# What was your first Boutique pedal?



## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Following on from the nostalgia-fest of the what was your first pedal thread...what was your first "boutique" pedal (depending on how you define that nebulous term)?
Strictly speaking, mine was a Righteous Tones tubescreamer clone, but I hated it so much it barely touched down before hitting craigslist.
So, I'm going to count my Fulltone 69 as the first, to date it's my favourite Ge fuzz. That was closely followed by a Retro-Sonic analogue delay (the Canadian "EHCO" version
What about you folks?

My most boutique pedal has to be this: A clone of the old Boss Dimension C DC-2, but with true bypass and mixable modes, full stereo, made by John Fromel from the TGP. I have #3 of I think he said 50.


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## KoskineN (Apr 19, 2007)

Mine was a Fulltone OCD. It was followed by a Fulltone '69 and Clyde Deluxe.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I only got in to boutique pedals a few months ago. First one, Keely compressor, followed by a Wampler Hotwired overdrive, followed by a Diamond Halo chorus.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Mine was a Goudie FX 808+ still have it and still rock it!


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Define boutique. Because I personally wouldn't call anything Fulltone does "boutique" -- it's available in large quantities and many locations and Fulltone is far from a small company. It's just expensive, top tier gear. Is my '80's CS-9 boutique? You don't see many of them around these days. So it's limited in it's use in the general population. Does that define "boutique"?

Edit: I clearly woke up this morning on the bitchy side of the bed. I don't intend to be argumentative but I really would like to know what you think "boutique" means. My feeling is its something different to everyone. Maybe it's best described as: That piece of expensive kit you always wanted and had a hard time finding.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

iaresee said:


> Define boutique. Because I personally wouldn't call anything Fulltone does "boutique" -- it's available in large quantities and many locations and Fulltone is far from a small company.


Well they were small when I bought my first 'boutique' pedal from them 

Orange Fulldrive - serial # 412...bought in '95 or '96. Sold it a few years ago when i got a taste for less compressed OD's.


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

Catalin Bread Super Chilli Picoso great buffer boost that I still have and use ,then It just snowballed!:rockon:


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## Tin Type (May 10, 2008)

Mine was an Effector 13 (now deviever) Torn's Peaker. A fantastic fuzz pedal that i regret selling every 3-4 days.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

Crowther Hot Cake. Bought it used about 6 years ago at Song Bird.


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## Wounded Paw (May 1, 2008)

Crowther Prunes and Custard


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

iaresee said:


> Define boutique. Because I personally wouldn't call anything Fulltone does "boutique" -- it's available in large quantities and many locations and Fulltone is far from a small company. It's just expensive, top tier gear. Is my '80's CS-9 boutique? You don't see many of them around these days. So it's limited in it's use in the general population. Does that define "boutique"?
> 
> Edit: I clearly woke up this morning on the bitchy side of the bed. I don't intend to be argumentative but I really would like to know what you think "boutique" means. My feeling is its something different to everyone. Maybe it's best described as: That piece of expensive kit you always wanted and had a hard time finding.


Yes, I kinda agree, and Fulltone was the reason for the "however you define that" disclaimer. I really think that Mike Fuller has set the bar though, so I still count Fulltone as 'boutique', despite the success and multiple thousands of units he's shifted over the years. He certainly started off as an individual builder and shouldn't be knocked just for his success. 

I wouldn't call a CS9 boutique regardless of how hard they are to find -- who designed and built it? Ibanez. Not a person, a company. That for me is the dividing line. Righteous Tones gear is all built in a factory in China, but he still slips in under the bar as boutique-ish to me because of the lack of involvement of a monolithic entity...not that I'm claiming absolute authority on this. I think it's one of those things where it's easier to define what isn't than what is...Boss isn't, Line 6 isn't, Dunlop isn't. I'd call Catalinbread, Retro-Sonic, Goudie, BJFE, DAM, FoxRox, Paul Cochrane, and a host of others boutique. What about Lovepedal? he's shifting insane amounts of gear too, and he's using machine built boards now too. I don't like his stuff, and I don't much care for him either (I'm sure he's crushed!) but does LP count? All or only LP hand-wired? (I don't think Sean's doing his own wiring these days anyway, which is fine, he's a designer--and a great marketing guy obviously) . it's just a definition for convenience. I guess my definition includes the person with the initial vision still being actively involved in directing the company, rather than a board of directors-type situation with a bunch of MBAs and an engineering division 

