloud
5.0
(1)
"OVERLOUD has a shoegaze captures pack that sounds incredible imho."
#27
Caroline
5.0
(1)
"Really surprised to see no love for the Caroline Meteore. I love mine, does a pretty good spring impression but really shines when you start cranking the knobs for weirder settings."
#28
TC Electronic
5.0
(1)
"I like the TC Electronic Hall of Fame (v1 or v2). Buying those used will definitely be in your price range."
#29
Catalinbread
5.0
(1)
"Catalinbread FX40 Soft Focus"
#30
Normal Devices
5.0
(1)
"It does ***exactly*** what you are asking for."
#31
Pilni
5.0
(1)
"I picked up Pilni and Soldano, and I can get a pretty awesome shoegaze tone mixing the two on my QC"
#32
Rabea
5.0
(1)
"The synth stuff is really cool but the fuzz/reverb/delay combo that comes with it will do exactly what you need."
#33
Kinoko Teikoku
5.0
(1)
"I've been enjoying Uzu ni Naru by Kinoko Teikoku recently."
#34
Universal Audio
4.0
(1)
"Uad spark has the 3 most realistic sounding amp sims imo."
#35
Tanchjim
4.0
(1)
"Tanchjim Origin conveyed authority with guitar and bass, great but not cream of the crop."
#36
Line 6
4.0
(1)
"I use Helix Native because I use Line 6’s physical modeller. I really like the 2203 (JCM 800) amp model."
#37
Aful
4.0
(1)
"Aful Explorer has special rendition of guitar and bass that makes it a beloved entry level set for metal heads."
#38
Blackstar
4.0
(1)
"Im personally fan of the blackstar 100ws because the cleans are usable for the gazey parts."
#39
Harley Benton
4.0
(1)
"If you want to go cheap but still good sounding, try a Harley Benton Tube15 head and match it to a cab that you like."
#40
Filth Is Eternal
4.0
(1)
"Filth is Eternal have a signature combo delay/distortion but it sounds really good and focused."
#41
CTC
4.0
(1)
"The CTC Motherload gets totally filthy and you can dial in some nasty Big Muff or Rat sounds."
#42
Alesis
4.0
(1)
"Alexis Midiverb II or Yamaha FX500"
#43
Southampton Pedals
4.0
(1)
"Perhaps check out Southhampton Pedals Indie Dream"
#44
Discomfort Designs
4.0
(1)
"Discomfort Designs’ Glow Cloud. They describe it as a “toxic delay device”, basically an over the top delay with serious dirt."
#45
Wampler
4.0
(1)
"Wampler Dracarys has tons of filth, but it isn’t horrible."
#46
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
4.0
(1)
"I fancy my OBNE beam splitter."
#47
Joyo
4.0
(1)
"I use a Joyo AC Tone which is a suuuper inexpensive AC30 amp simulator into the amp and it's as close as I need to a Vox sound."
#48
Soldano
4.0
(1)
"Also try the soldano! put some free big muff plugins in front of it, fire up the reverb, it can be really good too!"
#49
Void Gazer
4.0
(1)
"Check out the Void Gazer"
#50
KZ
3.0
(1)
"Kz Zenith."
#51
Sivga
3.0
(1)
"Perhaps try Sivga Que?"
#52
ML Studios
3.0
(1)
"I really like the ML Studios 800 sim on the low input setting."
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