When did the average cost of a pedal go over $100?

[soulgeezer]

The title says it all. It seems to me that it wasn't all that long ago that most pedals (mass-market) were significantly under $100, probably somewhere between $60 and $80, with $99 being on the high end. Five or so years ago, some "boutique" pedals (Jacques, etc.) cost around $129, which we all thought was pretty expensive.

Now, most pedals that I see are around $120, including formerly inexpensive brands like Electro Harmonix, Boss, and the like.

So, just when did pedals costing more than $100 become the norm?

By the way, the inspiration for this thread was a number of other threads lately asking things like, "Best blah-blah-blah pedal for under $150?" I mean, c'mon, for $150, you used to be able to get pretty much anything -- and, I don't mean in the 1950s; I mean like four or five years ago. How is this not the case anymore? Have pedal prices really *doubled* in less than five years? And, nobody else is bothered by this?

Are pedal prices like gas prices and the price of computer RAM? Are they come kind of commodity the price of which fluctuates with the world markets? And, if not, then how do we explain the ridiculous rise in prices in such a short time?

[artdecade]

The market dictates the prices. When boutique companies found that they were able to charge serious cash for small improvements, it only made sense that the big boys realized that they could charge more as well. I know some will chime in that parts and manufacturing cost more, but I disagree. Look at Joyo as defense to that argument.

[smoss469]

Consumers think higher price = higher quality. That's why a boutique pedal builder can drop $35 in parts into a box and sell it for over $200. I understand some things, like modulations/delays that require more parts and more expensive parts but these Fuzz Face clones using silicon transistors going for $200+? That's just madness!

[hannigan]

100 is the new twenty.

[Thighbanez]

Everyone thinks that constant revisionism = Boutique.

It's the reason that JOYO is getting everyone's business...they may clone other pedals but at least they price them sanely.

[fendrguitplayr]

When did the average cost of a pedal go over $100?

February 25th, 2004

[blowtorch]

I don't think the average price is that high, when you factor in Dano, Joyo, Behringer, etc

[Chiogtr4x]

^^^ Yes but those companies are exactly the market response to the +$100 pedals...

I do remember (as I'm older thank many,53) the idea of spending more that say $50-$75 for any pedal, especially any kind of dirt pedal (they were the cheapest!) seemed crazy!. Of course prices on everything go up.
But just like with guitars and amps today- with pedals the market is just all over the place, in terms of cost and quality. You can now buy a "Martin D-28 clone" from China, ALL solid woods, buit to pre-War specs for $700, and you can apparently now get a Joyo "Sweet Honey OD clone" for $40-it's wide open now

"Wild-West Global!"

[Kestrel]

"Boutique" pedal makers can charge what they do because there are people that are willing to drop $200-$300+ on one pedal. It has nothing to do with tone, despite the marketing and/or fanboy hype. I mean, let's face it. If your guitar playing skills are lacking, you're not going to sound any better no matter what pedal you plug into. Yes, the boutique makers may offer some improvements based around existing pedals (a Fuzzface or a TS9 for instace), but it is essentially a copy of a previous pedal using old surplus chips, etc... The irony is that prices will probably continue to increase as old and obsolete chips continue to become more extinct. It's all about supply and demand... And clever marketing. .

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by Kestrel

"Boutique" pedal makers can charge what they do because there are people that are willing to drop $200-$300+ on one pedal. It has nothing to do with tone, despite the marketing and/or fanboy hype. I mean, let's face it. If your guitar playing skills are lacking, you're not going to sound any better no matter what pedal you plug into.

But you will be the coolest one around with a pedal no one else has!

[Kestrel]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

But you will be the coolest one around with a pedal no one else has!

I know, right? But, they all need to have those cool bright blue LED's. That's the important thing. Oh, and I have to remember to colour coordinate each pedal, so my board can look ultra-cool

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by Kestrel

I know, right? But, they all need to have those cool bright blue LED's. That's the important thing. Oh, and I have to remember to colour coordinate each pedal, so my board can look ultra-cool

YES!! And your outfit needs to match too!


But yeah, you're spot on mate. Most every pedal is a derivative of some former pedal.
Probably the main reason that the RAT and TS9 have such a strong presence still...they're the foundation of it all!

[JoeNeri]

Originally Posted by blowtorch

I don't think the average price is that high, when you factor in Dano, Joyo, Behringer, etc

Add up the cost of each pedal currently on your board, divide by the number of pedals, and what dollar amount do you get as your average pedal cost?

Mine is $112.

I have no idea what any of this means, but there you go!

[smoss469]

$128 for my small board.

$59.40 for my large board.

Odd isn't it? Well right now the large board has 3 clone mass produced pedals on it that I've been trying out. (E-Wave Ninth Sky OD "Mad Professor LGW", Behringer UV300 "Boss VB-2 and Joyo Ultimate Drive "Fulltone OCD")

[Delta63]

Mine is exactly 133.333333......then I have some I built???

The average cost probably is at least 100$. The average cost per pedal sold on the otherhand should be much lower. The most popular pedals are the standard wahs, ts9's, boss distortions, dano, behringer. Each under 100$.

