ilovefuzz.com

I see some Hardwire Supernatural's for around 120-130. What was the going rate before? Doesn't seem too bad?

The second hand market can be obscenely stupid though.

Prescription Electronics, like mentioned above, was ignored by so many before Jack folded. Now flippers are just pricing the shit as obscenely stupid prices. I refused to pay those prices for the Depth Charge, so I waited (twice), and have got two of them in the last two years for 150 or under. I knew someone out there would sell one for non asshole pricing. I know if I sell mine, I'll do the same. I'm not sure why I have the feeling about the Depth Charge and am ok reselling other things for more in some cases? I have an odd moral compass.

Jesus Was a Robot wrote:

bennroe wrote:I can totally understand feeling like those pedals are over the top for your needs, but I guess I don't understand why you think that makes them overpriced. Those features do have worth. It sounds like your functional needs just run much cheaper than what you're used to believing your tastes are. That honestly sounds like a great problem to have. You probably have $20,000 sitting on a shelf in the form of things you don't really want.

I wouldn't say that I don't understand the pricing on those pedals as much as I don't see the value in some of them. The Boss pedals, the Source Audio (and similar), I definitely see the value. Ones that have some features that are great but are harder to navigate, yet cost more money, I don't. If I'm going to pay 400 plus dollars for something, I want it to be intuitive enough for me to not have to read a manual 80 times to understand. LOL. It's probably a me issue, which is fine, I was just trying to dialogue.

I do think my functional needs and wants are going towards simpler lately. Give me knobs all day, but they better make fucking sense and do something I can actually hear or feel.

Love the pedal industry for sure, just getting a little burned out on things.

I'm with you on this.... I used to be all about toggles/rotaries for diodes and other things... Not so much anymore. If I keep going on my current trajectory, I'm going to be using old school MXR pedals with no stomp switch or Henretta Engineering pedals with only a stomp switch maybe switch to a Junior or Esquire and wire the pickup straight to the jack. Or just complete the full circle journey and land back at air guitar.

Dungus wrote:Not as concerned with prices as I am with the alarming rate that version 2s, updated, shinier and better versions of things seem to appear. It's like fucking iphones out here.

This can't be understated. Incredibly frustrating to imagine buying a pedal and a year or less later "oops we made it better this time" and you missed out on stuff that could have been R&D'd a little more carefully the first time around.

retinal orbita wrote:

Dungus wrote:Not as concerned with prices as I am with the alarming rate that version 2s, updated, shinier and better versions of things seem to appear. It's like fucking iphones out here.

This can't be understated. Incredibly frustrating to imagine buying a pedal and a year or less later "oops we made it better this time" and you missed out on stuff that could have been R&D'd a little more carefully the first time around.

I'm ok with this when you are able to update the pedals. Take the CT5 for instance. Scott has updated that thing so many times we've lost count. He has, for the most part, made it something you can update without buying a new version. I believe that's not the case with maybe one update in the J revision or something like that, for most it is though. I also like how almost all the computer based pedals are like that (Eventide, Boss, Source Audio, Strymon...etc).

It does drive me fucking NUTS when they do that shit.

The worst for me is when you think a pedal is discontinued and then it gets re-released in a newer better version and you just paid hype prices for yours. That shit kills me. lol

$harkToootth wrote:

Eivind August wrote:Oscillating fuzzes aren't cool anymore...

Ummm....I did NOT get that memo

I know that my government is shut down but, the post office is still running, and I still haven't received this memo.
Ironically, I got another Oscillating fuzz in the mail today.
I plan to use my Iron Finger style to penetrate the strong hold of the oscillation.

retinal orbita wrote:

Dungus wrote:Not as concerned with prices as I am with the alarming rate that version 2s, updated, shinier and better versions of things seem to appear. It's like fucking iphones out here.

This can't be understated. Incredibly frustrating to imagine buying a pedal and a year or less later "oops we made it better this time" and you missed out on stuff that could have been R&D'd a little more carefully the first time around.

I'm glad you guys brought this up, as this bugs me too. I've wanted a Raptio for a long time, but I've held off buying one, waiting for the rumored elusive v2. I have some Earthquaker pedals with very loud footswitches, and I think at least one of them has since been updated in their line with soft footswitches.

Vid, all agreed on my end.

Now that I'm thinking about it...I don't have any problems with the pedal industry or pricing. With all the grape phasers on the market, who can be upset? You just have to test one or two out to make sure the batch isn't bad. Lots of sweet stuff out there.

My personal cutoff price for pedals is around $250, maybe higher in the $200 range if it's a really rad pedal. Certainly not $300 and over-I can't ever see myself purchasing any pedal over the $300 range... Stuff like Eventide, Strymon, Chase Bliss Audio etc. isn't even on my radar, and I'm ok with that. I think the most I ever spent on a pedal was around $250 for my Blackout Effectors Crystal Dagger a few years ago, and it was totally worth it. That beastly fuzz is never leaving me. Probably most of my pedal purchases are under $200, though.

