# Favourite cheap pedals



## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

I love a good pedal. We all hear recommendations for companies like Strymon - undeniable quality, but with a hefty price tag. I've realized that almost every pedal on my board is EHX, and I think they're pretty reasonably priced. I'd happily recommend them. 

So what other cheap to mid range gems are out there? Which brands do you like and why?


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

Another vote for EHX, I didn't know I was such a fan until I did a pedal inventory.


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## numb41 (Jul 13, 2009)

I bought a Boss OC3 new from Long & McQuade, and I really like it. I think it was $100.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Used boss pedals, digitech hardwire series.


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

EHX, Zoom, Boss... Even Chinese clones from companies like Caline or Mosky. I'm really not picky as long as I see a good price/value ratio.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

TC Mini pedals with toneprint


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Budda said:


> Used boss pedals, digitech hardwire series.


Yep, what he said.
Miss my Hardwire Reverb.
Simple, just awesome.
For Boss, SD-1 & FDR-1 (Flint on the cheap)


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

DeeTee said:


> I love a good pedal. We all hear recommendations for companies like Strymon - undeniable quality, but with a hefty price tag. I've realized that almost every pedal on my board is EHX, and I think they're pretty reasonably priced. I'd happily recommend them.
> 
> So what other cheap to mid range gems are out there? Which brands do you like and why?


What's "cheap"?


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

Okay Player said:


> What's "cheap"?


About $100 and under, I guess?


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

The Zoom MS-50G is a cheap box full of cool effects. Usually, I wait for good used deals on more expensive pedals.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

Grab n Go said:


> The Zoom MS-50G is a cheap box full of cool effects. Usually, I wait for good used deals on more expensive pedals.


Me too, to be honest. If I don't like it, I can move it on for negligible loss. 

This thread was actually prompted by me being reminded how much I love the Soul Food, which I got second hand on here.


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## Thunderboy1975 (Sep 12, 2013)

Okay Player said:


> What's "cheap"?


Got a Donner Yellow Fail analog*(supposedly) delay for $49 off Amazen* (no free advertising) 
I dig it


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

I've had quite a few Danelectro pedals that I've enjoyed. The trem in the metal enclosure is as good as any 3 knob(and sometimes more) trees that I've heard. Spinning wheel is really good as well. 

The new relic'd line is getting is considerably more expensive though.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

DeeTee said:


> About $100 and under, I guess?


I think the ProCo Rat might be the greatest drive pedal ever produced. They go for $105 new and can often be found for about $75 used.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

fretzel said:


> I've had quite a few Danelectro pedals that I've enjoyed. The trem in the metal enclosure is as good as any 3 knob(and sometimes more) trees that I've heard. Spinning wheel is really good as well.
> 
> The new relic'd line is getting is considerably more expensive though.


The Danelectro Food Series are really great budget pedals when you can find them.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

Okay Player said:


> The Danelectro Food Series are really great budget pedals when you can find them.


I had a bunch of those when I first started getting into pedals again. The foxx tone machine fuzz, octave down and the BLT delay. All had great sounds.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

fretzel said:


> I had a bunch of those when I first started getting into pedals again. The foxx tone machine fuzz, octave down and the BLT delay. All had great sounds.


I bought a new Danelectro French Toast (the Tone Machine you mentioned) new from the Jungle named online store for around $50 over the winter. I had try to buy @mhammer 's from him, but he put the kibosh on that.


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## Duntov (Apr 2, 2021)

Okay Player said:


> The Danelectro Food Series are really great budget pedals when you can find them.


I keep the Fish & Chips on my board...


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Duntov said:


> I keep the Fish & Chips on my board...


That's the EQ right? They show up on Kijiji here from time to time, but they're always like an hour away.


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## Duntov (Apr 2, 2021)

Okay Player said:


> That's the EQ right? They show up on Kijiji here from time to time, but they're always like an hour away.


