Pedals that exceeded your expectations

[UlricvonCatalyst]

At low settings on both amp and guitar volume....

What I meant to convey was that with both the pedal gain and (Tele) guitar volume rolled back it does that great rhythm sound, but I got it completely wrong. Anyway, if you get the chance, try one out. You might like it as much as I do.

[distressed]

Behringer Superfuzz already mentioned, killer fuzz for peanuts.

EHX Nano Pulsar. I needed a tremolo, and assumed that EHX nano version would be at least decent, without checking it out too much (volume control was enough for me). It turned out as great versatile warm sounding tremolo. Just wish it had an input for exp pedal, it would be perfect.

[Sir Simon Milligan]

Ventris--I don't know why I didn't really explore the dual reverb feature of this pedal, but a reverse reverb going into a modulated reverb creates a huge, glorious wall of sound.

ss/bs Mini: it's my always on pedal and I love stacking it with other dirt. I often use it just as a clean boost.

DD200: I wanted some thing that didn't involve menu diving like the DD500I had a few years ago but still wanted a wide range of delays that were tweak able with just a few knobs. I've been extremely happy with it.

[muffonrat]

Some of the pedals that really stayed with me over the years:

Tall font sovtek big muff

Moogerfooger ring modulator

Danelectro reel echo DT-1

Rat

All of these exceeded my expectations in one way or another but the one that actually blown my mind after I discovered the full potential was the Danelectro.
Shity quality footswitches and less than average quality sound (def in the lo fi side of the spectrum) but the potential of this pedal for my personal style and for improvisation is enormous.
The Zoom MS 70 CDR is also a whole pedalboard in a small pedal, def worth mentioning.

[PapaB]

The Plumes. Have an amp that would flat out not distort at high gain (Hot Rod Deluxe George Benson) and the clean, clear boost and EQ toggles pushed it over the edge ... into a deep jazzy distortion.

Gives the Tweaker by Egnater a lovely southern rock growl too.

Nice boost, OD pedal.

[preservation]

Mosky reverb = SO CLOSE to my DRRI, but almost more menacing or haunting. Sounds so good with fuzz. $30


KatanaSound Furious Man = incredible overdrive, blown out fuzz face, spaghetti western. They’re pricey but worth the wide range of sounds. Perhaps my #1 dirt for recording purposes.

GFI Synesthesia = I flip pedals. Often. I’ve had this since it came out and will never, ever get rid of it. The dual modulation is wonderful , including the record player/bullhorn/LoFi sounds.

[green_mario]

Boss SD-1. Bought it on the fly in a store because it was cheap. Still one of the best OD (if not the best).

same story, bought it because it was the cheapest pedal I could buy at a pawn shop over 10 years ago. still one of my favorites.

[freemeat]

Walrus Audio - acs1

I think I've had a shot of most amp in a box style pedals over the past fifteen years and this was the first one that actually sat me on my arse with how good it sounded. Usually it's a case of reality being far below expectations but, honestly, not here.

It just makes you want to play guitar. You forget it's a pedal making that sound. I had to check some stomps I was selling and ran them into the acs1 with the headphones into the pedal. Ended up losing an hour and not wanting to sell the other pedals. I've no idea how they did it, but it's some right strong black magic and I am here for it.

Yes, it's expensive (I got a s/h one for about half rrp). Yes, it's fairly low gain on its own. But it sounds unreal, takes pedals extremely well, and has a headphones jack built in for easy silent practice. And the sounds are great, especially the Fender. It's replaced all my amp vsts on ableton and sounds like I'm playing a really good amp when di'd straight in. Solved all my issues with guitars sounding thin or audibly like emulations. Now it's just technical ability I'm wrestling against.

Can't see why it wouldn't be great live, but haven't bothered to go that way yet.

[countertext]

A coworker was in Victoria BC last weekend and found an AnalogMan-modded Boss Metal Zone at a pawn shop while looking for wristwatches. He doesn’t play guitar but thought it looked cool/funny, so he grabbed it for me.

It’s killer! It doesn’t sound like a Metal Zone. The jet engine hiss is gone. It kinda reminds me of my Catalinbread DLS, but with a much wider EQ range… like REALLY wide. Amp-like gain and breakup, sweepable mid frequency, huge output level.

Anyway, a cheap pawnshop score that I didn’t know I was getting, and it turns out great. Keep an eye out for one.

[jorri]

Mosky reverb = SO CLOSE to my DRRI, but almost more menacing or haunting. Sounds so good with fuzz. $30

Mosky mag echo is flipping great! Used in conjunction with a Catalinbread is my main duo. Its dark without buffer before though (even dry signal).

Can i vaguely group into being disappointed by expensive ones and impressed by cheap ones haha!? And the ones I've built that actually work as original designed being totally miraculous
My eventide Space is getting used less and less though as its got a weird gap when use the bypass switch, and the DSP tone is actually rubbish which would otherwise help the situation. Good tones, its an endless multi-fx to me not a reverb, but its been relegated a lot.

Then the self-designed one. I am at the point where 7 years old, i forget what i actually did in adapting a fuzz face from every angle until it was not aa fuzz face, different trans, dual tone stack, additional boost stage that is likely clipping, weird biases. Its fat, synthy, saw wave yet chords are no issue, its clear with FX but also can be nasty (in a good way). More of a parallel universe of muff than FF. Maybe i should sell it again since its some monster that i can't find a comparison with.

[cestlamort]

Now five or six years into using it, the Eventide H9 still surprises me with its range of sounds and versatility. I still don’t have my head around everything it can do but I find cool sounds whenever I choose an effect (“algorithm”) and dig into it. It does have limitations - notably only one algorithm at a time (the H90 solves that issue and more)- but it can do so many things and take a number of different paths to similar results. I’ve had some productive time lately with guitar > H9 > amp in the living room, editing the sounds on the pedal only (not using the great app even).
And: onboard tuner.

Used prices seem to be continuing to fall and I’d been considering letting go of my core (basic version that gets upgraded if you have the full-features Max) but I can’t think of another pedal I’d prefer in the price range (250 or so; Max versions seem to be around $325-350).

When I’d bought a used core and max via Craigslist 5-6 years ago (for the unimaginable sum of $700), I expected to use them for a while and then flip them to get something else. Instead, they’ve pushed aside all sorts of other effects and made others not even stick around after comparing sound and utility. The H9 started me down a path of saved presets and midi and expression control, of deep editing and granular control, and I can’t imagine going back.