Boutique vs. uhhh...other pedals
xtremehardy388
Posts: 2,759
I keep hearing and reading so many great things about boutique pedals and, in the same breath, many negative things about the others (BOSS, Ibanez, etc). Not that I dislike boutique pedals but I just don't have the money or play enough to justify getting them. As many of you know, I've got a lot of pedals...and they're not boutique (though most are DIY moded). My question is:
Why is there so much flack for the namebrand pedals? It's almost as if I'll say I have a number of BOSS pedals and I'm automatically shunned or looked down on...like the hipsters are looking down on me. I like the sounds I get from my pedals, though---what's the big deal?
Why is there so much flack for the namebrand pedals? It's almost as if I'll say I have a number of BOSS pedals and I'm automatically shunned or looked down on...like the hipsters are looking down on me. I like the sounds I get from my pedals, though---what's the big deal?
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
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It's the same snobbery that is exuded when a band gets popular and embraced by the mainstream. If you like that band/musician then continue to champion them.
Opinions can be dissenting, but that's why they're called opinions.
i know some of the boutique stuff i have is made with better components and is all handwired, which can have a big impact on your overall tone. a lot of the boutique stuff is true bypass too, which some of the mass produced name brand stuff is not.
i use a boss tuner and chorus ensemble pedal. the tuner is one of the best on the market and has been for years. boss makes some great stuff. i just prefer some of my boutique stuff because some of the ODs and distortions are just a little bit more versatile and just seems to sound better with my vintage amps. that said, i have not bought a new pedal in 4 years and have rarely checked out the newer stuff on the market. i am just not into researching new things at this point. i like my rig now.
now line6 is another story all together. i can not stand anything from line6. terribly fragile products, sounds way too digital, and that company has the worst customer service i have ever seen. i think their amps really, really suck too, and if i am at a bar and someone is playing one, i shamefully admit it, but to my friends i do go all "tone snob" on them.. i think on board effects are cheating, and if you do not know what you are doing, it is very easy to make that super expensive guitar sound like dogshit.
the only thing that matters is that you like how your rig sounds, no matter what gear you use.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I also have a couple od's I built myself and that's fun and surprisingly simple.
I think the the smaller companies can pay attention to individual customers better and offer more unique sounding products, whereas the big boys are trying to appeal to as many people as possible.
I've a got a few pedals that are pretty pricey, but most of my boutique stuff was pretty reasonable, since most sites like Prymaxe and ProGuitarShop constantly have one discount code or another.
It's really what gets the job done when it comes down to it though.
There are two main reasons people might prefer boutique pedals: 1) The pedals are made to a higher quality, with better parts and higher-quality manufacturing (esp. hand-wired) techniques; and 2) The boutique pedals do something substantially different than the mainstream pedals do. On the first point, like gimmesometruth27 said, there are features like true-bypass and lower self-noise due to better components and better wiring. That's the one reason I got modded tubescreamers instead of stock Ibanez models; in fact, about a third of the boutique overdrives on the market are trying to improve upon the Ibanez tubescreamer or replicate the original TS-808. On the second point, a small boutique pedal manufacturer can afford to make a pedal that will only sell 50 or 100 units because it's specific application is very narrow.
There are several pedals that Boss makes that I am unimpressed with, but I think that their offerings are mostly pretty good. I really like a lot of Ibanez pedals, and then there are MXR and Electro-Harmonix, both of which I love. I even use those pesky digital Line 6 pedals (I think their Verbzilla is the best reverb pedal on the market, and I love the Tap Tremolo). I think most players can find pedals that fit their needs from the major manufacturers without spending tons of money and research trying to chase boutique tone.
I do know that I've run across many players who are "tone chasers," who will spend thousands of hours and dollars trying to find that perfect overdrive, distortion, wah, analog delay, phaser, or compressor. Just go on eBay and read the description of a Lovepedal for sale; the seller usually has this story about the pedal being a great sound and everything he was looking for, until he found something better, but really he just wants the pedal he had and sold last year. Tone chasers very rarely find the thing they are chasing, so they keep chasing that dragon.
My personal opinion is that you should find the tools that give you the ability to make your craft, and then stop worrying about the tools and focus on the craft. When you spend so much time and energy worrying about the gear, you aren't focusing on your technique or compositions. I don't listen to bands or artists or songwriters based on what I think about their gear, I like them because I like the songs and musicianship. None other than Mike McCready uses Line 6 pedals, and I think he's the shit. Weezer did entire tours with Line 6 PODs. Eddie Van Halen had signature guitars and amplifiers made by Peavey, and his most famous guitar was a piece of crap with electronics that technically shouldn't have produced sound. So if any of you can make pretty music with Danelectro mini pedals and a Zoom multi-FX unit, power to you.
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Who cares? And I do not mean that in the way you think I did. No snarkiness.
I mean: If a $30 pedal gets you the sound you want, or a $600 boutique pedal gets you the sound then go for it. Go for whatever fits you, your style, the sound you are trying to achieve, etc. I have maybe 15-20 pedals, with about 7-8 in my electric setup at any given time, and 4-5 in my acoustic (gigging) setup. My pedals range from a crappy (yet I love it) 20 year old Ibanez Soundtank flanger, to 2 $500 Mooger Fooger pedals. And in between are plenty of Boss pedals, and my main overdrive is as boutique as you get: A Blackstone Mosfet. The combination of all of them is how I achieve my sound. I use some of them sparingly, and some a lot. But I've built that sound over many years and I'm where i want to be.
Just go with what sounds and feels right.
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
just sayin...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy