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Ever write off an entire brand?

Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder

Jun 20, 2016
3,384
5,905
Arcata, CA
#1
This might come off as a rant or get labeled as "1st world problems", but I recently bought a pedal from a very respected, high-volume maker. I'm not "naming names", but I'm disappointed. Literally every pedal I've bought from them is posted on Reverb the same day as trying them. Most pedals I give a period of "getting to know each other", but every one of their pedals gets a "nope!" almost immediately.

Ever have this happen?

*rant compete*
 
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#8
rufus.K said:
Ive written off entire planets
Click to expand...
emperor-palpatine-star-wars-joseph-oland.jpg
 
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#9
The only situation I could think of where I would do that is if I received a faulty pedal and the resulting customer service was poor.

I get that mistakes can be made in production, but if you're not doing your best to resolve the issue for the customer then I'm sorry, we're done.

I'm currently going through a situation like that. Fortunately they are responding, it's taken a few days but with the current situation and with the manufacturers being only or two people, I feel the delays are acceptable. I'm also willing to problem solve myself with their help. Id rather the pedal was fixed and working than have to send it back to the US (im in the UK), them to fix it and return it for me to pay a second round of customs fees.

I will say that I have written off a brand on the perceived attitude they had on social media. I bought one of their pedals and did a demo. They commented and said "hey you should buy our (pedal) it's great on bass"... I replied and asked if they had any demos as I can't find any online and its not cheap or easy to get that stuff in the UK. No response. I just found it a bit rude. Like, you want to interact with a customer and all you want to ask them is to buy your new thing but don't want to put any effort into actually sell it? I'm an easy sell, it's not hard to sell me pedals!!! That simple interaction soured me on them. I'll spend my money elsewhere.

/rant over
 
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#12
DosiYanarchy said:
The only situation I could think of where I would do that is if I received a faulty pedal and the resulting customer service was poor.

I get that mistakes can be made in production, but if you're not doing your best to resolve the issue for the customer then I'm sorry, we're done.

I'm currently going through a situation like that. Fortunately they are responding, it's taken a few days but with the current situation and with the manufacturers being only or two people, I feel the delays are acceptable. I'm also willing to problem solve myself with their help. Id rather the pedal was fixed and working than have to send it back to the US (im in the UK), them to fix it and return it for me to pay a second round of customs fees.

I will say that I have written off a brand on the perceived attitude they had on social media. I bought one of their pedals and did a demo. They commented and said "hey you should buy our (pedal) it's great on bass"... I replied and asked if they had any demos as I can't find any online and its not cheap or easy to get that stuff in the UK. No response. I just found it a bit rude. Like, you want to interact with a customer and all you want to ask them is to buy your new thing but don't want to put any effort into actually sell it? I'm an easy sell, it's not hard to sell me pedals!!! That simple interaction soured me on them. I'll spend my money elsewhere.

/rant over
Click to expand...
I really think its more that their products are not useful to me. Many find them indispensable, and I do not. Call it "it's not me, it's you", but sometimes the magic isn't there.
 
#13
Not a big fan of Zoom and Korg/Vox. Granted those are low budget digital multi-effects but that's what both companies mostly made (for bass at least). The Zoom doesn't get unity gain when bypassed (or could be setting) and some emulations just don't sound right (the B-15 doesn't distort even when cranked and pushed by several boosters?! Anyway I bought it for its Acoustic 360 mode and that was acceptable). The Korg has a weird attack as if slammed by a compressor. Bummer.
OTOH, when I tried to learn treble guitar I played through a Vox multi-effect which I managed to get through, and an AC-15 that I LOVE. I still can't play the treble guitar to save my life though.
 
#15
I used to like MXR pedals a lot. For simple and well thought out pedals, the generally sound great out of the box and play well with other MXR pedals. However, they are generic pedal types....not something that goes beyond the standard tones and sounds. Their bass Envelope filter and Octave Deluxe stayed on my board for a very long time. I didn't get on with their Bass Overdrive pedal, it had a great thick overdrive sound, but didn't have a blend control and the grit couldn't be dialled down...so it was either full on grit or off. Great if you like that tone, but not very versatile or subtle. I like their Bass Distortion pedal (basically a custom rat) a lot.
I find the way huge pedals to have a lot more on board eq curves and the like...but usually in a massive (way too huge) pedal casing with infuriating internal pots that should be on the face....it's not like they don't have the room. Some of these pedals are big circuits (like the swollen pickle) but others like the Red Llama are just a few diodes and transistors....which could fit in a micro pedal with ease.
I think Boss have a habit of inventing stuff and trail blazing...and other brand basically tweek these circuits a bit or add a custom EQ curve to them. Lets face it the OC-2 and CE-2 are legendary. The only problem with the Boss stuff is the rest of the pedal tends to be really irritating (no true bypass, unity gain issues etc).
I love some of the boutique / smaller companies like Iron Ether, Chase Bliss and 3 leaf audio. I have a big love and respect for Source Audio. I'm currently running two of their pedals and hub....and i'm looking to add an EQ2 once it's available here in the UK. Although finding a place for it on my board is going to be a challenge.
A lot of my board is covered with a pair of Eventide H9's and a Strymon Mobius. Their big board multis are well regarded for very good reason and I would put the smaller Source Audio One Series pedals in that bracket too.
The current board that I've settled on is massively versatile and relatively small for what it offers. But the heart of it is the Boss ES-5 midi controller / loop switcher. It brings the bigger digital boards to life.
 
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#19
I’ve recently come around to MXR for lower usage effects. They’ve always been my go to for the Smart Gate and Noise Clamp - best in class gates/loops for my needs. I’ve tried their dirt and it did nothing for me. Granted, haven’t tried it all, but my dirt needs are served by various boutique builders. I feel like if you need a solid, usable pedal, get one. But if you want something very specific, or are picky about exact tones, get something boutique.
 
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#20
Sure, if the advertising hype doesn't meet up with performance, adios.
I hate companies and people lying just for sales, seems really short sighted to me.

There are so many pedal companies these days, I can almost guarantee someone else makes the same effect.
So try them, or read reviews and do your research before you buy.

Good luck,
Dirk
 
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