# 4 Iconic Guitar Pedals That Shaped the Sound of the 1980s

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/4-iconic-guitar-pedals-that-shaped-the-sound-of-the-1980s/
- Published: 2026-11-05T14:07:13+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T14:25:16+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/guitar-pedals/
- Topics: Americas, Entertainment, Music, World

## Key points

- Four pedals helped shape distinctive 1980s guitar tones.
- The CE-2 chorus was popular on records and live.
- The TS9, RAT and DM-2 brought varied drive and delay sounds.

## Summary

Four effects pedals helped define the guitar sounds of the 1980s: the Boss CE-2 chorus, Ibanez Tube Screamer, ProCo RAT and Boss DM-2 delay. Their compact designs and distinctive sounds made effects more practical for musicians and helped shape recordings and live performances across several genres.

The CE-2 brought chorus to songs by artists including The Police and The Smiths, while bands such as U2 and Metallica used it on stage. The Tube Screamer TS9, produced from 1981 to 1985, offered more output than its predecessor and was used by players including Stevie Ray Vaughan and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield. The RAT, released in 1978, ranged from overdrive to fuzz; the DM-2, introduced in 1982, used analog circuitry to provide delay in a compact format, though the supplied article text cuts off before detailing its users.

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