Found this pedal on Craigslist for cheap and met the guy at a place right next to a dispensary, had to stop in for some inspiration. Grape Ape was a promo.

I'm probably not the first to comment on this. But all over reverb, I see people selling used pedals with inflated shipping costs, where the total price is nearly that of a new pedal. Here's just one example:

https://reverb.com/item/102550923-templodevices-reel-deal

This pedal is $144 with free shipping direct from Templodevices. Including shipping cost the used listing offers a discount of...about $3 lol. Why would anyone buy at this price? I made an offer which was about 20% less than the new price -- they quickly declined. Had they countered somewhere in the middle there's a good chance I'd have accepted.

Am I crazy to expect SOME kind of discernable discount on a used pedal, even if it's in "like new" condition? It was still purchased and opened and presumably used a little bit by someone else, and that depreciates the value.

As well, it doesn't cost $15-20 to ship a guitar pedal. I shipped one recently and using Pirateship it was like $8.60

EDIT: multiple posts advising "forget about it and move on." Yeah, I did lol. This is more about the overall phenomena and insight people might have

I am a delay freak who somehow never had an original Timeline, decided to just go for this now instead of getting one eventually after buying and selling six other pedals...Holy shit guys. It's the only delay you'll ever need, that's for sure. Plus chorus, flange, some nice reverb taken from the Flint, etc etc etc. I'm in awe.

NPD - This thing is amazing, going to take a bit of time to get my head around it. From what I understand not many have made it to the UK yet so I'm feeling pretty lucky.

Been intrigued by these Sonisfact pedals for exactly this reason!

A while ago I posted in this sub and someone suggested me to try the black fountain. Today I went to the guitar shop to buy some strings, but then a hiccup happened, and ended up buying it.

Guys, what a joy (not for my wallet).

I have the Nucleo too, which is an amazing pedal, but after a while I understood I have a preference for more subtle reverbs. I decided in the end to use the reverb from my Waza TAE, and keep the black fountain on the pedal board.

Any cool settings you’d suggest to check? If you can, give it a try, it sounds great!

Do you have any issues with it sounding harsh and shrill on the E and B strings? Along with a nasaly mid range honk??
No matter what EQ settings, cab selection, in app customizations, etc I can’t get a nice balanced clean tone from my ES335. I use both a Fender FR10 and IEMs.

Ive tried bypassing pedals and going right into it and no difference. My ES335 sounds great in my real amps.

So far I didn’t like the Dream 65 cause of the lack of clean headroom, the Enigmatic cause of the shrillness, and the Strymon Iridium seemed darker and lackluster. I’m striking out with amp pedals and just want to find one I can set and forget and makes me excited to play!

What should I try next? I like clean Fenderish tone that takes overdrive pedals nicely.

It's been a long time since I've had a ring modulator on my pedalboard. I used to have a Boss GT-3 multi effects and the ring mod on that was used so heavily in my old band.

This is a totally different beast, though. The frequency range is enormous. I've only had a quick shot so far, but it's a ring mod, loads love them and everyone else absolutely hates them.

Does anyone know if any of these can run on 12v? I have a free connection and hate it’s just sitting there unused.

