The video reviews are in, and the dust has no signs of settling. The Laney SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL is taking the guitar world by storm, and there are no signs of it slowing down.
Why is the Laney SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL so popular? Not only can you get Billy Corgan’s iconic guitar amp sound in a pedalboard-friendly format for less than 700 USD (prices correct as of Mar 2026). Yes, you read that right, but the Smashing Pumpkins frontman uses it and actively endorses it. It’s part of his rig.
The tone worth “$100,000s” is now widely available to guitar players thanks to the collaboration between Laney, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, and Chicago-based amplifier designer Brian Carstens of Carstens Amplifiers.
As Billy told Guitar World, the idea was simple:
“Give the average guitar player the chance to own my live rig. The tone worth $100,000s.”
But how did the project start, what has been the response to the Laney SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL, and does Billy Corgan actually use the pedal live?
Oh yes. Yes he does.
“I have a very distinctive sound that I want out of amplification and the fact that I can get it out of the Laney SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL blows my mind.” – Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan’s live amp sound is a combination of Grace heads by Carstens and his Laney Supergroup reissue. We’re talking multiple amplifiers, boutique equipment and rigs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not ideal if we want to emulate that sound.
Lee Wrathe from Laney explains:
“Billy came to James Laney with a challenge. He said, ‘I’d love to get my $100,000 guitar rig — the one that costs tens of thousands of dollars to ship around the world — into something that the average guitar player could actually buy.’ So we said, ‘Hold my beer,’ and that’s exactly what we set out to do.” -Lee Wrathe
At Laney, we’d already released LOUDPEDAL versions of some of our most iconic amplifier ranges, including the LIONHEART and IRONHEART, with signature LOUDPEDAL amps for Tom Quayle and Martin Miller.
Each LOUDPEDAL unit contains a genuine 60-watt amplifier built directly into the pedal itself. This means the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL isn’t a modelling device or a digital approximation of Billy Corgan’s tone. It’s a fully analog amplifier circuit designed to behave like a traditional amp head, delivering the same response, dynamics and power in a compact pedalboard format.
As Billy Corgan explains:
“This is not a digital amp. This is an analog circuit… it’s actually a 60-watt head.”
For Billy, that authenticity was essential. The goal wasn’t to simulate his rig, but to recreate the real behaviour and feel of the amplifiers he uses on stage allowing him to go “ampless” on guitar.
The LOUDPEDAL format was perfect, as Billy didn’t want a modelling amp, he wanted the real deal.
But first. We had to nail Billy’s amplifier tone.
To recreate Billy Corgan’s sound, Laney’s engineering team went back to one of the most important amplifiers in the company’s history — the late-1960s Laney Supergroup that Billy Corgan owns.
The team mapped the same circuit topology that helped define the sound of early heavy metal and bands like Black Sabbath.
But that was only half the story.
The other half of the pedal comes from the Carstens Grace amplifier, designed by Brian Carstens and used extensively in Billy Corgan’s touring rig.
“We didn’t want to do a rough approximation of those amps,” Lee Wrathe explains.
“We wanted both sides of the pedal to be right. That meant working closely with Brian Carstens himself and making sure the Grace side was exactly what it should be. It had to be authentic.”
The result is the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL, which is a compact pedalboard amplifier that combines two of Billy Corgan’s favourite amplifier voices in a single unit and allows you to get his iconic sound almost instantly.
The GRACE side of the pedal delivers huge gain with exceptional articulation and headroom, allowing players to move between clean tones, crunch and full saturation simply by adjusting their picking dynamics or guitar volume.
On the other side of the pedal sits the SUPERGROUP channel, inspired by one of the most iconic amplifiers in Laney’s history – the Laney Supergroup amp, of which Billy owns a vintage model.
The original Supergroup amplifiers, designed in the late 1960s by Laney founder Lyndon Laney, helped define the sound of early heavy metal and are were famously used by none other than Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.
But with some pretty cool secret features that get you that classic Sabbath tone. Lee Wrathe explains how Laney recreated that sound inside the pedal:
“The best way to get the most amazing tone out of a Supergroup is to literally do that with the dials…dime it.”-Lee Wrathe
Cranking the amp produces a distinctive behaviour in the output transformer that contributes to the famous Supergroup sound.
“When you wind up the volume it starts to do something very strange to the transformer and it gives you a major six subharmonic… that’s totally the sound of Sabbath.” -Lee Wrathe
Capturing that behaviour was one of the most important parts of developing the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL.
“It took a lot of work to make that work, but we got there.” -Lee Wrathe
Despite its compact size, the SUPERGRACE isn’t a modelling device — it’s a real 60-watt amplifier built into a pedalboard format.
