Pedalboard More Expensive Than Your Amp?

Or your guitar?

This was brought up in another thread, but it got me thinking. Do you have more invested in your pedalboard than your guitar or your amp? Do you run hand painted ZVEXs into a Crate? or are you running Behringers into a 65?

I do! but not by much, I have about $250 each in my guitar and amp and a little over $300 in my pedalboard.

GGG Orange Squeezer Clone -> Maxon D&SII -> Carl Martin Delayla

I probably have $ 800 in pedals that I use regularly, $ 800 in two amps, and $1000 invested in two electric guitars with all of the mods I've done.

My pedalboard is way more expensive then my amp. I have about $900 in pedals, running into a $300 amp... I always want to save for a better amp but whenever I get a little bit of cash to save towards an amp I have to spend it on some pedal instead.

I have a little over $500 into my board, but I have $1200 into my 66 Fender Super Reverb. I also have my 66 Basssman wich I have $450 into when you count the cab. I still have more to buy for the board though, so it could get pretty close.

I use a tuner and a Bad Bob. So the amp and guitar cost more.:lol:

Guilty.



The Tele was a gift, the amp was $500, and I figure I have spent much more than that on my pedals

My amps are more expensive, but that is going by their current value. I got them all for a relative bargain versus what they are worth now. And other than maintenance, it's a one time investment.

These are amps that I absolutely love - Fender BF/SF stuff, especially my Vibrolux Reverb and Super Reverb.

The pedals on my main board range from the price of a cheaper Boss or similar pedal up to a handful that probably aren't much more than about $180 new. To go higher in price than that, there had better be something absolutely exceptional about it. And I really don't need absolutely exceptional - I need pedals that work with my rig. So it's a matter of practical usefulness.

Folks who know me here know that I can essentially build whatever I want, so that may say more about my board in itself. There's no Klone or scratchbuilt DM-2, really none of that stuff. I think that like many guitarists who are mainly concerned with the process of making music, my board would not win any eye candy contests.

But I don't really want to appraise either my amps or my board just by currency, and just separating one part of the rig is ignoring the overall value. I've chosen everything because it works well together.

It's a tricky thing to try and assign value this way, I think. I was at a show on Saturday night, and the guitarists in the band had some really nice guitars, what I would constitute as decent working guitarists' pedals, like stuff by Boss, Barber, Visual Sound, EHX, etc., and then one guy had a Super Reverb RI, and the other had a Twin Reverb RI. Bottom line is they sounded great.

If someone puts thought into their gear needs, I think there is no constant in the way of which parts of the rig should be "premium." I've heard some great stuff with rigs that other guitarists might conclude had a "weak link," like an Epiphone guitar, or Peavey Classic 30, or "just Boss" pedals.

mine is worth more than either the amp or the guitar, but not really by choice....if you wanna play in a cover band you gotta be able to make all the cool sounds!

I almost never use any when I'm playing for myself or practicing

mine is worth more than either the amp or the guitar, but not really by choice.

I almost never use any when I'm playing for myself or practicing

+1

Depends on the configuration. Mostly a Rogue analog delay and a couple of patch cords. Definitely more on the guitar and amp.

Mine is worth more than all my guitars together, about worth all my amps together, Just is a lot of fun playing with them. No duplicates and the main amp is a vintage
Sunn model T.
Keep wanting to sell the Sunn amp but can't bring myself to do it. Problem is, can't play a 150 watt amp in my bedroom, or anywhere really. Not playing any large venues that I can see in the future, but it makes me smile just lookin at it,

It depends on the amp and the pedalboard. I have a Peavey Backstage Plus that I've been gigging with recently. I paid $20.00 for it, so even my cheapie PB is worth more then that amp. Heck, some of the pedals alone are worth more then that amp and none of them cost over $50.00.

I've never added up what I have in my "good" PB. I've probably put as much into it as I have some of my amps, but I have a couple of amps I paid more for. I never gave it much thought before.

Pedalboard worth more than my amp and the two guitars I gig with combined. Slightly embarassing until I actually play and hear how good it sounds and then I don't care. Some of my pedals have been disco'd as well so they went way up in value....

My pedalboard complete, including case and connector cables, is probably close to $1,000.
Amps are $600, $970, $1,400
Guitars are $700, $725, $1800.

YES I DO!!!!
On my pedal board I have spent about $1,374 (although some of my pedals I got a lot cheaper than what they are worth) so its more around $2k for my pedals and ATA case.

