Pete Cornish - Worth It ?

Wazmeister

Good people, my name has come up on the list....

I fancy a CC-1, but it's a lot of scratch to drop in one go. But the P1 and G2 also look great...

Any thoughts on these pedals ?

Kebabkid

@Wazmeister

Looks like the man to talk to is @Gassage and you can see his pedalboard here sporting a few PC pedals

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/118330/#Comment_118330

EdGrip

Pete Cornish sure solders those simple electronic components into simple circuits better than other people do.

juansolo

Thoughts - They are VERY expensive. Whether you think it's worth it or not is not really for me to say. For me they're not. The G2 is a fairly limited use buffered muff for example. Great at thickening a Strat, but not a lot else. However if that's all you want it to do and you're minted, it might be perfect for you.

EricTheWeary

My sense of it (just from forum stuff) is they are built to be very roadworthy and do fairly simple jobs well in pro rigs.So, depends where you are on the continuum beteween world tour and playing Mustang Sally in your underpants to the dog.

ThePrettyDamned

There is a bit of a myth that you pay for the fact he'll fix it, no questions asked, but it's only got a 1-2 year warranty.

And the switching *still* isn't as reliable as a boss pedal.

But other than that, I don't think I could justify it - no one seems keen on doing gut shots, but I'd imagine they're mostly simple, classic circuits that happened to be made by the cornish family. The crazy delay one he did, for example, was actually a boss dd-2 that was rehoused and had a couple of mods, which definitely isn't over a grand of work in my books.

EdGrip

I should think you'd have to look pretty hard to find a pedal - either from one of the big manufacturers or one of the hard-working hand-building crowd - who make a pedal that isn't "road worthy" (i.e. it's a metal box with a footswitch on the top that doesn't break if you repeatedly operate the footswitch, and is easy to service if it does break - as far as I know, PC is one of the goop brigade, so they are not as easily serviceable if it breaks. In fact, isn't he the guy that actually puts a tamper seal on the box? So even if it's just a simple wiring problem rather than a board problem, you still have to take it back to the Bugatti dealership? Yes, he is:)

"Road worthy", indeed.

hotpickups

Yes have to agree. No pedal is worth that kind of money. Only mega touring musicians could afford one comfortably and they might have been given them free anyway just to be seen using them.

Us mere mortals will stick to the more reasonably priced pedals

Wazmeister

Im with you guys... But, cost aside, what abourt their 'sound' ?

ourmaninthenorth

Have an SS3 - had it for nearly 4 years, in that time I haven't bought a single overdrive pedal. Initial outlay was high granted, but it's great not to be in that cycle of chasing the next great white hope pedal - with all the ensuing cost, and judging by the classified section, disappointment.

I doubt you'll go wrong with this gear Warren.

Wazmeister

Ourmaninthenorth,

Thanks for the input guys

How is the SS3 as a 'stand alone' pedal ?

Moe_Zambeek

Had a tb83 extra I bought used that was great, but not massively different from my pedal work mcboost...so I sold it. Bought a g2/ss3 combo and really didn't like it...plus it arrived from the dealers with the warranty seal 2/3rds split. Sent it back for a refund.

I do have 2 Cornish cables which are fantastically robust, I'd recommend them without hesitation.

ThePrettyDamned

Not sure, but IIRC the ss2 was a variant on a tubescreamer.

Edit: really not sure what it's based on from personal experience but a tech had one said that to me.

By being so expensive and exclusive, and gooping and using a tamper seal, cornish virtually guarantee that no one will look inside to see that they are perfectly ordinary effects. The fact the warranty seal exists should be a warning - if you're on tour, and a switch goes, you could just solder one in... Except you can't, because of the seal. If it's gooped, even harder.

They might sound amazing, but you are paying more for the name than anything else, I reckon.

Or I'm wrong and they have unique circuits and components no one else uses. It is a possibility, but I just don't see it. I would find them better value with a lifetime warranty, too...

ICBM

hotpickups said:

Yes have to agree. No pedal is worth that kind of money. Only mega touring musicians could afford one comfortably and they might have been given them free anyway just to be seen using them.

