# Do you still purchase pedals?



## kristopher (Aug 5, 2022)

Do you still purchase pedals? How often? How many?
Even though you build, do you still treat yourself to a brand name or boutique pedal every now and then?
I've built about 20 over the last three years. Sold a few. Modified most. And I’ve bought 2. An EHX 360 Looper, and a Foxrox Octron3. And one Quaverato kit. So technically I bought 3.
I read through a thread on the gear page, where musicians and gear hounds confessed to many annual purchases. But no mention of building.  
I’m just curious to hear from builders.


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## Betty Wont (Aug 5, 2022)

Not in 10 years. The last commercial pedal I've touched was my boss tuner. Sold that when they made the app.


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## Betty Wont (Aug 5, 2022)

Also LOVE the octron3. I miss the Madbean Lowrider project.


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## benny_profane (Aug 5, 2022)

Betty Wont said:


> Also LOVE the octron3. I miss the Madbean Lowrider project.


I really want that to make a comeback.


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## fig (Aug 5, 2022)

Only if I know the builder.


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## Bricksnbeatles (Aug 5, 2022)

Yup. Depends on what it is of course, but there are still plenty of pedals I GAS for


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## Harry Klippton (Aug 5, 2022)

I do occasionally. Usually if it looks cool (most important feature) or something I can't build. I'm currently borrowing a red panda tensor from a friend and I fully plan on buying one


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## Diynot (Aug 5, 2022)

I recently purchased an Iron Ether FMeron after lusting over it for years, other than that it’s probably been a good 2 years since the last purchase. I was a little disappointed to open up the FMeron and realize it was an FV-1 under the hood, nothing out of the reach of the diy community


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## kristopher (Aug 5, 2022)

I bought the Octron3 after getting frustrated with a Byoc Divided Octave I modded. Because my mods weren't reliable, and I had it on the bench more then the board. I wanted the tone of the analog sub punch when I gigged/jammed/noodled. And I felt I deserved a gift.
I don't regret that purchase one bit. It's a gem of a pedal.


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## Robert (Aug 5, 2022)

Almost daily.


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## Harry Klippton (Aug 5, 2022)

Also I like having pedals that other people want. If it's not coveted, what's the point? Gear is for looking good on Instagram.


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## Robert (Aug 5, 2022)

In fact, this thread just caused me to buy another one.


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## music6000 (Aug 5, 2022)

Robert said:


> In fact, this thread just caused me to buy another one.


I feel an Octroner coming on!!!


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## Fingolfen (Aug 5, 2022)

Yes... generally because it is something that either isn't available in DIY form (T-Rex Replica, DTS Booster Driver, anything Strymon, etc.) or is something I really couldn't build cheaper (Boss Super OverDrive, etc.)


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## jimilee (Aug 5, 2022)

Yep, I have a smallish collection of commercial pedals.


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## jjjimi84 (Aug 5, 2022)

Not often but I picked up a dod rubberneck recently that is pretty fantastic.

Only stuff I get all giddy about is some of the really neat digital stuff like the updated strymons and whatever source audio is doing


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## kristopher (Aug 5, 2022)

That may be the way to look at it; smallish collection of commercial pedals.
I was slow out of the gate to purchase pedals, and have played guitar since my youth. Never owning more then a few. Then one day my Big Muff needed some TLC, I popped it open, saw the guts, and the snowball began rolling.


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## Dan0h (Aug 5, 2022)

Since getting into building I have only bought 4 but I’ve built way too many…. 
Supro Tremolo (then sold it)
Caroline Megabyte (then sold it)
Milkman FStop (then sold it)
Surfy Bear Reverb. (Still have it for now)

All due to gas from watching YouTube. For the most part I’ve been able to build equivalents.


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## Alan W (Aug 5, 2022)

I do, but it’s for effects that I don’t think will be easy to DIY, plus, they are pretty much  from a group of people that have great ears and the smarts to know how to get there. So, I believe in supporting their craft.

Recent purchases were Free the Tone, both reverb and FF delay, PastFX Reticon Flanger (well, this one I coulda built, I think, but I like what they are doing (other than buying up many of the remaining chips..), and Fairfield Circuitry Meet Maude. About a year ago, I got the Effectrode LA-1A, and that blew me away to the extent that I bought his Tube Vibe and then Fire Bottle.


