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They are a key functional element to all pedals - in terms of working practicalities, look and tactile feel - and there are hundreds, if not thousands of possible varieties and variants, yet certain types of Knobs tend to dominate. Ever since we’ve had electrical devices - well over 100 years now, we have had a variety of control knobs and dials - initially metal, then bakelite, and now mostly modern plastics, hardened rubber and aluminium.
In doing this feature/guide I referenced 5 sites in particular - Davies Molding, Mammoth Electronics, Small Bear Electronics, Amplified Parts and Don’Audio. I was slightly surprised that there seems to be a general lack of proper part-number referencing all-round - with certain designation knob types nigh on impossible to find. Unlike the Effects Database (Pedals), there exists no equivalent for Amp/Guitar Pedal Knobs - which I feel though could be / would be an essential resource for pedal-builders.
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In knob manufacturing Davies Molding (Harry Davies) is sort of the equivalent to Hammond Manufacturing (key enclosure sizes) - and is the only regularly referenced product code - e.g. Davies 1510 style or 1400 series, 1900 series etc. Beyond that though knobs are really just referenced per their most common use - so Boss-style, MXR-style etc. Note that I reference Davies Molding series numbers with the prefix DM-.
In making a particular type and size of pedal obviously the enclosure size is of critical importance, along with the number of parameter functions required to control the pedal. If you have a large number of parameter controls - it obviously follows that the knobs/dials employed need to be on the more compact side to fit within the available surface area.
In designing a pedal layout - the circuit is of course the first consideration, but then the control layout/topology - how many knobs you are going to need, and where they will best sit on the interface as such. There are all manner of odd pedals out there with knobs and switches literally and liberally sprouting from every surface, but in the main - it makes most sense to mount the knobs on the top surface, as one of the major benefits of using this style of pedal is the visible cues you get from being able to see exactly what level/s the knobs are set at.
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I fairly arbitrarily settled on a grid size of 25 per the above visual, but then systematically and methodically scanned through my various features and own pedal collection to end up with the particular varieties featured. There are of course several types omitted, but I hope to have captured the vast majority of the most significant ones. In my usual fashion I’ve mixed up established classics with personal favourites, new-comers and novelties. Part of the purpose of this feature is to generally encourage pedal-builders to be a touch more creative, selective and personalised when it comes to deciding on which knob types to deploy.
Several of my favourite brands have their own signature knobs, and I would encourage the majority of established brands to look into designing and commissioning their own varieties, while this does not make sense for smaller and more fledgling builders. The knobs are sort of arranged both by approximate ubiquity and symmetry - I moved around a few at the end to make for a more aesthetically pleasing presentation - this article took quite a bit longer to complete than initially estimated - I hope you enjoy this overview!
I would say that the 3 most ubiquitous styles of knob nowadays are the MXR. Boss and DM-1510 styles - with likely the last mentioned the current most used, followed by roughly equal numbers of Boss and MXR style ones. The official MXR knobs are the heptagonal ones with a skirt, and JHS famously uses these knobs too, while several others use the DM style variations without the skirt. These of course come in a variety of sizes - with and without skirt (not MXR) and in a multitude of colours.
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In a not altogether dissimilar vein to MXR, Boss also largely uses skirted heptagon control dials but with silver tops. In fact the Boss-style dial is probably the second most used design overall after the 1510 type (could be MXR type though also). Yet Boss also has a number of additional smaller knob styles that are used on many of its pedals - dual-concentric and more standard deviation. I struggled to find any specific reference to those, possibly from a very particular Japanese manufacturer! Much like the MXRs, these come in a variety of sizes and colourways. Upon completing the review it would seem that there are actually more builders using the MXR-styles, while the Boss-style is used for a very large number of secondary applications too.
This has to be the most ubiquitous of the pedal knob designs - as it's seen pretty much everywhere. It's obviously a very simple and elegant design and creates a dial which is easily adjustable. I associate it most with Wampler - I guess as that's one of my favourite brands, but you see it in very widespread use on just about every pedalboard.
It's likely the Klon is the most immediately associated pedal with these beak-like pointer knobs, and in fact this style of knob tends to be a secondary flavour for most of the brands that use it rather than their predominant variety. In fact a number use it solely for their own version Klon clone! Fairfield Circuitry though uses this knob for its whole range, and J Rockett for its Tour Series.
Custom Guitar Knobs
The Chicken-Head style of knob which is still popular on vintage-type amps is largely used as a secondary flavour by most pedal-builders - with the exception of those listed below. I most associate this style of knob with Cusack Music and Thorpy FX while you can see examples of more specific applications within numerous other pedal ranges. Bogner uses two different types for its non-Rupert-Neve type pedals.
This is another typically secondary flavour, although made famous more recently by Vemuram - as utilised on its Jan Ray pedal and a few others (TSV808). Tone City also use these sorts of knobs on their larger pedals, but generally these are not seen around as much of late.
The Marshall Amp knobs are pretty much ubiquitous nowadays, although they don't form the principal element of any pedal range currently. In the main they are simply used to accentuate Marshall-style pedals within a variety of different ranges. I have three pedals in my collection with this style of knob - two silver, and one gold - the Alexander Pedals Jubilee Silver Overdrive, Hudson Electronics The Fuzz and Dr Scientist's The Elements. These knobs are also used in part on the Pettyjohn Electronics range and Ramble FX Marvel 3 Drive amongst a smattering of others.
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A while back I foolishly thought this was BYOC's own commissioned knob type, but it's a Davies Molding standard - available in different sizes and colours as usual. I'm still most familiar with this from my BYOC pedals, but there are a few other makers that make use of this knob type - Skreddy's Marc Ahlfs for instance uses the larger 1155 type for his two phaser pedals, and Lovepedal's Sean Hughes uses them on the Hermida Audio pedal range. David Rolo also uses these on a few of his Drolo pedals, as does EWS.
This is the 4th of the 4 leading ubiquitous knobs along with MXR, Boss and DM-1510 styles. This type is slightly narrower in gauge / more compact meaning it is used largely when you need to fit a number of dials into a fairly tight space. You see this style within a huge variety of pedal ranges, while it's the main type for Malekko, and Zvex's recent Vertical line.
These vintage style knobs seem to be having something of a resurgence at the moment. I mostly associate them with the Hudson Electronics Broadcast, but they have cropped up recently too on the really cool but sadly mono only RedShift Effects Mirage Multi-Delay, and Vemuram Myriad Fuzz pedals.
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I am most familiar with these courtesy of Spaceman Effects, as this type of knob is used in a variety of colours on a number of my Spaceman pedals. It is also a secondary flavour for many builders - for special applications - e.g. Earthquaker Devices, FTelettronica and Shift Line / A+.
This is used across the whole JPTR FX range, Black Country Customs, Shin's Music, and the greater part of King Tone pedals, as well as more specialist applications for Caroline Guitar Co, Cooper FX, Demon Pedals and Earthquaker Devices. I actually associate this the most with the Rainger FX Freakenstein/Chop Fuzzes where it's just the perfect shape of dial to suit that concept.
These are probably my favourite type of knobs overall on my favourite type of pedal layout - everything about
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