Inexpensive Pedals, Multi Effects Units, Pickups and other gear that surprised you.

[BGood]

Joyo Taichi. Mild overdrive that gives "girth" and body to a thin sounding guitar. Especially nice for blues (demo at 5:34 min) :

Love my Taichi. It could well be my only OD pedal. You can drive it to almost fuzzland.

Another one I've had for a while is the Sweet Baby (Joyo again). A nice mild boost completely transparent to your tone.

 

[AJ6stringsting]

One thing I notice about gear snobs with boutique gear, is that they get " touchy " , when someone get great sounds with inexpensive guitar accessories like pedal, pickups, cables, amps or rack gear .
Joyo is great value, huge bang for the buck .
Thanks for posting the great alternatives to the boutique gear !!!!

 

[BlueSquirrel]

The Boss SD-1 is a great mild to medium overdrive as well and it is very reasonably priced. It has a specific tone to it which is really unique. But you all probably know it already, ahem.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

One thing I notice about gear snobs with boutique gear, is that they get " touchy " , when someone get great sounds with inexpensive guitar accessories like pedal, pickups, cables, amps or rack gear .
Joyo is great value, huge bang for the buck .
Thanks for posting the great alternatives to the boutique gear !!!!

They're very likely not as good as boutique pedals to be honest, but they're fun!

 

[Raiyn]

My apologies, you never said that you did, you just posted product videos.

Which Muff is that Fuzz Star trying to emulate? Have you had it open? As a hobbiest / pedal kit builder I'm curious about the components used etc.

I'll hold off asking about the M-Vave reverb as it looks like 60 Cycle Hum might be getting one for a review in his "Afford-a-board" series.

Mooer and Joyo - no questions, I have some of their pedals. Good stuff.

I'm all for clones, the bulk of my board, 15 out of 20 pedals, are clones - four of which I built. Of the five originals one is a "reissue" in a smaller enclosure - so an in-house clone.

I'm largely curious about the point where a clone of a clone of a clone (etc. ad nauseam) becomes too cheap to be long lived and useful.

One thing I notice about gear snobs with boutique gear, is that they get " touchy " , when someone get great sounds with inexpensive guitar accessories like pedal, pickups, cables, amps or rack gear .

That ain't me baby. Like I said, I dig clones, I just want something that'll hold up. We've all had crappy junk fail at the wrong time.

If I ever come on here sporting a Strymon - that's when I sold out.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

I've posted Youtube demos because I don't have recording gear.

To my knowledge, the Fuzz Star is not trying to emulate anything else - if it were, it would be a mix of a harsh overdrive + a light fuzz (which one ? I have no idea). It gives a really cool biting attack. It is not possible to get just the fuzzy element from it.

The Tai Chi is overall much smoother as it is supposed to emulate a Dumble amp (let's face it, it probably doesn't though, but it sounds good by itself). BGood has described it perfectly.

They both feature good controls.
You can use them lightly - which I prefer.
Their Tone Control works well and can get quite low so you're not stuck with a ton of treble, which is great with P90s (bear in mind that I have a trebly amp). As a downside, they typically don't do "The Hendrix sound" well.

Fuzz Star is just more powerful and its overdrive has a harsher, more agressive and energetic texture. It's more like distorsion, more "indie than bluesy" and you can't completely remove that element from it. It sounds pretty grungy, yet it retains some definition.

I've also tried stacking it with another distorsion pedal or another overdrive to push it into an even grungier tone thinking I would get perfect Nirvana tones, but I didn't have an effect loop or a noise gate in my amp so I only got too much noise for my taste.
It later turned out that used with just a chorus effect, the Mooer UltraDrive Mk II was much better for Nirvana stuff.

I sampled one other budget fuzz pedal that was just fuzz : the tiny Mosky Mini Muff. It is available on Amazon as well, also called "Fuzz Distorsion" pedal and supposed to be close to a Big Muff Pi,n - although, given its difference in size, it simply cannot be the same circuit. Could be close to a Big Muff Nano clone, though.

I didn't enjoy it as much because it was impossible to get a mild and low sound and I wanted to keep some definition with P90s Which are noisy pickups by themselves. On top of that I can't play loud music where I live and it is a loud box. However, a lot of people rave about it. It definitely sounded more like a traditional fuzz pedal, but I think it would be better suited to people who play with a noise gate on.





I haven't found any "dreamy Smashing Pumpkin fuzz" at low volume and on a budget yet. If you have a suggestion, don't hesitate.

Anyway, I've never taken any pedal apart, sorry ! I'm afraid that if I did so, I wouldn't be able to close its lid back.
However, if you could guide me, I would gladly take a pedal apart and photograph it for you.

To conclude, if I had something to criticize concerning all those budget pedals that I've mentioned in this thread and in the affordable / afford-a-board pedal category in general (apart from Boss), it would be their almost-always pretty loud switches when you turn them on and off. I've never used boutique, high-end stuff but I get a funny feeling that these don't make "plop" sounds when you switch them on and off.

I've always wondered if those stiff switches were replaceable?

 

[BlueSquirrel]

I removed all the screws that were on the Biyang Fuzz Star, and, well... it doesn't help.

The rest isn't held by screws but by bolts and I don't think I have the right tools to remove them.

 

[Raiyn]

I removed all the screws that were on the Biyang Fuzz Star, and, well... it doesn't help.

The rest isn't held by screws but by bolts and I don't think I have the right tools to remove them.
View attachment 23115

Yeah, no. You're not getting anything else out without a soldering iron and some braid. The input and output jacks were installed and the that sub board was soldered to them.

From what I can see, it's not too bad. Through hole construction, easy enough for someone like me to want to try and fix. I can do surface mount, but it's less fun.

