What commercial pedals do you like?

[Leevibe]

Amongst all of your DIY pedals, are there any commercial pedals, or are you 100% "If I didn't build it, it ain't in my chain?"

What big-name effects are:

A) currently on your board
B) in rotation or get at least occasional use
C) never get used but are collectible or you haven't gotten around to selling them yet


For me, it goes like this:

Always on my board:
- TC Nova Delay
- TC Nova Dynamics - this is great for acoustic, electric, and bass and I can get slow gear-ish stuff with the gate
- EB VP Jr
- ISP Decimator
- Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
- Crybaby - heavily modded

In rotation:
- MXR Script Phase 90 - real deal 70's era. Got it for $30 non-working on Craigslist and fixed it. Didn't expect it to be useful but I love it.
- Boss CE-5 - the earlier analog version. Gets occasional use.
- Digitech iStomp - I have two of these and they get regular use, pretty much never for dirt though
- BBE Sonic Stomp - Yes, I have a turd polisher. Don't hate on me. This will eventually be replaced by a Bloviator
- ProCo Turbo Rat - Because I got it for free. It's really not fair to call it a Turbo Rat because I've done so many tweaks to it.
- Ibanez UE400 - Not really a pedal but I love it. I plan to build a tolexed rack enclosure for it eventually. I will leave space for a UE405 in case I can ever find and/or afford one.

Paper weights:
- Digitech Bad Monkey - My first pedal! And the first pedal I modded. I can't bring myself to let it go but I never ever use it
- DOD Milkbox - My second pedal. I don't have a use for it but it's cool. I'm sure I'll sell it whenever I get around to it because there's no emotional attachment at all. It does have a battery door!

[rullywowr]

TC hall of fame reverb, Deluxe memory man with tap tempo (1100ms), boss RC-3, ehx freeze.

[jkokura]

I run multiple pedal boards, but I have a mixture of DIY and commercial on each one. Honestly, I've owned and used more commercial pedals than I can even think off! I've owned or played just about every mainstream Boss pedal available, used the Line6 stuff and the Digitech stuff and the MXR stuff and the DOD stuff and the... well, just about all of the stuff. I've owned a real 1982 Ibanez Tubescreamer, sold it, and built one I liked just as much. There are some pedals I still have and use.

Here are some examples of Commercial units I have that I feel couldn't be replaced with a DIY version:

1. Strymon El-Capistan: This is a super rad pedal, and although I've built pedals that are close in sound, there's a lot to be said for a good unit like this one. It has a lot of features for a delay pedal, and although the price is high, I think it would be hard to beat with a DIY pedal. The Hamlet+ is as close as I've come to building something that I would use in replacement that's DIY.

2. Strymon Timeline: There is no way anyone could DIY what this thing does. I use the banks of presets, and control it with Midi. Unfortunately, nothing DIY even comes close at this time.

3. Strymon BigSky: Reverb is a big area of DIY that's not even close to competing with the digital units available out there. This is a fairly new pedal for me (2 weeks now?) but I'm really enjoying it. I use the presets and I use the Midi control, and there's nothing DIY that comes close at this time also.

4. Boss RV-3: This one lives in my Acoustic setup. Again, DIY reverb isn't close to doing what the commercial units out there do.

5. Boss RV-5: I use this one with an electric setup as well. Again, DIY reverb isn't up to what this unit does.

6. Polytune/Boss TU-2: It doesn't make sense to DIY a stage tuner when the available options out there are great and can be had used for 50-75 bucks. I have a few tuners on various boards, and I wouldn't bother with a DIY option for this. I'd like to buy a couple/few more polytunes to be honest.

7. Ernie Ball Volume Pedals: I have a full size and a Jr. I know DIY options might be available in the form of Wah enclosures, but for the cost of one of the PPP or Mammoth wah enclosures I can almost buy one of the full size units used, and I can definitely buy a VPJR used.

8. Digitech Jamman Solo: DIY loopers are fun, but they're generally lowfi. I needed a looper/sampler that I could both store performances on and control easily, and the Jamman Solo was the best option when I was looking. The DIY world might be able to give me something close to what I'd need, but the fidelity would need to be raised.

9. Digitech Whammy IV (limited Chrome edition): DIY a Whammy? You crazy! Nuff Said.

10. Eden Bass Pre/DI: This little box is the heart of the David Eden World Tour Preamp in a little pedal instead of a Bass head. Instead of a power amp it features a transformer based DI output as well as a 1/4" out for a power amp. I use it for recording bass, and I'm looking into powered cab options to run this as a preamp with my bass rig.

