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Pedal prices becoming silly...


Wooks79
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I love pedals, bl00dy love them, noisy little things!

But, is it just me or have prices in the last few years seemed to have gone complete haywire in the last few years, and it seems to be becoming a more common thing?

Eventide, Strymon, Chase Bliss, Darkglass, Empress, Earthquaker, JHS and even EHX all have pedals that are over £300 a go now!

I own some of the above, but more and more find myself begrudged to give a pedal I really fancy a go if it's that expensive, the EQD Avalanche Run for example, really fancied it, but since I've heard mixed reviews, there's no way I'd drop £300 on a pedal I might not gel with!

Crazy prices, even crazier that I still want them all :)

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The pathetic pound can be blamed for most of it. There is a good healthy dollop of retail stores blaming further profit margin pushes on 'brexit' too, despite it not actually happening yet. I don't think pedal builders are contributing too much to it necessarily.

Everything is looking out of reach at the moment. £200 is looking cheap for just about anything handbuilt in Europe or the US.

Edited by Kev
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Strange how guys like these:

http://www.magneticeffects.net/

...can make amazing fuzz pedals (and I do mean amazing - more so guitar related) for about £110-120. I've recently bought from him and he even knocked money off for buying two. Very pro fit and finish, really cool sound. They have been getting rave reviews in the guitar mags and Tone Report.

I do think some pedals warrant a higher price tag, but £300+ for a bass fuzz or drive is crazy. I am primarily a bass player and I really do think it is much simpler to get a half decent bass drive tone than seeking the guitar tones that seem much more obviously different and dare I say it, sometimes more exciting.

A good solid bass drive and fuzz from say EHX, then maybe an Ampeg flavour from Tech 21 and I think you've got a huge array to play with.

Good bass overdrive/fuzz/distortion is easier to dial in IMO.

Source Audio seem to hit the market right with things like their Nemesis delay....the sheer options and capability of that pedeal is crazy.

You could just buy the SA Aftershock, use the App, and have loads of bass overdrive etc available.

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It is a bit reflective of basses - a £300 pedal isn't 10 times better than some of the £30 Joyo pedals in the same way a high end Squier doesn't sound 10% as good as a Fender custom shop.

I do feel the pedal companies are applying the instrument price guide to something that isn't the same.

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[quote name='Burrito' timestamp='1485422982' post='3223803']
a high end Squier doesn't sound 10% as good as a Fender custom shop.
[/quote]

I agree with the comment in isolation, but perhaps not as you intended ;)

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It's leveraging from perceived value, big brands demand bigger margins for their brand name, boutique builders boast better quality and their craft. It's just market fluctuation as less people are buying so prices go up for the 'core' audience.

There's no way brexit has had any effect yet, that's lazy conjecture.

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[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1485487790' post='3224349']
There's no way brexit has had any effect yet, that's lazy conjecture.
[/quote]

https://blog.andertons.co.uk/andertons/save-now-prices-increase

Ermm. Well, seems quite a large retailer reported on this back in mid 2016. So yes, by now, it certainly HAS added to the price rise....significantly. Not in any way judging who voted what, but a lot of those who voted 'Leave' seem in denial about this fact. Obviously not insinuating what you voted.

Edited by Musicman20
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[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1485487790' post='3224349']

There's no way brexit has had any effect yet, that's lazy conjecture.
[/quote]

Well that's just not true. Speaking in purely factual terms and leaving out my opinion on the whole thing the Pound has lost significant value which has had an immediate effect on the cost of anything imported.

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I stand (sit) corrected, in fact I think I new the responses you've highlighted already. I meant that there's no additional taxes YET. Of course imports have got more expensive as they reflect exchange rates. I've not had GAS for a while and haven't really noticed too many things shift, has Toms prices risen?

Edited by Left Foot
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It's bonkers. For the stuff I have wanted over the last 6 months, Thomann has gone from my default first stop to being one of the most expensive options. I used to place an order with them several times a year; can't remember the last time I even bothered to check it.

