Boutique Pedal vs "Normal" Pedal. The real deal

G

guillepastouru

New member
Ok, just wanted to know what do you guys think.

It came to my head, and to my eyes, that not many "Big names" in music, use boutique kind pedals. On the contrary they tend to use more like mxr, boss, dunlop kind of effects.

Sure sometimes is a mix of both, but having they're money why wouldn't they buy "the best" as being "the best" the boutique one?

Does the boutique pedals make a huge difference on the "normal" ones?

Haven't tried many boutique ones to make the comparison myself.. but i tend to think is not a big difference with the "normal" ones. In other words, i think you can create the same sounds
and as effective with the "normal" ones.

What do you think?

Cheers!!
 
With any gear, there just isn't a huge difference between boutique and the off the rack stuff. Give Cantrell a DSL50 and some Boss pedals, and he'll still sound awesome. Not that the boutique stiff can't sound great, but if someone can't get great tones from "normal" gear, the problem isn't with the gear.

Caveat is that you have to find the gear that complements each other (a Strat into a Metal Zone into a Deluxe Reverb won't get you Gojira tones no matter who's fingers you have), but there's no reason that you can't get great results with the normal stuff from GC.
 
Last time I saw Uli Roth and Michael Schenker play locally, all they used were the most basic and beat up Boss pedals I've ever seen.
The take away being is that they are extremely well built, easy to obtain, take a beating on the road, and just plain work all the time.

Joe Bonamassa has some more unique pedals on his pedalboard. He can afford any delay he wants and he uses a Boss DD3 with all the knobs on noon. It just works with minimal fuss.
 
Aside from it being more about the player than the pedal, I'd wager that endorsements play a big role much of the time. The music business isn't making many people rich like it used to, and those that do make money on it have to look for new ways to earn.
 
I'm betting that a lot of big artists don't spend time on forums and don't have a clue about botique pedals and gear and go with brands they know and grew up with (and stuff they've been endorsed by obviously ;) )
 
There are dirt cheap pedals that can do some awesome things, and some very expensive pedals that sound like dog shit.
 
In a band setting who can tell the difference? Half the time you can't even hear yourself onstage, and you can be sure 99% of the audience can't tell or they don't give a shit whether your using a Strymon or a Digitech.
 
cardinal":jvl2ea6x said:
With any gear, there just isn't a huge difference between boutique and the off the rack stuff. Give Cantrell a DSL50 and some Boss pedals, and he'll still sound awesome. Not that the boutique stiff can't sound great, but if someone can't get great tones from "normal" gear, the problem isn't with the gear.

Caveat is that you have to find the gear that complements each other (a Strat into a Metal Zone into a Deluxe Reverb won't get you Gojira tones no matter who's fingers you have), but there's no reason that you can't get great results with the normal stuff from GC.
Click to expand...

End of thread with that line :D . Sometimes it's the run of the mill OD808 or Duncan/Dimarzio and other times it's the handwired boutique "808" or BK/MCP/Lundgren etc.
 
Because as the others have said, at volume and live there is little diff between a 50$ and 1000$ pushing a decent amp...
 
A lot of the full time pro's use working mans stuff for the fact that if it breaks they can go into any major music store or mom and pop store and buy the same pedal. When your on the road in the middle of now where it can be hard to get a replacement pedal that has a month(s) wait versus your stand in stock pedal. A couple of rig rundown's the artist have said these exact words, Billly Duffy comes to mind. I think he uses pretty much all run of the mill boss pedals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_qxW_htSnU 10:40 mark.
 
As others have mentioned, I think it depends on the pedal. I gigged with a Bad Monkey as a boost years ago and sounded killer (and was cheaper obviously) than some of the other clean boost options. With that said, there are some great pedals out there that are made with better components, etc. than more of the factory line stuff. Obviously this is going to sound like I'm just helping a friend out, but honestly Rob Keeley's "Dark Side" pedal is one example of where I think pedals are going into the future. Compact and light, but with tons of different effects at a reasonable price.

I think the one problem with "boutique" is that you can have so many people selling pedals that everything gets lost in the mix. Thankfully, there are enough players out there that have tried different pedals and can give their two cents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top