Good and Cheap pedals

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mntrumpterguy

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Hey- I am a music major teaching myself guitar, and am looking to be able to imitate some bands; I know I can't afford the same equipment that they use (I've looked at it... ouch!), but am looking for some good cheap options of similar effect pedals. Does anyone have any ideas for cheap pedals for the following effects:

fuzz
acoustic simulator (not an actual effect, but I need an acoustic sound too)
distortion/a more metal sound


thanks- kinda vague, I know, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks again!
 
Danelectro, Behringer and Arion all make really cheap effects pedals. But I can't in good faith actually recommend any of them.

A step up from those would probably be Digitech. My favorite affordable brand is Boss for their switches and chassis quality. ModTone is another one that's up-and-coming. See if you can find any of these brands used on CraigsList or eBay or at one of your local music stores. You just might be able to find a good deal, or be able to trade something for them.

But for a fuzz pedal, Voodoo labs probably makes one of the coolest and most flexible ones with the Superfuzz. But it's about $130, so they're not cheap. The Ibanez TS9 is pretty much a standard when it comes to adding more gain/distortion/sensitivity to an already overdriven tube amp. It may suit more than 1 of your needs, it's worth a try.
 
 
Tadpui said:
Danelectro, Behringer and Arion all make really cheap effects pedals. But I can't in good faith actually recommend any of them.

A step up from those would probably be Digitech. My favorite affordable brand is Boss for their switches and chassis quality. ModTone is another one that's up-and-coming. See if you can find any of these brands used on CraigsList or eBay or at one of your local music stores. You just might be able to find a good deal, or be able to trade something for them.

But for a fuzz pedal, Voodoo labs probably makes one of the coolest and most flexible ones with the Superfuzz. But it's about $130, so they're not cheap. The Ibanez TS9 is pretty much a standard when it comes to adding more gain/distortion/sensitivity to an already overdriven tube amp. It may suit more than 1 of your needs, it's worth a try.
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I agree with you on the Danelectro and Behringer pedals wholeheartedly. With regard to Arion, I would disagree if we are talking about the ones made 15-20 years ago. I had an Arion chorus pedal I purchased in 1993 and it was a tank. I had it for five years before I gave it to my brother in law who'd trashed a Boss pedal he'd only had for six months (he takes the term "stomp box" very literally). He had the Arion for five more years before it gave up the ghost.
But I don't know what Arion pedals are like currently--no one sells them locally.
 
Artec do some good sounding stuff for the money but not a fuzz or acoustic sim.
 
i'd go into looking for stuff on craigslist. The good stuff is still expensive, but budget gear is usually sold for sometimes half or more of what it was originally bought for. Boss DS-1, for example, sells for 20 bucks. alot of the entry level boss stuff goes for no more than 45 bucks. BUT if you're in it for the long haul one good distortion pedal is better than three crappy ones.

if i could do it all over again i would have just started with the higher end stuff instead of "saving money" by buying cheap gear. the truth about cheap gear is that it's relatively cheap compared to higher end stuff, but they have no resale value. so let's say you buy a new boss pedal for 90 you'd probably only get half or less of your money back if you ever tried to resell it. unlike let's say an electro harmonix pog. which sell for about 280, you could probably resell it for 230.

Just think about the big picture in terms of buying gear is all i'm saying...
 
YeshuasFan said:
I agree with you on the Danelectro and Behringer pedals wholeheartedly. With regard to Arion, I would disagree if we are talking about the ones made 15-20 years ago. I had an Arion chorus pedal I purchased in 1993 and it was a tank. I had it for five years before I gave it to my brother in law who'd trashed a Boss pedal he'd only had for six months (he takes the term "stomp box" very literally). He had the Arion for five more years before it gave up the ghost.
But I don't know what Arion pedals are like currently--no one sells them locally.
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It may not have been Arion, maybe it was something with a similar name. It was a long time ago, about 20 years ago, that I had an Arion distortion pedal and it was about the worst sounding thing I'd ever owned. But come to think of it, I was plugging it into a Gorilla practice amp so nothing was going to sound good through that amp anyways. Maybe I'm getting my pedals mixed up, maybe it wasn't Arion at all, it was a long time ago.
 
