As a player, you know how guitarists love to expand their sound. With the holidays comes the opportunity to give a fellow guitarist in your entourage a new effects pedal. But what to choose?

Fortunately, Guitar World has published its 2021 holiday gift guide, narrowing down the list of new effects pedals for the year to their top seven. No surprise, AmpliTube X-GEAR pedals occupy 4 out of 7 spots on the list.

Now the question becomes not what, but which X-GEAR pedal to offer someone (or even yourself) as a gift.

It's hard to go wrong really with X-GEAR pedals. Each offers 16 different effects, doubles as an audio interface for recording guitar, and includes AmpliTube 5 SE software with a ton of virtual effects.

Reading this section below from Guitar World's gift guide should help. If you're still unsure, ask the person you're thinking of to check out some of the videos HERE.

Ask them to decide which X-GEAR pedal they think would be great for you. Then you'll know the one they like best. And maybe the one you should get!

Guitar World on AmpliTube X-GEAR

"IK Multimedia has brought its virtual AmpliTube software into the real world with four new AmpliTube X-GEAR pedals: X-DRIVE for (distortion,) X-VIBE for (modulation,) X-TIME (delay) and X-SPACE (reverb.)

"Each of these boutique, audiophile-grade pedals is priced at $299 and features 16 different effects – a mix of favorites from the most popular AmpliTube models and some all-new reverb and delay algorithms.

"X-GEAR pedals include a matching X-GEAR plug-in for Mac or PC to use with IK's AmpliTube 5 software. The X-GEAR Preset Manager lets users move presets between X-GEAR pedals and AmpliTube, then easily reorganize them on the hardware pedal, where up to 300 presets can be stored. That way, the same great sounds you create in the studio can be right there on your pedalboard whenever you need them.

X-GEAR pedals are designed to last with a tough aluminum chassis and offer players a user-friendly interface with intuitive knobs that are easy to find and tweak on the fly.

"Taking a closer look at the four pedals, you'll see that they cover four realms of guitar effects: X-DRIVE and X-VIBE offer a range of iconic, must-have analog distortion and modulation effects. X-TIME and X-SPACE, meanwhile, boast cutting-edge, studio-grade delay and reverb effects algorithms to fuel your creative side.

"With the X-GEAR pedals' built-in USB audio interface, recording is easy. With high-quality audio sampling and a frequency response of 5Hz to 24kHz, you can capture your bass or guitar perfectly, right from the pedal.

"The X-GEAR pedals also offer versatile routing options that let users choose between sending the 'wet' or 'dry' signals to a DAW. The X-DRIVE model even provides a headphone output or you can use Onboard stereo outs to monitor your recording. Full MIDI implementation, meanwhile, lets users map the dials and buttons of X-GEAR pedals to control AmpliTube and/or any compatible program.

"Indoors or out, a high-contrast LED display keeps your settings and preset banks visible. An expression pedal input, meanwhile, adds additional control over any parameter. Each X-GEAR pedal also includes three cabinet impulse responses, so you don't have to be mic'd up to get your sound when connected directly to a PA.

"The quartet of X-GEAR pedals are available now from IK Multimedia."

Learn more about AmpliTube X-GEAR

Read the full Guitar World article HERE