|
I think this is just one of the things you'll have to decide for yourself. Like you say, it can be a heated issue. I've played several effects with surface mounted components and they sounded great. Of course, as an electrical engineer, I have no problem saying surface mount components are fine... although there are some sectors of electronics that are still largely reliant on through-hole (such as space applications) for their increased reliability of the solder joint compared to SMT. But that is the only reason for them.
The human ear is a remarkably sensitive instrument, capable of detecting very slight differences that are mathematically hard to quantify. Of course the ear is also susceptible to biasing from the brain when it tells the ear that something should sound better or worse, you will often hear it that way.
So, I think you're going to have to decide for yourself. If you don't want to spend the effort and money to experiment yourself, you can go to a shop and play some of Electro-Harmonix's new "nano" effects series. They are all SMT versions of their pedals, so you may even be able to compare with the full size side-by-side.
|