My amp is a Roland JC-55 picked it up for $75 but its worth about $350 and my guitar is 1972' reissue thinline I got for $550....

I'm $300 into my Blues Junior III
and $815 into my pedal board

My pedalboard is $620 my DRRI was $700. My Guitars were $520.

I have 5 pedals - 3 are Boss, all bought used over the years - maybe $100 total.
The other two are custom hand built - but they were built by me, many years ago, from plans in Guitar Player magazine. Parts cost me about $20 total, back then.

So, in short, no.

I have about 1300 dollars worth on pedals, and a 250 and a 900 dollar amp.
I have the same problem as Ecadad.. I always want to buy a new amp, but somehow i always end up spending the money i saved on more pedals or another guitar..

I was about to say my pedalboard is the most expensive thing I use at a time, although I have two electrics and a couple amps so in terms of my collection it's all about even...then I remembered my beloved Martin OM-18GE, it's not even close. haha, funny thing is I play that guitar the most by far of anything I own but it almost never crosses my mind when I'm on this forum.

I probably have about $1200 or $1300 in my pedal board. I have a Super Reverb Reissue that I bought for about $1400 new, and an American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster that I bought for $1350. On top of that, I have more guitars and amps that are pretty pricey, so I can have more money put into my guitar and amp than I do my pedal board. It really depends on the guitar and amp combination I use.

Even thought it's pretty much all eBay/Gumtree second-hand bargains I reckon I'm about £400 into my board, including the flightcase and power supply - and I'm not quite done yet!

My lovely old Carlsbro 50 Top head set me back £215, so the board is way out front - although once I pick up a cab I'm happy with I'm sure things will even themselves out a bit!

I think if you chop and change pedals it's quite easy to end up with a board worth more than your amp as you accumulate bits over time, we all know how addictive pedal shopping can get!

About $700 in my best pedal board;Boss chorus and TR2, Carl Martin Plexitone and TS808, plus tuner. DRRI and TRRI are my current amps equaling about $2000. All my guitars cost over $1000. I put more emphasis on Guitars, then amps, then pedals.

Guilty as well...

:o(

The interesting thing about this thread is that, most people probably have more invested in their guitars and amps then they do in pedals, BUT most folks get a good guitar and a good amp and stick with it. Pedals on the other hand, can change monthly. You look at somebody's pedalboard from a year ago, today, and a year in the future and you will probably see three very different set ups.

So I am going to go out on a limb and say that for most people, their amps and guitars are more expensive than their current pedal board, but over the life of a guitar player's playing career he will more than likely spend WAY more money on pedals than anything else, except for maybe strings.

I bought a lot of pedal in the past but now i only have 3 on my board. I found its much better to spend money on your guitar and amp and avoid clutter i between.

Sent from my iPhone using TDPRI

I have a four amps and a herd of guitars. My board probably cost less than either of those groups.....

However - that's possibly deceptive.

Since pedals seem to trade in/out far too often, they are MUCH more expensive that their face value. Consider the overdrive or fuzz quest that almost everyone seems to end up in.

Let's use simple numbers with the game and assume the overdrive pedal you buy always cost $100.

Buy @ $100 ($100 out of pocket - duh)
Sell @ $80 (pay $10 shipping - net $70)
Buy @ $100 (there's another $30 out of pocket!)
Sell @ $80 (pay $10 shipping - net $70)
Buy @ $100 (there's another $30 out of pocket!)
etc etc etc....

In two rounds, that $100 pedal is really $160 out of pocket. That $100 example pedal can quickly cost twice as much if not more. Yes, you may get lucky and break even or sell for a profit now and then but that's unusual.

I know I've gone through at least a dozen of overdrives in the last few years.....it adds up!

132329

One sec guys just need to turn a few nobs and dial in my new sound. I nabbed this photo from David Byrne. He puts this on display and lets kids mess around and walk over the pedals and interact with the signal.

...assume the overdrive pedal you buy always cost $100...

In two rounds, that $100 pedal is really $160 out of pocket. That $100 example pedal can quickly cost twice as much if not more. Yes, you may get lucky and break even or sell for a profit now and then but that's unusual...

That's the thinking I try to get some folks to walk themselves through, just to get a sense of how their purchasing habits can be letting them down.

I know lots of folks who simply won't pay over a certain amount for an OD pedal, and your metaphorical figure may even be on the high side!

Or...they only buy when it's a big time sale, or they find it used. Those are the higher priorities rather than if it might be a better fit.

