Btq pedals are similar to btq basses in that the "worth it" curve flattens....beyond a certain price point one pays for beautiful finishes, obscure options/ combinations of options, exclusivity, etc. I prefer to support small companies and really enjoy the deep & wide rabbit hole, but if I was tight for cash I'd stick to pedals that were necessary and easily available used at a good price. My current stable of pedals is comprised mainly of Sushibox, Empress & Diamond/SolidgoldFX. I love 'em all. Value depends entirely on the buyers budget, needs & wants.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Boutique pedals... Worth it?
- Thread starter bassnyc1
- Start date
In my experience the SV can run quite clean and is touch sensitive. Do you have a hotter than average or compressed and boosted signal in front of it?
A hot signal in is equivalent to cranking the gain knob. I usually run gain knob at 10:00 on mine.
Of course you could still be looking for something different, but check that one last time before giving up on it.
Broughton SVpre and ME are both good but the touch sensitivity of the origin wins for me.
The boutique market is a bit more complex. There are pedals and companies like Broughton, 3Leaf, Iron Ether, where used pedals might even fetch more than the MSRP, because they usually come in small batches and are instantly sold out.
However, the boutique bass pedals market is not large, but it's there alright. You can usually create a list of pedals you want to try and start monitoring your used pedal outlets of choice, then get a feeling for the price and buy one when you find a good price. Try it out and decide for yourself whether to keep it or not - if you don't hold on to it, you can sell it without a loss.
However, the boutique bass pedals market is not large, but it's there alright. You can usually create a list of pedals you want to try and start monitoring your used pedal outlets of choice, then get a feeling for the price and buy one when you find a good price. Try it out and decide for yourself whether to keep it or not - if you don't hold on to it, you can sell it without a loss.
I view the price of Boutique anything as worth it if the craftsman stands behind their work an treats me like a client rather than consumer. If I am a faceless number in their bottom line and not treated as important to them, it's not boutique to me. I can get ignored my manufacturers at a much lower price point.
It entirely depends on your goals. I’ve heard a lot of touring musicians who stand by having a basic setup that you can immediately replace at the Guitar Center in the next town you go through.
The tone journey is fun but you can definitely fall down an expensive hole chasing nuance.
The tone journey is fun but you can definitely fall down an expensive hole chasing nuance.
I view as many demo vids as possible, with the audio going through the best available speakers, and still take those with a grain of salt. Boutique gear can be adventurous and forward looking, OR daft concepts and ultimately useless, so knowledge gathering beforehand is essential.
As well, ease of usability is a factor that might not be perceived until you have actually interfaced with a unit. I’ve had Red Panda stuff that was certainly cool on paper, but a pain in the ass to set up/program(I have no problem with digital, but I hate menus and dealing with that sort of thing). Same with particular Strymon and Eventide units, but they aren’t really what I’d call boutique companies.
This ^^^
The worst thing is taking a hit when you sell them. I have a Proto Type distortion pedal by CMC Audio from Belgium. They very kindly shipped it via a contact in Montreal. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark for the sound I'm searching for (neither did Darkglass for that matter so it's not like it's a bad product).
Selling it has been another problem. I only do local buying and selling and no-one around here is interested in buying boutique that's not flavour du jour, either because it's the new big thing and they can't keep up with the sales or it's long out of production and got featured by a leading YouTuber and suddenly everyone wants one.
Is boutique gear inherently better than mass-produced items? Of course not. It’s a luxury.
In general, the value of luxury products cannot be determined objectively. Beyond a certain price point, it comes down entirely to whether you are willing to pay those prices.
Personally, I like to treat myself to such things in certain cases, though not always. For instance, I consider the Noble Preamp to be overhyped and ridiculously overpriced. Others are happy to pay. It’s all a very personal matter.
So, the real question is: Is it worth it to you personally?
In general, the value of luxury products cannot be determined objectively. Beyond a certain price point, it comes down entirely to whether you are willing to pay those prices.
Personally, I like to treat myself to such things in certain cases, though not always. For instance, I consider the Noble Preamp to be overhyped and ridiculously overpriced. Others are happy to pay. It’s all a very personal matter.
So, the real question is: Is it worth it to you personally?
To me it implies a very small operation - maybe a couple of employees at most. The founder being the designer and very hands-on either with the soldering iron or at least ordering the boards and parts from small-batch custom manufacturing outfits and checking the product before schlepping to the post office to mail them. If you phone them, the odds are high the founder answers.
If they've got a fancy industrial unit with a nice reception area and the founder rarely touches the product apart from selling at NAMM, they're no longer boutique IMO.
I'm about 1/2 boutique, 1/2 mainstream/ whatever. I base my purchase on what it does, not who makes it. For example, I have a BOSS MD-500 for my mod sounds. I don't need anything crazy for that, and it does the job. I don't need to spend 400 bucks on a chorus pedal. But nothing can do what a Bananana Tararira pedal does, and a lot of boutique reverbs just go places that the mainstream ones don't.
