Dr. No and Troy Van Leeuwen turn the Blameshifter joke into a four-output routing pedal

Dr. No Effects and Troy Van Leeuwen’s TvL Blameshifter turns a Queens of the Stone Age rehearsal-room joke into a serious routing tool. Released in its first series on October 25, the handmade unit accepts one guitar input, buffers the signal immediately and offers four outputs. A sculpted severed finger acts as the pointer for the active route, giving the pedal its deliberately macabre visual identity.

With the pedal bypassed, the buffered signal goes straight to the main output. Engaging it can send the guitar to Output 1 or Output 3, each of which can also function as a switchable effects loop through the return jack. Output 2 has two behaviors: position A selects that output alone, while position B combines it with the main output for two-amp or wet/dry rigs. The three destination labels are left blank so players can mark their own routing scheme.

Dr. No says each series is limited to 50 handmade units in Eindhoven. The official shop lists the Blameshifter at €335, including worldwide shipping before any local customs charges, with pre-orders shipping November 15. Each pedal comes in a hand-screen-printed box with a foam insert, picks, stickers and buttons.

Guitar World’s October 30 report places the design in the pair’s earlier 2016 collaboration on the TvL Raven and TvL Octavia. The word “Blameshifter” had appeared on the Octavia, but the full switching concept remained unrealized for a decade. For players, the result is less an effect than a compact traffic controller: two switchable loops, several amp-routing options and a buffered main path in one footswitchable enclosure.