My experience: _some_ cheap pedals are good. When trying them out, assuming you like the general effect quality and sound, check for the following negatives: 1) too much hiss or white noise - this can be expected when drive pedals are wound up, but if they hiss at low settings, then I reject them. 2) effect bleeding through when switched off - noticeable with modulation pedals such as choruses, if I can still hear the sound "swishing" when the pedal's off, I reject it. 3) switch noise - buffered pedals should switch silently, and many true bypass pedals are also quiet, but some are very noisy, so I won't have them on my board. If I could have only one pedal (assuming my amp had reverb), it would be a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver.
Very cool, Thankyou. I Have Behringer Pedal Board with CS400,PB100,SE200,OD100,HM300,FX100,VD400 as my everyday home use Board. It is awesome, provides all the sounds I require, and each pedal was purchased for no more than $20- Australian (which is like free in UK and USA). Also The Joyo Vintage Overdrive and The Cuvave Fuzz are outstanding affordable pedals. Cheers
I definitely need to invest in a Blue Driver! I have an Arion chorus that was a "cheap" pedal back in the day and it's still one of the best choruses I've heard. My Sophgate noisegate does a great job and does a couple other trick for well under $100, but I'm also impressed with the $25 Behringer gate I got for my daughter's Tele. Would definitely love to see more "great and affordable" gear demos.
Can't go wrong with a Blues Driver. If you love that then I think you'll love the JHS x Boss collab pedal Boss JB-2 Angry Driver. I haven't gotten my hands on that yet, but one day I will.
Nobels OD1, EHX Soul Food, Budda Zenman, TC Electronics El Mocambo ,4 great budget drive pedals that also stack in pairs extremely well together. Even some of the Klon Clones out there are fabulous (like the Soul Food) are more than worthy for a mention. When the TS808 first came out it was a £20/£25 pedal in the early 80s, that was still a pretty cheap item, even then, and look at the status it acquired all because of SRV. It really is all in the hands, ,I've heard people with top dollar pedals sounding less than average, but they had deep pockets. Whether it's cheap or expensive, a capacitor is a capacitor, a resistor is a resistor and a transistor is the same as all the rest. All manufacturers use the same components and the inconsistencies are all part of the equation. Hand-wired, or surface mount, are there any sonic differences ?? I've got both and it's very difficult to tell
I used the Hammertone Reverb for about 6 months and was really pleased with it. I wanted a huge sounding hall reverb for the more ambient parts of our songs and it did the job. I replaced it with a JHS 3 Series Hall Reverb because it sounded even bigger and it was still less than 100 quid!
I am an 80's hair metal fan just like Dagan, but play a Zoom G1X Four multi-effect and am considering switching to pedals, especially when I start doing live gigs, so this was very educational. My favorites from the video are both 24:54 "Blackstar" and all the 12:14 "Big Top Fx" pedals. 🤘😎
Just when I thought my opinion of Dagan couldn't get any higher, he goes and plays Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dagan - Don't EVER change! 😄😄
I was watching a pedal show hosted by the jhs owner who basically said the beringer tube screamer was basically thr same circuit as the original, £20 granted its in a flimsy case but for beginners it's excellent
@@andrewgremba1450 I've seen people people call all kinds of pedals flimsy when what they actually mean is it isn't built to withstand a nuclear blast like a boss pedal
I have 2 behringer pedals perfectly capable of switching them on and off constantly. Only the newest one's back came off stuck to my pedal board velcro. A bit of hot glue and good to go again. You can't beat them for price or sound.
When I was a teenager in the 90s I think we were into horrible tone, so cheap pedals were great! Honestly though, digitech and DOD were making decent, or at least interesting stuff, and Ibanez had a decent line of cheap pedals. Later on those little Danelectro pedals came out, and there was always Boss Not sure why he said he had to spend hundreds on a decent pedal. Those were around too, but as long as the pedal doesn’t add a bunch of hisssss to the signal it’s good in my book!
Mooer Blues Crab… a Marshall Bluesbreaker clone. I’ve some fairly pricy pedals on my board, but the Blues Crab is my ‘always on’ drive! Get two and you’re close enough to a King Of Tone for under £100!
I use a boss distortion, keeley compression plus, Friedman Be-od, electroharmonix silencer, behringer guitar modulator, prophet by TC, boss reverb delay combo. Dunlop wah pedal, rat , tube screamer TS9. All through a code 25 Marshall combo.