That said, I pretty much only use effects on my big ambient pedalboard, for normal gigging, I'll use an HX stomp, and even then, I'm not using much on it.
That said, I pretty much only use effects on my big ambient pedalboard, for normal gigging, I'll use an HX stomp, and even then, I'm not using much on it.
Ooh… Did you have them before buying the Bassrig? Yeah… that’s a lot of cake for a preamp that doesn’t get you there!
I hear you with not liking cab sims. I can see the point with an ampless setup, but I’ve never heard a demo with clean sounds I couldn’t just get with careful eq with a nice unit.
What are the devices that get you what you want? Inquiring minds…
In most cases I feel that "boutique" brands are extra expensive purely because they lack economies of scale. They simply have to be more expensive or they won't make money, and you are paying for that. They make up for it with quirky branding, artwork on the pedals, etc. Often times they'll have unique features that solve certain problems which is cool, but will also have shortcomings of their own.
I've had a massive, years-long bender of pedal buying that included many boutique brands, and my boards for both guitar and bass now contain only Boss, EHX and Tech 21. Not out of some ideological motivation to go back to the classics or eschew boutique brands, but simply because they're more capable. The Boss stuff works better and sounds better in real life band situations. Simple stuff like having enough input headroom, which is something many boutique pedals have let me down on. Can it handle what I'm feeding it? I play a Stingray with the bass knob maxed out. My Boss Bass Chorus can handle it. My BDDI can handle it. Most of the boutique stuff I've owned kinda struggles with it. It's like these smaller companies just have a P bass lying around and that's all they use to test their stuff. They're not designing things with a wide range of active and 5 string basses in mind. I think if you only use a passive Fender you can be happy with a much wider range of brands and gear, and never even encounter a lot of these limitations.
It's worth mentioning too that Josh Scott recently did a video talking about how Boss is more boutique than you think. They do a lot of little things in their manufacturing and sourcing that resemble what we love about boutique building, and they don't mind that we don't know. They don't feel the need to advertise stuff like that. They can provide a product that's less expensive because they have economies of scale, not because it's not as good.
SushiBox -- I only have 2 but use both all the time. And the loop bypass from Saturnworks is golden.
About JHS, not sure where to categorize them. Because he sells a lot and he knows how to hype them up and he has many sold out in hours campaign. The Colour Box definitely is a boutique vibe
Source Audio -- yeah they make the pedals in China but the CS is better than boutique and they repaired free of charge a used pedal - that I bought second hand As you all know I have many SA pedals and I like to say that I am Fully Sourced , I also had good experience with Wampler and all his breadboarding and educational videos, I also think he is boutique and he is approachable.
But I have to say - Boss are built like tanks and I still have the chorus I bought in 1987 used. I do not gig with it but it is used almost every day for my guitar and bass. My made in Denmark Carl Martin Chorus, did not last as long and I was disappointed and there was no path to fixing it.
BOSS -- yeah they cover a wide spectrum and possibly have one of the most robust input opamps in the industry
About JHS, not sure where to categorize them. Because he sells a lot and he knows how to hype them up and he has many sold out in hours campaign. The Colour Box definitely is a boutique vibe
Source Audio -- yeah they make the pedals in China but the CS is better than boutique and they repaired free of charge a used pedal - that I bought second hand As you all know I have many SA pedals and I like to say that I am Fully Sourced , I also had good experience with Wampler and all his breadboarding and educational videos, I also think he is boutique and he is approachable.
But I have to say - Boss are built like tanks and I still have the chorus I bought in 1987 used. I do not gig with it but it is used almost every day for my guitar and bass. My made in Denmark Carl Martin Chorus, did not last as long and I was disappointed and there was no path to fixing it.
BOSS -- yeah they cover a wide spectrum and possibly have one of the most robust input opamps in the industry
Last edited:
I haven’t read all the responses, but here are my 2 cents as someone who’s bought upward of $10,000 worth of pedals in the past 10 years:
I guess first it depends what you mean by “boutique.” I realize Boss and EHX aren’t boutique, but are, I guess I’d call them previously-boutique manufacturers like Origin Effects and Strymon boutique?
Anyway, I haven’t found customer service to be as clear cut as some are implying here.
I’ve had amazing CS from boutique (W&C, Empress) and absolutely terrible down right condescending ******** (I won’t name the brand; I’ll get destroyed by its fanbase on here).
I haven’t contacted many non-boutique for CS, but those I have have all have been great (Dunlop comes to mind). I don’t know that I can think of a terrible CS experience with a non-boutique brand.
With quality control, I’ve had better luck with non-boutique pedals. The only non-boutique pedal I’ve had issues with was the first batch of MXR Vintage Bass Octave. Dunlop was great about it.
I’ve had number of issues with boutique pedals. Most have been great about it, but I once had to have a boutique pedal fixed because it arrived broken, had to pay shipping one way and had to pay duties on it twice!
When it comes to the actual products, I think some boutique pedals are amazing. I don’t know that any non-boutique brands make better compressors than the boutique ones (OE, Becos, etc.), for example.
