Boutique or budget

[4nd3h]

Klon and TIM, right? SO very TGP

[Mayo5]

Originally Posted by 4nd3h

Klon and TIM, right? SO very TGP

I've never played the TIM pedal, but the Klon is an amazing pedal. Overpriced? Definitely. Overhyped? Yes, but it is fantastic.

[Hamtone]

I will have a Pete Cornish p2 SS3 duplex, that's the most costly pedal I know of.

[huw]

Originally Posted by Hamtone

I will have a Pete Cornish p2 SS3 duplex, that's the most costly pedal I know of.

I have the G2/SS3 duplex...

The best sounding tone I've ever had.

[Mayo5]

Originally Posted by huw

I have the G2/SS3 duplex...

The best sounding tone I've ever had.

Don't tempt me, I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on either the SS3 or the G2/3. Which do you prefer?

[huw]

Both fantastic, both very different...

In simple terms the SS3 is an OD & the G2 is a distortion, and that's probably enough to make your descision on. They are very versatile: SS3 at full gain will go up into similar range as the G2, just with a different character (brighter, more "open"); both will clean up from volume control, although that's easier when the gains aren't maxed out, and for a similar reason a little easier on the SS3 than the G2 (my standard clean tone is the SS3 with the guitar volume down - I can't bear to turn it off!)

Stack the pair of them together and it's something else entirely - cascaded gain, super sustain, etc etc.

If you play mostly higher gain stuff you'd love the G2, if you play mostly mid gain stuff go for the SS3 (it is the more versatile)... I couldn't choose, that's why I have both...

One thing worth bearing in mind - Cornish recomends his pedals are used with a clean amp tone. I've tried it both ways & he's right about that. I use a Fender Super Reverb so no worries there, but if your amp doesn't have a good clean channel you won't get the best of what these pedals can do.

[Mayo5]

Originally Posted by huw

Both fantastic, both very different...

In simple terms the SS3 is an OD & the G2 is a distortion, and that's probably enough to make your descision on. They are very versatile: SS3 at full gain will go up into similar range as the G2, just with a different character (brighter, more "open"); both will clean up from volume control, although that's easier when the gains aren't maxed out, and for a similar reason a little easier on the SS3 than the G2 (my standard clean tone is the SS3 with the guitar volume down - I can't bear to turn it off!)

Stack the pair of them together and it's something else entirely - cascaded gain, super sustain, etc etc.

If you play mostly higher gain stuff you'd love the G2, if you play mostly mid gain stuff go for the SS3 (it is the more versatile)... I couldn't choose, that's why I have both...

One thing worth bearing in mind - Cornish recomends his pedals are used with a clean amp tone. I've tried it both ways & he's right about that. I use a Fender Super Reverb so no worries there, but if your amp doesn't have a good clean channel you won't get the best of what these pedals can do.

Yeah, I've seen the pairs and they look and sound awesome. But man they are expensive. Did you order straight from them, or pick did you them up on a forum/musictoys?

[mudfinger]

Define boutique. Two of my pedals were built by me, and they will simply never fail. My tuner, vibe, and wah, were built by someone else, so I can't say...I spose my vibe qualifies as boutique, having been built by Bob Sweet himself, and I'd be very sad if it went out on me. My tuner and wah can be bought direct without too much fuss.



If standard-issue does the trick, why not roll with that? If boutique flat out sounds better, might be worth the money and such to go that way. Eh, it's pedals we're talking about here. Hardly the most critical components in my rig.

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by huw

I'm curious - how many $300+ OD pedals have you tried?

What exactly is your point? Do i really have to play $300+ OD pedals to know what they are? This thing we are on, called the internet, allows me to find schematics of a lot of such pedals, and there are no miracles here, just regular opamps, capacitors, resistors, diodes and transistors, and a lot of tubescreamer derived OD's.

[huw]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

What exactly is your point?

I thought it was obvious: My point is that you were passing an opinion on something, and I wanted to know if you had any actual first hand experience of what you were talking about. That's all.

... Do i really have to play $300+ OD pedals to know what they are? This thing we are on, called the internet, allows me to find schematics of a lot of such pedals, and there are no miracles here, just regular opamps, capacitors, resistors, diodes and transistors, and a lot of tubescreamer derived OD's.