I'm pretty sure everyone pays full whack, even the rock stars. I remember seeing a bill for some large amount of money for a board he did for Pete Townshend some time ago. (If I remember right, it was several thousand pounds for a board containing three Boss pedals and a tuner!)

I think what you're paying for is mostly the history of his association with the biggest names in the business, from back when no-one else was really making custom touring pedalboards. Many of the innards of these were standard Boss circuits too - not copies, the actual PCBs. The component quality in his own-built stuff appears to be pretty good, but there comes a point where it simply can't be better than the best anyone else uses.

I think the lifetime warranty applies to the custom rock-star boards, and only to the original owner - not the 'commercial' pedals.

juansolo

ThePrettyDamned said:

Not sure, but IIRC the ss2 was a variant on a tubescreamer.

Edit: really not sure what it's based on from personal experience but a tech had one said that to me.

By being so expensive and exclusive, and gooping and using a tamper seal, cornish virtually guarantee that no one will look inside to see that they are perfectly ordinary effects. The fact the warranty seal exists should be a warning - if you're on tour, and a switch goes, you could just solder one in... Except you can't, because of the seal. If it's gooped, even harder.

They might sound amazing, but you are paying more for the name than anything else, I reckon.

Or I'm wrong and they have unique circuits and components no one else uses. It is a possibility, but I just don't see it. I would find them better value with a lifetime warranty, too...

The G2 was degooped. It is a muff, but it's been played with quite a bit and it's got buffers all over it. Don't know if the thread is still on FSB or not. As for the others... Who knows. The whole degooping fund stopped due to the fact that 99% of pedals with goop on are familiar circuits with a twist and everyone lost interest (particularly in dropping £600 on the next big thing just to find it is yet another Tube Screamer).

Edit: here you go. You might need to be a member to see it (worth it anyhow if you have an interest in effects and how they work): http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9255

ThePrettyDamned

@juansolo I've not been on for so long I've forgotten my login deets, but I'll read it later.

Sounds interesting though!

ICBM has a point. There is something quite cool about owning something made by someone on a pro board.

Luckily, most pros have a boss somewhere so I'm happy

juansolo

Yep, John5 is my hero in that respect. I think he has something like 3 Boss pedals and that's it. Brilliant.

ThePrettyDamned

juansolo;200125" said:

Yep, John5 is my hero in that respect. I think he has something like 3 Boss pedals and that's it. Brilliant.

John5 is my hero because he's a bloody hero at crossing metal and country

I remember dedicating hours to learning sugarfoot rag, and it really dawned on me how much of a genius he is. He does this crazy 1 finger, 2 string unison bend to a major chord that took me a while to master.

Wazmeister

Well one and all, I've been following this thread on my iPhone, and it's far from ideal...

Still, back on my mac now, and I appreciate all your inputs.

EricTheWeary said:

My sense of it (just from forum stuff) is they are built to be very roadworthy and do fairly simple jobs well in pro rigs.So, depends where you are on the continuum beteween world tour and playing Mustang Sally in your underpants to the dog.

Man, you must have a hidden camera in my house...

Any more users out there ? (pete Cornish I mean...)

ourmaninthenorth

Wazmeister said:

Ourmaninthenorth,

Thanks for the input guys

How is the SS3 as a 'stand alone' pedal ?

It has to stand alone Warren, it's the only pedal I use!!!  (Well, not strictly true, I also use a oc44 Rangemaster  ) )

If I hear another pedal that does the job as well as this one, and is noticeably less money, then I'd buy one and pocket the difference. I'm not a slavish disciple of Pete Cornish and his marque just for the kudos, it's simply that I've never heard a specifically better product. 

Whilst the naysayers argue about the outrageous costs, I'm far too busy enjoying the outrageous tones I can get from it.

)

Heartfeltdawn

The Cornish pedals I've had were very nice but really not worth it for the like of me. The G2 for instance left me with similar impressions to JuanSolo. It's big, it's thick, but it's far from the best Muff I've used. Any overdrive over £200 falls into the expensive category for me and I was more than happy to sell the Cornish gear on.