Hey Dagan, great video! Just wondering since you’re an official Blackstar endorsed guy, what your Blackstar of choice is….only one…ok maybe a runner up too
I have a lot of pedals in boxes over the years. Some of the best pedal I use today are some pretty cheap ones. BOSS DD-3 delay under $100.00 and I also use a Nemesis Delay thats more expensive. A Caline Capt Silver OD pedal that has TS808 and TS9 on it and it was under $40.00US. Personally, I could not stand BOSS OD Pedals, I have a Blues Driver that sits in a box too. Now I have not got any those Fender pedals yet. But I already have the HOF II Reverb pedal and that works for me. But people should check out the Capt Silver pedal just push that amp a bit more if you play on Marshalls like do.
Planning to buy a TCEs Cinders (As a BD-2 alternative, since BD-2s are pricy in my country) and a Behringer TM-300 as a "Marshall Crunch" preamp cause Marshalls (Even secondhanded ones, if any) are also expensive. Would this work? I currently have the Dolamo D-11 Vintage Distortion (Which is a RAT clone) as a Boost, OD, and Distortion. My planned pedal sequence would be D-11→Cinders→TM-300 (It's a simple one, but as time flies it will become bigger lol).
My whole ethos is mainly the best pedal for the best price. If it's a pedal I will use least or not really used before, I'll get cheaper ones. My favourite pedal on my board is an ehx Glove. My worst pedal is probably the TC flashback 2, as the dual delay isn't how I'd normally have it if using separate pedals.
A BBE sonic stomp just makes things sound better. How? You may ask... . I'm not completely sure, it's like the "loudness" button on your 1980s tape deck. I just love mine.
Wampler Triumph - it's just south of £100 and combines two classic circuits with extra EQ and options. Who wouldn't want the choice of an SD-1 and a Bad Monkey ?
I've just brought a big muff fuzz and it is awesome with .my tubescreamer mini in front of it giving it a boost and my TC electronic blood moon phaser after it I am getting some wonderful eclectic sounds from the blood moon and muff and really distorted tones with the tubescreamer and muff going together I would recommend this to anyone
Hey Dagan, has Gibson/Kramer reached out to you? I feel like if Machine Gun Kelly has a signature guitar, you definitely deserve one. I’d bet it’d sell especially within the UK/Euro market
Depends on what you consider cheap. Those chinese cheapo $15-$30 time based and modulation pedals everyone makes now sound about as good as the real thing, but they're low on features and often hum, his, click etc. They're always a gamble. Cheap drive pedals suck even when they work. Midrange pedals in the $30-100 range are generally as good as boutique pedals. They're just mass produced, so they're not as cool. I've tried hundreds of drive pedals over the years, and nothing beats a Boss SD-1. They're like $40 used on Ebay. Boss pedals are abundant and are also nearly indestructible, so there's no point to buying new. The Blues driver is a killer drive pedal as well, and to be honest, the DS-1 is awesome IF you use it correctly, which very few players do.
The question is not "are cheap pedals good?" The question is "how much do the people who design, make, & transport your new pedal deserve to be paid?" We can all buy cheap things made on the backs of basically slave labor and cut corners, or we can support the small business in our neighborhood. But don't pretend buying the cheap things is done according to some grand ethic. You're just saving money.
I get what you're saying but unfortunately it's more of a case of paying for design, assembly, and transport, not making. the casings, chips, capacitors, knobs, jack inputs, basically all of the elements will be made in a factory in China, bought in bulk by some assembly company and made according to their design. So a company based in Poland will still have to buy Chinese parts, then charge the consumer for importing them, R&D, design, assembly, marketing and export etc as much as any company based anywhere, except China, who won't pay import fees and might be attached to another factory that makes... say... OEM casings. Factor in cost of living in China is stupidly low compared to Europe (at least when I lived there) so you can pay someone less and they can still have a more comfortable life than in Europe, You have to see that paying someone the UK minimum wage (£10p/h) to assemble pedals in China would make them in the same earning category as someone with a good degree who's been with a big company for years. LV Rock in China was just an engineering student who made pedal clones in his free time to pay for University, same as Demon FX. Places like Mooer and Nux, were originally making all the parts for other companies and decided to add assembly into the mix. They all have similar stories to American brands it's just they're not told. As a European, I see pedals from China, USA, UK, Serbia, whatever, as basically the same. JHS cut corners and they're marketing geniuses, China does it and they're cheap. same same but different....