I also have a few units that I think could be replaced, maybe even easily, but probably won't for whatever reason:

1. Vox Wah/Crybaby: I have a couple wahs, and while the DIY version I own is pretty awesome, Wah's are very individual and sound different unit to unit. I have a Vox Wah I've loved (and modded) for a long time, and I bought a Crybaby used that I was gonna mess with and then felt didn't need messing with.

2. Empress Tap Tremolo (V1): I love trem. It's my favourite modulation effect. The Tap Trem from Empress is a fantastic trem, and while the tap tempo element may not be everyone's favourite effect, one of the features it has is a patterned tremolo that's really fun to play with. I can (and have) DIYed a Tap Trem, but the Empress is one I'll likely keep permanently.

3. Barber Tone Press (limited Red version): I always use compressors and I leave them on all the time. I never turn them off really. I also really like special editions of pedals, and so when Dave Barber was selling limited Red versions of his Tone Press, I bought one. His pedals are very, very reasonably priced for the quality, and I won't sell this pedal.

There are a few pedals I own that are cool, but I'd totally sell them if I could:

1. Blackout Effectors Whetstone (limited White version): Hopefully the Stone Cold will replace this one for me.

2. Way Huge Pork Loin (Signed by Bonamassa): DIYing this one would be tough, and it's a great effect, but dirt effects are so common and mostly sound similar, so I can get similar tones from my DIY pedals. This ones extra cool cause it's signed and settings marked by Joe himself, so it's a bit of a collectors thing.

[Leevibe]

8. Digitech Jamman Solo: DIY loopers are fun, but they're generally lowfi. I needed a looper/sampler that I could both store performances on and control easily, and the Jamman Solo was the best option when I was looking.

I had a Jamman Solo that I could never quite bond with. It felt like too many features stuffed into too few controls. I built an aux switch pedal that helped but I also became convinced that my loops were a tone-sucked version of the original. It was my first experience with a looper though. I hope to get a TC Ditto eventually. I think it will be more suitable to the way I would use one.

[flanagan0718]

There are two pedals that I have purchased multiple times.

1. Ibanez DE-7 delay/echo. I don't know why but I love the voicing of the echo portion
2. Ernie ball volume. Always useful.


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[midwayfair]

On my board: Malekko 616, Ernie Ball VP, and El Capistan.

I could probably replace the 616 with a Hamlet if I really wanted to claim that I built every analog pedal on my board, but I just have a softspot for the Malekko, it sounds good, I don't have an extra Hamlet, and I'm down to the last last last PCB for it, and I'd have to add modulation in any case.

I can't build anything even remotely approaching the El Capistan, and I can't machine a volume pedal.

[madbean]

I really like my Timeline, Mobius, and Ditto and I love my Mojovibe.

[Morgan]

Always on my board:
- EB VP (the giant tone-sucking monster one)
- Polytune (maybe doesn't count...)

In rotation:
- BTMB Maggie
- Digitech iStomp

Paper weights:
- Dunlop crybaby wah. My 1st pedal ever (ca 1992)! I don't use wahs these days though.

[Vallhagen]

The only thing i always use is a pitchblack pedal tuner.

I havent built a wahwah yet (and im not sure it will happen?) so i use my crybaby. Not always but often.

I havent built a chorus either, but its not necessary to me. I have an old Ibanez Stereo Chorus, good one, but again, i dont use chorus.

Cheers

[selfdestroyer]

There are a few staples on my board but over the last year I have replaced most of my everyday effects with hand built ones or modded variants.

Always on my board:
Barber Tone Press (Until I build a compressor I like)
Strymon TimeLine
Neunaber Stereo Wet (May change soon)

Rotate/as needed:
Various old big box Electro Harmonix effects
Death By Audio Fuzz War

Cody

[mjcyates]

Barber Direct Drive
Barber LTD
Visual Sound Tap Delay

[culturejam]

I have many commercial pedals. The ones I generally use include:

• Deluxe Memory Man XO
• Hardwire Reverb
• Pharaoh Fuzz

[ian_guga]

TC HOF mini
until not long ago a MXR Carbon Copy which is now replaced by a Multiplex

[DutchMF]

The only commercial pedal that's on my board right now is an EHX Electric Mistress. I've never been able to get my Current Lover to sound as good or better. Been meaning to convert it to MN3007@15V but haven't gotten around to that, could be an improvement. An MXR Carbon Copy is used occasionally, and sometimes, just for shits and giggles, I break out my old beat up CryBaby.

Almost forgot: the most important pedal on the board is still commercial, KORG DT-10 Tuner. That thing just rocks!!

Paul

[jubal81]

Down to just one commercial pedal: TC Polytune. I recommend it highly.