And you mentioned shipping, but you didn't mention time or other expenses. While it doesn't hurt to try stuff in the store, it will always end up sounding different outside of the store. The mindset is different, so we're listening for different things that are possibly not so relevant.

I'm not saying that someone should restrain themselves completely until they've found "the one," after exhaustive research. And I'm not saying that it's all or nothing, either. Some folks get in their heads that you've got to spend hundreds and hundreds on an OD, or you won't get "the one."

But you are right in so many regards that a $50 pedal can end up costing $70, the $130 "slightly premium one" that someone took a chance on ends up costing $160...rinse, lather, repeat.

I have my own personal variation that I'm fighting to not succumb to again. I just got a gift card from a family member, so I was going to buy a pile of used pedals to modify. The thing is, I have 2 to 7 of the same kinds of pedals with different mods in them (never off the shelf mods - things I come up with as personal experiments). It's fun, I always learn interesting stuff, but there's no real practicality to it. At least it's cheaper than buying a repackaged TS-derivative 2 to 7 times, at significantly higher prices than what a used -9 would cost.

I've a got a Mexi-tele I bought new and Fender HRD 212 I bought used. I can't recall the prices, but let's call it $1000 for the two items. At any given gig I'm also bringing four (or less) effects and a tuner, so let's call that $500 there. I could obviously buy more expensive guitars and so forth for these gigs, but as I'm more often doing bar gigs, this is the value amount of equipment I'm comfortable putting at risk out there...eg. I've had one guy fall into me, knock over my amp, etc., and I'm always just waiting for the next thing to happen.

...but as I'm more often doing bar gigs, this is the value amount of equipment I'm comfortable putting at risk out there...always just waiting for the next thing to happen.

I can live with the spills, falling mic stands, stuff getting messed up loading/unloading. That's life. It sucks when it's a new guitar with a trans finish and a quilt top that gets scratched, but are you going to play it or put it behind glass?

But it's the theft part that gets me all fired up. And that's why I really don't want a bunch of top dollar stuff for the "typical situation." I'll get over a stolen Classic 30 or Barber LTD. But double the price/value of either of those two pieces of gear, and I'll probably not be very happy. And I don't really want to have to keep an eye on the rig at all times in between sets, either.

:-))...Not since I bought the Wreck.
Tuner, Timmy, Janglebox, Fatboost> Wreck

My music has become a lot more content-oriented over the years. I've got a nice 5E3 clone with a few upgrades. My pedals are mostly beaters with various mods; kind of a rotating cast of characters I choose from depending on my mood. I'd probably carry more stuff to a session, but tonight it's gonna be a Galaxie Mod BD-2, a homebrew "tweed" modded DS-1 and an old Ibanez AD-9 for a little air.

I definitely fall on the amp side of the coin. Once I've got the right amp, effects are like gravy.

The pedals are more expensive than some of my guitars and amps. Some guitars and amps cost more than the pedals. My wife doesn't mind and it's STILL cheaper than crack. It all works out in the end.

Out of the equipment I use most frequently, I've got about $650 in my pedal board, about $750 into my main guitar, but only about $550 into my #2 guitar, and my amp would either be $250 or $300 depending on which one I use.

Pedal-board right now has a Blackstone MOSFET, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Barber Direct Drive, and TC Flashback. Both guitars are assembled partscasters. My amps are a Polytone minibrute II and an Ampeg Reverberocket 2x12 reissue.

I have spent as little as £20 (Cube 15) and as much as £250 (SF Bassman Head) for a gigging amp.
My slide guitar cost £200 (Melody Maker 2p/u), my rough venue guitar £90 (Tele Partscaster) my regular Strat was £475.

Pedals? TU2, Biyang OD, RV1. Total cost- less than £200

I like single coil pickups, with a clean boost and a bit of reverb, through a cleanish Fender amp. I wouldn't be comfortable spending boutique money to get there- and I don't need to.

I think that it's probably more true than you'd think that most guys have more in their effects than guitar or amps. But it's all relative. Guys do jazz will put a lot into a high end hallow body and amp but very little on pedals. But a guy who wants to do Coldplay/Death Cab for Cutie kind of stuff could get a MiM Tele and then have to put a Lot more to get the right effects.

My typical haul to a gig is:

A tele and strat $1500
DRRI $1000
Pedal board $1500

Good tone $Priceless

Including my pedaltrain, I'm over $1,000.00. I paid $850 for my amp, $550 for my first guitar ('92 Mexican Tele). I did pay more for my current guitar tho ('52 Hot Rod Tele) @ around $1600.00 I think...