Yes. It's a great little EQ. I'm not very experienced with other equalizers but it also acts like a boost when engaged. Perhaps that's the 'Chips'???


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## Mikev7305 (Jan 6, 2020)

I also keep a fish n chips on my board, but it's been unused for the last while so it might get the boot. 

My favorite CHEAP pedal was a joyo sweet baby overdrive (mad professor sweet honey) until it crapped out on me. My current favorite cheap pedal is the 4 knob TC spark. It's just a perfect "more amp" pedal and can be found for under $100 most of the time.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Duntov said:


> Yes. It's a great little EQ. I'm not very experienced with other equalizers but it also acts like a boost when engaged. Perhaps that's the 'Chips'???


I'm pretty sure they just picked random diner foods for the names, but I could certainly be wrong.


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## LouisFNCyphre (Apr 23, 2021)

I've got Caline's clone of the MXR 10 band EQ, it works adequately. I've got their bass compressor as well.
I've got a pair of cheap noise gates that work as expected.

I've got a few Boss and Digitech pedals.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Some people are down on smaller Danelectro pedals because of the plastic cases. Same thing for the Behringer pedals. The Danos are VERY sturdy. The momentary switch can be a little suspect, and the same for the tiny pots. But then many far more costly pedals use those tiny pots and cheap momentary switches. I'd be more apprehensive about slider pots than about plastic cases. I do have a Fab series flanger and it is utter crap. The sweep is awful.

I have a couple of Behringer pedals. The clone of the Boss AC-2 is okay, but they made some bad chip choices, so it's kind of hissy. The DC-2 clone, on the other hand, is terrific, and probably better than the Boss original in some ways....with the exception of a lousy footswitch. I bought a 2nd hand Mooer octaver that I gather was cheap when new. Disappointing because it isn't on pitch. Upper and lower octaves seem to my ears to be just a little flat. Sadly, no fix for that.

I did pick up a couple of inexpensive do-it-all pedals for modest double digits. Again, 2nd hand, but economy models when new. One is a Muza FD900 that packs 11 different reverbs, almost as many delays, a short looper, and 4 storable presets, into a small package. Decent sound. The other is a Donner Alchemy: a clone of the NUX Mod Core. Identical pedal but the NUX version has a USB port for upgrading. The Donner appears to have the solder pads for the USB on the board, but it's not installed. It does all the modulation FX, phaser, vibe, vibrato, flanger, chorus, tremolo, panner, rotary, with two modes for each effect. The EHX Mod 11 and the Wampler Terraform both do a much better job with more control, but the Donner is quite acceptable.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Ibanez DE-7


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

BlueRocker said:


> TC Mini pedals with toneprint


I have really been liking TC pedal, have not tried the minis.


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## YaReMi (Mar 9, 2006)

EHX is a clear winner here. I had a few, their Soul Food blew me away and I sold it .. not in a cool-to-keep category .. go figure .. no custom shop b/s etc.
Also Boss GE-7, so cheap used and so important.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I don't have many "non-cheap" brands. They are all BOSS, TCE, & MXR. As for Boutique, I have a Spruce Effects "Arborist" which I bought from a forum member, but that was cheaper than my TCE Chorus, TCE Delay, BOSS Phase Shifter, BOSS Fuzz... I have a Fulltone Univibe. I guess that's the most expensive one. Unless you're packing your board with Chinese clones, $100 is a low threshold. Even then, some Joyo pedals can easily get over $100.


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

YaReMi said:


> EHX is a clear winner here. I had a few, their Soul Food blew me away and I sold it .. not in a cool-to-keep category .. go figure .. no custom shop b/s etc.
> Also Boss GE-7, so cheap used and so important.


I have a EHX East River and Nano Chorus and I don't care for either one?

I do have a Ram's Head Fuzz that I like a lot , never had any other fuzz so I have nothing to compare it too.


