Cheap FX Pedals or dear FX pedals - do you get what you pay for?

[cradlehall]

I've only ever used FX pedals at the cheap end of the market. Would I notice a big difference if I used the more expensive brands

For example, a Daphon distortion pedal for £20 - which I have - or a BOSS distortion pedal for £45. Which is best

[degsycaster]

Hi cradlehall.

I think it's a real hit and miss affair with cheap v expensive pedals. I own a Daphon delay pedal and it's fantastic, great for all those rock-n-roll echoes. I also have 3 Boss pedals and they're all fantastic sounding. My Boss hi-band flanger makes my back up Behringer Ultra Flange sound rubbish, yet my £45 Marshall GV2 Guvnor is far more useful than my £85 Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 (totally overated IMO). If you want a good, versatile OD/dist pedal the GV2 is the best I've ever heard and used.

Tone is so very subjective that every players tastes will differ - 'one mans meat' etc. Like so many replies on the site it's the old 'try before you buy' option that works best.

Ps. Give the GV2 a try - it's worth every penny!!

[kludge]

There's good cheap pedals and there's bad expensive pedals. What I've found makes the most substantial difference is construction quality. I have cheap pedals that SOUND good, but I wouldn't trust them to last at all. I have cheap pedals that sound good that I don't use (i.e. Arion analog delay) just because they're so flimsy.

On the other hand, some pricey pedals can be a hassle too. I love my PE Germ, but the knobs move far too easily and I have to "fix" it every time the pedal gets used... heck, my dogs step on it and move the knobs. And my wonderful-sounding Orange Sunshine fuzz is battery-only so I can't conveniently leave it on my pedalboard, plugged in.

[Tim Bowen]

Kludge's post speaks pretty well for me. MXR Micro Amp, BOSS NS-2, BOSS TU-2 - cheapies that I gig pretty much weekly. Overdrives and delays... I can't seem to get on with anything other than the premium stuff, as long as we're talking real world bandstand usage. Which is incredibly stupid on my part, since I support the household on a meager musician's salary, and have not recently landed lottery earnings.

I'm a total snob for analog delay, I can't help it. I've come to hate 99.9% of (actual) overdrive peds. I've mostly called upon boost and compression for gain boost over the last couple of years, although I do usually employ a Lovepedal Eternity OD (which is expensive), strictly for single note saturated lead tones and slide stuff.

What can I say... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If there's something about your rig's tone and response that you don't dig, and if it bugs you enough to start investigating other options, then you're in for some trial and error, plain and simple. If you dig your tones - go with it.

I'm glad that I bench tested a slew of circuits in my basement and on the bandstand for way too many years, for the simple reason that I now know what to expect, and for the reason that I understand how circuits interact, as well as how to manipulate them on-the-fly, in awkward crunch situations.

[cradlehall]

Originally Posted by degsycaster

Hi cradlehall.

I think it's a real hit and miss affair with cheap v expensive pedals. I own a Daphon delay pedal and it's fantastic, great for all those rock-n-roll echoes. I also have 3 Boss pedals and they're all fantastic sounding. My Boss hi-band flanger makes my back up Behringer Ultra Flange sound rubbish, yet my £45 Marshall GV2 Guvnor is far more useful than my £85 Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 (totally overated IMO). If you want a good, versatile OD/dist pedal the GV2 is the best I've ever heard and used.

Tone is so very subjective that every players tastes will differ - 'one mans meat' etc. Like so many replies on the site it's the old 'try before you buy' option that works best.

Ps. Give the GV2 a try - it's worth every penny!!

Hey Degsycaster, it's is nice to know that I'm not the only Daphon user on TDPRI!

I hope this isn't inverted snobbery but I do like Daphon.

As suggested, I'll check out the Marshall GV2 Guvnor - I'll see if there's any on eBay!

[Sarge]

I've tried the more expensive pedals and I've tried the cheapo's. Some of the older D.O.D's, Morely's, Ibanez, and other popular brand names do what their intended to do. Some of the cheezy pedals from the 80's have decent sounds to them. I really can't justify spending big $$ on a pedal when I can get a cheaper one that almost sounds the same, a good guitar and amp can do wonders for a cheap pedal. Anyway, I found that the Boss line of pedals suits me just fine..the one's that hiss or make too much noise and suck tone I just send out to be modded. For decades I just ran clean to an amp but over the past few years I've been assembling a sizeable arsonnal of Boss'es. I'm no professional nor record so they're fine for my use. But I can see where as being a musician that you would want the best pedal to accentuate your tone. But does that $450 pedal sound better than the $75 one? It's all in your perception I would think.

