Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

General Gear Discussion - effects, synths, etc.

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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by BetterOffShred »

Dat R.I.P. knob... :drool:
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by rfurtkamp »

Jesus Was a Robot wrote: Love the pedal industry for sure, just getting a little burned out on things.
So just buy what you NEED or fills a niche you don't have.

Move along!

At this point, I'm buying a pedal or two a year, tops - I've replaced the old stuff I had that I missed from my old gigging days (or as close as possible) in the early/mid 90s except for a phaser (and still on the fence there, it's cheap enough), and now it's "if something comes out that does something I don't have" at best.

I'm willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money if that happens...but not because it's "boutique" or "small builder" or whatever the watchword is these days. I'll pay what the market is, not what the inflation of hype is.

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to buy from small builders (and a few of my "essentials" that have been on my board for years are from one in particular)...but....it's got to DO something that the big companies' stuff doesn't.

What really gets my goat though are the "small builders" who put out things that allegedly have MIDI but...well, don't without dropping another $100+ on an external converter/controller. Don't advertise it in the base model...if it's not there.

If Boss or Ibanez or somebody did that, you people would rip them apart.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Ugly Nora »

The MIDI thing may not be as bad as it seems, besides having to take up more space with an extra controller. The reason I say this is because it keeps costs down for folks who don't want that that feature but still want the pedal. For example, I recently bought a stereo amp for $750 which didn't have bluetooth ability without buying an additional $75 part. I bought the part because I wanted bluetooth, and was bummed that I had to spend more money, but why should someone who wants the receiver but doesn't want bluetooth have to pay for it to be integrated with it by default? I would be have been equally bummed if it was fully integrated in the unit and I didn't want bluetooth because I know part of the price I paid went towards that feature. I think it balances out....you win sometimes, you lose sometimes.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by rfurtkamp »

It'd be one thing if it was clearly identified, i.e. "MIDI-expandable with X" is the thing.

It's gotten to a point though where scouring for ports and access on pedal sides is a thing and it's annoying as hell.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Jwar »

rfurtkamp wrote:
Jesus Was a Robot wrote: Love the pedal industry for sure, just getting a little burned out on things.
So just buy what you NEED or fills a niche you don't have.
Don't tell me how to live my life!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:







I think my intentions are coming across wrong here, so maybe I should shut it down or stop talking. lol. I was more trying to express that it's odd (and yes, in some cases appalling to me) that things have shifted so much in the gear world over the last several years. It seems like things are now being pushed in a such a different way than before, but Nora nailed it with what he's saying as well as several others here.

I think I'm going to go buy that JHS tube screamer thing. I need 9 tube screamers that are inaccessible to me without bending over and turning a knob. Plus, it's toobs! Amirite? Toooooooobbbbbssss.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by calfzilla »

Jesus Was a Robot wrote:
rfurtkamp wrote:
Jesus Was a Robot wrote: Love the pedal industry for sure, just getting a little burned out on things.
So just buy what you NEED or fills a niche you don't have.
Don't tell me how to live my life!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:







I think my intentions are coming across wrong here, so maybe I should shut it down or stop talking. lol. I was more trying to express that it's odd (and yes, in some cases appalling to me) that things have shifted so much in the gear world over the last several years. It seems like things are now being pushed in a such a different way than before, but Nora nailed it with what he's saying as well as several others here.

I think I'm going to go buy that JHS tube screamer thing. I need 9 tube screamers that are inaccessible to me without bending over and turning a knob. Plus, it's toobs! Amirite? Toooooooobbbbbssss.
I'm pretty sure if you buy the Bonsai, next year they will release the Yggdrasil and it will be the exact same thing as the Bonsai except with a NuTube at it's core :poke:
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by J.Rawls »

I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Ghost Hip »

D.o.S. wrote:
Ghost Hip wrote:Even companies like Digitech/DOD have moved towards more aesthetically appealing pedals.