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## VanillaTrice (Feb 24, 2016)

The Mosky Black Rat pedal. A $50 Amazon RAT clone that sounds pretty darn close to my real RAT but in a much smaller footprint.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

Some of these posts are inspiring, great thread.

Let me add Zoom pedals to my list.

Quality built, superb sounds, awesome features and great interfaces for very little cash.

And they regularly come up with some innovative stuff.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

$100 isn't a hard limit, I'm only really thinking of "not boutique." This thread is doing bad things to my wish list!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Surface mount, 9mm pots, cheap clones of Hammond 1590A boxes, unprotected schematics, high volume and cheaper labour allow for the VERY inexpensive reproduction of many "classics". Keep in mind that all those Asian-made pedals you see on Amazon and similar for $30 or less, are STILL GENERATING A PROFIT.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

In my very limited experience (I am still trying to get used to the idea of a footswitch for my amp), the Joyo stuff is great for the money.

And Boss stuff.....hard to go wrong with any of theirs.


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

I like most of the stuff I've had from EHX and am a big fan of Muff style fuzzes. 

I think a used EQD plumes is a good buy around $100.

Smaller or new builders often have decent pricing as well. About a decade ago there were tons of small builders on eBay selling their stuff for less than $100. I got a few nice pedals from Vick Audio and Noisemaker Effects around that time. I don't know where these builders have gone since then though as I can't find many in Ebay. 

I recently found Tone Collector Customs through a thread here and while I don't even have the pedal yet, his pricing seems good. Another one I've been interested in trying is GupTech as they have a Crowther HotCake clone and a Boss FZ-2 clone that is calling to me.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

I am definitely on the lookout for a used Plumes.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

DeeTee said:


> I am definitely on the lookout for a used Plumes.


That's one pedal that I don't really think is a great value when buying used. I usually see them used for $110-$115, but they're only $135 brand new which will include all the accoutrements, and a warranty/return policy if you don't like it. To me that's not really worth the $20-$30 you're saving buying used.

The big exception to this would be if you're after one of the more unique colorways.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

Oh, I definitely wouldn't be getting it used at that price. Will wait for the fuss to die down a bit.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The Plumes is essentially a tricked-out SD-1, and has a few differences which the average TS or SD-1 can easily be modded to, assuming they're not surface mount. The major difference is that it uses a charge-pump chip to provide a +/-9v internal supply from the +9v power provided to it, and it also uses a TL074 op-amp for the "chip" rather than a 4558. That should provide a bit less noise. The various bass and treble rolloffs are different than a TS or SD, but I gather amount to the same general result. The wider supply voltage really only plays a role in the boost mode where there are no clipping diodes.


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

This pedal is cheap and fun, I have it.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

Stephenlouis said:


> This pedal is cheap and fun, I have it.


This is a great example of why I posted. I'd not heard of this and it's on my shopping list now!


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## GuitarT (Nov 23, 2010)

Picked this up off Marketplace for $20. I don't really have much use for the flanger but the chorus is actually quite good.


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

DeeTee said:


> This is a great example of why I posted. I'd not heard of this and it's on my shopping list now!


I have a blast playing "yes" tunes at different speeds using reverse ping pong  I am no pedal pro, but the sounds this thing can make is a riot of creativity. I actually get lost in creating melodic sounds with it.


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## Kelownaguitarlessons (Sep 22, 2020)

Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive (TS clone) was pretty good bang for the buck, i gigged with one for 10 years before footswitch crapped out, $25.00!


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

The Danelectro Food series & the Fab series--I have a Fish & Chips & a Fab Chorus I got used.
Buy-ing a 6" cable to hook them up cost almost as much.


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## Kelownaguitarlessons (Sep 22, 2020)

zontar said:


> The Danelectro Food series & the Fab series--I have a Fish & Chips & a Fab Chorus I got used.
> Buy-ing a 6" cable to hook them up cost almost as much.


I have used a Danelectro Tuna Melt tremolo for 20 years, sounds great!