[drjordan]

I agree with the guy who said "if you like your tone go with it" (or something like that). I started with a $15 Danelectro Fab OD. It made the tone very muddy...I suppose it was just major tone sukage. I now use a Boss BD-2, Boss OD-3, and VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive. None of those pedals would be considered "high-end", but they are all far better than the Dano. On the other hand, to my ears it's hard to beat an OD-3 regardless of price.

[franchelB]

I've stated the same thing in a topic about overdrivers that cost over $200!
There's NO way I buy a pedal that would cost over $100...No way!! With products from Boss, Digitech, Line 6 and MXR, one should be able to find a decent sounding pedal at a decent, reasonable price!

[getbent]

Originally Posted by drjordan

I agree with the guy who said "if you like your tone go with it" (or something like that). I started with a $15 Danelectro Fab OD. It made the tone very muddy...I suppose it was just major tone sukage. I now use a Boss BD-2, Boss OD-3, and VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive. None of those pedals would be considered "high-end", but they are all far better than the Dano. On the other hand, to my ears it's hard to beat an OD-3 regardless of price.

on the other hand.. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell use dano daddy o's, dan echo's along with really expensive boutique pedals.... because money doesn't matter and they pick what sounds good....

I've learned a ton in the last year by building pedals... there are a few ways to sound really bad and a slew that can make some groovin sounds...

I'm lusting after a Durham Crazy Horse....

[Bill]

Best phaser I've ever heard--the Electro Harmonix Small Stone.

One of the great fuzzes--Electro Harmonix Big Muff.

Most famous overdrive--Ibanez TS-9.

All defining, great sounds, and cheap pedals in their day.

If you care about your sound and not impressing the other boys in the band, your ears are more important than your pocketbook. Buy what sounds good.

[Nick Fanis]

Well it may sound a bit heretic but after carrying around huge pedalboards loaded w/ every boutique pedal known to mankind for almost 15 years I've settled on 3 tried and prooven stompboxes for compression,square tremolo & fuzz & a VOX TONELAB for everything else simply put because the TL put to shame every boutique (or non boutique) overdrive,filter,modulation,reverb & delay pedal I've ever had (and I've had them all) so now after spending a gazillion of $$$$ on stompboxes throughout the years I'm using a $400 Tonelab & $300 worth of stompboxes & I am sounding BETTER than ever....

So in a nutshell YES I do believe that most "boutique" pedals ARE mumbo jumbo since a $400 multi effector sounds better than them.....

[jimbach]

It's funny how you read all these message boards and everyone posts about this $200+ boutique pedal or another, but then you look at the pedals that well-known pros use day in and day out for years, and it's always Boss, MXR, EHX, and a couple of other brands. Boss gets so much crap on the internet you'd think all their pedals sucked, but look at the rigs of people like Robert Smith, Graham Coxon, and many others, and it's predominantly Boss pedals. They sound good, don't cost a lot of money, and their reliability is legendary.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by getbent

on the other hand.. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell use dano daddy o's, dan echo's along with really expensive boutique pedals.... because money doesn't matter and they pick what sounds good....

I remember when the Dano pedals first came out, and how everyone raved about them. I got a bunch of them, and agreed - great pedals.

Time went by, the Dano 'era' passed, as did those of many boutique pedals as well.

But my Danos still sound great. I have a Dan Echo going into my old Vibrolux Reverb, and a Daddy O going into my BF Champ. I've got a pair of Fab Tones on standby, and a French Toast that I will never part with. I've also got one of the Dano mini Trem pedals - forget the name.

For me, the Danos, Ibanez, and Boss pedals cover about 99% of it.

Boutique pedals become critical when you are going after something really specific. In my case that would be a Fuzz Face or ToneBender clone.

As for cheap vs. boutique Tube Screamer type pedals, if you are going for the SRV TS thing, try to remember that he mainly used a TS10. There is all this urban legend out there that it has to be either a TS9 or TS808, that it has to have a certain op amp, it has to have the 'brown mod,' it has to be made by Maxxon, etc....

...the whole idea behind the TS, from an engineering standpoint, is simplicity, IMO. The op amp really cuts down on the parts count. It also cuts down the price on TS clones. Buy according to price. Don't insist on any one chip (op amp) - there is no 'magical' TS op amp. If anything, the very common TL072 (less than 2 bucks) sounds as good, or better than what the original 808's used.

[Big Tony]

Originally Posted by Bill

If you care about your sound and not impressing the other boys in the band, your ears are more important than your pocketbook. Buy what sounds good.

Hear! Hear!

/ Tony

[david henman]

...companies like danelectro, boss, nobels and many others make some astoundingly good "inexpensive" pedals.

vote with your ears.