So,what's your first boutique pedal according to whatever definition you use for that? Mine were the RT overdrive (which I hated; designed by one guy and built offshore in a factory), a FT 69 (Fulltone...), and Tim Larwell's delay. I've also got an Xotic AC boost (do they count?), a zendrive (yes, I bought another one - definitely boutique), a couple of analogman (he shifts a lot of units too -- is he still boutique?), an RMC wah (boutique), a couple of older Boss pedals (definitely not BTQ), DAM, BK Butler, some other stuff....too much other stuff actually. :food-smiley-004:


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> I wouldn't call a CS9 boutique regardless of how hard they are to find -- who designed and built it? Ibanez. Not a person, a company. That for me is the dividing line.


Well, companies don't design anything -- people do and there were people (or even a single person) behind the CS-9 even if we don't know their names. And Mike Fuller sells his stuff _through_ a company, it just doesn't happen to be as big as Ibanez. Very, very early on you might have bought a Fulltone "out of the back of his car" but he incorporated pretty quickly.



> I think it's one of those things where it's easier to define what isn't than what is...Boss isn't, Line 6 isn't, Dunlop isn't.


I disagree here: The DC-2 isn't boutique? Rare, hard to get your hands on, expesnive, coveted. That's the very definition of a successful one-man-effects-shop, isn't it? Why can't Boss call that pedal boutique? Dunlop has a "custom shop" now: why can't we call what they produce boutique?

I think I have an answer and I'll get to it in a second. But first:



> I'd call Catalinbread, Retro-Sonic, Goudie, BJFE, DAM, FoxRox, Paul Cochrane, and a host of others boutique.


If it's hand built I think that's a big help in getting called boutique. But I know some boutique manufacturers who use wave soldered boards and simply finish assembly and testing by hand. And a factory can certainly hand assemble products as easily as wave soldering them. So that really destroys "hand assembled" or "hand wired" as test for "boutique-ness".

And you say something interesting here:


> So,what's your first boutique pedal according to whatever definition you use for that? Mine were the RT overdrive (which I hated; designed by one guy and built offshore in a factory)


This is the very _definition_ of how Ibanez operates: someone designs their products and it's built off shore in a factory. The difference is: you can name the person who designed your RT overdrive whereas most can't name the people who designed the TS-9 or the CS-9. But I'll bet someone like Mark Hammer knows so that makes _naming_ the person who designed the pedal a tough measure of "boutique".

Ahh, here's an idea: maybe being able to interact _directly_ with the designer makes it boutique? If I can speak to the designer on the phone, have a conversation with him or her directly, it's boutique.

Could it be "boutique" is not so much about how it's manufactured but how visible and accessible the actual designer is. That's feeling like a pretty good definition to me.



> I guess my definition includes the person with the initial vision still being actively involved in directing the company, rather than a board of directors-type situation with a bunch of MBAs and an engineering division


We're converging here for sure. I think the salient point is that the designer is accessible by the customer. The above statement makes it sound like being a successful, well run company, destroys your "boutique" label. That you have stay below a threshold of success and muddle along in order to keep your mojo. Running your company well shouldn't be connected with "boutique" or or non-boutique. Is Way Huge no longer boutique now that Dunlop owns the name? I don't think you can say they're not a boutique manufacturer. They just have a good distribution channel and some backing cash now. Jeorge Tripps seems reasonably accessible despite being a Dunlop employee.



> a couple of analogman (he shifts a lot of units too -- is he still boutique?)


