What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

S

stratguy23

New member
Maybe this is an incorrect deduction from insufficient data, but the newest Guitar World issue (Prophets of Rage cover) had some interesting ads:

Orange Bax Bangeetar "pre-EQ" pedal
Ernie Ball overdrive and delay pedals
Seymour Duncan Palladium pedal

To be fair, the Ernie Ball pedals seem to be leveraging their existing volume pedal tech, and SD has made pedals for a while now.

But when the new products SD has introduced in the past few years have been pedals, not pickups, I can't help but wonder if companies are either spotting or manufacturing a trend.

Like, times are tough, people are spending less on full-blown amps, hence more pedals sold at lower price points?
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Blew me away when Mesa introduced their line of SOLID STATE dirt boxes a few years ago. I'm still hyperventilating and taking Valium by the handfuls!!!!

:omg:

But...manufacturers will do what they can to make more money. Like, diversify income streams.

Bill
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Yeah, same Guitar World issue has a Mesa ad for pedal-sized pedalboard solutions - buffers, converters, things you'd associate with Radial. I had no idea Mesa made that stuff.
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Cheaper than amps I guess.
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

stratguy23 said:
Yeah, same Guitar World issue has a Mesa ad for pedal-sized pedalboard solutions - buffers, converters, things you'd associate with Radial. I had no idea Mesa made that stuff.
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff...they just introduced these. Not sure if they are something that I need.

Bill
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Works the other way around too. I was telling Jamie of Earthquaker at the LA pedal show he should make amps and he's like "no, we'll stick with pedals." Like a year later they have a tube head and cabinet.
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Same thing with Wampler now making the 'ideal pedal platform' type amp...

My guess is that probably the entire guitar business is slumping... That would be why these companies start to see if the can also eat another piece of the guitar pie, gain some market share to compensate for reduced market size.

Fender is doing great in that respect BTW with their bluesbreaker amps, trying to steal some non-traditional fender amp market share...
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Pedals are easy to make....even more now that SMD parts have become the norm.
Once you have all the prototyping out of the way and the testing done....
Order away and a few months later you will have a complete series of pedals...(if you have money enough;) )
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

I think Mr Tondo is correct -- the number of guitar players is diminishing, each sector is flooded with me-too 'innovations', and income is not keeping pace with inflation, so the shrinking player base is holding onto purchases longer. Companies are looking for ways to shore up brand loyalty and one-stop shopping. Suhr is a brilliant example of this.

The guitar world desperately needs another Golden Age (unlikely to happen until those who remember the first one are all dead and gone) -- or we need to figure out how to make JD Simo, Joann Shaw Taylor and Davy Knowles famous! :D
 
Last edited:
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Gibson and Fender making their own aftermarket pickups isn't strange, yet pickup and amp manufacturers making pedals voiced to compliment their pickups and amps is?

Marshall did this years ago - made pedals for their amps that did more than switch channels, correct?
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

They saw a bunch of geeky hipsters selling modded Muff clones with cool paint jobs and said "i can do that too!"
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Pedals provide a higher profit margin for the makers. Since boutique hit the market the new pedal average price is $170. Delay pedals are $200-$350 mid range.
Korg has had a great run of pedals under both the Marshall and Vox banners, and let's not forget their Pandora line of easy use MFX.
What shocks me is Gibson, being primarily and electronics company now, does not have their own line (or has bought another pre existing manufacturer).
Even I'm working on a pedal line but it's not going to be on the market for 5-6 years. My only regret was not having enough capital to buy MojoHandFX or VFEpedals previous lineup when the owners moved on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

The answer to me is easy. To me, we are a pickup & pedal company, not a pickup company that wants to start making pedals. We have been doing pedals for awhile now, and each one gives a different take than what is out there already. Choices are good!
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

In the long history of pedal makers, SD is still considered a new player. Vox were doing it in the 60s or earlier. SD started doing pedals in what, the 90s?


No one knows their own products like the company that makes them, so if an amp company gets into making pedals that are custom-tailored for their amp circuits, or a pickup maker tailors a pedal circuit to their flagship pickups tonal characteristics, you have a fair chance at getting the right pedal the first time. How many different players out there rely on an old BOSS DS-1, while others a SuperOD, and still others the Blues Driver, while SD offers a simple pickup booster pedal that is built on the foundations of their own pickups?

There are some pickup, pedal, and amp combos that just don't work together, and along comes SD saying "we can do the pedal for the pickups, since we do the pickups".
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

It does make sense for EQD and Wampler to make their own pedal platform amps to complement their core offerings, though EQD's amp is priced so high it goes against the general thinking here that people get into pedals partially b/c they're cheaper than amps (both to buy and make).

Come to think of it, Seymour Duncan did make amps and even guitars (albeit through ESP) back in the day, so this kind of thing isn't new. The Marshall Guv'nor pedals seem well-liked enough.

The "1-stop shop" theory is intriguing. Mojotone comes to mind, what with offering pickups and built amps and loaded cabs on top of their core parts business.
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Take it back to the roots of electric guitar. "Fender is an amp company, why would they bother building guitars?"
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

I didn't go to NAMM, but I saw all the updates on Twitter. It seemed like the entirety of NAMM this year was a flood of guitar effects costing $200-$500. I found it to be such a turnoff.
 
Re: What's up with non-pedal companies getting into pedals?

Mincer said:
The answer to me is easy. To me, we are a pickup & pedal company, not a pickup company that wants to start making pedals.
Click to expand...

That should be obvious to anyone who's tried the Shape Shifter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top