-dh

[photoweborama]

The Arion Tubeulator is a great pedal. Seems flimsy in that plastic case, but I've drooped it a few times, kicked it and generally abused it, and it has held together great.

The Bad Monkey is great also and built like a tank.

just FYI, I have a Dynacomp where the knobs spin too easy, so I got some of those self stick felt pads and cut a piece off and put it under the knobs. Now they stay in place, and they still can be turned if I need to.

[JohnSS]

Originally Posted by david henman

...companies like danelectro, boss, nobels and many others make some astoundingly good "inexpensive" pedals.

vote with your ears.

-dh

Agree 110%! I love the Dano FAB line of pedals and use the FAB OD and FAB Metal regularly. That said, I also have an original MXR Distortion +, Boss Turbo OD, DOD 250, DOD FX50 and an Aria Dual Stage DT-10. Have an original Boss DM-2 and other stompboxes as well as Alesis, ART, Rocktron & Ibanez rack FX (remember those?) Bottom line - it's whatever sound works for you, so "vote with your ears" is an excellent credo. Not all guitar & amp combos sound good together for a host of reasons - strings, pickups, individual playing style, etc. so adding stompboxes into the signal chain increases the number of variables exponentially.

[cradlehall]

Originally Posted by degsycaster

Hi cradlehall.

I think it's a real hit and miss affair with cheap v expensive pedals. I own a Daphon delay pedal and it's fantastic, great for all those rock-n-roll echoes...............

I agree, degsycaster, I just bought a Daphon delay pedal and it's the bees knees - it does the business and for less than £20 ($40)

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by jimbach

It's funny how you read all these message boards and everyone posts about this $200+ boutique pedal or another, but then you look at the pedals that well-known pros use day in and day out for years, and it's always Boss, MXR, EHX, and a couple of other brands. Boss gets so much crap on the internet you'd think all their pedals sucked, but look at the rigs of people like Robert Smith, Graham Coxon, and many others, and it's predominantly Boss pedals. They sound good, don't cost a lot of money, and their reliability is legendary.

One of the reasons that working pros use garden variety peds is that they can be easilly obtained, regardless of where in the world that one might find themself. There's always a Super Wall Mart music store around, and for the travelling player, such is akin to securing a pair of dependable underwear in a pinch. Plus, the vast majority of BOSS, MXR, Ibanez,and EH peds sound killer, for the most part. It's tough to sound bad with BOSS pedals unless you're a bad musician. I've heard many players that sounded like a million bucks with nothing other than BOSS peds - Johnny Spampinato with NRBQ, and Johnny A, to mention but a few.

However, to offer as default the notion that pro players mostly choose garden variety peds is inaccurate at best, particularly as time marches on and as folks continue to educate themselves. If you view the signal chains of, say, Buddy Miller or Brad Paisley, what you'll notice over time is the continuing evolution of folks that not only continue to educate themselves as to music itself, but also as to the interaction of circuits.

Take one circuit - let's say the Lovepedal Eternity, for instance - and have a look at some of its 'users': Nels Cline, Michael Landau, Scott Henderson, David Torn, Andy Summers... take another circuit, say Klon Centaur, and you've got, well, countless working folks/users, to say the least, including David Grissom and Warren Haynes... that's not to mention the little guys in the trenches such as meself that choose for pure tone.

A knowledgeable player will understand how to milk the utmost from any circuit or technology, but please, let's not perpetuate some sort of myth that all working pros don't put thought into, or don't endeavor toward/endure a certain amount of trial & error process, when it comes to getting the most out of their rig(s). That's what working players do, and to determine anything else by default is, well, highly unrealistic. Artists might be mostly about expression, but they don't eschew the tools of the trade with some sort of nondescript melancholy romantic notion that doesn't speak to sheer and consistent practical application.

[eddiewagner]

the one supercheap pedal i have is quite crappy: a behringer acoustic simulator. the rest is all middle of the road-stuff and works and works and works and works......

[slideman]

Pretty interesting "effect" assault within the affordable market -- going after the Boss, EH and MXR markets and pretty darn cheap, not sure of quality though. There is some really tempting stuff -- they made a conscious effort to replicate hard to come by pedals (like the Boss Dimension C, the Tremolo, the old Slow Gear, Analog Delay etc)

http://www.behringer.com/02_products...=GUITAR%20GEAR

[pcbrat69]

Good question. In my experience, generally you do get better quality in parts and construction as you pay more for FX pedals. However, parts and construction don't come out of your speakers, music does! Get the FX's with the tones you want. If they prove totally unreliable, well, you're gonna have to get rid of them. But a $1,000 gold plated pedal that sounds like crap to you is useless. I don't care how many big names use it. I've tried all kinds of stuff; I like Boss and Digitech. I've seen cheap stuff kick ass and expensive stuff blow chunks very expensively. I've thrown a few in the junk pile. Use what you like, try to sample it first.