VThe VOX amPlug is an extremely popular headphone guitar amp series. Besides models based on VOX’s own amplifiers and those of other manufacturers, VOX has also released various artist signature editions.
They’re all affordable, compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and capable of producing surprisingly good tones.
However, they do have a few weaknesses. The circuitry and plastic housing are somewhat fragile, making them prone to breaking, and they can also be rather noisy.
The models I’m reviewing today are limited-edition amPlugs produced in collaboration with the anime K-ON!
There were three different releases, corresponding to the anime’s first season, second season, and theatrical movie. The ones shown here are from the third release.
All of them have long since been discontinued, and there was a time when they were selling for pretty high prices on auction sites. lol
These models were apparently designed to reproduce the guitar and bass tones of three K-ON! characters:
Yui Hirasawa: A Marshall-style amp designed for her Les Paul.
Mio Akiyama: Presumably an Ampeg-style bass amp designed for her Jazz Bass.
Azusa Nakano: A VOX Night Train-style amp designed for her Mustang.
Since I don’t own a bass, I’ll focus on the Yui and Azusa versions.
Yui Hirasawa Version
In the anime, Yui uses a Marshall MG15CDR in the Light Music Club, while in the movie she uses what appears to be a Marshall JCM2000.
Naturally, her amPlug has a Marshall-style voicing, but interestingly, it sounds slightly different from the regular Marshall-style amPlug.
Compared to the standard version, the overall frequency balance seems to be shifted toward the higher frequencies, with a somewhat more compressed character.
The result is a clearer and more articulate sound, and personally, I prefer Yui’s version. :)
It also features an echo effect. Although it’s digital, the repeats have a warm, almost analog-like quality.
Overall, regardless of whether you’re a fan of Yui or K-ON!, this is a genuinely useful little headphone amp.
It really feels like VOX put a lot of effort into developing this particular model. lol
Azusa Nakano Version
Unlike Yui, the brand of amplifier Azusa uses in the anime is rarely shown.
As far as I remember, there’s only a brief scene in the opening of the first season showing a small Fender SD-15CE practice amp.
Because of that, I’m not entirely sure why VOX chose the Night Train as the basis for her signature amPlug.
Nevertheless, it can produce a bright, cutting crunch tone that works particularly well with single-coil pickups, which feels very appropriate for Azunyan.
It also has a Lead mode that significantly boosts both the midrange and gain.
This makes it possible to get a thick, powerful sound from single-coil pickups, almost as if you were playing through humbuckers.
Final Thoughts
Both models have their own unique appeal, and it’s genuinely difficult to choose between them.
However, I remember that when production ended, the Yui version was the first to sell out.
If someone asked me which of the three K-ON! amPlugs I’d recommend most, I’d probably choose Yui’s version too. lol
After all, it’s high-gain, Marshall-voiced, and even comes with an echo effect. What’s not to like? 😂
Unfortunately, even used examples had become quite expensive by the time I originally wrote this review, and unopened examples could command extremely high prices.
Unless you’re a big fan of K-ON!, want to complete an entire VOX amPlug collection, or are particularly curious about their unique tones, I wouldn’t really recommend paying those inflated prices.
They’re great little amps, but there’s a limit to how much I’d recommend spending on one!

Or at least the compact pedals I care about. I started playing guitar in 2008 and the metal master was my first pedal. I always wanted to collect them but I had other priorities. Then... Josh Scott made that video on the Bad Monkey right after I started collecting them. Which convinced a lot of people to sell.

Recently had a my birthday and decided to grab the Hot Rod, Bass Driver and Bass Synth when they were available and priced well. Before they went away and I have to spend another 6 months waiting for the right price with the box.

Got the hyper phase at the guitar center by my work before I decided to also collect the boxes. Started collecting in 2022. Not counting shipping average cost was $40 to $100 per pedal. Both synths and the expression factory were $150 before shipping.

I've also been collecting in production and discontinued Boss pedals. But of course I wait until the price is right.

I guess I need to start collecting the Hardwire series now. Since that came out at the end of high school. I already have the Super Natural pedal. Between the expression factory and having a Line 6 pod hd500x I'm not sure if adding the Whammy 4 to the collection is valuable to me.

My complete collection. Yes, I am fully aware it's a weird unbalanced mix of cheap routine pedals and more boutique-style stuff.... and that I really have too many distortion pedals (I play mostly metal).

Q1: What types of pedals are missing from my collection? Chorus, reverb, etc?

Q2: Based on what are obvious gaps in my selection of pedals, what recommendations do you have to round out my collection?

Thanks!

(P.S. The top right "Stockholm" pedal is simply a boost pedal I made while in 2020 during a covid quarantine period lol)

I had never heard of this before until it popped on my feed on Vinted for only £70! There is very little online documentation on it and it’s everything i want in an overdrive, 3 band EQ, and two stages. It can go from transparent bluesbreaker style, through TS sounds, and all the way to cranked Marshall amp tones. This is 100% staying on my board for a while and has finally replaced my loyal TS9!

