How much longer?
- Thread starter Masta' C
- Start date
NegativeEase
New member
Yeah, Id say pedal companies are already starting to disappear and resolving into a smaller circle of key vendors starting about 2-3 years ago. But this was always going to happen -as there 1000 pedal companies launched in the last 25 years and literally 40 who are actually innovating.
Masta' C
Well-known member
The recent trends toward cool graphics and clever naming are great, but there is SO much overlap among products now and SO many people/builders entering the space only to offer the same products that I mentally burn out after about 5 minutes of "pedal shopping"!
The pedal world has become the new Country music...flashier than ever, but missing its soul and originality!
Here's the modern buyer's guide to purchasing "new" pedals today:
And let's talk about "features"...
There's no way the market can sustain this trend! There are more pedal builders than players, it seems!
I do appreciate the handful of makers like JPTR FX, Death by Audio, etc. who experiment heavily and intentionally keep off the beaten path as much as possible, but the usefulness of their "noise maker" creations is somewhat limited in the broader context of guitar music.
In the end, the classics are "classic" for a reason and the originals are often the only pedals most of us really need!
The pedal world has become the new Country music...flashier than ever, but missing its soul and originality!
Here's the modern buyer's guide to purchasing "new" pedals today:
- Original pedals
- Brand name clones
- Boutique shop clones
- Kit-builder/DIY clones
- Cheap Chinese clones
- Cheap Chinese clones of Cheap Chinese clones
And let's talk about "features"...
--> Look! We took the classic Tube Screamer and gave it a selectable clipping option so it can sound just like that other famous overdrive you already own!
--> Look! We took our top-selling transparent boost and put it in a transparent enclosure...now it's our most "transparent" boost ever!
--> Look! We took the same pedal you already know and love and painted it purple instead of blue...this special edition can be yours for only twice the price of the original!
--> Look! We took our top-selling transparent boost and put it in a transparent enclosure...now it's our most "transparent" boost ever!
--> Look! We took the same pedal you already know and love and painted it purple instead of blue...this special edition can be yours for only twice the price of the original!
There's no way the market can sustain this trend! There are more pedal builders than players, it seems!
I do appreciate the handful of makers like JPTR FX, Death by Audio, etc. who experiment heavily and intentionally keep off the beaten path as much as possible, but the usefulness of their "noise maker" creations is somewhat limited in the broader context of guitar music.
In the end, the classics are "classic" for a reason and the originals are often the only pedals most of us really need!
PFDarkside
of the Forum
I seriously considered going into the pedal business and starting a company at the end of 2012. I know that my pedals would not have been innovative enough to have broken through due to function but I was aware that everyone wants a beautiful pedal
for their Instagram board. Still, I am confident I would have lost money due to the unreal number of other guitarists that thought the same thing.
for their Instagram board. Still, I am confident I would have lost money due to the unreal number of other guitarists that thought the same thing.
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Don't forget cheap German clones of cheap Japanese pedals.
It is like clothes. Not a ton of new ideas, and companies hope a trend catches on. And there a million companies making them. If you make a great fuzz pedal, how do you get people to notice you? Does anyone remember the 3rd or 4th person to come up with a new analog chorus? How much are these things actually selling?
Its kinda like baking. Find an old family recipe for apple pie and start baking. Come up with a cool name. Sell pies.
I think some pedal builders have the same mentality. Sometimes being stupid leads to being audacious.
Masta' C
Well-known member
Following the pedal world business model...
I'm going to start a business where I swap out the exhaust on stock Ford Mustangs and re-brand them as the Masta' C "Clydesdale" model!
Once those start to sell well, I'm going to offer a vinyl-wrapped "limited edition" of the same vehicle in a different color for around 50% more money.
Once those are gone and sales on the original offering start to slow, I'll offer another version where you can choose between the new OR the original exhaust sound at the flick of a switch, charge a small premium, and call it the "Clydesdale V.2"
At some point, I'll offer another one with the ability to change exhaust sounds AND air intake sounds and call it the "Clydesdale Deluxe"!
Finally, once the market is fully saturated with all these other versions, I'll offer an overpriced "reissue" of the original, much simpler Clydesdale model...because who really needs all those extra features anyway?
:lmao:
I'm going to start a business where I swap out the exhaust on stock Ford Mustangs and re-brand them as the Masta' C "Clydesdale" model!
Once those start to sell well, I'm going to offer a vinyl-wrapped "limited edition" of the same vehicle in a different color for around 50% more money.