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## Betty Wont (Aug 5, 2022)

Robert said:


> Almost daily.


And bless you for it!!! Is this a symbiosis or host/parasite relationship we have?


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## K Pedals (Aug 5, 2022)

I’m up to about 200 commercial ones… 
I don’t buy as much as I used to…
Got the new gen loss pre-ordered…


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## Fuzzonaut (Aug 5, 2022)

I more or less stopped… maybe 1-2 a year? Last one was the Way Huge Atreides. And I still have a pedal from Folktek on preorder …..


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## DGWVI (Aug 6, 2022)

Until there's DIY alternatives to the Ring Thing and Freqout, I'll keep those on my board


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## DAJE (Aug 6, 2022)

I haven't bought a new pedal since I started building them, but there are some commercially made ones that I still use all the time. Specifically my tuner pedal and my digital delay/reverb/etc pedals, my Danelectro Tuna Melt tremolo pedal, and my Boss volume pedal.


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## HamishR (Aug 6, 2022)

I love my "custom" Korg Tuner. I really like the Strymon Flint but I'm trying to convince myself that I love the Source Audio Collider I bought last year. I wouldn't say it's noisy but because my amps and OD pedals are so ridiculously quiet I do notice a background hiss when I use the delay - even just as a slapback delay the hiss is there. Less so with the reverb, which seems arse-about to me! I have built a heap of delays and a few reverbs but bought the Collider because it's reverb and delay in one pedal and it has memory patches.

I also bought a Boss DM2-W because a DM2 was the first pedal I ever bought, back when it was new. The DM2-W sounds fantastic but the buffer kills it for me - I don't use it as a result.

So apart from the occasional One Control BJF-designed OD I don't buy dirt pedals any more. My much-modded home-brew ODs and fuzzes do it for me.  I have a One Control Strawberry Red OD to send to Robert but I keep forgetting to send it - It's a killer OD and I would love to mod it. I'm surprised we don't hear more about One Control actually because they make some of the better ODs I've tried. I would love to try a Strawberry Red OD with different diodes. It's easily my favourite commercially available OD at the moment.


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## PunchySunshine (Aug 6, 2022)

I just bought a 1440 Looper from ElectroHaromonix.  LOVE IT


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## Nostradoomus (Aug 6, 2022)

I haven’t for years until recently because I saw a DL4 MKII in the shop. It rules.


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## spi (Aug 6, 2022)

I stopped buying once I got back into building.  

The only one I bought recently was a tuner.


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## fig (Aug 6, 2022)

spi said:


> I stopped buying once I got back into building.
> 
> The only one I bought recently was a tuner.


I have to admit, I do not know who (or what) built my tuner pedal.


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## fig (Aug 6, 2022)

I guess this would count;

My wife got me a Line 6 pod go …or something like that for Christmas. The wireless dongle is dodgy (aka useless) but it, like all the MEUs I’ve plugged into, has a few groovy setups and if you care to fiddle enough, can create even nicer rigs. Headphone out, amp out, effect loop, line-level out, expression pedal.


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## jimilee (Aug 6, 2022)

I’ve actually become a snob and try to only purchase pedals with boxes. I hate myself for it.


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## kristopher (Aug 6, 2022)

I have to admit that I get giggly when I open the box, and find that a sticker was included.


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## Robert (Aug 6, 2022)

kristopher said:


> I have to admit that I get giggly when I open the box, and find that a sticker was included.



I keep _all_ the stickers.   I sell everything at a loss, but just know ahead of time the "candy" will not be included.


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## Harry Klippton (Aug 6, 2022)

I almost ordered a pedal today just to get some dopamine until I thought about how bummed I'll be in a few months that I don't use it


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## kristopher (Aug 6, 2022)

It's very responsible of you to identify the "dopamine" kick, and choosing to pass. You should congratulate yourself with a gift, or something.


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## Dan M (Aug 6, 2022)

No.  I don’t even buy circuit boards anymore. I have all the pedals I need… hold up… is that a 15% coupon?  I’ll be right back.


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## ITG6 (Aug 6, 2022)

Every now and then if I find a good deal or want to support a local music store that has something interesting.   

Also can't pass up any broken/as is pedals I find.  Replaced the power protection diode in a few EHX's, loose jack in a BBE etc.   Just like most of what I build here the journey is more fun than the destination most of the time.