Thoughts below, as always.

Recently acquired a rhythm section in my band and have another guitarist who basically does ambient synth like tones with his guitar so I need to simplify. These were all my greatest hits for the last six years, tried so many and always came back to them. Holding onto the tuner, delay, and the stupid loop junky that I’ve bought and sold three times. Not again. Going back to tuner, wah, homemade gain/boost pedal, delay. Mostly just playing straight into my 1966 Ampeg reverbrocket with my 1979 Electra (Gibson ll jr copy). My guitar sounds so good with no treatment, just have to go back to square one with the full band and maybe just stay there, have some cool versatile pedals if I need though.

Hi! I’m a big enthusiast for nux pedals, I like their sound but they don’t have (at least as far as I know) any fuzz pedal, so which one is the best option for you?

Also I wanted to buy the metal core pedal from nux but the metal zone from boss sounds pretty nice too so, which one do you think would sound best?

…don’t mind the cheap chorus pedal, it was a present from my mother and i still keep it cause it’s pretty solid for a 10 dollar pedal.

The SansAmp PSA-1.1 is one of the flagship models in Tech 21’s SansAmp lineup.
Although it’s a rackmount SansAmp, its controls are quite different from those of the SansAmp Classic and GT2, giving it a unique approach to tone shaping.
The original SansAmp Classic was a huge success, and Tech 21 subsequently released a wide range of products, including the original PSA-1. The PSA series gained popularity not only among guitarists but also among bassists.
The PSA-1.1 retains essentially the same analog sound-generating circuitry as the original PSA-1, but adds more convenient preset management and MIDI functionality.
You can store your own tones and recall them using the front-panel buttons or a MIDI foot controller.
In that respect, it reminds me of the Rockman XPR. Both use fully analog audio circuitry combined with digital preset control.
The PSA-1.1 also offers selectable high- and low-level outputs, as well as a stereo effects return and stereo outputs. This makes it a very capable rack preamp, especially when paired with stereo effects and an external power amplifier.
Controls and Tone Shaping
The controls are:
Pre-Amp, Buzz, Punch, Crunch, Drive, Low, High, Level, and Trim.
They’re rather unusual compared with a conventional guitar preamp, so I’ll describe how each one sounds to my ears.
Pre-Amp
This control seems to simulate the distortion produced by a tube preamp stage. In simple terms, you can think of it as a gain control.
Tech 21 often aims to recreate the sound of an overdriven 12AX7 tube, and I suspect the PSA works in a similar way.
Near the maximum setting, there’s a region labeled “After Burner.”
Once you reach this area, the sound suddenly becomes much more saturated, with a smoother, finer-grained distortion character.
For vintage-style tones or rougher distortion, I prefer keeping Pre-Amp below the After Burner range.
For smooth, modern high-gain tones, the After Burner region is particularly effective.
Drive
To my ears, Drive feels more like a power tube saturation control.
Increasing it doesn’t necessarily produce a dramatic increase in perceived distortion on its own, but combining it with Pre-Amp can generate some seriously aggressive gain.
Be careful, though. Maxing out both controls introduces a considerable amount of noise! lol
Buzz
Buzz controls the low-frequency distortion, saturation, and overall low-end character.
Turning it up produces a boomier, more heavily saturated sound.
For vintage tones, I like increasing Buzz while keeping Pre-Amp and Punch relatively low.
For modern high-gain sounds, I prefer reducing Buzz to keep the low end tight.
If this makes the tone feel too thin, you can compensate with the Low EQ control, which affects a lower frequency range.
Punch
Punch is one of the most important controls for determining the overall character of the sound.
It affects midrange distortion, attack, and how well the guitar cuts through a mix.
For vintage-style tones, I generally keep Punch fairly low.
For metal and modern high-gain sounds, however, I prefer turning it up close to maximum.
Although it increases the midrange, the emphasis seems to be more in the upper mids rather than the muddy lower mids.
This gives the sound more definition and a stronger core, while also making the distortion smoother and more finely textured when combined with Pre-Amp.
If you’re going for a thick, boomy, old-school sound with rougher distortion, lower Punch settings tend to work better.
Crunch
Crunch is a little harder to describe.
