Are some "boutique" pedals really worth it.

[rratajski]

Another thing to consider is that often times,...boutique builders will base their designs on older discontinued or forgotten about designs. Circuits that may have died out a long time ago,...but still have an appeal or a unique sound. Call it a revival of vintage designs. For an example; You can overpay for an old and rare Germanium Fuzz,...or B get a modern interpretation that sounds just as good, is in a smaller enclosure and is less expensive (IE the Malekko B:assmaster and the Ghost Effects Dizzy Tone [a modern version of the Elka Dizzy Tone/ Baldwin Buzzaround]).

A lot of the time they will be designs that had flaws when they were first produced and the booteek builder has fixed those flaws. Perhaps eliminate noise that may have been unbearable in the original circuits. Or they will take a center positive design and reverse it back to center negative so that they can be powered with a powersupply.

They will also include features that you just aren't going to find on mass produced pedals. Things like voltage starves and bias controls. Things that the mass producers won't put on their offerings cause they can't guarantee consistent results.

They will also often times take existing circuits and improve upon them to make the more bass friendly,..or have more tonal options. This was especially apparent during the UberMuff craze. I'll take my Supercollider over a Stock EHX Big Muff any day of the week.

The other appeal is more personalized customer service,...the fact that you can actually talk to the designer,...maybe have him customize or modify a circuit that meets your goals.

Lastly and big appeal for me is; who am I giving my money to. A big mass production company with huge budgets; huge markups,...or to some genius who is soldering all day in his basement trying to put food on the table.

I try to keep an even keel with my booteek VS mass produced stuff on my board. I have a great deal of used boss stuff as well and some new and used booteek stuff. I'm not for or against either or.

There is some stuff that I won't spend a whole lot on. If someone is just building tubescreamer clones and charging way too much for them; I'll just move right along. I also have a hard time justifying the price of Strymon stuff. I'm sure it's nice and quality,...but I don't have that kinda money burning a hole in my pocket. Effects for Doctors and Lawyers.

Well said! I was just messaging back a FB user that asking us to send him pedal schematics of ours to clone one of our pedals to sell for a cheaper price and I essentially wrote to him what you wrote here.
I think the big message is that in a world where we're going green, supporting local, etc etc etc., it's important to support people doing something "special." If the company is nice, will work with you, replies back to emails/messages, and such, support them. You'll end up with something made "for you" and feel good about supporting the underdog while getting something cool.

 

[Driven Crane]

I use the best I could buy for money, sound is a king. But... I do not love some if them coz' of bad experience - Boss, SA...

 

[mattbass6945]

confession:i skipped to the last page.......

that being said, is it worth it? maybe. boutique doesn't mean good. there's a bit of a placebo effect in there. they are giong to be higher cost, but they have higher operating cost. you are supporting someone's passion. someone who will likely put better components, build quality, pride and customer service into what they build. plus, they may offer something (some effect, sound or feature someone else may not offer) that a big builder may not offer.

i consider sound first. does it do what i need?
then, if it's a draw, i consider budget. after all, you can't buy what you can't afford.

personally, i've seen damn impressive service from hartke and VFE. that goes a long way and could push up the priority a bit. also, i've never owned anything fuzzrocious, but through this forum, i'd consider it as well. sound is always a bit personal, so i'd consider that communication is key. you feel sometimes like you're hanging the picture of an artist in your home when you put it on your board.

just my two cents, which is probably not even worth that much coin.

 

[kevteop]

I don't think it matters who built something, all that matters is whether it will be useful enough to justify the cost.

That said, I don't really understand the way a lot of players chase a specific overdrive tone and how they go through a dozen pedals a year looking for it. I'd have given up already and stuck with something.

 

[Mosfed]

they are worth it to me.

But I see many a professional pedalboard full of production pedals and they seem happy with their sound.

It depends on the depth of your pockets and how much you care about the little things.

 

[Laurent]

The devil is in the details.

If the pedals does something unique or has that tone that's part of your sound, absolutely.
Also boutique should be less than $250 in most cases.

When I look at the inside of a Dirty Boy Pedal and see some of the worse build I've seen, then look at the $350 price tag, I think it's a robbery.

 

[eukatheude]

Some stuff is worth it. Some stuff definitely doesn't deserve such high prices (looking at the woolly mammoth).

 

[klejst]

I say it all depends on if they are what you are looking for tone/sound and feature wise and cost what you are willing to spend.

 

[nshuman]

Some stuff is, some stuff is not.

However, Boutique does not always mean quality, good tone, small runs, etc.

Like everything else, you have to do your homework. Boutique can mean beautifully built quality out of this world product or it can mean crap clone built by someone who does not know how to solder.