Roxx Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I wanted to bring up the economics of stomp pedals. When first purchased new, the effect has an extreme cost in comparison to buying used. I have never actually worn a pedal out and don't quite understand why they don't hold their value as much as other musical instruments. I think there is an opportunity to make some good deals on used stuff. I did so with two different Rocktron Chameleon processors. I ended up with a spare that I use next to my bed with a small crate amp for my late night go to sleep jam. I have the other one in the studio in full use every day. It was a good buy on e-bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I haven't used a pedal since the 1970s. Maybe a channel switch once in a while. But no FX Looks like a money magnet market too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I love my pedals and still have quite a few. I don't collect anymore but I used to have a good dozen chorus pedals. Some of those would now be worth a lot more than what I sold them for. Boss Made in Japan originals in good condition, for instance. The market has changed as there are now so many - too many - 'boutique' pedal builders competing for your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) My Pedalboard consists of a Boss Tuner, Byrds Janglebox Compressor, TS808, Boss Digital Delay, Boss '64 Fender Reverb & Keeley Double Tracker. I use FX more often with my Fender Amps. Much less or not all with my Vox Amps. Not so sure I agree with the OP's theory. I bought a used Janglebox & it needed to be rebuilt in a year. Almost invested the cost of a new one. A year later it died & I bought a new one. I think the Used one had been used to death by the original owner. I've been using the new one for a few years & it's still like new.. I should've bought new to begin with.. Edited February 22, 2020 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) I bought my Tech21 RK5 used for about 1/2 of what they usually sell for. It was an attempt to reduce noise by using fewer pedals, that worked.. I do have a collection of stomp boxes, that get used once in a while, my RK5 usually covers everything. Except that I just bought a new analog chorus and delay to use in the effects loop of my new tube amp. Edited February 22, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) Multi-fx have gone through many incarnations and upgrades....My 1st was a Boss ME-5 and they go for quite good money these days, value has gone up. It was ok but took awhile to program, switches were membrane and sometimes didn't work. But the sounds were good, it was basically 5 Boss pedals in a box and the od/distortion was analog. Later I got a Boss GT-6, the gold one, but it was too complicated (for me!): a nightmare to program and the distortion sounded thin and weedy on a gig when I tried it. There was noise at the beginning of the note too, to my ears. You can get one of these for about the same price as the ME-5 mentioned above - they don't hold their value. Some of the 8-bit digital rack effects and modules I sold about a decade ago are collectable and appreciating a bit now - I had Korg SDD2000, SRV2000, Ibanez HD1000. Boss SE50 and 70, Yamaha and Boss comps and gates. All budget stuff but still good enough quality today. The Korg was a superb stereo delay and early sampler, and the Boss delays and reverbs were amazing. However many early digital fx noticeably sucked tone. Chorus pedals - if you ever find an Ibanez CSL, get it; beautiful-sounding simple chorus, wish I'd kept that. And the Peavey DSC4 stereo dual chorus pedal which was mad and a lot of fun....MXR M134 chorus is amazing in stereo. The DOD FX65 stereo chorus sounded as good as Boss. Still have a TC SCF but what I always use and love is an Ibanez DCF-10. It depends what it is but many good/interesting older pedals do appreciate in value, especially analog ones and discontinued overdrives. A classic example is the original Klon; worth over a grand now....original, non-reissue MOOG pedals are through the roof, too. These days I go separate pedals on a board into a valve amp. However I recently jammed with a friend's band and their Fender Mustang combo took my one pedal - an od/boost - very well. The ultimate digital modelling fx at the moment is the Helix I think. FX pedals can be an enjoyable black hole to jump into. I can recommend a modded Boss GE-7. 🎸 Edited February 23, 2020 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) My first pedal was a Gibson Maestro Fuzz which led to many others. Much later leading to my first multi effect like the blue faced Ibanez PUE5, that also had an effects loop, that I ran different effects like Sound Tanks like the TS5 TubeScreamer or a collection of Boss pedals including the DS-1, not to forget my EchoPlex's.. My first amp was a Rickenbacker which led to Fender's then migrated to Ampeg and went back and forth for quite a while. I won't go into my rack which turned into a nightmare. Then Marshall introduced the AVT series with 4 switchable Preamps and effects so I didn't need multi effect pedals. Using the AVT 2x12 combo led to the AVT full stack and using the Digitech Whammy pedal as a result of migrating from Floyd Rose equipped guitars to Gibsons. Which led back to using simpler 1X12 combo's and started using a Boss ME-50. Through all of this I always had Vox pedals.. Then my I got my Deluxe 900 with 7 amp models, 3 switchable channels and a Fender 1/2 stack as a backup.. So I ended up with a box of Rocks... I liked having Roland Cubes with amp models and effects for practicing, they were fun to use sitting in a park watching the ocean and started collecting more for re-inforcement, settling on 6. I am really happy with my new simplified Tube rig, I have been stuck in the SS world too long.. I started with Tube amps needing a supply of 6L6's or 6550's, then the more reliable SS and as time passed needing more and more effects, now back to much smaller tubes and less effects. Edited February 23, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Mac Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 One night at the gig, we were about halfway through a song when my giant rack of expensive effects quit working! I went around back, fiddled with the cords and thought I had found the problem. Again, about halfway through the tune, my stuff crapped out! I unplugged my rack and went straight into the amp at which time I instantly realized that, without my toys, I sounded like total fecal material! The next day I sold all that junk to my local music retailer and have never looked back. I have a couple of fairly nice tube amps, ( a Music Man and a Carvin), and I go straight into them with nothing. I do use channel switching but, no reverb or effects of any sort. It works for me and I'm happier with my sound than I ever was while searching for a "sound"! Now I know that if I ever do use effects again, I'm starting with a great sound. The moral of my story being, no amount of fancy icing will make a terrible cake taste good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Never been a hug fan of effects pedals. In about 1968 or so I bought one - a Fender "Fuzz-Wah". That was about the only pedal available at