The real question here is why are expensive pedals expensive? They all use the exact same components. The exact same electronics that come from the exact same factories. Are you paying for the basic principles of electronics that the brands use? They all use the same methods and sciences. You’re paying for the brand name. You’re paying for an imaginary added value. You’re being taken advantage of.
A BD2+SD1 or two BD2's is incredible, no need for 5 year waiting lists.
I used to stack these together, cracking pedals for the money and will never fail on you.
My experience: _some_ cheap pedals are good. When trying them out, assuming you like the general effect quality and sound, check for the following negatives: 1) too much hiss or white noise - this can be expected when drive pedals are wound up, but if they hiss at low settings, then I reject them. 2) effect bleeding through when switched off - noticeable with modulation pedals such as choruses, if I can still hear the sound "swishing" when the pedal's off, I reject it. 3) switch noise - buffered pedals should switch silently, and many true bypass pedals are also quiet, but some are very noisy, so I won't have them on my board. If I could have only one pedal (assuming my amp had reverb), it would be a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver.
Very cool, Thankyou. I Have Behringer Pedal Board with CS400,PB100,SE200,OD100,HM300,FX100,VD400 as my everyday home use Board. It is awesome, provides all the sounds I require, and each pedal was purchased for no more than $20- Australian (which is like free in UK and USA). Also The Joyo Vintage Overdrive and The Cuvave Fuzz are outstanding affordable pedals. Cheers
I definitely need to invest in a Blue Driver! I have an Arion chorus that was a "cheap" pedal back in the day and it's still one of the best choruses I've heard. My Sophgate noisegate does a great job and does a couple other trick for well under $100, but I'm also impressed with the $25 Behringer gate I got for my daughter's Tele.
Would definitely love to see more "great and affordable" gear demos.
Can't go wrong with a Blues Driver. If you love that then I think you'll love the JHS x Boss collab pedal Boss JB-2 Angry Driver. I haven't gotten my hands on that yet, but one day I will.
Nobels OD1, EHX Soul Food, Budda Zenman, TC Electronics El Mocambo ,4 great budget drive pedals that also stack in pairs extremely well together. Even some of the Klon Clones out there are fabulous (like the Soul Food) are more than worthy for a mention. When the TS808 first came out it was a £20/£25 pedal in the early 80s, that was still a pretty cheap item, even then, and look at the status it acquired all because of SRV. It really is all in the hands, ,I've heard people with top dollar pedals sounding less than average, but they had deep pockets. Whether it's cheap or expensive, a capacitor is a capacitor, a resistor is a resistor and a transistor is the same as all the rest. All manufacturers use the same components and the inconsistencies are all part of the equation. Hand-wired, or surface mount, are there any sonic differences ?? I've got both and it's very difficult to tell
I used the Hammertone Reverb for about 6 months and was really pleased with it. I wanted a huge sounding hall reverb for the more ambient parts of our songs and it did the job. I replaced it with a JHS 3 Series Hall Reverb because it sounded even bigger and it was still less than 100 quid!
Looks like guitar pedal videos are 10x more popular than bass amp videos. I watch them all myself. Great content!
I am an 80's hair metal fan just like Dagan, but play a Zoom G1X Four multi-effect and am considering switching to pedals, especially when I start doing live gigs, so this was very educational. My favorites from the video are both 24:54 "Blackstar" and all the 12:14 "Big Top Fx" pedals. 🤘😎
Just when I thought my opinion of Dagan couldn't get any higher, he goes and plays Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Dagan - Don't EVER change! 😄😄
That phase 90 sound just put a huge smile on me mug while I was making a cuppa
I was watching a pedal show hosted by the jhs owner who basically said the beringer tube screamer was basically thr same circuit as the original, £20 granted its in a flimsy case but for beginners it's excellent
The Behringer fuzz is the best £20 you would ever spend
I've seen quite a few of his videos. I like how hoes doesn't try to plug his own brand and just talks about various pedals and why he likes them.
Anyone that's bought a Behringer pedal will tell you the case is not flimsy.
