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The market is over-saturated w/ OD pedals


dixxon

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I've been at this for 30 years and I now can say, w/ some amount of experience that there are TOO MANY over-hyped, over-priced, over-drive pedals available. There just is ! I am/was a pedal-junky like a lot of you and have owned more than 100 OD pedals since 1976...and yes, there are 1 or 2 that are stand-outs and may be worth $300-$400.... Here's the thing: I recently bought a Digitech Bad Monkey...I was "lowering" myself to do this because I'm a pedal snob...but it was cheap and I was bored with what I had so..what the Hell ! This pedal is as good or better than any other OD pedal...I don't care who makes it. This isn't meant as a pat on the back to Digitech...it's meant as a reprimand to the boutique pedal makers. If you can play and you have a quality TUBE AMP in working order..any one of the many OD pedals out there will sound good.

 

I'm also finished reading reviews on these things on HC..they're becoming like parodies anyway. Obviously, if you just paid $400 for basically a unit that does no more/less than a $40 pedal...of course you have to convince yourself that it's the HOLY GRAIL or else you'd have to kill yourself. I actually know a seemingly sane player who believes that the paintjob on his $450 OD pedal contributes to his "stellar tone"...the PAINT JOB ???

 

It was probably the KLON CENTAUR that started this whole thing 12 years ago...and, despite what I have said..I do believe the KLON is the best of what is out there.

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ok... so how many $450 overdrives are there out there...

I tried the bad monkey... sounds similar to a tube screamer with bass control. Personally i prefer the bass response of a tube screamer for that kind of overdrive, and have owned a TS9 TS9DX and a number of TS7's. I still have the TS7's and kept them because of the cleaner bypass, and overall lower noise. They were $40 as well, and IMHO a better sounding pedal.

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I would hesitate to pay over $200 for an overdrive. There's just too many under that price point that are amazing. Screwdriver, COT50, a used ZIM... I've heard a lot of people say how close the Screwdriver is to the Eternity, and the Eternity's like $100 more.

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Solid Construction and Great Tone is the key. Most of the cheapie pedals cut corners on construction. Robben Ford uses a Zendrive for a reason. That is only $179 pricetag. Reliability and Tone are it. I think there are some overhyped boxes, but I like all the choices.

I have settled on Barber Silver LTD and Small Fry. Kept my TS-808 reissue and love my Keeley Katana Boost.

In a pinch I could make due with a Boss OD-3 and my TS Reissue and be totally content.

Would still love to get a Klon and a Zendrive.

Jack

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Originally posted by murch33

I would hesitate to pay over $200 for an overdrive. There's just too many under that price point that are amazing. Screwdriver, COT50, a used ZIM... I've heard a lot of people say how close the Screwdriver is to the Eternity, and the Eternity's like $100 more.

 

 

Murch, that's horsehockey. I bought my Eternity NEW from Sean for a lot less than that. And he had it to me within the week...

 

It's by far the best overdrive I've ever played, though I can't compare it to a Screwdriver as I've never heard one. But it kicked a Direct Drive and ZIM right off my board-- and those are both very respectable pedals.

 

Point is, the market is definitely oversaturated, and I think a lot of the boutique overdrives out there are just hyped TS clones. But the plus side is, there's a pedal out there to suit everyone, if you're willing to look.

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Originally posted by murch33

Well then tell that to Sean's


And watch your mouth.

 

 

No need to be snappy there, bud. Didn't know about the recent price hikes. That blows, but it's probably due to the re-sell market. People were moving E's for $300 and I know Sean resented it...

 

That's too much, even though the pedal is worth it, IMO. I never would have tried it at that price.

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Originally posted by puretube

it`s about time for some really new, different, innovative

distortion/OD sounds...


;)




I don't understand this at all. What's an "innovative" or "new" OD sound? All these pedals are just trying to sound like a cranked amp...

I think the real issue isn't that builders are oversaturating the market but that players are never satisfied. Get a good OD, tune it to your rig, and go play. :)

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Originally posted by puretube

it`s about time for some really new, different, innovative

distortion/OD sounds...


;)



+1 most are derivatives as we all know.... muff, muff, muff, TS and FF.

Fuzz factory is one of the very few new sounding dirt pedals in a looong time. Taken an old idea and made it do new things.

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Im sure LovePedals are great. I have never got to hear one in person where it counts. They are worth every penny if someone wants to pay it. People pay thousands for cardboard with a baseball players pic on it. I would not, but that does not mean it's not worth it. I just find it hard to belive that I can't find a pedal as good or better in the $150 - $200 range.

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Originally posted by endo23




I don't understand this at all. What's an "innovative" or "new" OD sound? All these pedals are just trying to sound like a cranked amp...


I think the real issue isn't that builders are oversaturating the market but that players are never satisfied. Get a good OD, tune it to your rig, and go play.
:)



I would like to hear somthing that does not sound like an amp or fuzz but totally new. Builders get to work!:wave:

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I think a lot of the younger crowd think that Pedals are the key to good sound. Instead of the old days, where it was all amp.

Go get a great sounding tube amp, then almost any solid OD will sound great. Too many people are looking for their crappy solid state practice amp/pedal to sound like a Bassman, Marshall stack, etc.

Jack

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Originally posted by murch33

You honestly thought
"watch your mouth"
was said seriously?




Yaaaaaaaaargh. I've gotten so used to people denoting tone with these guys ;) that if I don't see them I take the statement at face value. My mistake.

Nothin' but love here.

Anyway, yeah, good tube amp + good OD pedal = we're done here.

I don't know why Lovepedals suit me. I just know that I can't turn them off. It's not about the hype or the name or the money. I'd flip 'em tomorrow if I didn't love them. (And apparently I'd make a profit, due to recent price increases.) Pedals aren't the key to a great sound, but they're definitely a main ingredient.

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