We’re happy to report based on the review videos out there (see the videos below) and the massive influx of guitarists using them, the Laney LOUDPEDAL series of pedalboard amps have been completely changing the music world when it comes to giving guitarists like you, reliable pedalboard amps that touring, session and YouTube guitarists actually want to use in the studio, live and at home for practice.
Yes, Laney has been a part of the guitar world for years, which is one of the 4 reasons Laney amps are so beloved and we’re known for our iconic British tones that helped shape heavy metal, but we’re proud to say that our latest innovation, the LOUDPEDAL series, puts our legendary amplifiers into pedalboard-friendly units that guitarists of all genres and levels love and WILL love thanks to their unique features.
They sound incredible and they’re extremely useful for those who want to downsize their rig but NOT their sound.
But which of the three LOUDPEDAL amps which are made here in the UK in our Black Country Customs workshop are best for you? Well, today, I’m going to at the three best pedalboard amps in the world (based on our opinion, and based on reviews!): IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL, LIONHEART-LOUDPEDAL, and IRONHEART FOUNDRY LOUDPEDAL in our complete LOUDPEDAL pedal amp buyer’s guide and comparison.
The LOUDPEDAL series of pedalboard amplifiers gives guitarists a portable and powerful REAL amplifier solution that fits on their pedalboard, capturing the tone of Laney’s traditional amplifiers (the clue is in the name for each one based on what amp they’re modeled on!). They’re not just emulations though – they’re REAL amps, just smaller, designed with a pedalboard friendly footprint.
Each pedalboard amp is 60 watts, dual channel, with footswitchable boost and reverb, and features Laney’s Advanced Impulse Response (LA·IR) technology. Two of which have been designed in collaboration with guitarists Martin Miller and Tom Quayle, and all three cover different playing styles and are designed for ANY setting where you need solid, reliable sound without compromise.
But each version has its unique differences which you may or may not prefer. But we’ll get into that.
There are a few reasons why guitarists, especially gigging and YouTube guitarists love the loudpedal series of pedalboard amps – mainly because they are:
Think of it as carrying multiple speaker cabinets in your pedal, so you can switch between different cabinet sounds without the big amp. Plus with USB-C you can load your own IRs, so you have even more tone control. Whether you’re recording at home, playing live or jamming with headphones LA·IR ensures your sound is always of professional quality (no more excuses for bad rooms or stage) and consistent as you have the exact same sound each time.
The Major benefit?: A gigging guitarist like you and me, can leave our heavy amp at home and run our LOUDPEDAL into the venue’s PA system direct from our pedalbord as the amp is around the size of two (ish) pedals put together. No more lugging around a full amp stack—just a pedalboard, a guitar and killer tone.
Ok let’s compare the LOUDPEDAL series one by one.
The main difference is in the sound. LIONHEART-LOUDPEDAL and IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL have different tone, voicing options and a preamp boost.
The LIONHEART-LOUDPEDAL, designed in collaboration with Tom Quayle, gives you classic LIONHEART British tones with 3 voicing modes: Bright, Dark, Flat. This also comes with a preamp boost built-in taken from the Black Country Customs Steel Park circuit pedal.
The IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL, on the other hand, was developed in collaboration with Martin Miller, and has gain shaping on Channel 1 and 3 voicing modes on Channel 2 with a more compressed distortion and higher gain sound – get this if you play metal. Both have 60W power, USB-C audio, XLR DI, footswitchable boost and reverb and LA·IR cabinet emulation.
Finally, the IRONHEART IRF FOUNDRY LOUDPEDAL is simpler – it’s a 60W amp with dual channels and onboard cabinet emulation but no LA·IR and no USB-C – it has switchable analog cabinet emulation built-in instead.
In a nutshell, the LIONHEART and IRONHEART LOUDPEDAL’s have IR customisation and more studio connectivity, whereas the IRONHEART FOUNDRY LOUDPEDAL is more plug-and-play with less customisation options. But they all work great for what you need!
Next up in our LOUDPEDAL pedal amp buyer’s guide is the IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL – developed with virtuoso Martin Miller, the IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL brings the high-gain , bone-crunching sounds and tonal versatility of the original IRONHEART amplifiers into a pedal format. It’s designed to deliver tones from jazz to metal and hard rock whole providing players with a smaller ampless footprint with additional connectivity for studio use.
Dual Channels – Channel 1 has adjustable gain responses from clean to asymmetric or symmetrical clipping. Channel 2 has three voicing modes: Bright, Dark, and Flat.
Why guitarists will love it: Dial in any tone you need—from clean to high-gain distortion and flick between the two at the stomp of a switch – just liek an amp (did we mention that this is a real amp? – I’ll keep saying it, anyway!)
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A session guitarist recording multiple genres can switch from a jazz-like clean tone to a metal lead with the press of a footswitch.
Footswitchable Boost and Reverb – Boost for added gain and reverb for spaciousness.
Why guitarists will love it: Perfect for soloing—kick in the boost for extra sustain and the reverb for added depth.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A lead guitarist in a metal band can step on the boost during a solo to cut through the mix which means you can get rid of your boost pedal and save room on your board.
LA·IR Technology – Laney’s Advanced Impulse Response tech provides high-quality cabinet emulations, so you can go direct to a PA system or recording interface.
Why guitarists will love it: Gives you the sound of a full amp and cabinet setup without the hassle.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A home-recording guitarist can plug their LOUDPEDAL into an interface and get studio-quality tone without mic’ing a real amp.