[soulgeezer]

The Joyo pedals on my board are skewing the results. With them, the average is $85. Without them, the average is $111. If I were to add the Frantone and/or Lumpy's Tone Shop pedals back into the mix, that average would rise significantly.

[gwjensen]

MXR has a number of excellent pedals under $100. They're getting it done, IMO.

[11 Gauge]

IDK how computing an "average cost" would even be possible. There are Boss pedals that have always been $30 to $40. Then there are Boss pedals that have ALWAYS been over $100, some well over that amount.

One of the best selling Boss pedals of all time - the BD-2, seems to have stuck at the same price of ~$90 for what seems like more than just the last few years.

I'll admit that I got quite a few of the Ibanez 5-series pedals and all of my Dano minis for no more than $50, and that was going on 20 years ago. But they were plastic construction, and clearly produced in super massive numbers. IMO, that is all that they were worth.

But around the same time I got a TS5, I also recall getting a SansAmp GT-2 for at least $120, and IIRC my Dano Fab Echo was over $100 as well. This was also a time when mult-effectors were a little more popular, and the one that I had was around $140. Even though it was a multi, that is all it was worth IMO - all plastic construction, a low bit rate processor, some good effects, some poor ones.

Despite raw material costs, there are other costs that may not seem obvious. The fuel to produce or transport costs more. Oftentimes, either taxes are now higher, or it's simply a matter of inflation. Shipping costs are higher for these reasons. It takes money to operate the warehouses that these things are kept at - I think in years past it was more of a distribution from the manufacturer to all of the dealers. Now it is oftentimes straight to huge warehouses that are the intermediate stop "between" Amazon, MF, PGS, and even Sears, Walmart, and Best Buy.

Speaking of dealers - they all get their cut, too. Again, I think it used to be less middlemen in all of this, so the "juice on the price" wasn't as big as it used to be.

Businesses used to handle a lot of functions themselves - now much of it is outsourced, and includes companies that handle shipping, automated electronic payroll, and obviously all of the costs that come with a super-bling-y website. I remember when "indirect advertising" was just a little glossy pamphlet or a MF catalog. Now it is some mega-superstar doing sound clips or videos at the manufacturer's website. So UP goes the price.

I also think that there is more of a visible gap between the cheap stuff and the "perhaps more nominal 21st century cost." Companies like Joyo and Biyang seem to forgo all of the videos/endorsements/margin paying/dealer overhead/etc. because they just build them and ship direct from China (or nearly so). When you have the cheap as possible business model, it tends to make everything else look expensive in comparison.

...The very plain but "just absolutely better than many other pedals" Boss OD-3 is a perfect example of the contrast - roughly more than double what many/most of the Chinese pedals cost, it's nothing new, not even true bypass, but simply IMO a superior design. And worth every single penny more than anything by Joyo, Behringer, or Biyang.

I think a better question to ask would be something like, "when did the cost of something that is over 95% TS/Marshall Bluesbreaker/Dyna Comp/Big Muff/Guv'nor (V1)/Rat go up to over $200?" You could even include a GOOD Fuzz Face in that list, since the process of building a good one for a "fair" price has been well researched and documented by now.

[imsilly]

Try making a pedal that is half decent and then try making a profit selling it at $100.

If you aren't a huge multinational you're gonna struggle.

Most of the pedals I make for myself cost more then $100 in parts alone. I couldn't imagine the cost when you add, insurance, labor, tax, rents, R&D, etc.

A lot of people bitch about prices, not many actually do anything about it.

[soulgeezer]

Originally Posted by imsilly

Try making a pedal that is half decent and then try making a profit selling it at $100.

If you aren't a huge multinational you're gonna struggle.

Most of the pedals I make for myself cost more then $100 in parts alone. I couldn't imagine the cost when you add, insurance, labor, tax, rents, R&D, etc.

A lot of people bitch about prices, not many actually do anything about it.

Go back and look at the OP -- I was specifically referring to mass-market pedals that now go for significantly more than they used to, with Electro Harmonix being my prime example.

Heck, I remember when a Rat was forty or so bucks and people thought they were getting ripped off, because it was too dirty and noisy. They thought it sounded too "transistorized," not like an amp at all, but it wasn't really a fuzz, either. (Remember, most amps at that time were tube amps, except for the dead clean solid-state jobs like the LAB Series, Roland, Yamaha, etc.).

The same Ibanez pedals that we all think are so great and desirable today were anathema in the '70s and '80s -- People thought they were "cheap Japanese crap" and, for the most part, didn't use them. They preferred the same pedals that had been around since the '60s, like EH or Vox. The more adventurous folks might have used DOD or MXR, but certainly not Ibanez or anything they perceived to be made in the far east.

It wasn't until Stevie Ray Vaughan famously used Ibanez pedals that people started to give them the time of day.

I know all about inflation and such. But, that doesn't explain my perception that there has been a significant increase in the price of mass market pedals in the last few years. Am I right on this? If not, the whole original question might be moot.