More than shifting units the majority of what he sells is modded stuff. So how does a non-boutique Boss pedal cross over to being boutique? Because one man touched it in the process? Again: good support for the "can you contact the person" definition of boutique-ness. Mike imparts the aura of boutique-ness on a Boss pedal because once he's modded it you call him, not Boss, to discuss the pedal.

Yea, I'm pretty happy with that definition of boutique, you? That certainly takes a stock CS-9 out of the running. But mine was modded by Greg at Solid Gold Sound Labs recently. Does that impart "boutique" on it? I think so. So it wasn't bouique when I got it in 1992, but it is now.

:food-smiley-004:


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## Greenbacker (Mar 29, 2007)

Zvex Super Hard On


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## Buzz (May 15, 2008)

Got my first one today and its great! 

Retroman NU fuzz. I think Retroman is the pedal King! I think I need an Uber Vibe, and a kopy kat. 

http://www.retroman-music.com/


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## Stratocaster (Feb 2, 2006)

I still don't have a boutique pedal


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

You want boutique? How about a hand built distortion pedal, by a senior high school student with some scrounged and some store bought parts including the electrical junction box for a case. He may have etched the circuit board too, I forget. Sounds very, very good.

I love it when students and former students of mine do cool things like this. No credit to me, all I do are the guitar lessons, they get involved with the side projects on their own. Another former student is a fulltime builder of acoustic guitars, and several have given me their recordings. All I do is encourage.

My other pedals? Factory stuff from Marshall, Boss, MXR, Seymour Duncan, Planet Waves, BBE, DOD, Radial, Dunlop. Nothing unusual.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Joe Bodenhammer Bloody Murder OD.


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## Teleplucker (Feb 5, 2006)

Scottone said:


> Orange Fulldrive - serial # 412...bought in '95 or '96. Sold it a few years ago when i got a taste for less compressed OD's.


Me too (not 412 though). I never could dial in the tone so that it sounded good. I sold it on eBay to a collector in Japan for about $60 more than I paid for it. Then, I got a hand-wired Menatone Red Snapper. That was a great pedal...then a ZVex SHO...also great.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Don't know if the Radial Tonebones are considered boutique, but for me, the Radial Tonebone Classic was the one that got me started on a GAS induced buying frenzy.


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## danel59 (Jul 4, 2006)

AC Booster, added RC booster and then BB Preamp. Sold BB and just recently 
received my Ethos TLE (GREAT PEDAL!!!)


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## Extant (Mar 2, 2007)

Depending on how you define boutique, either a Tonebone Hot British (which I sold) or a Diamond Compressor (which I still have).


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

iaresee said:


> ...someone designs their products and it's built off shore in a factory. The difference is: you can name the person who designed your RT overdrive whereas most can't name the people who designed the TS-9 or the CS-9. But I'll bet someone like Mark Hammer knows so that makes _naming_ the person who designed the pedal a tough measure of "boutique"...


I know the TS was designed by Mr. S. Tamura (never been able to find out what his given name is though...). Still wouldn't call it boutique though. (Or the DC2, regardless of how much I love that pedal...although mine's just been replaced by a boutique clone 

Good points all though. That's what I love/hate about subjective terms like this anyway. It's all fuzzy logic. My wife is an artist, so I have a predilection for things that are handmade by real people with a passion for what they're making...that's the mojo for me I guess.


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## Wheeman (Dec 4, 2007)

Mooh said:


> You want boutique? How about a hand built distortion pedal, by a senior high school student with some scrounged and some store bought parts including the electrical junction box for a case. He may have etched the circuit board too, I forget. Sounds very, very good.
> 
> I love it when students and former students of mine do cool things like this. No credit to me, all I do are the guitar lessons, they get involved with the side projects on their own. Another former student is a fulltime builder of acoustic guitars, and several have given me their recordings. All I do is encourage.
> 
> ...


That guy sounds familiar. He did etch the circuit board, but as he looks back he realizes how far he has come with regards to his etching abilities. 