As Billy Corgan explains:
“This is not a digital amp. This is an analog circuit… it’s actually a 60-watt head.”
For Billy Corgan, the fact that the pedal can deliver his signature tone in such a small format is great for guitarists who love his tone.
“I have a very distinctive sound that I want out of amplification, and the fact that I can get it out of this blows my mind.” Billy Corgan
Together, the GRACE and SUPERGROUP channels create a platform that blends modern gain structure, vintage British amplifier character, and modern recording flexibility, all housed in a pedalboard amplifier designed for the way guitarists play today.
One of the most unique features on the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL is the “Dimed” switch on the Supergroup channel, which recreates the sound of a classic Laney Supergroup amplifier with every control cranked to maximum.
As Laney’s Lee Wrathe explained in the video with Dweezil Zappa, “the best way to get the most amazing tone out of a Supergroup is to literally dime it:
“When those original amps were pushed to the limit, the output transformer would begin to behave in unusual ways, producing subtle subharmonics and the famous “cone cry” that helped define Tony Iommi’s early Sabbath tones. The Dimed switch recreates that behaviour instantly, letting players dial in that legendary cranked Supergroup sound without needing to run a vintage 100-watt head flat out.
“Well, you know, I’m up on stage in front of 60,000 people. I’m the last song of the night with the boys and My Chem. You know, they’ve obviously got some video roll and they’re hoping to capture a moment. I’m thinking this thing better work because it’s going to be bad if it doesn’t. But it sounded great. I mean, it really has that roar to it.” -Billy Corgan
The ultimate test of the pedal was when Billy stepped out to 60,000 My Chemical Romance fans and debuted SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL on stage at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Watch the incredible video below.
Corgan played Bullet With Butterfly Wings using the SUPERGRACE LOUDPEDAL, which, let’s face it, was the ultimate test in nailing his tone and proved that this pedalboard amp could deliver the kind of tone and power normally associated with much larger rigs and sound exactly how Billy wanted it to, and how Smashing Pumpkins would expect.
When the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL was unveiled, Billy Corgan didn’t just put his name on the amp, or simply give his blessing, he helped introduce it to the guitar community himself and has been actively involved in promoting it.
Before the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL was officially unveiled to the wider guitar community, Billy Corgan had already put it to work on stage. One of the first major appearances came at the TEC Awards, where Billy performed using the pedal in front of a room filled with leading figures from across the music and audio industry. This was a high-pressure environment, of course, and we’re happy to say the pedal nailed it.
Shortly after the TEC Awards performance, Billy officially introduced the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL himself at NAMM 2026, presenting the pedal to the global guitar community and explaining the thinking behind it – you can watch the full video below with AMS.
Watch as he explains the concept in more detail and shows just how involved he was in making it and how he talks about the challenge of creating a pedalboard amplifier that could deliver the sound of his enormous touring rig in a format that everyday guitarists could actually use.
“It’s awesome because I literally have my sound in this box.” – Billy Corgan
As Billy explained when discussing the pedal’s design, the goal was always about recreating the sound and feel of his live rig, not just modeling or just replicating a sound digitally:
“Laney has made something that’s really really I think progressive in that it’s a 60 watt head which blows my mind because the thing weighs only about six or seven pounds.” – Billy Corgan
If you love the sound of Billy Corgan’s live rig and you want a pedalboard-friendly amplifier that you can use to create iconic sounds of both Laney Supergroup and Carsten’s Grace amps, then yes, it’s totally worth it.
The tone of the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL is rooted in classic amplifier design that we’re Laney and Carsten amps are known for, but there are so many features designed for modern guitar rigs.
This means the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL is way more than just a pedalboard amp, it can also function as:
All from one compact pedalboard amp that can sit on your desk as a desktop amplifier or be used in your live rig as a pedalbard amp.
Every SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL is built at Laney’s Black Country Customs workshop in Birmingham, England.
Each unit is carefully assembled by hand and shipped in a handcrafted presentation box, continuing Laney’s long tradition of building guitar amplifiers with attention to detail and reliability.
The SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL isn’t just a signature pedal or another overdrive box that emulates Billy’s sound – it is a MASSIVE part of Billy Corgan’s sound and the quickest way to get Billy Corgan’s iconic amplifier sound.
And judging by the response from guitarists, industry professionals and live audiences alike, the SUPERGRACE-LOUDPEDAL has already made Smashing Pumpkins fans and guitarists who want that iconic sound very happy.
From NAMM show floors to TEC Awards stages, and even to stadium performances in front of 60,000 fans, it’s proving that massive guitar tone doesn’t always require a wall of amplifiers.
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