[D Phillips]

I find it very satisfying to spend just a little bit of money on pedal and get something that sounds great. I would not enjoy a really expensive pedal even if it sounded good, that is just me. As others have said, with todays products it is pretty easy to get a good sound without dropping a lot of money.

[proffett]

If you aren't the type who absolutely must have a brand new pedal straight from the dealer, check ebay, music shops, pawn shops, craigslist, classifieds (you get the picture.) There are always good used pedals selling for as little or very close to (or sometimes even less, if your'e lucky) the price you'd pay new for the cheaper pedals. I bought a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus on ebay for 12.00 US plus shipping last year. A few weeks ago I picked up an old MXR Envelope Filter for a great price, and all it needed was a new battery snap. 5 minutes of soldering and I was in business.
If you must have a certain higher-end pedal, look around for it used before you go drop big bucks on it at the dealer.

[jimbach]

Originally Posted by Tim Bowen

However, to offer as default the notion that pro players mostly choose garden variety peds is inaccurate at best, particularly as time marches on and as folks continue to educate themselves.

I wasn't. I was merely pointing out that several established pros use pedals which are almost exclusively non-boutique and which can be had quite inexpensively. As you mentioned, the replacement factor is important, but it also shows that a Phase 90 or a DS-1 is good enough for a lot of very famous, very respected players.

The main point to remember is that, unless someone is making a good bit of money playing music live, they probably shouldn't go the boutique route until they have a very good idea what they want from a pedal. At least IMHO. :)

[Strung Thru]

Aren't most expensive, boutique effects based on cheap effects, anyway?

I can't think of one boutique effect that isn't based on a old, dirt cheap effect that was discontinued by it's original manufacturer.

Educate me...

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by jimbach

I wasn't. I was merely pointing out that several established pros use pedals which are almost exclusively non-boutique and which can be had quite inexpensively. As you mentioned, the replacement factor is important, but it also shows that a Phase 90 or a DS-1 is good enough for a lot of very famous, very respected players.

The main point to remember is that, unless someone is making a good bit of money playing music live, they probably shouldn't go the boutique route until they have a very good idea what they want from a pedal. At least IMHO. :)

Absolutely agreed, and I'll reiterate that such is a personal trial & error process, as evaluated over much time in a variety of situations and venues. I'll no doubt get slammed for this - but in my experience - given that amps and guitars are of respectable quality and longevity - it's the "little things" (stomps/additional circuits; cables/connectors; headroom/compression; ... not to mention the *best* way to route a chain) - that make "the difference", in my opinion.

I split a bill at a night club earlier this week, and for logistical reasons, wound up sharing back line (mammoth two channel Marshall stack) and signal chain (God bless the youngster, it was bass-ackwards in every way) with another act. It would've taken every bit of a minute to re-route the guy's chain (combination of booteek and garden variety stomps, ridiculously long patch cables, immediately discernible "tone suck" [relatively easily fixed in this case], delays that were "nasty" [the non-preferred variety of such], you name it).

What was I to say? "Bad Monkey at low gain is going to offer you the same range of tone and dynamics as a dedicated booster?"; Stock BOSS DD-3 as placed straight into the front end of a gained out Marshall is going to offer Tommy Bolin-approved tape echo tones?" "Running a Brarber Tone Press at unity gain, late in the chain, will push your tone forward above a rhythm section on steriods?"

Certainly not. I enjoyed listening to the guy's band, and I thanked him profusely for allowing me to play through his rig. Had he lamented that he wasn't getting on with rig, and had he asked my opinion, I'd have tossed it out. He didn't, so I didn't.

I'm just a working guy in the trenches, but it has been my pleasure and education to rub shoulders with working players of many persuasions and accomplishments, for quite some time. I don't think it's prerequisite to spend a bunch of money on your gear, but I do feel that it's vitally important to understand how it works, and most importantly, how it allows you to push forth what it is that you're trying to say. Parameters of which, as always, are left to the individual.


I don't in any way mean to intend this as an instant gratification cheap shot - but really, ask Brad Paisley point blank as to whether he'd prefer a BOSS DD-3 or a Way Huge Aqua Puss for slapback delay. I'm NOT making tons of bucks as a working musician, but nonetheless, I can't sweep the stuff under the rug, because I know how it sounds and responds (to me) on the bandstand.

TB