To my ears, it seems to affect high-frequency compression and distortion.
Its effect isn’t always immediately obvious, but increasing it makes the upper frequencies more compressed.
For modern high-gain tones, I generally prefer keeping it fairly low.
Turning it up too much seems to flatten the sound, reducing its sense of depth and three-dimensionality.
However, for mildly overdriven crunch tones, it can be very useful.
It adds a bit of grit and compression to sounds that might otherwise feel too weak or clean.
I think it works particularly well for Tweed-style amps or vintage VOX-inspired tones.
Low and High EQ
The PSA-1.1 features a two-band EQ consisting of Low and High controls.
Like other Tech 21 products, the EQ has a very wide adjustment range, with noon serving as the reference point.
The combination of these EQ controls with Buzz, Punch, and Crunch allows you to shape everything from vintage amp tones to modern high-gain distortion.
For an aggressive, scooped metal tone, you can even crank both Low and High! lol
Level and Trim
Level controls the final volume of each preset.
For heavily distorted sounds, where several gain-related controls are turned up, you can reduce Level to balance the output.
For cleaner sounds, where the gain controls are set lower, you can increase Level to maintain a consistent volume between presets.
Trim provides an additional fine adjustment of the output level.
Unlike Level, Trim isn’t stored as part of the MIDI presets.
This makes it useful for adjusting the overall output when connecting the PSA-1.1 to different amplifiers or live sound systems.
More Than Just an Amp Simulator
Although the PSA-1.1 is commonly described as an amp simulator, I think that description doesn’t fully capture what it does.
To me, it’s better understood as:
A highly flexible analog preamp that lets you build your own guitar tones from the ground up.
Rather than simply selecting a preset that imitates a particular amplifier, you’re adjusting the individual characteristics of the distortion and frequency response.
The concept reminds me somewhat of the difference between analog synthesizers and digital modeling synthesizers.
Modern processors such as the Kemper and Axe-Fx II approach amp simulation in a very different way.
The PSA-1.1 gives you a more hands-on experience, where you shape the analog circuitry directly using its unusual control parameters.
The Learning Curve
One disadvantage is that the PSA-1.1 takes some time to understand.
With the SansAmp GT2 or Character Series pedals, it’s relatively easy to dial in a recognizable amplifier sound.
The PSA-1.1 is more like an expanded version of the Tech 21 Trademark 60, offering considerably more control but requiring more experimentation.
You really need to understand how the controls interact before you can consistently get the tones you want.
It isn’t necessarily the best choice for someone looking for instant gratification.
The SansAmp Compression Character
Like other SansAmp products, the PSA-1.1 has a distinctive compressed character.
This makes the sound smoother, softer, and generally more pleasant to the ears.
However, that character won’t appeal to everyone.
If you dislike the compression of the SansAmp Classic or GT2, you probably won’t enjoy the PSA-1.1 either.
Personally, I think its smoother response works beautifully for many styles.
But if you’re looking for extremely aggressive, metallic, cutting high-gain distortion, other distortion pedals or amplifiers may be more suitable.
Final Thoughts
The SansAmp PSA-1.1 was one of Tech 21’s most expensive products when I originally wrote this review.
For someone who already loves the SansAmp sound and wants much deeper control over their tone, I think it’s an excellent piece of equipment.
The combination of analog audio circuitry, programmable presets, MIDI control, and stereo connectivity makes it a genuinely powerful rack preamp.
However, if you’re already completely satisfied with the SansAmp GT2 or Character Series pedals, you may not need the additional complexity or expense.
The PSA-1.1 is ideal for players who enjoy experimenting with tone and want detailed control over the character of their distortion, rather than simply choosing between familiar amp models.
It’s not the easiest preamp to master, but the amount of tonal flexibility it offers is impressive.

Im in the market for a delay and the joyo caught my eye bc the multiple times of delay opinions built in but yall tell me

I've been playing for about 10 years, and I've mostly used Neural DSP and other plugins on my PC and Mac. They sounded good enough, but I always felt like I wanted to use actual pedals and an amp for that feel everyone talks about.