I think others are highly overrated. I’m sorry, but I’ll take the Aguilar or MXR octaves before the 3 Leaf, and I’ve had the MK3 and 3.33. I used to have a King of Tones on my guitar board. I much preferred the Boss Blues Driver Waza.
I guess first it depends what you mean by “boutique.” I realize Boss and EHX aren’t boutique, but are, I guess I’d call them previously-boutique manufacturers like Origin Effects and Strymon boutique?
Anyway, I haven’t found customer service to be as clear cut as some are implying here.
I’ve had amazing CS from boutique (W&C, Empress) and absolutely terrible down right condescending ******** (I won’t name the brand; I’ll get destroyed by its fanbase on here).
I haven’t contacted many non-boutique for CS, but those I have have all have been great (Dunlop comes to mind). I don’t know that I can think of a terrible CS experience with a non-boutique brand.
With quality control, I’ve had better luck with non-boutique pedals. The only non-boutique pedal I’ve had issues with was the first batch of MXR Vintage Bass Octave. Dunlop was great about it.
I’ve had number of issues with boutique pedals. Most have been great about it, but I once had to have a boutique pedal fixed because it arrived broken, had to pay shipping one way and had to pay duties on it twice!
When it comes to the actual products, I think some boutique pedals are amazing. I don’t know that any non-boutique brands make better compressors than the boutique ones (OE, Becos, etc.), for example.
I think others are highly overrated. I’m sorry, but I’ll take the Aguilar or MXR octaves before the 3 Leaf, and I’ve had the MK3 and 3.33. I used to have a King of Tones on my guitar board. I much preferred the Boss Blues Driver Waza.
Regarding the title of your thread:
Buy what you need. If you get "play money", sure, play around. Otherwise, "Could X be better than the Y that I already have?" is a potentially highly distracting rabbit hole that applies to instruments, amps, pedals, and all peripherals. I think it would be healthier to say that "My Y doesn't do Z, so if X does Z, is that going to be a useful, functional upgrade that's worth the extra money spent on it?". That's a different question.
I'm not sure if anyone here can determine what product is "worth it" to you as a hypothetical posed and casual opinions offered on what others are saying you should do with your money.
I say as a hypothetical, as if some of us say some Strymon (or pick your brand) something or larger platform pedal is really great, and we say A/B it versus your other brand of Boss-sized pedal that already does what you want the Strymon to do to see if it's "better" and "HOW MUCH better"... but we don't know what you know- that your pedal board is already tightly-defined and constrained, and that no matter the greatness of the Strymon, if you keep it, it's size/format will basically force you to buy a bigger pedalboard to accommodate it, and redo the whole thing, or take off other pedals that you feel are critical and irreplaceable- two outcomes you might feel are equally undesirable. So is the Strymon REALLY "worth it"? The point, again, is we or people don't know your constraints or situation or perspectives, and what something is "worth" is HIGHLY subjective and may have nothing to do with the recommended product's goodness, to say nothing of whether change for improvements/gains-even small ones at greater cost beyond your sunk costs, are practical and advisable.
Reasons why I'd want to consider boutique pedals:
-IF returns are possible and provided I don't have to sell things to be able to comfortably afford the product. I can usually return a pedal but I can't unsell the stuff I sold to buy the pedal.
-I'm not even about "boutique" bragging rights or think those make unarguably superior pedals sonically or functionally, but I just want to support small builders and do just a little bit to help sustain their business and the diversity of the pedal marketplace.
-I have a little "play money" where I don't have to put that towards pressing life expenses and economic needs.
-If I have nothing that truly does what I need/want as a functional thing, and the boutique pedal clearly does that thing, and fills that void and need.
I often play a Rickenbacker and I use the Ric O Sound jack. I like a clean, sound for my neck pickup and a edge of breakup sound for the bridge pickup. For that I use a tech 21 VTDI. I'm planning to replace that soon with the Master Effects SC-40 because I'm chasing the Geddy/Exit... Stage Left sound.What are the devices that get you what you want? Inquiring minds…
For my other uses, I play my custom Valenti Bass which is a 5 string jazz with a Sadowsky pre amp. This is where I've run into trouble. I plug my Valenti into the Bassrig, bassrig 1/4 inch out into the effects return of any amp. The sound is muddy and unclear and surprisingly, not loud enough. I've done this with several different amps because all the rehearsal spaces and live houses I play in have provided backline so you never know what you're going to get. That's why I hope to have a simple pedalboard so that I can have a consistent live sound wherever I play. I thought the Bassrig was my answer after having a frustrating year with the HX Stomp.
To be clear, I'm not concerned about whether a pedal manufacturer is "boutique" or not, it's just a question of finding solutions that the bigger companies might not offer.
I tend to be frugal when purchasing anything pedals included. In my collection there are cheap copies, vintage treasures, mass produced major brand effects and a few boutique choices. In a few cases I have pedals that there are only a handful ever produced those are prize posessions.