Schematics only tell so much. Variations that seem minimal on paper can produce audible differences that may be important to some, and may not be important to others. Also schematics tell you nothing about build quality & reliability.

As with all things guitar related, the only way to know is to try for yourself (and not everything is a TS derivative ).

[Pix]

I have tried alot of stomps and tend to prefer the mid to higher end or booteek stuff. I like MXR stuff too. I don't use many fx anyway. Gimme a good overdrive and I'm happy. I just got the Lovepedal Kanji and it was the same price as my TS808 (which I love). The Kanji is a whole other monster though. For most stomps, $200 is about the max for me. I think some of those $350+ stomps are just redonkulous IMO.

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by huw

I thought it was obvious: My point is that you were passing an opinion on something, and I wanted to know if you had any actual first hand experience of what you were talking about. That's all.

Schematics only tell so much. Variations that seem minimal on paper can produce audible differences that may be important to some, and may not be important to others. Also schematics tell you nothing about build quality & reliability.

As with all things guitar related, the only way to know is to try for yourself (and not everything is a TS derivative ).

Schematics and pictures of the actual boards do tell everything. I didn't mention anything about quality or reliability, but even then, there's no miraculous components being used.
But fine, keep believing the hype, if it makes you feel better about spending that kind of money on a pedal, but at the end of the day, the components in them will still amount to less than $30.

[CheopisIV]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

...at the end of the day, the components in them will still amount to less than $30.

If all we ever paid for was the cost of the components, your Ford would cost roughly the same as a Ferrari. Unfortunately, when something is hand made vs machine/assembly line made it commands a higher price, and often rightfully so.

For example; I build websites. I charge more than those sites you sign up for where you point and click and drag things onto your page. My sites are basically the same as those when you look at the components; all just a bunch of code on a page, but they look better, run more efficiently and are personalized. That's my justification for charging more...in some cases, MUCH more.

To get back on track, I prefer no pedals these days, but back when I used them, I used mostly Boss pedals or whatever I could find in pawn shops that worked, but most were tone suckers.

I'd spend the money on a decent boutique pedal, and although a lot are pretty crazy priced, I wouldn't discount them until I heard them. Likely I wouldn't even consider something too high up though as I really couldn't justify it; I'd say anything over $150 would have to reach out and grab me by the ears, slap me around a bit and leave a heavy residue of tonal ecstacy in my brain.

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by CheopisIV

If all we ever paid for was the cost of the components, your Ford would cost roughly the same as a Ferrari. Unfortunately, when something is hand made vs machine/assembly line made it commands a higher price, and often rightfully so.

For example; I build websites. I charge more than those sites you sign up for where you point and click and drag things onto your page. My sites are basically the same as those when you look at the components; all just a bunch of code on a page, but they look better, run more efficiently and are personalized. That's my justification for charging more...in some cases, MUCH more.

To get back on track, I prefer no pedals these days, but back when I used them, I used mostly Boss pedals or whatever I could find in pawn shops that worked, but most were tone suckers.

I'd spend the money on a decent boutique pedal, and although a lot are pretty crazy priced, I wouldn't discount them until I heard them. Likely I wouldn't even consider something too high up though as I really couldn't justify it; I'd say anything over $150 would have to reach out and grab me by the ears, slap me around a bit and leave a heavy residue of tonal ecstacy in my brain.

I didn't say they should sell for $30, did I? But there's a limit to what's reasonable to pay, from the client perspective of course. The maker can charge whatever they want as long as people believe there's something that's worth it. I'm just saying I can't see what justifies paying that much for a pedal.
And i know the effort involved in making pedals, and i'd be more than happy if people would pay $300 for my pedals lol, but as a customer I like to know what i'm paying for and i don't just accept the hype as truth. Also the effort i make to produce my pedals is much more than these boutique brands, i still etch and assemble my own boards, something most don't.

If someone will pay me $300+ for this, please let me know:

[Guitar Freak]

Originally Posted by Pix

...redonkulous

I use this word all the time.