the time. From 1972 into the early 90s I just played a LP through a Twin Reverb and no pedals. The Twin was from about 1972 or 73, a blue tinted grill cloth (post CBS). It had a master volume at the far right that was a push pull. Pull it up for a little dirt. Then I thought I needed pedals so went and priced them. I wanted a distortion, digital delay, chorus, noise suppression and a compressor. They were each $100 to $300 so total I was looking at over $700 for all. Not in the budget. Bought a Yamaha GW10 (about $300) multi effects pedal that still works fine. Huge pain to program it, but once you got the tones you wanted it worked great. A couple years ago did away with the amplifier and pedals altogether and just use an Eleven Rack processor straight into the PA. Again complicated to program, but just about any tone you want is in there. Of course it is a digital sampled signal which I am not that big a fan of, but if you have a good sound man you can get it to sit in the mix perfectly and you don't have to carry an amplifier to the gig 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 On 2/22/2020 at 12:51 AM, Roxx said: I wanted to bring up the economics of stomp pedals. When first purchased new, the effect has an extreme cost in comparison to buying used. I have never actually worn a pedal out and don't quite understand why they don't hold their value as much as other musical instruments. I think there is an opportunity to make some good deals on used stuff. I did so with two different Rocktron Chameleon processors. I ended up with a spare that I use next to my bed with a small crate amp for my late night go to sleep jam. I have the other one in the studio in full use every day. It was a good buy on e-bay. I haven't really held my value either 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 My board consists of a my Line 6 G30 wireless receiver, Crybaby wah and tuner in the front. Boosta Grande boost, Boss Chorus, Boss Delay, Boss Noise Gate in the loop. I pretty much only use the chorus and delay for a few songs for a clean style tone, the wah on a couple of songs, the noise gate between sets and when I use my guitars with the single coils. The only thing I really need is the tuner and have a clip on for it if need be. I always bring extra cables so I can plug in direct if I have wireless or board issues. I'm mostly running through Marshall tube amps so I don't really need any more gain than that and the boost is just for lead/solo boost. I do use the volume and tone controls on my guitars to control levels and could do without the board easily and have often. What I don't understand is the sheer number of different brands and pedals for the same thing. Where there used to be just a few in the 70's and 80's, there's now hundreds for each function, it seems. It's so overwhelming that to look at a display of over 100 pedals, what would you even try out? The Crybaby I've had for decades. Tuner is new. Wireless is new. Noise gate I've had for decades. Chorus and Delay are new and I went with Boss because I knew the brand and what they do. I got the Boosta Grande at the recommendation from Courtney Cox from The Iron Maidens when I was talking gear with her and I liked the sound of her boosted solos. How do others find out about all these different brands and names of pedals and what they do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 I use a lot of pedals, mostly chorus, flanger, phase, compression and delay. Occasionally wah-wah, volume and acoustic. My MXR EQ is always on (not button, so just in my line). Just recently got a Looper and a Harmonizer that I rarely use. I wouldn't go without them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 On February 24, 2020 at 9:43 AM, Karloff said: I haven't really held my value either Don't feel bad,I've been told I'm worthless more than once.😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 17 hours ago, Mr. Gibson said: Don't feel bad,I've been told I'm worthless more than once.😂 lol. my wife says she's with me as a public service. so no unsuspecting women will have to endure life with me. pretty selfless of her I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Karloff said: lol. my wife says she's with me as a public service. so no unsuspecting women will have to endure life with me. pretty selfless of her I think. Doug! Check with the IRS, you probably have a dedicated schedule of tax deductions, have you filed yet? with the returns, you can get some more pedals! (see what I did there..) Edited February 27, 2020 by kidblast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) I like my pedals and like the sound I get with them, but I rely most on my reverb, delay, and tremolo pedals... just enough to know they're there. My Hall of Fame reverb is far better than the reverb on the amp I use it on. I bought them all new and have no desire for more than the six I currently use, with two in the closet. Nor do I have any desire for one multiple effects pedal. Edited February 27, 2020 by zigzag 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) 56 minutes ago, zigzag said: I like my pedals and like the sound I get with them, but I rely most on my reverb, delay, and tremolo pedals... just enough to know they're there. My Hall of Fame reverb is far better than the reverb on the amp I use it on. I bought them all new and have no desire for more than the six I currently use, with two in the closet. Nor do I have any desire for one multiple effects pedal. I think I agree with that, these newer reverb pedals seem to do a better / cleaner more articulate job than the spring tanks on our amps. I have a Holy Grail Neo, and it sounds really nice. I don't need much to know it's there either. Edited February 27, 2020 by kidblast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxx Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 After reading the "pedal" responses, I must comment to the fact that I don't have a pedal board. I used to have several effects on a homemade board several years back. I still have some ,but they are stacked on shelves and not used. I run my sound through a Rocktron Chameleon 2000. I only use one pre-set out of the several hundred options. I can happily say, "I have found my signature sound and am satisfied with it" I don't tweak it and once my amp is set, I do all my adjustments on my guitar. I will go with this sound until I get bored and discover a sound that is better for my music. I don't want to start the experiment stage of different pedals again. Every time I do try something new, I am disappointed and discard it. Who knows, I may run into something better. I refuse to pay exorbitant prices . I do believe you can find a good signature sound for yourself by simplifying your device and narrowing choices to fewer effects. the never end test of pedal syndrome. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) The cool thing I am reading here is that every one is experimenting and finding their own way.. There is such a plethora of effects out there its easy to get lost in the jungle. Bungle in the jungle well that's alright by me... Edited March 5, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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