Recommendations Without Comprehensive Tests. Hmmm.

[GuardiansGuitar]

I don't feel like explicitly calling out the media company that inspired this post, because I have my own guitar-media thing going over at Guardians of Guitar, and I've also worked for competing media.

 

But when I see statements, headlines, and/or video intros such as "Here's our rundown of the 15 best chorus pedals available on the market today," I feel I'm justified in expecting the "recommending" entity to have actually tested those 15 pedals rather comprehensively.

 

I mean, you're telling me these are the "best" â at least in the considered opinion of the reviewer(s), and I'm okay with that. I can deal with a writer's specific lean regarding likes, dislikes, and overt subjectivity, as long as they explain their processes and defend their findings.

 

In the specific case above, however, only SOME of the chorus pedals received full reviews. A significant amount of the data was obviously culled from press releases, and a few of the mentions even linked back to the original press releases from the manufacturers of the pedals.

 

In a journalistic era where clickbait and web-traffic acquisition appears, in many cases, to override truth, research, and fair play, I get why some media elements seek to get players to click facile gear-roundup promises such as "the best," "the greatest," "the ultimate," "the most value," and so on.

 

I simply look forward to the day when players refuse to read review content that isn't deep, comprehensive, detail oriented, accurate, and full of real-world application points ("this is good for this, but perhaps not so good for that," etc.).

 

PLEASE don't click reviews that promise you ratings and recommendations by editors who haven't even plugged the things in. Aren't we all better than that?

[CEB]

Ha! I watched one of those yesterday. I just wanted to hear a bunch of different fuzzes. The one liked is to too big. Another one that would work was from Analogman. Went to buy one and there are a bunch of squirrely ð¿ options involving different transistors and a internal option. Oh jeez.... I want simple. I play guitar not stomp boxes.

[Larryz]

Oh jeez.... I want simple. I play guitar not stomp boxes.

 

+1 I'm not into stomp boxes anymore and I'm down to using just one with a little reverb from the amp. But, when I do purchase a stomp box (guitar/amp/mic/etc.) I always read the reviews on MF, SW and other mail order sites along with the comments on this forum. I also can find demos for just about any pedal on YouTube and I'll check all of them out. When a story comes out on the 10 best amps/guitar players/pedals/etc., I'll read them but I don't always agree with the authors.

 

[surfergirl]

I have a few people whose review's I trust. One that comes to mind is Matt Blackett. I sent him an email a few years ago with a dumb question about a pedal and he resonded without making me feel stupid.

[Caevan O’Shite]

MUCH agreed. I've noticed a lot of 'Lite' content in such lame 'Top 10' type craptabulous compilations across the internet, leaving me going 'Pfffffft... ' as I shake my head and tick off another 'site not to revisit...

[desertbluesman]

The only review I actually believe is; when I test a product myself. If I like it then my personal reviewer says buy it. Simple really, I have a personal taste that is not necessarily the same as any reviewer out there.

[CEB]

Brick and mortar forever baby.

[Winston Psmith]

It strikes me that those "10 Best . . ." lists are really just clickbait. As Guardian says at the outset, too many of them are just quoting media handouts and company lines, there's no indication that anyone really sat down with 10 or 15 different stomp boxes to evaluate them. At best, they're wish lists, at worst, an underhanded form of advertising.

 

Also, how many of us are really looking at 10 or 15 different pedals, of any kind, at one time? Whatever you're looking for, you probably have two or three pedals in mind to compare.

 

For my part, I prefer video demos that show me one pedal at a time, so I can really hear what it does, and decide if that's what I'm looking for. All the text in the world doesn't tell me what a couple of seconds of audio can.

[KuruPrionz]

Just noise on the interwebz, it will get worse.

 

FWIW, one of my search tactics is to add the word "forum" to a search - "Pedal Thingie Goodie" + forum.

Whatever the topic, this tends to lead to a group discussion of the item (or problem/solution etc).

 

You can find all sorts of viewpoints that way, the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

You will also most certainly find "internet experts", cork sniffers, people hating on stuff because they have no idea how to dial it in, people hating on stuff because they love terrible things/sounds that they own, etc.

And people loving stuff because it is a "religion" for them. Certain "Less Pall" forums come to mind and of course Gearsl#tz.

 

The post above about the only reviewer that matters speaks to me as well. I used to remove all the badges and cover any evidence of brand or model on my guitar amps. Played a LOT of gigs with a Chinese Red Stripe Peavey Studio Pro. I put a better speaker in it and dialed it for tones I liked. Guitarists would come up on breaks to talk shop (one of the most boring things in the entire Universe!) and ask what amp I was using as they loved my tone.

