Ordered Some Cheap Chinese Pedals

[JKydd]

So I've heard a lot of people online talk about most Chinese pedals being great quality for the price and decide to order a few to test out. I'm very happy with the first two to come in, a compressor and a fuzz from aliexpress.com. The pair cost me just under $60CAD after shipping and taxes.

The fuzz pedal is pretty good, it's clearly not designed for bass since it does suck a bit of tone. It surprisingly puts out less static than my big muff too. The octave up has a bit of a chorus effect to it and the mid doesn't have an audible difference if you take the tone knob all the way to the bass side. It will take a battery or an adapter and it feels solid and durable. Also the off center "pedal" logo on the box really sells it for me.


The compressor is also really good for the money if you only want something basic, it does have a few downsides though. Turning the attack or sustain up or down has a slight effect on the volume and it takes too much of the edge out of my overdrive for my liking. But the indicators on the knobs glow in the dark and it only works with a 9volt adapter.

This is how I have my board set up and it's probably going to stay that way for a while, happy with my purchases all things considered.

 

[Moody Tuner]

Thanks for posting your thoughts on these pedals. I'm curious about some of these clones. I was thinking of picking up a couple of these cheap effects that I don't already own, as a way to inexpensivy my test them. I can always upgrade later. I have my eye on the Binyang RV-10 reverb, Mooer MSE1, Hotone Krush Bitcrusher, Joyo JF-02 (OCD clone), Caline CP-18 orange over drive, Caline Delay, Moen Jimi Nova Vibe, and Jouo JF-17 metal distortion. I play guitar too so some of these are designated for that rig. I just got a Boss RC-30 delivered today so that will keep me busy while my budget recoups..

Are you picking up any other ones? Please post a review, if you do.

 

[JKydd]

Are you picking up any other ones? Please post a review, if you do.

I'm always keeping an eye out for any cheap dirt, fuzz, or overdrive pedals. I also want a cheap tuner and EQ, maybe a synth or envelope too. If it's direct from china I'm keeping myself to a budget of $50 or less just so I don't get burned by a bad pedal. Once or twice a week I check aliexpress and similar sites for sales, but anything I buy I'll definitely put of here. good or bad I want to spread the word to help others out.

 

[Moody Tuner]

I noticed aliexpress had some items priced lower than what I found on Amazon. What other discount sites do you look through? Aliexpress was new to me.

 

[FuzzFacetious]

Cheap chinese pedals are as good as expensive pedals!

Okay, SOME are crap, some are noticeably inferior in an A/B test but otherwise not, some fail or break under heavy use, but... The majority are just as good IME as the originals, some are even better (extra parameters, fixed issues with original versions etc) and they’re a hell of a lot cheaper.
So even if you come across the odd dud, the money you save overall is insurmountable.

I’ve had about 2 or 3 stinkers in 15-odd years of playing guitar and bass, I have a few top branded, expensive pedals, but the majority are behringer, Joyo, donner, Mooer, NUX etc and are all excellent! I can stamp on em all day and still get great tones and not even think that they look crappy and scuffed up, even the plastic ones are all tough as tanks.

 

[Col Pruse]

Right now I'm using:

Joyo Orange Juice - $49.99 off reverb.com - Using this as an always on boost/Light OD
TomsLine Digital Delay - $34.99 off Amazon - I really like the options this offers. I don't use delay too often so this is great. This replaced the Caline Blue Ocean, which I also liked, but the Toms is smaller with more options.
CNZ Audio Phaser and Tuner - These are OK. $45 for the phaser and $29 for the tuner from Amazon. I use 1 setting on the phaser and it's fine. Tuner kinda feels cheap but works fine.
Valeton OC-10 - $36 from reverb. mini Boss OC-2 clone. Sounds great.

 

[dwm74]

Thanks for the post.

I've had that cheapo kokko compressor n my cart for days now wondering whether to gamble $25 on it. A few others are also on my wishlist. Might just have to click 'buy it'.

 

[Moody Tuner]

Thanks for the post.

I've had that cheapo kokko compressor n my cart for days now wondering whether to gamble $25 on it. A few others are also on my wishlist. Might just have to click 'buy it'.

I'm pleased with my CS2 compressor pedal but will eventually upgrade to an empress.. just had an idea: use one of these inexpensive options after my dirt. One compressor before, another after dirt. Best of both worlds.

 

[HoboCop]

Valeton OC-10

How is this pedal? I saw a youtube review and the effect seems to be very similar to the OC-2. I'm interested in it because I need that kind of effect in this size pedal. I'm concerned that it might produce some noise or not play well with daisy chained power. I'm less worried about the actual effect, I only need something for one song.

 

[JKydd]

Thanks for the post.

I've had that cheapo kokko compressor n my cart for days now wondering whether to gamble $25 on it. A few others are also on my wishlist. Might just have to click 'buy it'.

I bought it because I dind't already have one and I'm only jamming with friends so something cheap and basic was all I was after. It does the job well enough so it'll probably stay on my board for a while.

 

[JKydd]

I noticed aliexpress had some items priced lower than what I found on Amazon. What other discount sites do you look through? Aliexpress was new to me.

I f you do a google search for Chinese wholesale you'll find dozens of sites. For the most part they carry close to identical stock but their sales are usually different.

 

[JKydd]

Cheap chinese pedals are as good as expensive pedals!

Okay, SOME are crap, some are noticeably inferior in an A/B test but otherwise not, some fail or break under heavy use, but... The majority are just as good IME as the originals, some are even better (extra parameters, fixed issues with original versions etc) and they’re a hell of a lot cheaper.
So even if you come across the odd dud, the money you save overall is insurmountable.

I’ve had about 2 or 3 stinkers in 15-odd years of playing guitar and bass, I have a few top branded, expensive pedals, but the majority are behringer, Joyo, donner, Mooer, NUX etc and are all excellent! I can stamp on em all day and still get great tones and not even think that they look crappy and scuffed up, even the plastic ones are all tough as tanks.

This is pretty much what I'd read online from a few different people so I decided to take a chance and I'm pretty happy so far. There's a few Korg and EH pedals I want to find clones of just to play around with but I haven't seen any around.

 

[Col Pruse]

How is this pedal? I saw a youtube review and the effect seems to be very similar to the OC-2. I'm interested in it because I need that kind of effect in this size pedal. I'm concerned that it might produce some noise or not play well with daisy chained power. I'm less worried about the actual effect, I only need something for one song.

The OC-10 has been great so far. No Noise that I've noticed using a onespot daisy chain.