That being said, I just calculated the total costs for my various 2017 purchases... I bought I think 7 or 8 pedals last year, and it cost more altogether than the tickets for the 30+ shows I went to last year. That was an eye opener.

This has been an interesting read. I definitely agree that some "boutique" stuff is way over priced, especially if it's a clone (or modified circuit of something popular). That being said, I guess it depends on a builders overhead. The smaller companies probably can't save as much as the big guys on parts and labor. I know a lot of smaller builders are working out of their house or apartment so I take that into consideration too. I think the hype train has a lot to do with prices, if someone builds a pedal, sells for a high price once... they're probably going to do it again. There's plenty of builders out there that I think could sell someone a pedal without even hearing it just based on the builders reputation. Which is cool for them because they've shown their ability to make cool stuff. Maybe sometimes it goes to their head. There's companies that are better at fair pricing than others.

As for the big guys (I don't mean the size of the company, I'm talking about pedals that do a ton of stuff). Empress and Strymon basically make computers at this point and I think they're prices are fair. The amount of research and development that goes into them is kind of amazing. Will everyone use all the features of those pedals? Probably not so maybe it's not worth it to some people to drop $500 on something like that. I think the word "value" and "worth" have very different meanings to different people. So, what's the value and worth of (just an example) the Echosystem? To me, the dual delay circuits and ability to change their routing was a huge influence on my purchase. So was the custom delay taps. It's also got one of the best tape delays I've heard. Do I use every single feature? Nope, probably not even close... but is it valuable to me? Yea, it is for sure. It replaced a few pedals on my board that probably equaled their selling price. Same deal with the Timeline I had but the dual delay of the Echosystem made me sell the Timeline. Then you have a company like CBA. They're pedals sound great, there's np doubt about it. Is there other, less expensive pedals that sound just as good? Of course there is. They just had (in my opinion) a really ground breaking idea about using the dipswitches and automating the knobs. Awesome idea but not for everyone.

I just bough a dirt pedal for just under $200. Everyone talks about it all the time and so to me, it's worth it for them. Will I enjoy it or think it's a fair price? I don't know yet. If I'm absolutely in love with it and use it on a daily basis... I see value in that.

I know a lot of people like to complain about prices but I don't think we could form a real opinion without seeing their financials. What's their bottom line? What's their profit? Even then, it's their company and they can do what they want. They aren't making life saving devices or medicine, they're not producing goods that any of us really "need". They produce things that make people happy by helping them create music and have fun.

Anyways, lots of good points in this post.

Bit of a weird take from me here but you're really selling a brand nowadays over a product. That maybe beyond a millennial thing but I know for my generation the brand is what makes you loyal. Aen's funny videos, OBNE's slick rick productions, DBA no fucks given make gnarly noise, etc. Even companies like Digitech/DOD have moved towards more aesthetically appealing pedals. My point being is if JHS makes a rad big muff and Dwarfcraft makes an equally rad big muff at the same pricepoint, I am going to find more value personally in the Dwarfcraft one. There are plenty of other variables mentioned in this thread, but I didn't see anyone talking about "Brand" and that seems like an equally big piece of the puzzle as to what makes a pedal "worth" what it is to an individual. I mean Red Panda is rad as shit, I could drive to their shop, I've met their builders, but I have a Count to 5 and a Super Wizard on my board... not a Particle.

You see it in other industries as well. My current obsession is watching Hoonigan videos on youtube. And these dudes just do crazy shit to and with cars, go on trips, post youtube videos at least everyday and create and sell products. I don't really watch many other automotive channels on youtube. They get me hyped on cars I never thought I could give a shit about. If I ever stop buying gear and get a slick R31 Nissan Skyline daily driver... I'll probably buy products from them.

So anyway, while features and development definitely contribute to what a pedal is worth to me, I cannot deny I buy into the brand my favorite builders put out much stronger than others.

greyscales wrote: **This post might not make a ton of sense as a whole but I'm trying dammit. I've got a lot of thoughts that I can't articulate after a long day of work.

Man this reply got me thinking more about Ryan and how rad of a presence he is in a whole new way.

affectperdals wrote:
Anyways, lots of good points in this post.

Yes, there're lots of good points in that post.

Nice to pat yourself on the back sometimes.

Chankgeez wrote:

affectperdals wrote:
Anyways, lots of good points in this post.

Yes, there're lots of good points in that post.

Nice to pat yourself on the back sometimes.

haha, I meant the whole thread in general, not mine. I know all my points are good, they came from my brain and I have the best brain.

IK

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

Counterpoint:

I don't see the counterpoint buddy.