Watching their heart sink when I told them it was an old Peavey amp I paid $60 for was priceless. :- D

 

I did use a delay pedal and the channel switcher for the amp but that was it. No "magic tone" pedals. So there was no out for them, they had to believe that you can get a great tone out of a Peavey if you understand what you are hearing and dial accordingly. I've had dozens of nice tube amps, a Mesa will teach you how to dial in your tone, there are a lot of "not quite right" tones in there. Now I mainly want reliable.

[skypuppy123]

The difficulty, to me anyway, with demoing pedals is the testing environment. It's a rough guestimate on whether the demo is true to what is recorded with. I don't know how many times I was disappointed with the purchase assuming the tone I was hearing , and was not the case at all.

[Winston Psmith]

@KuruPrionz - I have a U.S.-made Red Stripe Peavey Studio Pro 112 that my bandmate gave me. It's a workhorse Amp, even without a more hallowed name on the speaker grille.

 

Most people forget that Hartley Peavey's first Amp designs were inspired by early, and iconic, Fender Amps, and there are affordable Peavey models well worth seeking out.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Hmmmm.... ?

 

[font:Courier New]"The Best New Guitars, Amps, Pedals and Accessories on the Market"[/font]

[ClaudeLane]

If you are serious about pursuing it as a hobby do not settle for a cheap guitar? You get what you pay for. Its simple economics. If you are going to commit to it, make sure you commit to the right one. First off read up some reviews, I found some places like bestelectricguitars.reviews/best-metal-guitars would be good enough. Acoustic or Electric doesn't really matter in my opinion. But acoustic is ready to go on the fly. No amp, no cables, no hassles. A Fender acoustic or Yamaha acoustic is a good beginner guitar around 10K price range. If you are looking for something cheaper try Granada or Cort.

 

[KuruPrionz]

@KuruPrionz - I have a U.S.-made Red Stripe Peavey Studio Pro 112 that my bandmate gave me. It's a workhorse Amp, even without a more hallowed name on the speaker grille.

 

Most people forget that Hartley Peavey's first Amp designs were inspired by early, and iconic, Fender Amps, and there are affordable Peavey models well worth seeking out.

 

I had a USA made one too but I really could not hear any difference so I used the Made In China one. Totally reliable too.

FWIW, I've always turned the T-Dynamics all the way to the left and turned the master volume way up on the lead channel. Switch distortion type to Vintage and then crack open the gain control and dial EQ to your guitar. They really have a sweet singing tone that way and if you play soft chords come out nice and clear.

 

I've got a Vypyr VIP3 now, still sussing it out but it has that same Transtube tone which might be Hartley's greatest accomplishment - overseeing that project.

 

 

 

[Larryz]

If you are serious about pursuing it as a hobby do not settle for a cheap guitar? You get what you pay for. Its simple economics. If you are going to commit to it, make sure you commit to the right one. First off read up some reviews, I found some places like bestelectricguitars.reviews/best-metal-guitars would be good enough. Acoustic or Electric doesn't really matter in my opinion. But acoustic is ready to go on the fly. No amp, no cables, no hassles. A Fender acoustic or Yamaha acoustic is a good beginner guitar around 10K price range. If you are looking for something cheaper try Granada or Cort.

 

WELCOME ABOARD CLAUDELANE! I think you meant 1K for a Fender or Yamaha acoustic. 10K would be way out of bounds for these brands. For a beginner, I would look at $500 guitars with good easy to play action. They can get into the more expensive models if they decide to stick with it IMHO.

[desertbluesman]

I buy cheapo guitars, and set them up myself. I have an Ibanez RG321 that cost me $272 shipped I had to file the frets and re solder the tone pot, that was over 10 years ago. I still play it every 3rd day and I wouldn't want a more expensive guitar since this is the most versatile guitar that I have ever owned. And I have owned at least 30 over the years, including 4 or so Les Paul Customs, a Firebird, several Strats, a 60's tele. a custom made guitar from Philip Petillo, several SG's and countless others. If the neck is straight and the pups are decent, I can do anything with that guitar that I need done. Expensive don't mean squat, it is the player and the set up that matters. I also have a 300 buck Strat Clone I fixed up, and a homemade parts caster that I made 30 years or more ago, all 3 out play anything else I have ever owned for sound quality and ease of playing..

[Larryz]

A buddy just sent me an email on the Yamaha Storia I at $399 he tried out at a guitar store. He knows his guitars and said it sounded and played as good as any Taylor or Gibson $1,000 model. Great beginner guitar:

 

[video:youtube]

 

[d halfnote]

The OP is well-reasoned

however one of the trix there would be

"expecting the "recommending" entity to have actually tested those 15 pedals rather comprehensively"

Ya simply can't know that

even if the posters claims to've done so.

 

That's why

while one might get tips from others

ya should never buy anything without testing it yerself.

Everything from yer playing technique(s)

to the environment yer in will affect how a device sounds.