Just got the Behringer UV300 for $20, may rehouse it fun.


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## jimilee (Aug 6, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> I almost ordered a pedal today just to get some dopamine until I thought about how bummed I'll be in a few months that I don't use it


We’re supposed to use them? I wasn’t told that. I thought we only collected them. Dammit, I need to see a manager!


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## Barry (Aug 6, 2022)

Rarely, mostly used DS-1's or BD2's I'll mod and sell


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## Bricksnbeatles (Aug 6, 2022)

Most recently was 2 new boss FS-7s (I got em for super cheap because of an Amazon pricing error. Sure, I could build the same thing myself; but I love the type of switch these use) and 3 used EV-30s


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## Feral Feline (Aug 6, 2022)

Same as many others here. I'd rather build it myself, but some stuff isn't available DIY — anyone know where I can get a clone PCB and programming-code bits to make my own Akai Impact/Panda Future Impact? No, I didn't think so.

If Robert wants to trace it, I'd send him my Turbo Tuner for a looky-loo.


I still collect cat-related pedals... eventually I'll have enough to name a pedalboard after this James Bond character, also the name of a drink:









Alas, Honor Blackman who portrayed Miss Pussy Galore in _Goldfinger_ is no longer with us. She was a cool lady on and off the screen...






She was no picture-poser, she was a bonafide biker having served as a dispatch rider in WWII.




Anywhooo...

I passed on getting a Fat Cat offered to me, 'cause I was broke at the time — I should've got it and not eaten for a week or two.

So far I've got:
Way Huge Echo Puss — modulated delay, but no tap-tempo as per Supa-Puss.
Devi Ever BDSM (actually made by Dwarfcraft) — pink kittens!
DVK Hairball (cool thunder from Down Under) — excellent graphic it's a 808 with a Rangemaster boost and a more-bass switch.
Danelectro Coolcat Chorus (18v) — purrrrfect sounding chorus
Danelectro Coolcat Transparent OD V1 — a clone of the Timmy, IIRC, and a gift from a friend (gave me the V2 non-Timmy too!)

So, as you can see the current cat pedalboard is a more meagre Little Miss Kitty than it is a large litter Miss Pussy Galore...
She might never come to be, unless I start naming my own builds all cat names.


Most recently I picked up a 40th Anniversary EB VP — it's nice that it's black, but I don't care about the 40th Anni special edition stuff, I bought it to throw Zeppelin's mod kit at it.

Before that was a Boss LS-2 Line Selector. Sidejacks be damned there is nothing on the market nor anything that I can build that does all this  unit does in such a compact package.

I bought both the VP and LS-2 at L&M from the used bin for dirt cheap compared to new and both pedals are in like-new condition.
I'm probably averaging about one new-to-me commercial pedal per year.


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## Mentaltossflycoon (Aug 24, 2022)

jjjimi84 said:


> Not often but I picked up a dod rubberneck recently that is pretty fantastic.
> 
> Only stuff I get all giddy about is some of the really neat digital stuff like the updated strymons and whatever source audio is doing


I was just gifted a rubberneck, it's really really good.


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## Feral Feline (Aug 24, 2022)

Just picked up a Taiwanese-made OC-2. Another bargain in the used section of L&M — just went in to get some flatwounds for my acoustic. 

My first Boss OC-2, unimaginable given I'm a bass player. 🤔

Now I can compare my Ocelot to its source of inspiration. 😺


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## jimilee (Aug 24, 2022)

I just picked up a Laredo gold Plumes to go with the sparkly purple one and the sparkly black one. I also built one I don’t use.


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## Feral Feline (Aug 24, 2022)

...And the flatwounds I had ordered in weren't flatwounds. 

When you ask someone for flatwounds and they give you D'Addario "Flat Tops" and hope you don't notice they're not really flatwounds...

Waste of time going in to get things they don't have, having to order things from another location and then going in again to pick up what you're still not getting the item you asked for in the first place... 


No wonder brick & mortar is dying.

I have resisted buying strings online for more than a decade now. I GIVE UP!

This was the final winding of the tuner-peg that broke the string.


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## cwsquared (Aug 25, 2022)

I am with many others, "only if it can't be built".  Well, almost.  I just got a second-hand Master Effects Super 800 Plus (GK 800RB preamp) today.  I told myself that I was buying it to crack open, investigate, and then sell when I build my own.


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