Mini pedal hatred

[felixvaughn]

I could never ever buy one of those mini (1590A) sized pedal not matter how good it sounded.
Everything about them pisses me off, the uneven jack sockets, the tiny little knobs, the lack of battery option and how big the footswitch looks.

I understand that there are some people out there who want huge Kevin Shields style pedal boards but with a smaller footprint but I think the tiny pedals are lame. I have no issues with SMT manufacturing, their "toylike" quality, that they tend to be Chinese cheapies, complex rigs with lots of pedals, nor am I a "size queen", in fact I prefer my little big muff over it's original incarnation.

Does anyone else share my disdain for these miniature monstrosities?

[natthu]

I've owned plenty in the past. I don't really use them now (save for my Chase Bliss Faves).
The main issue I have with tiny pedals is how unstable they are on the pedalboard compared to a larger pedal.
I've considered rehousing a few into a Hammond 1590B sized enclosure, but I just ended up replacing them with bigger (usually Boss/MXR-sized) pedals.

That said, really big pedals annoy me more. EHX HOG, Eventide... those pedals take up too much pedalboard real estate.

[601210]

Yeah not a fan unless there's absolutely no other option. The garbage little plastic nubs for knobs are the dealbreaker for me.

[zhivago]

I like mini tuners, but that's about it, really.

[Whiny Minotaur]

I bought a RAT clone with 3 switching options when I was living in a tiny ass dorm and had no access to my gear. It sounded really nice and the tiny size was good for my situation, but god the knobs are so much a pain in the ass to deal with, that I swore off on them entirely. I'm actually thinking of rehousing the pedal I have in a larger enclosure.

[s_mcsleazy]

i have a few on my board but i do have an issue with how small they are. my big problem is i tend to turn on/off 2-3 at once.... i'm not even bragging about my foot size..... i have quite small feet

[somanytoys]

I don’t really have hardly any, and never really have, with the exception of ones that are only made that way - the Xotic EP boost and the TC Polytune.

Those sizes are fine for what those pedals do - nothing to jack with on the tuner except the foot switch, and a foot switch and one decent sized knob on the EP.

I don’t really like tiny pedals, or tiny knobs, they’re a pain in the ass and hard to see the settings. I also don’t especially like giant pedals, but if they’re good enough to own, use and make room for, then I’m fine with them. I have a few like that for guitar, like the Infinite Jets, good ab-y channel switchers, and recently a couple of the old Vox Cooltrons. Many of my bass preamp pedals are kind of larger, but that’s the way it goes.

The only other small pedal I would consider buying is the ss/bs mini, but I’d probably just go ahead and get the larger version (the Fuck, I think?)

[Shadoweclipse13]

I think having an entire board of mini pedals would be ok, but they're definitely not my thing. For me, the problem is spacing: if they're too close, you can't turn one on quickly. Having a pedalboard where the pedals are too close together pretty much negates any advantage of a board that's small enough to travel with. I think the vintage big boxes are cool, but I tend to play with a lot of pedals, so that's not very feasible either. I honestly think a 125B with top jacks is the perfect size pedal enclosure. Even butt right up against each other, you can hit the footswitch without much worry.

[sessylU]

Cool.

[StevenO]

I like them. I can shove a handful of them into the front pocket of my guitar gig bag and be satisfied. I think that's enough of a good reason to like them for me.

[parry]

I L VE minis!
Their TONE is better than any of the old originals by far. I find the smaller, thinner enclosures really open up the sound and let the notes breathe.

[parry]

I like them. I can shove a handful of them into the front pocket of my guitar gig bag and be satisfied. I think that's enough of a good reason to like them for me.

It's true. And if you were shoving old school pedals in your pants pockets - well, that's just crazy. Lugging around giant boards with old-school pedals is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwEmQNd6wMA

[StevenO]

I like them. I can shove a handful of them into the front pocket of my guitar gig bag and be satisfied. I think that's enough of a good reason to like them for me.

It's true. And if you were shoving old school pedals in your pants pockets - well, that's just crazy. Lugging around giant boards with old-school pedals is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwEmQNd6wMA

Can confirm.

I L VE minis!
Their TONE is better than any of the old originals by far. I find the smaller, thinner enclosures really open up the sound and let the notes breathe.

Can confirm.

[Steadyriot.]

It depends on the use; utility pedals can't be small enough as far as I'm concerned. My noise gate sits tucked away underneath my pedalboard because it's always on. Same goes for my compressor; tiny, always on and tucked away.
If you're out tapdancing though, the small format can be annoying. OTOH a crowded pedalboard with multiple normal sized pedals can also feel pretty cramped.


I can see myself kicking multiple switches on the bottom row of this board and these are regular sized pedals.

That's why you get a looper/switcher..

[Shadoweclipse13]

I can see myself kicking multiple switches on the bottom row of this board and these are regular sized pedals.

That's why you get a looper/switcher..

I love the idea of loop switchers. The bottom row there might be tight because of 2 switches per pedal. If each of those pedals only had a single switch, it likely wouldn't feel near as cramped.