Building up a stompboxline of guitarpedals.

charleshaupt

Hi all,just a question......... to those that own stompboxes.... if you were on a very tight budget,but want to start gathering stompboxes,would you save up and rather buy the more expensive option,or start with some cheap pedals and add on from there?I,ts curently where i am and what i want to do.Thanks.............

Reinhard

That sounds like an expensive way to do it. Maybe buy a multi-effect for now and then slowly start building your stompbox collection.
Otherwise start at the basics:
Tuner
Good OD
And build from there.

AlanRatcliffe

+1. The multi-effects are the best way to get a range of effects at a relatively low price, but are more of an initial outlay at once. However, they will also save you a bunch on batteries (which add up these days, especially with digital pedals like delays).

Otherwise, on a tight budget the thing to do is do it gradually, be patient and wait for good stuff to pop up secondhand at good prices - buy smart. Also, some of the cheaper pedals aren't bad anyway - the much maligned Boss range includes some very good pedals and pop up secondhand at really attractive prices. But definitely stay away from the ultra-cheap stuff.

Warren

I think that for certain pedals, you can't go much wrong with buying a high-end unit, e.g. TC Electronics Hall of Fame / Eventide Timefactor for delay effects, because the sound quality is excellent, it's massively versatile and you won't ever need another delay (yeah, right). Tuners too: spend the money once on something decent that you could use at home or on a stage.

But other effects largely come down to taste (maybe delays do too...). Is a hand-wired Tube Screamer that costs R4k "better" than a TS-808? Or a modded TS-9? Who's to say really? I think that before you splurge on very expensive boutique pedals, you need to have a solid idea of what sound you're chasing. Look at some pro-player's boards: you'll see a collection of vintage, boutique and cheap (often modified) stomps. Sometimes a cheaper pedal gives you exactly the tone you're looking for.

So nothing wrong with spending the money once, but make sure you're getting that sound you want. If you don't have anyone you can bug to test out their stuff and hear what it sounds like (or get a store to let you try out different options), then buying a cheaper pedal is possibly an option. Alternatively, like Reinhard says: pick up a multi-effects unit second hand, figure out what stuff you like, and then seek out the best available stomps for those effects.

Charlie4

TC Electronic Nova System,
Line 6 POD HD etc.
Something along those lines for a multi-effects unit, IF you're using multiple effects, but that you'll only figure out as you experiment with different effects so the answer is...

guitarboy2828

Charlie4 wrote: TC Electronic Nova System,
Line 6 POD HD etc.
Something along those lines for a multi-effects unit, IF you're using multiple effects, but that you'll only figure out as you experiment with different effects so the answer is...

On a tight budget, neither of those are great options, they are both rather expensive.

If you're keen for the stompbox route, go the "save up and get expensive pedals" route. Otherwise, you are just going to be constantly frustrated with your sound and tone. However, by expensive, i don't mean owning the best or most expensive pedals. Boss makes some decent sounding stuff at a fair price. Check out the classifieds often, gumtree too. Don't only wait for TC electronics or eventides, otherwise, you'll save up for a year just to buy one pedal. A boss DD-3 is a great delay pedal and at a fraction of the price.

greetings

Don't discount the used market. I have a mixture of new and used gear. I picked up a Hardwire CM-2 overdrive off Gumtree the other day for R400, a Keeley compressor for R800, and (not guitar related) a pair of KRK V6 studio monitors for R3000. Bargains... Scour Gumtree, Cape Ads, and the forum classifieds. There are good deals that come up more often than you think.

singemonkey

The point of stompboxes - as opposed to multifx - is to get exactly the sound you need. It is beyond pointless buying a stompbox that you don't think is really the right one for you. You might ultimately change your mind or your style, but you buy boxes based on the specific sound you want - not on the price.

But saying that, in this recession, people are selling great effects for peanuts. Get something a little road worn and you'll pay less. Canon sold me a messed up, modded, hideously repainted Ibanez analogue delay pedal. But it doesn't matter what it looks like. What matters is that it's got impeccable sound.