During COVID, I almost bought my first set of pedals, but I figured the plugins were good enough, so why bother?

I do agree that plugins make recording way easier, but man, it's just fun playing with pedals.

Anyway, here's the first set of pedals I've put together.

Rig:

• Amp: Katana 100 Gen 3
• Guitars: Ibanez RG652AHM, HSS Strat clone

1. Hammeron: I mostly use this to down-tune my E standard RG (with an Original Edge tremolo) to Eb or D standard. Anyone who's tried down-tuning a Floyd knows what a pain it is.

2. NUX Steel Singer: I watched a few YouTube reviews and was pretty meh about it, but decided to get it anyway. I run it with the gain almost at zero and the tone almost dimed. Somehow, this just breathes new life into the rather sterile clean channel of my Katana. It sounds amazing! I mostly use it for light blues.

3. MXR Sugar Drive: A nice-sounding Klon clone. Steel Singer into sugar drive gave me a very faithful John Mayer new light solo tone.

4. Ibanez TS Mini: It's a Tube Screamer...

5. NUX XTC OD: I got this after listening to online demos, and I can say it sounds much better in person. It's helped me get a pretty wide variety of tones, from rock to almost metal when paired with the TS Mini. I also managed to get an Eric Johnson-style tone by putting the Katana's Centa OD after it. I'd still love to get a JHS @+ someday, though.

6. Zoom MS-70CDR+ (in the effects loop): This thing is a beast. The reverbs, delays, and chorus sound amazing, and it does a ton of other stuff too, including phaser, noise gate, and more. Right now, I'm mainly using it for a freeze/drone patch, and honestly, that alone justifies the price of this pedal for me.

7. Sonicake Pocket Master: I use this to run NAM profiles through my Katana. Right now, I'm mainly using a 5150 NAM profile, and it sounds so much meaner and angrier than the Katana's built-in high-gain channels. It's just perfect when paired with the TS Mini. Great for metal tones!

Overall, I'd say the younger me would absolutely lose his mind if he knew I had all this gear now. I love playing through it and switching pedals on and off with my foot. Might sound childish, but stomping on pedals is fun!

I also have a Blackstar Beam Mini on my desk, which I absolutely love playing through. I can do a separate review of that if anyone's interested. It supports NAM profiles too, and the built-in amp models sound really good.

The funny thing is that since getting all this, I haven't even touched my plugins. Just turning on an amp and playing is so frictionless that I've actually been playing even more.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for my setup

Planning to add a compressor and a looper next.

I hate pedal boards. This is the wood from one side of a box that once held a bottle of Chivas Regal whiskey. It’s light and I carry it in a tote bag.

Order:

Mooer Blues Mood (sometime I use a BD-2 or Angry Driver - sometimes a Fuzz War or Plums before it.)

Bananana Mandela (super fun glitchy delay thingy)

Boss DD-7 (Reverse Mode, minimum time, medium feedback, full effect)

Hotone Wally+ Looper (for prerecorded electronica bits and samplers)

I know this is probably done to death, but I'm only asking after seeing so many mixed results googling.

I have a TC Sentry on the way because I love gain and overdrives... and it's pretty buzzy lately. I've never done the 4 cable method because in the past I wasn't a big pedal dude, so when I used a gate it was usually just straight in to the front of the amp. So, for clarification, is it:

Guitar > Sentry Input

Sentry Output > EQ, Reverb/Delay > FX Loop Return

FX Loop Send > Sentry Return

Sentry Output > My Many OD's/Fuzzes > Amp

Because I want the guitar signal to trigger the gate, but don't want the OD's in the loop with the mod/time based/10 band because I want those to stay nice and clean...

I ask because I see some people putting the OD's in the loop and in my experience an OD should always be in front of the amp...

curious about settings that sound thin, harsh, or just weird in isolation but suddenly make sense once bass and drums come in.

what pedal and setting was it, and what was it doing in the song? especially interested in the ones you'd probably skip in a solo demo. the 'bad' sound having a job to do is way more interesting to me than another perfect bedroom tone lol.