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> What's "cheap"?


I think he means inexpensive.

I bought a Behringer Am 100 Acoustic Modeler and to my surprise it was more realistic sounding than my Boss AC 2 or my Boss AC 3 Acoustic simulator.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

AJ6stringsting said:


> I think he means inexpensive.


Yeah, I figured. 

I was asking because what's inexpensive to some is a small fortune to others.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

what about VFE? would you consider them boutique? i have a few, and i really like them. i have the blueprint delay, it's a pretty decent analog delay. i also have the firey red horse fuzz. *good frickin luck* trying to find a better fuzz than the o/g version of this. it's the one piece of gear i'll NEVER sell. even before my guitars, i'll keep this fuzz. i got it from a fellow member here, although i forget who after all these years. i can never thank that person enough, cause the fuzz really is that good. easily the best kept secret in effects.

sounds fantastic any way you might normally use a fuzz. stack an overdrive behind it, and forget about it. nothing can touch it. it's happy no matter what amp i play it through, something that cant be said for any other distortion i've ever owned. it will do that "spirit in the sky sort of 60's fuzz, or it will also do the broo-tul bone crushing corrosion of conformity sort of fuzz, and everything in between.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I liked the Digitech Bad Monkey. It was $39 new. It was just a Tubescreamer clone I think. I’ve got lots of pedals I bought for cheap but wouldn’t consider them cheap pedals. I have an old MXR Phase 90 I paid $10 for, a $39 Boss DM2, a Maxon Roto Phase 1 for $25, etc. You just don’t find deals like that any more.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Sneaky said:


> You just don’t find deals like that any more.


i bought a pile of danelectro pedals once for $10. the chorus was a great pedal. i wish i could find another one, although i don't expect to find it as cheap as that one was.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Sneaky said:


> I liked the Digitech Bad Monkey. It was $39 new. It was just a Tubescreamer clone I think. I’ve got lots of pedals I bought for cheap but wouldn’t consider them cheap pedals. I have an old MXR Phase 90 I paid $10 for, a $39 Boss DM2, a Maxon Roto Phase 1 for $25, etc. You just don’t find deals like that any more.


I got my Danelectro FAB Flanger for $10 at a pawn shop. It's worth that in parts, but as a flanger, not worth much more, if $10 at all.

Lots of bargains over the years. A couple of Boss BF-1 flangers for [email protected], and a Pearl PH-44 phaser for the same price. Probably others as well. Too damn many pedals to keep track of.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I bought a Arion Hot Watt 2 ( a poor man's Rockman ) in 1987. It has a an echo ( more like a shallow reverb) , a good light Chorus and a very very dynamic Tube Screamer like clean treble boost, that is mislabeled as a Distortion. It retired my TS 909 Ibanez Tube Screamer. It made my Carvin X-100 B and Marshall JCM 800 much more dynamic.

Another one, the Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler. It maybe have a plastic housing, but it has a far more convincing acoustic guitar sound than my Boss AC 2 or AC 3, by a mile.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I love it when a cheap pedals sound better than the more expensive ones.

Sometimes, musicians will not like a certain brand due to negative reputation, sometimes lower esteemed brands get discovered after the fact.


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## Fumblefingers (Aug 13, 2019)

The Nobels ODR mini is pretty good bang for your buck. The prices have crept up a little but still reasonable.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Amazon has RAT's on sale for $85 bucks right now. You're going to be very hard pressed to find a new pedal that good for that much money.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

This is really the only horse I can beat. '87 DS-1 Think it was $10 in the used bin without the case. Used it into a JCM 800 2204 with Half stack for a few years. Still in nice shape.


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## n1ck_ (Aug 11, 2012)

Okay Player said:


> Amazon has RAT's on sale for $85 bucks right now. You're going to be very hard pressed to find a new pedal that good for that much money.


Wow thanks for the heads up! I feel like I can’t afford NOT to buy one!


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