USB-C Connectivity – Direct audio output to DAWs and load custom IRs using the free LA·IR app.
Why guitarists will love it: You can completely customise the sound of your setup by using different cabinet IRs and then record directly into your DAW with them – basically giving you a studio’s worth of amps in one pedal.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A YouTube guitarist can experiment with different cabinet sounds without needing multiple amps.
Martin Miller says:
“I’ve been using Laney amplifiers for most of my life… To me, it’s one of the best gain structures in the world for high-gain metal styles.”
Best for: Guitarists looking for a versatile high-gain amplifier for everything from jazz to metal, hard rock to doom – basically if you want distortion, get this.
Developed in collaboration with fusion master Tom Quayle, the Laney LIONHEART-LOUDPEDAL captures the rich, responsive tones of the LIONHEART tube amps in a compact format.
Dual Channels – A wide range of tones, from clean to overdrive.
Why guitarists will love it: Dynamic response—play softly for clean tones, dig in for natural overdrive.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A blues player can use light picking for clean rhythms and dig in for natural amp-like breakup.
Footswitchable Boost and Reverb – The boost is inspired by the Black Country Customs Steel Park circuit, a favorite of Tom Quayle.
Why guitarists will love it: Stack the boost for extra sustain and warmth in solos.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A jazz fusion guitarist can push their lead tone into smooth saturation for expressive solos.
LA·IR Technology – Comes pre-loaded with two cabinet IRs created by Tom Quayle, with the option to load additional IRs.
Why guitarists will love it: Tweak your tone to how YOU like it or enjoy the same IRs used and designed by one of the best fusion guitarists today.
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A gigging guitarist can use Tom Quayle’s favorite cabinet tones straight out of the box.
USB-C Connectivity – Direct audio out to DAWs and the ability to customise your IR’s – read the difference between IR’s and cab sims here.
Why guitarists will love it: Easy recording and fine-tuning your tone.
Real-world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: If you’re a session musician, for example, you can record straight into their DAW with pro-level sound and use the built-in LA’IR technology to get a TONNE of different sounds – which i ideal if you;re playing with guitarists from multiple genres.
Tom Quayle says:
“If you blindfolded me and A/B’d me between the original amp and this, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”
Best for: Players looking for classic British tones with dynamic response for blues, fusion, and rock.
The IRONHEART IRF FOUNDRY LOUDPEDAL is a 60-watt, plug-and-play pedalboard amp which kicked off the whole collection. This is the OG pedalboard amp from Laney. It delivers the signature IRONHEART tone in a compact pedalboard-friendly format, except you have slightly less connectivity and with an XLR DI out with switchable analogue speaker emulation instead of LA’IR technology. It’s designed for guitarists who need powerful, portable amplification without compromising tone and those who won’t be changing IR’s.
I’ve talked about the benefits of the Laney IRF-LOUDPEDAL and how easy it is to go ampless on guitar here. So worth reading.
60-Watt Power Output – Enough power for live shows and rehearsals and even festivals – because it’s 60 watts of pure power!
Why guitarists will love it: It’s a real amp, not just a preamp pedal. You can gig with this and just your pedalboard!
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A touring guitarist can carry this pedal as their backup amp instead of lugging a second amplifier – OR you can JUST use this and build a flyrig around it.
Dual Channels – Two channels with gain and volume. Channel 1 has clean, rhythm, and lead gain modes, while Channel 2 offers bright, natural, and dark voicing options.
Why guitarists will love it: Tweak your sound to match your playing style or the genre of music you’re playing that day and basically have two different amps in one pedalboard amp, or set one ideas a boost/high gain version and you’ve reduced the number of pedals you need to take with you!
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A hard rock guitarist can switch between a crunchy rhythm tone and a searing lead sound on the fly and not have to rely on different pedals.
High-Quality Cabinet Emulation – Go direct to a PA or recording setup without a physical guitar cabinet reducing your rig!
Why guitarists will love it: You get a great Laney tone without the hassle of mic’ing up a speaker, which means you can go direct to PA and get the same sound at every gig
Real world example of why a guitarist will like this feature: A sound engineer at a small venue can plug a guitarist straight into the mixing desk for a consistent sound every night.
Guitar Interactive Magazine says:
“The Loudpedal looks like a stompbox but it works like a high-end amp with low and high gain channels, five gain voices and a 3-band EQ tone stack.”
Best for: Guitarists looking for a powerful, compact amp that can handle any style or playing environment.
When you’re trying to choose which Laney LOUDPEDAL to buy, I’d suggest choosing the LIONHEART-LOUDPEDAL if you want classic British tones or an amp that gets you the sound of blues, fusion, pop and rock. Go for the IRONHEART-LOUDPEDAL if you need high-gain amp sounds and you’re not going to use a lot of cleans. Buy the IRONHEART FOUNDRY LOUDPEDAL if you still want that signature IRONHEART tone, but don’t need to load custom IR’s or need a massive amount of different channel tones or USB-C. All three deliver pro-level amp sound in a pedal-sized format, it’s just that the Martin Miller and Tom Quayle options give you more…well…options!
All three deliver pro-level tone in a pedal-sized format, making them the perfect pedalboard amp for guitarists who want big amp sound without having to use a bigger guitar amp or cabinet at gigs. Now don’t get me wrong – we LOVE big amps here at Laney, but sometimes the gig or the tour just calls for a downsized rig without downsizing your tone! I hope you enjoyed our LOUDPEDAL pedal amp buyer’s guide!