Counterpoint:

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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by aens_wife »

J.Rawls wrote:I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
Not going to defend her too much, but I am not sure that $100 for a fuzz pedal (all hand made) is absurd. The dealers take anywhere from 25-45% of that, then subtract parts costs and overhead and her profit (mostly for her labor) wasn't all that high. Some of her pricing was too high but not all.

I cannot believe I am defending her. lol.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by J.Rawls »

aens_wife wrote:
J.Rawls wrote:I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
Not going to defend her too much, but I am not sure that $100 for a fuzz pedal (all hand made) is absurd. The dealers take anywhere from 25-45% of that, then subtract parts costs and overhead and her profit (mostly for her labor) wasn't all that high. Some of her pricing was too high but not all.

I cannot believe I am defending her. lol.
I was referring more to how much she would charge for the TBD, the customs, the joysticks, etc. Didn't she charge something like $300 for the Improbability Drive back during that short run?
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Ghost Hip »

J.Rawls wrote:
aens_wife wrote:
J.Rawls wrote:I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
Not going to defend her too much, but I am not sure that $100 for a fuzz pedal (all hand made) is absurd. The dealers take anywhere from 25-45% of that, then subtract parts costs and overhead and her profit (mostly for her labor) wasn't all that high. Some of her pricing was too high but not all.

I cannot believe I am defending her. lol.
I was referring more to how much she would charge for the TBD, the customs, the joysticks, etc. Didn't she charge something like $300 for the Improbability Drive back during that short run?
The Infanem run? That was $200 and eventually clearanced out directly from infanem for below $150 if I remember correctly. I don't think I'd ever sell mine because it tackles so many of her smaller pedals in one box.

And honestly the amount of sound you can get from something like a Spectacular Aenima or a Rocket is worth it IMO. Not to mention who else was producing joy stick and photo eye pedals when she was in her prime?

But man even the $99 two knob pedals compared to Walrus Audio who release a fucking one knob fuzz face for $150? Or fuck, JHS cloned the Hyperion and sold it for double? I would not support her after the shit she pulled, but she has and still does offer some of the most affordable hand built fuzzes on the market. I just find it really weird in a thread discussing outrageous priced pedals that you would call out Devi of all builders.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Jwar »

aens_wife wrote:
J.Rawls wrote:I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
Not going to defend her too much, but I am not sure that $100 for a fuzz pedal (all hand made) is absurd. The dealers take anywhere from 25-45% of that, then subtract parts costs and overhead and her profit (mostly for her labor) wasn't all that high. Some of her pricing was too high but not all.

I cannot believe I am defending her. lol.
This is also a huge thing that I haven't taken into account with a lot of builders. The dealers take.

Huh. That just kind of broke my brain there.
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Jwar »

Ghost Hip wrote:
fuck JHS clones
"I do not have the ability to think rationally 90% of the time and I also change my mind at the drop of a hat".

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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by J.Rawls »

There was the original Effector 13 Improbability Drive run before INFANEM started making them. They were $300 if I remember correctly (hard to say, my adolescent brain perceived it as an insane amount at the time)
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Re: Effects pedals cost too much??? What's the new norm?

Post by Jwar »

J.Rawls wrote:
aens_wife wrote:
J.Rawls wrote:I'm not sure this is anything new. Devi used to charge outrageous prices on really simple fuzz pedals.
Not going to defend her too much, but I am not sure that $100 for a fuzz pedal (all hand made) is absurd. The dealers take anywhere from 25-45% of that, then subtract parts costs and overhead and her profit (mostly for her labor) wasn't all that high. Some of her pricing was too high but not all.

I cannot believe I am defending her. lol.
I was referring more to how much she would charge for the TBD, the customs, the joysticks, etc. Didn't she charge something like $300 for the Improbability Drive back during that short run?
I believe Big Chief paid 500 for an Improbability Drive then loaned it to Devi to reverse engineer because she no longer had the schematics or files on it.

That could be what you're thinking of.
"I do not have the ability to think rationally 90% of the time and I also change my mind at the drop of a hat".

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