Thoughts on Owning,Collecting,Using,Modding VINTAGE PEDALS...

[Johansolo]

anyone into vintage pedals? if yeah what? and why do you like/have?

do you actually use them? or baby/display them

 

 

i havent owned or used any thing vintage, but it seems like a cool idea...at first

...but then i think about all the cons...issues (like bad bypass, quality control/reliability,price,condition) compared to the pros of modern fx (all the features/ crazy innovative/improvements etc)

 

with what we have available to choose from nowadays, why would anyone choose vintage???

 

and if you own a vintage pedal that sounds great On, but sucks in bypass... or has no indicator led...is it sacrilige to mod it?

[houseofglass21]

If I have something vintage that I really like the sound of then modding it to make it more useable (bypass, led, whatever) is worth it. Resale value isn't important to me if it's something I'm gonna keep and use. If I don't like something I'll sell it ASAP and definitely wouldn't go to trouble of modifying anything about it.

[Reauchambeau]

you have it backwards, things have gotten much worse, not better. true bypass blah blah, it's all horse{censored} snakeoil. when i listen to Dark Side of the Moon or Masters of Reality, I don't find myself thinking, man if those dudes only had true bypass.

[Johansolo]

you have it backwards, things have gotten much worse, not better. true bypass blah blah, it's all horse{censored} snakeoil. when i listen to Dark Side of the Moon or Masters of Reality, I don't find myself thinking, man if those dudes only had true bypass.

 

 

i dont wanna get into a debate over TB (i knew this would come up)

 

but maybe thats what makes vintage more desirable? and modern = too "hifi" ???

[Crxsh]

I sorta had a thing for older Boss boxes for awhile

[hwaorang]

I have a couple of vintage pedals. To be honest, the bypass never bothered me. The only pedal that has a weird bypass is my IC Big Muff. It boosts the signal even when not engaged. And it's not a subtle boost. What I do consider an issue is the lack of a 9v input on most vintage pedals. I don't like using batteries and unless you mod the pedal, that is your only option. But I like my pedals to be in original shape, so no modding for me.

[slushpup96]

I got a BOSS CE1 which is kinda vintage. One of the lights is burnt out, but it's not important... it's the one that tells me if the pedal is active or not. I'm pretty sure there's easy ways of finding that out, no need to resolder a light into it.

 

But I don't really see it as vintage. In a nashville music store, I saw some weird bigsby pedal. It was like a volume pedal, but if turned side to side it changed tone. Doesn't seem quite necessary, but looked pretty battered already and the $400 price tag wasn't attractive. Plus I think Fender just made its own version of that anyway.

[Texas Noise Factory]

I own a few things, but then again, I've been picking things up as I move along. I just keep what works for me. Never really modded the old stuff. I just find a way to make it work.

 

I own:

 

Korg Mr.Multi - wah, double wah, and phaser.

Roland - Phase Five

Korg - X911 Guitar Synthesizer

Ross - Phaser & Distortion

Ross - Distortion

ProCo - Rat

MXR - Phase 100

 

Guess I'm a phaser & distortion junkie!

[nightraven]

i am more comfortable stepping on a 40 year old BRICK of a pedal than one of them flimsy hammond boxes.

modding it - TB is reversible, making a hole for an LED isn't, if you're really fussy about that then stick the box in a true bypass looper. it does depend on the pedal though. nobody drills a hole for an LED into a Fuzz Face or Tone Bender but for something like a Dyna Comp it's definitely a good idea.

[kpd78]

 

i am more comfortable stepping on a 40 year old BRICK of a pedal than one of them flimsy hammond boxes. modding it - TB is reversible, making a hole for an LED isn't, if you're really fussy about that then stick the box in a true bypass looper. it does depend on the pedal though. nobody drills a hole for an LED into a Fuzz Face or Tone Bender but for something like a Dyna Comp it's definitely a good idea.

 

 

I agree, mostly.

 

I would definitely think long and hard before doing any irreversible mods, but things like switch or jack replacement, or rewiring (inc. battery snap replacements) are fine by me.

 

I can live without LEDs on pedals, but I suppose they are helpful in a gigging situation for most people...

 

But then I'm probably just used to using pedals with no LED status indicator - I'd say over half of my pedals don't have bypass indicators.

[Phil O'Keefe]

with what we have available to choose from nowadays, why would anyone choose vintage???

 

Sound and features that are not always duplicated by modern equipment.

 

and if you own a vintage pedal that sounds great On, but sucks in bypass... or has no indicator led...is it sacrilige to mod it?

 

I wouldn't do it. Put the pedal in a true bypass loop with an LED indicator on it -- done. Both problems solved, and the pedal remains unmolested and retains its vintage mojo -- and full value on the vintage market.

[seifukusha]

ive had up to 250 pedals, most of them vintage. They used to be cheaper than new ones.

 

why? the sounds are my speed, and i like all the "imprefections"

[Dr.Pain-MD]

My only real "vintage" pedal (if it can even be considered that) is my Digitech PDS-20/20. It had its paint stripped by the previous owner and was also modded by him. The footswitches work very poorly and it looks like crap, but it makes some absolutely magical sounds. Who cares about resale value and modding vintage pedals as long as you like them enough to keep using them?

[Fender&EHX4ever]

and if you own a vintage pedal that sounds great On, but sucks in bypass... or has no indicator led...is it sacrilige to mod it?

 

 

I dont even take this into consideration anymore for 2 reasons. I dont gig out as much anymore, I mostly record at home. And if I did gig out more, I would bring my Carl Martin Octaswitch. Problem solved for me.