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Brexit didn't raised the cost of pedals or other things, they cost as much (using Thomann as example) as they did before brexit (appart from the normal year to year inflation corrections). The problem is that the pound fell a bit over euro so you're paying more for the exchange rate. Viewing things from my side, pedals still cost the same, you were simply used to get them cheaper ;)

BTW, pound may have taken a plunge but i remember it being even lower as i've bought and sold lots of stuff from UK and i've had lower exchange rates in the past.

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Guys it is not only the pound. For us Europeans pedal prices have gone sky high as well in the last couple of years.
The market for "boutique" pedals got a lot larger since a lot of awesome stuff came onto the market and prices went up as a result.

Those pedals are worth it if the rest of your rig is as much high quality stuff as well.

Being a total tone snob (will only settle for valve amps lately, also dragging a Barefaced Bigtwin II cab everywhere I go) makes me also demand the best pedals I can lay hands on. DG B7K, RW Zeus, OE Cali'76 CB, SA Nemesis delay etc. etc. My small fxboard (6 pedals) cost me about 1800 euros... Is this too much considering my main amp, cab and two main basses cost me about 7600 euros in total? I don't think so. It all seems rather balanced to me.

I totally get a kick out of hearing my tone come out this rig, sounding so insanely good. Isn't that awesome? Isn't that worth the extra money spent? I think it is.

So yes pedal prices are higher then they used to be but no they're not silly high imho.

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I totally understand that prices are higher with boutique gear, especially Darkglass (are they boutique now though? Becoming very popular now...) and high end compressors. This applies to the entire world.

But, what we are saying above is that NOT ONLY are pedals increasingly expensive (I mean, £350 for a bass drive pedal is expensive, let's face it), the price has ALSO been increased here in the UK due to such a poor £, which is a direct result of you know what. The value dropped BECAUSE of that vote. There is no way you can say otherwise.

So, the combination of normal manufacturer price increases, along with the fact pedals CAN be expensive, added to the fact we are paying more in the UK now....(e.g. Strymon pedals have gone up £40-50 due to the weak £) means it is, in reality, getting out of hand.

Edited by Musicman20
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I think the prices for boutique [i]dirt [/i]pedals (I'll include anything smaller than people like MXR/TC, I guess) has become silly. I woouldn't pay new prices for Darkglass or similar. A B7K costs more than my Hartke head. Beyond setting the eq points and including a blend (why did [i]that[/i] take so long), it can't be rocket science (not disparaging anyone, but this isn't new tech - just better implementation aided by the availability of simulation software, surely). I sometimes wonder how much of the USP is down to really cool graphics on the cases. Hell, I don't even need another dirt pedal and I'm tempted by the Fuzzrocious gear! OTOH, historically, a good boring compressor has always been pricier than a dirt pedal and the move towards multiband does represent a step change in tech, but you can still be in that market at way less than 200 quid. There may be better squeezes than the Boss BCX1, but it does everything I need. It just comes in a boring case, with no fancy paintwork. The MXR Phase 90 is [i]still[/i] a great phaser (boost notwithstanding - actually I find that useful) for < 100 quid. Just my 2c.

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[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1486196482' post='3229927']
I think the prices for boutique [i]dirt [/i]pedals (I'll include anything smaller than people like MXR/TC, I guess) has become silly. I woouldn't pay new prices for Darkglass or similar. A B7K costs more than my Hartke head. Beyond setting the eq points and including a blend (why did [i]that[/i] take so long), it can't be rocket science (not disparaging anyone, but this isn't new tech - just better implementation aided by the availability of simulation software, surely). I sometimes wonder how much of the USP is down to really cool graphics on the cases. Hell, I don't even need another dirt pedal and I'm tempted by the Fuzzrocious gear! OTOH, historically, a good boring compressor has always been pricier than a dirt pedal and the move towards multiband does represent a step change in tech, but you can still be in that market at way less than 200 quid. There may be better squeezes than the Boss BCX1, but it does everything I need. It just comes in a boring case, with no fancy paintwork. The MXR Phase 90 is [i]still[/i] a great phaser (boost notwithstanding - actually I find that useful) for < 100 quid. Just my 2c.
[/quote]

Agreed. Dirt pedals are becoming like Apple products....for a DIRT pedal...!?

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