Funny thing about Source Audio

[bdplaid]

I've had several SA pedals in the last few years. For some reason I sold them or sent them back. But I always end up rebuying them because I can't find anything else that does what they do as well as they do it.

I might have been put off by their price being in direct contrast to my cheapskatetude, but considering their ability to cover a range of pedals within each one, I realized they're actually a value.

My tightwadmiserskinflintedness is arguing with me but he doesn't buy the beer, so here we are.

 

[micguy]

The cheapest pedal is one that, when you buy it, works the way you want it, so you never need another one of its type. The most expensive one is one that almost works the way you want it (so, you keep it), but you end up buying another one because it's not quite right.

I've gone through a process the last couple of years selling off "cheap, almost there, but not quite" pedals, and buying the "expensive" ones I really wanted. Turns out, if I had bought the more expensive ones first, I would have saved a LOT of money - I had more than enough selling off the cheap ones at half what I paid for them to buy the good ones.

 

[ardgedee]

The law of diminishing returns means that as you go up in quality, the prices escalate while improvements diminish.

But it also means that if you need a certain level of quality, you've got to pay for it.

My father-in-law used to say something along the lines of, "If it was worth getting I might not remember how much it cost. If it's bad I'll be reminded of how much I spent every time I look at it." I don't quite have that mentality but I understand it, it feels like a healthy perspective to have.

 

[eniac]

The cheapest pedal is one that, when you buy it, works the way you want it, so you never need another one of its type. The most expensive one is one that almost works the way you want it (so, you keep it), but you end up buying another one because it's not quite right.

I've gone through a process the last couple of years selling off "cheap, almost there, but not quite" pedals, and buying the "expensive" ones I really wanted. Turns out, if I had bought the more expensive ones first, I would have saved a LOT of money - I had more than enough selling off the cheap ones at half what I paid for them to buy the good ones.

Copy that. I spent four decades doing that with effects, bass guitars, pickups, amps, cables, and "value" replacement components for amp guts. Done with that for good.

 

[Bassjas]

You also have to account for how much you are willing to pay for that dopamine rush. I mean it’s worth buying a dozen fuzz pedals to feed that, right? …I just bought 3 used OD pedals. That dopamine rush will last me a solid week lol

 

[Topkat13]

It appears you found the source of your happiness.

 

[el murdoque]

Why should I invest in a C4 pedal when I also could just play an OC-2 into a Doom2 and send that into a MF-101 ? /s

The use case can make most of the SA pedals actually a cheap alternative.
If all you used from your Ultra Wave is the ODB-3 setting, then that's money wasted - but if you need 4 different drive pedals through the gig and have a MIDI controller on your board, then you can save space and money by using different presets instead of 4 different pedals.

 

[Engle]

I've had several SA pedals in the last few years. For some reason I sold them or sent them back. But I always end up rebuying them because I can't find anything else that does what they do as well as they do it.

I might have been put off by their price being in direct contrast to my cheapskatetude, but considering their ability to cover a range of pedals within each one, I realized they're actually a value.

My tightwadmiserskinflintedness is arguing with me but he doesn't buy the beer, so here we are.

I have resolved my similar inner conflict by buying used SA pedals. There are a number of people that give up when they find the programming too difficult, so you can often get a virtually new SA pedal at a reasonable price.

 

[Bassjas]

I have resolved my similar inner conflict by buying used SA pedals. There are a number of people that give up when they find the programming too difficult, so you can often get a virtually new SA pedal at a reasonable price.

I have done both. I buy an SA pedal used, get frustrated, sell, then want to try it again, buy another, and repeat. I enjoy them. They’re great. I just don’t have time to take advantage of them and go back to knob fiddling. The C4 or Spectrum are sweet

 

[bassbrad]

I remember being a skeptic bordering on negativity on digital pedals and Source Audio, I had the same trepidation about DAWs and soft synths but have since discovered the error in my thinking. But upon diving in they certainly proved their worth. Certainly there were frustrations with the learning curve and mixing analog and digital pedals but again once those hurdles were crossed I found the flexibility and resulting tones so very satisfying.

My first SA pedal was a used Aftershock and from almost the beginning was able to create sounds I had chased for decades as well as recreate many of my favorites.

C4 Synth followed shortly after and again it was a long time dream to get creative synth sounds in a pedal from simple to very complex. The available complexity sent me back to school so to speak to fully utilize what the pedal and Neuro offered. I eventually added a Spectrum and a second C4 to my collection.

Ultrawave and Artifakt delivered powerful sonic toolboxes for creation as well as production tools in pedal forms that I can easily program and take to sessions and gigs.

 

[RicheyLather]

I love this old school SA, gets some downright funky sounds as well as raging distortion. Definitely a niche dirt pedal. I like all the demos I’ve seen for their other products,