Once those are gone and sales on the original offering start to slow, I'll offer another version where you can choose between the new OR the original exhaust sound at the flick of a switch, charge a small premium, and call it the "Clydesdale V.2"
At some point, I'll offer another one with the ability to change exhaust sounds AND air intake sounds and call it the "Clydesdale Deluxe"!
Finally, once the market is fully saturated with all these other versions, I'll offer an overpriced "reissue" of the original, much simpler Clydesdale model...because who really needs all those extra features anyway?
:lmao:
NegativeEase
New member
I have a couple of old friends who own large pedal companies -top 25 brands on Sweetwater
2 of those making ALL of their stuff in USA and both indicate how near impossible it is to make money in the pedal market doing so.
It's what they would call a "Red Ocean" in business terms..
1000s of companies making knock offs, most of the market price points are where quality or being made in USA isnt valued, and no decent path for protecting intellectual property if you could even prove you did innovate anything in the first place etc etc....
2 of those making ALL of their stuff in USA and both indicate how near impossible it is to make money in the pedal market doing so.
It's what they would call a "Red Ocean" in business terms..
1000s of companies making knock offs, most of the market price points are where quality or being made in USA isnt valued, and no decent path for protecting intellectual property if you could even prove you did innovate anything in the first place etc etc....
Last edited:
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
There are two ways to make it in the pedal market:
Have a cool looking pedal with a lot of goofy features, a cool idea behind it, and charge an arm and a leg for it so people think it's premium.
or
Sell decent pedals for so cheap on foreign machines that have been paid off centuries ago that no other competitor could dare compete pricewise.
Have a cool looking pedal with a lot of goofy features, a cool idea behind it, and charge an arm and a leg for it so people think it's premium.
or
Sell decent pedals for so cheap on foreign machines that have been paid off centuries ago that no other competitor could dare compete pricewise.
Newcenstein
New member
Pedal market collapsed for me decades ago when racks were actually useful. Yes, you got thet brand's version of each effect, and couldn't mix and match brands as easily as you could with individual pedals, but the convenience of having it all in one box was the selling point. Sadly it took far too long to have the ability to arrange them in any order, or build your own chain with duplicates of a given pedal, but that feature finally did appear. Better late than never.
Circuit-modeling of "classic" pedals was the next big step in racks, which gave them the upper hand over traditional boards IMO. You could have your MXR and EHX and ToobScreecher and Phase 90 and whatever reverb and delay you prayed to, in a single box, through your dream amp you could never afford (or carry by yourself). And then you could go online and complain how the models don't sound authentic, like you'd know.
The biggest drawback to racks was: the pedalboard.
While you had all this stuff in a single rack space, you still needed a board on the floor, so now you're carrying an extra item (unless you got a rack-mounted power amp, in which case it's just like carrying a head and pedalboard. However, if you replaced a combo, then you still have one extra item to lug.)
The "rack in a pedalboard" thing died far too soon, IMO. Digitech was really onto something, but then abandoned the concept entirely. That was the ideal setup. You get control and function in one unit. I guess they thought selling proprietary pedalboards for their rack units was a better idea. It probably was, financially speaking.
Now we're being bombarded with "who can make the tiniest pedals", which leads to people seeing how many 2"x4" pedals they can cram onto their 24"x24" board.
Circuit-modeling of "classic" pedals was the next big step in racks, which gave them the upper hand over traditional boards IMO. You could have your MXR and EHX and ToobScreecher and Phase 90 and whatever reverb and delay you prayed to, in a single box, through your dream amp you could never afford (or carry by yourself). And then you could go online and complain how the models don't sound authentic, like you'd know.
The biggest drawback to racks was: the pedalboard.
While you had all this stuff in a single rack space, you still needed a board on the floor, so now you're carrying an extra item (unless you got a rack-mounted power amp, in which case it's just like carrying a head and pedalboard. However, if you replaced a combo, then you still have one extra item to lug.)
The "rack in a pedalboard" thing died far too soon, IMO. Digitech was really onto something, but then abandoned the concept entirely. That was the ideal setup. You get control and function in one unit. I guess they thought selling proprietary pedalboards for their rack units was a better idea. It probably was, financially speaking.
Now we're being bombarded with "who can make the tiniest pedals", which leads to people seeing how many 2"x4" pedals they can cram onto their 24"x24" board.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
I think there's a limit to how tiny a pedal can be made and be practical, not from a technical standpoint, but from an ease of use standpoint - they still have to be far enough apart to get your foot on one without triggering the others.
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Tiny pedals are silly unless you're buying an Amazon Basics type pedal where you're only getting it because you want that effect but don't want to shell out for a nicer one.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
I like Xotic's SP compressor quite a bit . . . and traded in a full sized compressor for it because I liked the sound better.
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