-Jagg

total of my 4 tube amps = $150 vs total of pedals = 8 or 10x but its changing cause I getting rid of a bunch of pedals.

My pedalboard is easily two to three times as expensive as the amp I'm using at any given time... My amps are all in the $500 - $1,200 range (used prices, what I paid) and I've got $2,000 in pedals and power supplies on the floor when I'm using my big board. It sounds like a lot, but that's only for 11 or 12 pedals and two power supplies.

Same Boat Here. 11+ pedals + 2 power supplies crammed on a PT-2 and it is more $$$$ than my Mesa or Bogner. It sneaks up on you until you start to add it up.
However, I like what they do for my tone and the flexibility of sounds. Also it is easy to get caught up in the "grass is greener". I have flipped some pedals and re-purchased.

Yep. More of my money is in my pedal board. I am always on the lookout for a deal, but it seems the biggest deals are always on guitars and amps. I haven't spent over $400 dollars on a single amp or guitar, however even with the deal hunting and the joyos I am still averaging over $65 a pedal on my board and with 11 pedals on the board, that really adds up.

Based on what I paid for everything on my current rig, my pedalboard cost a little more than my guitar and amp did combined.

Pedalboard & effects = $1600
5F6-A Bassman clone amp = $800
Fender Tele/Partscaster = $750

More... but it was well worth it. My main amp is 60w Hot Rod DeVille 2x12, I also have a Blues Jr and an old Crate VC50 3x10.
http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo54/frankb/my%20guitars/DSCF0520.jpg

My amp was free('65 Vox Pathfinder)so my 2 pedals London Fuzz and a Van Amps Sole Mate Jr. are more expensive. Ummm $0.00<$370 or so. all need to do now is get more pedals!!! I have a long list in my head.

Pedalboard More Expensive Than Your Amp?

No, it's not. At least not yet.

But:
I have a Tele, a Les Paul, a Jazzmaster, a Twin Reverb (SF) and a Bandmaster Reverb TFL 5005D (SF). Since my extreme metal days are over and I'm not really interested in playing jazz, I can do just about any other musical style that I want to between those pieces of gear. Plus I feel like I can do those sounds in a convincing manner. The Jazzmaster is a recent addition to the stable but apart from that, the other guitars and the amps were already in my possession before I really started to get into pedals.

The Les Paul is a bit of a one or two trick pony (but it does what it does in a beautiful way and none of the other guitars can do what it does), the Tele (my #1 guitar) and the JM are both extremely versatile instruments in their own rights and the amps are a loud, clean blank canvas (TR) and one which is a little less loud and less clean (BMR). All of this covers a lot of ground AND lends itself beautifully to using a broad variety of pedals.

Effects pedals enhance the options even further - they can lend additional flavors to existing sounds, push the amps a little harder, utterly change the sound of the other gear or help create sounds and playing options that simply wouldn't be there without them.

In hindsight, I went about this business systematically - first I got the amps and guitars that I wanted, then came the basic dirt sounds (OD, Fuzz, Boost etc.), tuner, comp, delay(s) and the pedal board itself mixed in between the dirt pedals, just recently it was reverb and now I'm looking at modulation effects.

To sum it up, I've arrived at a point where I'm really happy with what I have and I feel like the best way to go from here is to dig deeper into stomp boxes to expand my tonal options even further. On top of that, I don't think I could justify owning and sustaining even more electric guitars or even more amps than I already do. I play in bands, I jam a lot, I do play out but I'm not a rock star nor even a professional who could make a living out of this.

One thing that I found out about myself over the years is that I'm really not the guitar - cable - amp guy. I love experimenting far too much, I love creating sounds (per se, not strictly speaking from the perspective of a guitarist) and I prefer amps that are clean or just on the verge of breaking up. I also prefer 'simple' amps, so no three-channel monsters with a lot of options for me - they seem to just sound and play better. Depending on what I want to play, I'll add anything between two to a lot of pedals in front of such an amp and be happy.

That's why I love pedals and why I don't mind spending more on those than any other piece of equipment in the long run.

Considering money spent between amp / pedal board - is it really my fault that both of my favorite Fender SF amps came so cheap? :razz: I've owned much more expensive amps before and while I'm not exactly wealthy, I'd find a way to get my hands on some more expensive amp again should I feel a need to. However, I don't. Those amps are just perfect for me and I like them better than any other amps I've played.