SMT and Through-Hole Soldering | World's Way

worldsway.com

It's unfortunate they chose to mount the boards in this manner, but they did.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Yeah, it's too bad.

 

[Raiyn]

I've always wondered if those stiff switches were replaceable?

They can be. It's a pain in the ass on a board, but it can be done. Whether or not it's worth it. ...?

This is what I'd suggest for that Fuzz, but you'd end up more than likely wanting to replace those jacks while you're at it.

Super Premium DPDT Latched Foot Switch - Soft Click

Demand the best for your pedals: The Soft Click DPDT Latched Foot Switch is here! With gold cup connectors, quality manufacturing, and rated for 200,000 cycles.

lovemyswitches.com

A $16 + s&h switch + at least one new jack + labor isn't really the best option on a $50 pedal.

This is what I use on my builds.

Pro 3PDT Latched Foot Switch - Solder Lugs - Feather Soft Click

Perfect for those who prefer a high-quality, soft click 3PDT. Our pro 3PDT latched foot switch features a feather-soft click and high-temperature epoxy.

lovemyswitches.com

Yes, even here, I mod things to my liking.

 

[Raiyn]

Yeah, it's too bad.

Hey, "sounds good - IS GOOD"

Just because I'm curious, or something is cheap, doesn't mean anything if it makes the sounds you like.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Right.
By the way, speaking of construction, do you know if it's possible to replace the noisy on/off switch on such pedals ?

 

[Raiyn]

Right.
By the way, speaking of construction, do you know if it's possible to replace the noisy on/off switch on such pedals ?

Answered above.
Post #70

TL-DR : Yes, but a good switch isn't cheap*, nor is it much fun to swap them on a board like that.

*I'm sure there are cheaper suppliers - I trust the folks I linked to.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Oh, I'm so sorry ! I had missed your post number 70!

I was actually thinking more about Mooer pedals than about the Fuzz Star. They sound really nice, but they usually have "clicky" switches.

By the way, now that I'm thinking of it, Mooer offers a nice fuzz too. It is called "Triangle fuzz", and it works really well (I had one). I would recommend it too. It was a bit more expensive but better than the Mini Muff imho because it kept more definition.

 

[Raiyn]

I was actually thinking more about Mooer pedals than about the Fuzz Star. They sound really nice, but they usually have "clicky" switches.

I'm away from my board right now, and I don't remember what the guts of a Mooer look like. Fortunately, the 'net provides.
Three different Mooer pedals - same basic layout.

It's still a board situation. Cheaper than the Biyang as you could use the switch I like for kits.

Pro 3PDT Latched Foot Switch - Solder Lugs - Feather Soft Click

Perfect for those who prefer a high-quality, soft click 3PDT. Our pro 3PDT latched foot switch features a feather-soft click and high-temperature epoxy.

lovemyswitches.com

That said, the traces appear to be consistent and straight forward enough to convert to wire if you managed to wiggle both boards out. The jacks won't make that easy.



Note: This would be "easier" than the Biyang, not "simple". Getting both boards out is the key. I can't see what they used to jump the boards, but it's possible to direct wire a new switch as long as you follow the scheme laid out by the traces.

Edits: Clarifying.

 

[RR-Ramblers]

AZOR PEDALS.....cheap +/- $20, low/no noise for small rigs

AZOR Pedal AP-317 Tremolo Mini Effects Guitar Accessories 9V Guitar Effect Pedal / super tremolo

 

[AJ6stringsting]

The Boss SD-1 is a great mild to medium overdrive as well and it is very reasonably priced. It has a specific tone to it which is really unique. But you all probably know it already, ahem.

Man that Boss SD-1 must be set right and the mojo flows like it's coming out of the tap, so pleasantly to your ear . You are on the right track !!!!

 

[Riffraff]

Do you remember the Arion pedal line from the '80s?

The cases were plastic. I always thought they were total junk but it turns out the magic was in the sound they produced. These Japanese made pedals were well designed and had high quality components in them.

Apparently the SRV-1 stereo reverb and SAD-3 stereo delay pedals are outstanding.

I picked up a used SFL-1 stereo flanger for $35 and was really surprised by how great it sounds. Definitely sleeper pedals you may want to grab if you come across one,

 

[AJ6stringsting]

Do you remember the Arion pedal line from the '80s?

The cases were plastic. I always thought they were total junk but it turns out the magic was in the sound they produced. These Japanese made pedals were well designed and high quality components in them.

Apparently the SRV-1 stereo reverb and SAD-3 stereo delay pedals are outstanding.

I picked up a used SFL-1 stereo flanger for $35 and was really surprised by how great it sounds. Definitely sleeper pedals you may want to grab if you come across one,

Some of those Arion pedals were great . I have one of those Arion Distorion pedals from the 1980's and it hit my Carvin X-100 B and Marshall JCM 800 in a righteous way .
The Arion Hot Watt 2 headphone amp, was criminally over looked, I still have it in 1987 and for me, it is a great device . The chorus in the Hot Watt , plus the overdrive , sounds a lot better than my old Ibanez Tube Screamer .

The Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler, sounds much better in my Decibel Eleven Loop Expander MIDI, than my Boss AC 2 or AC 3.

My old Digitech RP-1, RP-12 and 2112 SGS are so in tune, that I retired my Eleven Rack and sold it to a good friend .

 

[Riffraff]

I have a Bugera T5 Infinium head I got on sale for $150. I wasn't expecting much from it but it actually surprised me. It's a 5w single ended EL84 amp with one 12AX7 in the preamp. It makes a pretty good little recording amp. It's a bit of a low gain amp but it responds well to pedals. I made this OD pedal shoot out with it.