Tadpui said:
It may not have been Arion, maybe it was something with a similar name. It was a long time ago, about 20 years ago, that I had an Arion distortion pedal and it was about the worst sounding thing I'd ever owned. But come to think of it, I was plugging it into a Gorilla practice amp so nothing was going to sound good through that amp anyways. Maybe I'm getting my pedals mixed up, maybe it wasn't Arion at all, it was a long time ago.
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Tadpui,
It could well have been an Arion. As with anything, the old saying goes, your mileage may vary.... I know some people swear by DOD/DigiTech stuff. I wouldn't own their stuff if you paid me. I happen to own a Zoom A2 and I think for the money it does what it does very well. Of course I'm a hobbyist and not someone who has to earn my living at this. Others will claim Zoom pedals are nothing but dung encased in metal and plastic.
How are you enjoying your Martin?
 
mntrumpterguy said:
Hey- I am a music major teaching myself guitar, and am looking to be able to imitate some bands; I know I can't afford the same equipment that they use (I've looked at it... ouch!), but am looking for some good cheap options of similar effect pedals. Does anyone have any ideas for cheap pedals for the following effects:

fuzz
acoustic simulator (not an actual effect, but I need an acoustic sound too)
distortion/a more metal sound


thanks- kinda vague, I know, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

First,what kind of amp are you using? Tube or solid state? A decent multi-effects unit should get you going.I've used arion disortion and overdrive pedals in the past and they were okay at the time but there's way better stuff now.With a multi-effects unit you'll get most of the common effects used by those other bands you want to imitate without spending a fortune.

Personally i use the Digitech Gnx2 and like it a lot for what it can do.Sure there's better stuff out there and folks will blast this pedal or that pedal but really you just got to go to a music store and try some stuff out.Then after you find something you like,visit craigs list or ebay and try and find a used cheaper one.
 
gcapel said:
Here is a good place to research a second hand find. If you come across something on craiglist. I read these for the hell of it on saturdays.


http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects
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Some other good websites for posted user reviews are:
www.musicgearreview.com
www.ultimate-guitar.com

Of course, all reviews must be taken with a large grain of salt. As noted in a previous post, I'm not fond of anything made by DigiTech/DOD due to several negative experiences with their equipment. Others think their pedals are the best thing since sliced bread.
People have different experiences and bring different levels of expertise to the table--and those factors determine how they view the equipment being reviewed.
I always tend to weight reviews more favorably which deal in specifics. Reviews which use a lot of "glittering generalities" (aka hype or BS) do not influence my thinking other than to think the writer might be in the employ of the manufacturer's advertising or marketing department. I'm less than impressed by reviewers or responses which are dismissive of negative reviewers who have specific complaints about equipment. If someone has specific, objective reasons for posting a negative review of a piece of equipment, I'm paying attention. Ditto for specific, objective reasons why a piece of equipment may be a superior performer.
Keep in mind, those who post reviews tend to be those who've been so burned by a piece of equipment or poor treatment by customer service from the manufacturer that they have little if anything good to say about the equipment. Or they are still in the "honeymoon phase" that they haven't noticed any shortcomings yet.
There aren't a lot MOR reviews which try to weigh everything in the balance.
 
If you don't have a lot to spend a small multieffect would give you the best bang for the buck,usually starting around $50.The Danelectros sound good but they're not real sturdy.
I would checkout any store the sells used pedals first,you could end up with something better than you thought.
 
I've got a DOD FX7 multi efx pedal, picked it up for less than $100. It it a little noisy for recording but works fine for live (where a bit of hiss doesn't matter as much.) It covers the efx I need, and about 60 more that i never use. So far no problems but I'm pretty gentle on gear, I don't think the plastic caseing would hold up to much rough treatment.
 
pdadda said:
The Danelectro Cool Cat CF-1 fuzz pedal is GREAT! I knocked alot of Danelectro stuff until I tried this one. It replaced my Big Muff Pi.
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My Danelectro Surf and Turf stacks up nicely to my Dyna comp soundwise,build,eh,not so much.
 
YeshuasFan said:
I had it for five years before I gave it to my brother in law who'd trashed a Boss pedal he'd only had for six months (he takes the term "stomp box" very literally).
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He trashed a Boss pedal simply by using it? What is he, a brontosaurus? :D
 
mattdee1 said:
He trashed a Boss pedal simply by using it? What is he, a brontosaurus? :D
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Nah, he just never realized that a light tap would be sufficient to turn the effect on/off. Like I said, took the term "stomp box" a little too literally. Now that he's married and can't just replace equipment at the drop of a hat, he's a little more respectful and careful with his toys....
 
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