@@andrewgremba1450 I've seen people people call all kinds of pedals flimsy when what they actually mean is it isn't built to withstand a nuclear blast like a boss pedal
I have 2 behringer pedals perfectly capable of switching them on and off constantly. Only the newest one's back came off stuck to my pedal board velcro. A bit of hot glue and good to go again. You can't beat them for price or sound.
Just picked up a BD-2W. Thanks Dagan!
BD-2 and SD-1, a match made in heaven!
When I was a teenager in the 90s I think we were into horrible tone, so cheap pedals were great!
Honestly though, digitech and DOD were making decent, or at least interesting stuff, and Ibanez had a decent line of cheap pedals. Later on those little Danelectro pedals came out, and there was always Boss
Not sure why he said he had to spend hundreds on a decent pedal. Those were around too, but as long as the pedal doesn’t add a bunch of hisssss to the signal it’s good in my book!
Mooer Blues Crab… a Marshall Bluesbreaker clone. I’ve some fairly pricy pedals on my board, but the Blues Crab is my ‘always on’ drive! Get two and you’re close enough to a King Of Tone for under £100!
I use a boss distortion, keeley compression plus, Friedman Be-od, electroharmonix silencer, behringer guitar modulator, prophet by TC, boss reverb delay combo. Dunlop wah pedal, rat , tube screamer TS9. All through a code 25 Marshall combo.
Hey Dagan, great video! Just wondering since you’re an official Blackstar endorsed guy, what your Blackstar of choice is….only one…ok maybe a runner up too
boss ds1 is an awesome cheap pedal i only payed i think $60 usd at a local shop
My soundtank ts5 is still the one since 1992. I spent 399 on a Headrush MX5 and got all the pedals now.
Awesome intro riff/jam!!!
I have a lot of pedals in boxes over the years. Some of the best pedal I use today are some pretty cheap ones. BOSS DD-3 delay under $100.00 and I also use a Nemesis Delay thats more expensive. A Caline Capt Silver OD pedal that has TS808 and TS9 on it and it was under $40.00US. Personally, I could not stand BOSS OD Pedals, I have a Blues Driver that sits in a box too. Now I have not got any those Fender pedals yet. But I already have the HOF II Reverb pedal and that works for me. But people should check out the Capt Silver pedal just push that amp a bit more if you play on Marshalls like do.
The Boss OD3 with the SD-1 is a great pair.
Cant go wrong with the Boss SD-1 and/or Big Muff.
Planning to buy a TCEs Cinders (As a BD-2 alternative, since BD-2s are pricy in my country) and a Behringer TM-300 as a "Marshall Crunch" preamp cause Marshalls (Even secondhanded ones, if any) are also expensive. Would this work? I currently have the Dolamo D-11 Vintage Distortion (Which is a RAT clone) as a Boost, OD, and Distortion. My planned pedal sequence would be D-11→Cinders→TM-300 (It's a simple one, but as time flies it will become bigger lol).
Those are the two Hammertone pedals i’ve picked up - really enjoyed so far. Thinking about getting the chorus and distortion as well.
My whole ethos is mainly the best pedal for the best price.
If it's a pedal I will use least or not really used before, I'll get cheaper ones.
My favourite pedal on my board is an ehx Glove.
My worst pedal is probably the TC flashback 2, as the dual delay isn't how I'd normally have it if using separate pedals.
A BBE sonic stomp just makes things sound better. How? You may ask... . I'm not completely sure, it's like the "loudness" button on your 1980s tape deck. I just love mine.
I agree, a pedal doesn't have to be $300 to sound great. BTW, is that a Rolex watch? Which model?
Wampler Triumph - it's just south of £100 and combines two classic circuits with extra EQ and options. Who wouldn't want the choice of an SD-1 and a Bad Monkey ?
Landlord Spinning Room Modulation. The most underrated pedal in the world!!’
My fabourrite pedal is cheap. The Behringer GDI21 v tone amp modelled. It's versatile as hell. From clean tweed to metal distortion.
I've just brought a big muff fuzz and it is awesome with .my tubescreamer mini in front of it giving it a boost and my TC electronic blood moon phaser after it I am getting some wonderful eclectic sounds from the blood moon and muff and really distorted tones with the tubescreamer and muff going together I would recommend this to anyone
Hey Dagan, has Gibson/Kramer reached out to you? I feel like if Machine Gun Kelly has a signature guitar, you definitely deserve one. I’d bet it’d sell especially within the UK/Euro market
Yeah stop dagan should have a signature rather than mgk soz
It was Dagan's video on the white gibson 70s flying V that made me pick one up! Gibson needs to give this guy some compensation!
