Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

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Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

A flanger is what happens when a phaser and a chorus have a baby...

Flanging has nothing to do with phasers. They live in different worlds.



A flanger is what happens when you get a chorus blackout drunk.

A phaser is a uni-vibe that's trying too hard.

Never the twain shall meet.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

If we are going into more general typed, I'd say that the stompbox format itself is overrated. It is simple, caters to our instant gratification lobes and MIGHT be useful if you have highly specific needs, but it is also expensive and comes with too many obstacles and limitations. With multi-fx being as strong, simple and cheap as they are today, I just don't see the need any more, with overdrives – the final frontier in modelling – being a possible exception.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

If we are going into more general typed, I'd say that the stompbox format itself is overrated. It is simple, caters to our instant gratification lobes and MIGHT be useful if you have highly specific needs, but it is also expensive and comes with too many obstacles and limitations. With multi-fx being as strong, simple and cheap as they are today, I just don't see the need any more, with overdrives – the final frontier in modelling – being a possible exception.

I disagree with this because of one aspect.

Traditionally, adopting a MultiFx environment makes you beholden to ONE manufacturers FX styles and ecosystem -which suffers from the same problem as tracking, mixing and mastering at the same location.

Give me a robust FX developer tool kit for designers to develop into an open source Multifx hardware platform/environment and your argument is perfect -like I believe Mod Duo is trying to grow

-but until some platform grows robust and diverse at professional level and all the best designers jump in, Stomp Box Pedals are the perfect way for remaining sonically agile and flexible and cater to individual tastes and design creativity across the entire FX industry.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Flanging has nothing to do with phasers. They live in different worlds.



A flanger is what happens when you get a chorus blackout drunk.

A phaser is a uni-vibe that's trying too hard.

Never the twain shall meet.

Both flange and phase are synth effects. One is time delay based, the other is phase delay based. Not different worlds at all.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

I disagree with this because of one aspect.

Traditionally, adopting a MultiFx environment makes you beholden to ONE manufacturers FX styles and ecosystem -which suffers from the same problem as tracking, mixing and mastering at the same location.

Give me a robust FX developer tool kit for designers to develop into an open source Multifx hardware platform/environment and your argument is perfect -like I believe Mod Duo is trying to grow

-but until some platform grows robust and diverse at professional level and all the best designers jump in, Stomp Box Pedals are the perfect way for remaining sonically agile and flexible and cater to individual tastes and design creativity across the entire FX industry.

How much of a problem is this in practice, though? It is true that such units are largely created by one company (even though production of the algorithms may well be decentralized), but I as far as I can tell, the quality generally seems to be high, certainly high enough that it will be more than sufficient for live playing. I guess it depends on to what extent you are willing to accept "good enough" for practicality. That said, for the more typical effect I will stick my head out and say that the basic algorithms were already there 30 years ago, and that, at the end of the day, there is very little that is you are likely to want that a high-end multi-fx can't do. If this were not the case, I suspect you'd see a lot more Helix and Axe-FX users with pedalboards.

There are exceptions, however, so I have some sympathy for your position. I have two multifx units, a TC Electronics G-System and a Line 6 HX Effects – both professional-level units, but from different generations. They sound very differently (I think the G-System sounds better, but it can be somewhat finicky to implement in a new rig), but I can only think of one effect that it doesn't do well enough, namely dimension chorus: The TC does not offer this at all; the Line 6 has a last-generation sound that isn't quite there. This is a niche effect, though, and the implementation in the (admittedly more expensive) Axe-FX III sounds marvelous in every clip I have found. For now, I put my DC-2W at the end on the rig, which is not ideal, as I prefer to keep the effects off the stage, but as it is relatively subtle and voiced in a way that I can mostly keep it on at all times, it doesn't make that much of a difference.

What many people don't seem to think about is the sacrifices made using stomp boxes. From a sonic perspective you are basically locked with one range of pedals, one pedal order, and unless you are running some sort of switching system stereo and parallel-routing possibilities are most likely minimal; from a technical perspective you are locked to having your pedals on the front of the stage (again, unless you are using an advanced switcher) and to connect the pedals with cables that are prone to failure and a pain to troubleshoot. And, of course, to even approach the sonic agility and flexibility of a good multi-fx with stompboxes is likely to set you back several times their price. For myself, I moved on from stompboxes once I realized there was even another way to do things, and once the dimension chorus is improved I don't really think I will ever need them in my rig again. Your needs are likely to be different than mine (you certainly don't want a dimension chorus on at all times – that much I know!), so there might be more merit to keeping a stompbox-based rig despite the limitations, but it would honestly surprise me if many people's needs were specific enough that a modern multi-fx wouldn't get the job done and then some.

(For the record, I am aware that we have discussed this some times, and we are unlikely to reach an agreement, but I thought it was about time that I laid out my reasons as best I could, since mine definitely is the minority opinion on most forums.)
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Multi-effect pedals are overrated. I need at least one leg to stand on and pose, which leaves just one leg to stomp pedals; therefore any pedal with more than one switch ain’t a pedal, it’s a freakin dance party.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Well, if you want to minimize stomping (especially simultaneous stomping) multi-fxs are, again, the way to go. ;)
 
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Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Seems to me that whether or not a pedal is overrated should really be more about whether it meets expectations… Real or perceived.

If a pedal does what it is supposed to do, how could it be overrated?
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Well, there’s meeting the design goals, and then there’s living up to the hype.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

My two cents: Octave pedals, I've tried them in the past, just never got over that "processed" sound, and even using them in cover tunes just sounded awful. NOTE: Octave pedals were never a major consideration on my pedalboard, but I thought one would be nice to have "just in case"....
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Alright, so thought some more.

There is one (just one) that comes to mind:

Fulltone OCD.

Boring. Boring. Boring. (where's the "zzzZZZzzz" emoticon?)

It's so boring, that when I was trying to think of an overrated pedal, I forgot about it (I owned one).

Now that's boring.

I KNEW you could figure it out eventually!
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

I don't like using pedals in general. I've got a bunch of (mostly cheap/chinese) ones...distortion for the most part & had a lot of Boss's/Dod's/Soundtank's back in the day.

I still buy new ones fairly regularly but they've always just been for messing around with at home/enjoying the novelty factor of (being that they're cheaper to buy than new amps :laugh2:) ...never used them for gigging or even recording much.

Got this one for $27 on the way atm ..can't wait :D

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But as for overrated pedals ..the Digitech Death Metal...(DOD's DM beats the crap out of it :D)
 
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Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Most overrated pedal or type of pedal ?

I cannot answer that question...

Maybe because I never actually tried a Centaur Klon.
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Most overrated pedal or type of pedal ?

I cannot answer that question...

Maybe because I never actually tried a Centaur Klon.

Just remember, the hype is not the creator's fault! Must be true, it's printed right on the face of the expensive revised/reissue version...
 
Re: Most overrated pedal or type of pedal

Flanging has nothing to do with phasers. They live in different worlds.



A flanger is what happens when you get a chorus blackout drunk.

A phaser is a uni-vibe that's trying too hard.

Never the twain shall meet.

I always thought that Man on the Silver Mountain had flanger, it sounds like that, but when trying to figure out how to get that sound I read its not flanger, but foot controlled phaser?
 
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