[Guitar Freak]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

I didn't say they should sell for $30, did I? But there's a limit to what's reasonable to pay, from the client perspective of course. The maker can charge whatever they want as long as people believe there's something that's worth it. I'm just saying I can't see what justifies paying that much for a pedal.
And i know the effort involved in making pedals, and i'd be more than happy if people would pay $300 for my pedals lol, but as a customer I like to know what i'm paying for and i don't just accept the hype as truth. Also the effort i make to produce my pedals is much more than these boutique brands, i still etch and assemble my own boards, something most don't.

If someone will pay me $300+ for this, please let me know:

That looks so good!

Did you model it after something, or did you design it yourself?

[4nd3h]

That's exactly the kind of design I was thinking about a while ago. Did you engrave it yourself?

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by Guitar Freak

That looks so good!

Did you model it after something, or did you design it yourself?

The enclosure or the effect? The effect is based on the Lovepedal Purple Plexi. The enclosure is my design, i wanted it to look like an old jewelry box.

Originally Posted by 4nd3h

That's exactly the kind of design I was thinking about a while ago. Did you engrave it yourself?

Yes i did, with Ferric Chloride etching.

[Guitar Freak]

OH, yeah, I was talking about the effect, but that's so cool!

[JakeM]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

I didn't say they should sell for $30, did I? But there's a limit to what's reasonable to pay, from the client perspective of course. The maker can charge whatever they want as long as people believe there's something that's worth it. I'm just saying I can't see what justifies paying that much for a pedal.
And i know the effort involved in making pedals, and i'd be more than happy if people would pay $300 for my pedals lol, but as a customer I like to know what i'm paying for and i don't just accept the hype as truth. Also the effort i make to produce my pedals is much more than these boutique brands, i still etch and assemble my own boards, something most don't.

If someone will pay me $300+ for this, please let me know:

i would pay $150-$180 for that work of art....not 300 because i need to buy other pedals too. BTW what DO you charge for something like that?? pm meif you prefer

[Laservampire]

A booteek pedal bought off the net is cheaper than a Boss pedal bought in a music store in Australia

Seriously:

$200 for a Boss Fuzz
$300 for a Boss '63 Fender Reverb
$400 for a Boss RC-2 Loop Station!

I'm perfectly happy to pay $200 for a Bigfoot FX Magnavibe or $120 for a Ashbass Fuzzbrite!

[Goldtop75]

I use boutique quality mass produced stuff. Hardwire anyone?

[Goldtop75]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

If someone will pay me $300+ for this, please let me know:

If it sounds as good as it looks, and rocks my world, $300 could be a fair price. What price can anyone place on tone if it works for you?

After all, Pete Cornish charges more than that for his stuff doesn't he?

Honestly, i really don't know why there's a difference between a TS808 and a TS808HW. I only know what my ears tell me, and the TS808HW to me is definately worth it. YMMV.

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by viva_la_punk

i would pay $150-$180 for that work of art....not 300 because i need to buy other pedals too. BTW what DO you charge for something like that?? pm meif you prefer

Should be around €100 for that effect.

[zplapplap]

Originally Posted by SkyNet3D

But nothing justifies paying $300 for an overdrive other than a lot of hype.
I think that's the main motivation behind boutique pedals, the hype around them and how much people are willing to spend. Nothing to do with the pedals themselves. And it's not research also, most of these guys are basically copying Boss and Ibanez pedals and making tiny changes, or just removing buffers.

I don't disagree with you regarding hype and marketing. But, for what I do, I have yet to come across anything that can do what the Fulltone '69 does. I hope everybody get to try one some day. It's off the market now, but I've considered paying the $300 bones to get one.

[SkyNet3D]

Originally Posted by zplapplap

I don't disagree with you regarding hype and marketing. But, for what I do, I have yet to come across anything that can do what the Fulltone '69 does. I hope everybody get to try one some day. It's off the market now, but I've considered paying the $300 bones to get one.

I was talking mostly about clones of Boss, MXR, EH, Ibanez effects that makers put out just changing a couple of components and sell as if it's a great innovation. There are some effects that are worth the high prices (to me), the most obvious ones are stuff like analog delays, those chips are becoming rarer everyday, so it's normal that if you want one, it's gonna cost you.

About the Fulltone '69, just make your own: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/...ce_b_sc_pp.gif

[FrankieOliver]

Anyone have and like SUF's '73 Ram's Head?