I've been using a sole pedal lately, a Church of Tone 50 or something like that. I applied some velcro to the top of my DRRI stick the pedal right to the top of my amp. I use a wee little patch cord between the Lovepedal and the input of channel one.

Gosh that rig sounds good.

Wait till the live in case for the amp costs more than the guitar

Welllll....
guitar +/- €1200 (Am.stand with pup/bridge upgrade '52)
guitar +/- €1400 (Am.Deluxe)
Amp +/- €1200 (Fender Deluxe reverb)
Effects +/-€1200
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a351/stephan52/IMG_0823.jpg

Even if I could spend more money, I wont change anything. Just add...

My main pedalboard is way more expensive than any of my amps respectively. But combining all my tube amps (Vox AC15, Fender PRRI, MB Studio .22+ and Marshall Studio 15) - they outweigh all my pedalboards put together.

Amps:
http://shrani.si/f/2v/If/4AGqzmiR/amps.jpg

Pedalboards:
http://shrani.si/f/1L/7u/1bMA3GXg/pedalboardi.jpg

My guitars probably trump everything put together, but I'm not sure... I have no idea how much some of my older amps are actually worth (the MB and Marshall).

Got my amp for free, but even in mint condition (mid-60s Sears Silvertone 1482), it doesn't take many pedals to out-value it at about $350. However, it still may be a draw for me. Kind of depends on how you value these pedals, current price or actual price paid - for example, I got the Crybaby in the early 90s for 60 bucks.

Pedals:
Peterson StroboStomp II
TS-9 or Vintage Rat (both modded)
Crybaby (modded)
Carbon Copy

I didn't think I did until I added them all up 2 days ago before I bought a 2nd hand pedal board. I have 7 pedals and when I thought about what I paid for them it came to roughly $800. I have 2 amps and 2 guitars:

Marshall Haze 15 with 2 cabs, approximately $1000.
Vox AC15C1, approximately $550.

Hwy 1 Telecaster, (used) for $350.
Les Paul Studio, approximately $1250.

So, I guess I'm somewhere in the middle...

$1000 pedal board, $1500 amp, each guitar I play is over $1000.

My guitars range from a $300 CV 50s Tele to a $1K Gadow Custom Hollow (was probably closer to $3K for the original owner)

My amp, a mk1 Carmen Ghia, was around $1K, another $300 for my cab (made by Saxon Cabs here on in Ontario)

Pedalboard (prices I paid)--Dyna Comp ($30), Elements ($170), Tim ($150), EQD Sea Machine ($135), TU-3 ($40), Deluxe Memory Man ($200), Hardwire Reverb ($70) = $725, or about $950 including the cost of the board (PT Jr.) and power supply (BBE Supa Charger)

Amp by a bit is more expensive, but I've definitely had more expensive pedals on my board before too.

For those who are 'pedal heavy', I wonder if part of the reason is that one's effects collection can be built up a few bucks at a time. Harder to do that with guitars or amps, which typically cost more than a pedal.

There have been times I had some money to spend - not enough for a guitar or amp, so I tried out a new pedal.

You could call it 'Pedal Creep'. It does begin to add up...

I probably have $ 800 in pedals that I use regularly, $ 800 in two amps, and $1000 invested in two electric guitars with all of the mods I've done.

Just got a new USA Gibson Studio guitar so I'm definitely guitar heavy. I need a new tube amp now.

A few Joyo pedals are all that's keeping my board from eclipsing my '94 DeVille 410 (w/ mods)...when I can, the Tremodillo clone will get bumped for a Strymon Flint, Wampler Ego comp added to the 'front end', and a Voodoo Labs Giggity should be here tomorrow. Then I'll be WAY over on pedals. but I should also be done with my whole rig...for a minute or two! But only if I can keep away from this board....you guys are killing me here. Kidding aside, the wisdom on this forum has SAVED me a TON of $$ while building up my pedalboard. Have yet to buy a single box I've needed/wanted to flip, thanks to advice/reveiws/posts from members here. For this, I feel lucky. Broke, but lucky! Thanks everyone....

I'm about a grand into my board, around the same as the price of the DRRI I'm eyeing up.

About a week in Ibiza in old money.

Red October Deville 410 = 1 grand plus tax

My board... WAY MORE

Never did the math but I'm barely guilty.

Blues Jr. Korg pitchblack, vs rt. 66, wh swollen pickle, mxr cc.

M