Don't be scared of a Boss Distortion if you are broke. They make solid pedals and they get the job done for cheap!.
Depends on what you consider cheap. Those chinese cheapo $15-$30 time based and modulation pedals everyone makes now sound about as good as the real thing, but they're low on features and often hum, his, click etc. They're always a gamble. Cheap drive pedals suck even when they work. Midrange pedals in the $30-100 range are generally as good as boutique pedals. They're just mass produced, so they're not as cool. I've tried hundreds of drive pedals over the years, and nothing beats a Boss SD-1. They're like $40 used on Ebay. Boss pedals are abundant and are also nearly indestructible, so there's no point to buying new. The Blues driver is a killer drive pedal as well, and to be honest, the DS-1 is awesome IF you use it correctly, which very few players do.
Pure Imagination!
Small question: can you please review gear from Harley Benton?
SF300 - crazy fuzz tones for a pittance. I've spent money on beetronic/earthquaker/Keeley, but the SF300 is instant satisfaction
Damn, at first I thought that the audio was out of sync but there was just a shed load of delay 🤣
Hells yes cheap pedals rock!
I was quite pleased with the Tone City Sweet Cream OD pedal....$58 USD....BARGAIN!
NuX has so many great affordable pedals. It is hard to pick
Can anyone recommend a decent cheap or mid-range noise gate? I play high gain punk/hardcore through an iconic 5150.
Check out the one from behringer
Try and buy a solid one used. I got my boss one for half price used
Def need more Joe Walsh in your demos
Big Top crazy clown is the beans⚡
The question is not "are cheap pedals good?" The question is "how much do the people who design, make, & transport your new pedal deserve to be paid?"
We can all buy cheap things made on the backs of basically slave labor and cut corners, or we can support the small business in our neighborhood. But don't pretend buying the cheap things is done according to some grand ethic. You're just saving money.
I get what you're saying but unfortunately it's more of a case of paying for design, assembly, and transport, not making. the casings, chips, capacitors, knobs, jack inputs, basically all of the elements will be made in a factory in China, bought in bulk by some assembly company and made according to their design.
So a company based in Poland will still have to buy Chinese parts, then charge the consumer for importing them, R&D, design, assembly, marketing and export etc as much as any company based anywhere, except China, who won't pay import fees and might be attached to another factory that makes... say... OEM casings.
Factor in cost of living in China is stupidly low compared to Europe (at least when I lived there) so you can pay someone less and they can still have a more comfortable life than in Europe, You have to see that paying someone the UK minimum wage (£10p/h) to assemble pedals in China would make them in the same earning category as someone with a good degree who's been with a big company for years.
LV Rock in China was just an engineering student who made pedal clones in his free time to pay for University, same as Demon FX. Places like Mooer and Nux, were originally making all the parts for other companies and decided to add assembly into the mix. They all have similar stories to American brands it's just they're not told. As a European, I see pedals from China, USA, UK, Serbia, whatever, as basically the same. JHS cut corners and they're marketing geniuses, China does it and they're cheap. same same but different....
Nux Plexi Crunch is a Awesome 50 dollar , Marshall in a box
🤡🤡🤡
Caline make good pedals for the money too;
Ts808 original tube screamer
Hell nah Daggo did not just willy wonka us like that
Behringer makes great “sounding” pedals..... always have.... but their just not meant to be abused... not meant for durability
anything under like 150 is affordable to what ive seen as a expensive pedal.
Sadly there's no cheap whammy
Do ya paint ya toenails ?
New/Boutique pedals are a pandemic. And obviously, no need.
The real question here is why are expensive pedals expensive? They all use the exact same components. The exact same electronics that come from the exact same factories. Are you paying for the basic principles of electronics that the brands use? They all use the same methods and sciences. You’re paying for the brand name. You’re paying for an imaginary added value. You’re being taken advantage of.
What guitar is that. Cheap pedals do what boutiques aim to do. Sound cheap
No. some are definitely junk, but you can find good cheap options if you take the time
A good pedal isn’t cheap, a cheap pedal isn’t good
New Zealand artist Fazerdaze is my favourite big muff user! i got one because of her‼️⚡️🎛