Without somebody to inspire and give tips towards it, it probably would have turned out completely hackneyed. Now that I've done one, I can't stop. ><


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Ti-Ron said:


> Mine was a Goudie FX 808+ still have it and still rock it!


I am buying my first bouqique pedal tomorrow


The Goudie FX 808+ TS.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

I only have one pedal, a Goodrich passive volume pedal. But at over $300 -- and worth it -- that's pretty boutiqui.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

The only pedals I have that could be considered boutique are two I won on this forum.
the first one was a Strymon Brigadier Delay


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Wow 11 year old thread brought back from the dead. LOL


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

A Timmy and a VFE Enterprise phaser


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I’m not sure I’ve ever owned a pedal people consider “boutique”.

I’ve always managed to get the tones I wanted with whatever gear I had (or bought what I felt I needed at least).

But, if any of that was so “boutique” why don’t I still own it?


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Chito said:


> Wow 11 year old thread brought back from the dead. LOL


I really use the search option!


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## reckless toboggan (Mar 9, 2019)

1st gen Bixonic Expandora (EXP2000). ...back in 1996-ish.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

As some here have pointed out, what can start as a small one or two-person "company", and qualifies as boutique for that reason alone, can easily turn into a larger company, with a dozen or more employees, and substantial sales numbers. Once upon a time, ZVex, Fulltone, Earthquaker Devices, Catalinbread, Empress, and Diamond were small operations and qualified as boutique. Not so anymore. They're obviously not the size of Yamaha, Electro-Harmonix, Boss/Roland, or a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harmon Industries, but neither are they cottage industries. 

To some extent, the emergence of services that will do PCB layout/production for you, wave soldering of SMD components, and powder-coating/silkscreening of enclosures, has made it possible for even fairly small producers to turn out professional-grade products, blurring the difference between boutique and "commercial" manufacturers. Once upon a time, Zachary Vex produced Super Hard-On and Fuzz Factory circuits on veroboard, and each pedal was hand-painted by Jason Myrold. That sort of approach epitomizes a traditional notion of "boutique", equivalent to a hand-knitted toque or scarf, or hand-made guitar with special inlay. But these days, even a guy operating out of his dorm room, can send boards off to be professionally etched, drilled, legended, and wave-soldred in Southeast Asia, for peanuts.

Of course, none of that means that there aren't new small manufacturers producing innovative and distinctive products. You just can't easily tell them apart from the big companies any more on the basis of looks or build quality, or whether they have Youtube product demos posted.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Duplicate.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

Wampler Pantheon. Its a lot of fun but I have got that out of my system. Best suitable for a one channel amp . Two channel amp I could dial in suitable gain with the OD channel.


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## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

Big Foot FX Spaghetti Western fuzz!


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## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

King tone duelist, and baby it still sings.


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## jimsz (Apr 17, 2009)

First boutique was a FET Dream.


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

First was a lovepedal eternity burst handwired but Shawn himself that was many moons ago when there was fulltone, Keeley, analogman,mostly


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

A Goodrich passive volume pedal. $350 and worth every cent. It just works.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

They're optical, right?


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

mhammer said:


> They're optical, right?


Nope. Just a very smooth and sturdy mechanism and the perfect pot. No added electricity required.

They do make them with a buffer/pre-amp but I'm deeply into simple.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Well I'll be. I was under the impression for a long time that they were optical. But when I search for "optical volume pedal", the only thing that comes up is Morley. Not to take anything away from the build quality, and chassis design, but the pots are something quite special. I wonder if the taper is also appropriate for wah.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

mhammer said:


> Well I'll be. I was under the impression for a long time that they were optical. But when I search for "optical volume pedal", the only thing that comes up is Morley. Not to take anything away from the build quality, and chassis design, but the pots are something quite special. I wonder if the taper is also appropriate for wah.


no idea -- you can buy the pots alone: Goodrich Pot | Online Store - Steel Guitars Of Canada


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