Underrated pedal brands

personalnadir

There are some great builders out there who for whatever reason seem to go under the radar. Which builders do you think should get more love? 

ICBM

DOD

Some really good pedals from the 80s and 90s when they were the main competitor to Boss and Ibanez at the higher end of the market before there were ‘boutique’ pedals, but they never seemed to have quite the pro-user credibility... not sure why.

RaymondLin

Hungry Robot.

Sassafras

Now that 'booteek' pedals have taken over the world, I'd say Boss have become underrated.

monquixote

Sassafras said:

Now that 'booteek' pedals have taken over the world, I'd say Boss have become underrated.

I think that was the case for a while but it's starting to go back again.

Gulliver

Henretta Engineering.  Small. No knobs. Ideal for if you only ever use one setting on a pedal and want to save real-estate.

KevS

80s era pedals I heard that sounded good were Pearl and Guyatone..No idea who made the Pearl pedals..I never heard them all,but the ones I heard sounded great..Same with Guyatone.I never heard their distortion or overdrive though..No idea about reliability though...As anything with age people want a fortune for on reverb now..There are no bargains it seems..It is strange,the non Boss/Ibanez brands over 20 years old seem to carry a premium for not being Boss or Ibanez.. I think out of them all,Boss got the switch and box right..The DOD battery door that gets lost and the not as good switch..My Dod graphic is definitely quieter than the Boss though.The non standard10 volt input is a pain though.. .When secondhand Boss is cheaper than secondhand PSK something is wrong..I am quite new to Reverb..

JCA2550

Tokai and Yamaha made some great pedals in the 80s

Dopesick

Alexander by far

Wazmeister

PTD

Strymon - too many dismiss them as they appear mainstream, but are extremely creative.

Chase Tone - the pre amp thingy is superb.

EHX - some really creative stuff.

KevS

JCA2550 said:

Tokai and Yamaha made some great pedals in the 80s

I had a Tokai Flanger,,the first silver and green metal one..I parted with that 30 years ago though..So can't compare it to other Flangers since....I wish I knew what factories made pedals for who..
I think Korg made the First Yamaha series..The one with the  footwitch up the middle

SidNewton

monquixote said:

Sassafras said:

Now that 'booteek' pedals have taken over the world, I'd say Boss have become underrated.

I think that was the case for a while but it's starting to go back again.

I would agree with this, helped by the Waza Craft range. I am on a non boutique mission at the moment having had a recent clearout of a few things. I'm even considering buying a Boss GT1000 Core and combining that with my remaining drive pedals.
In 33 years of playing I have never owned a multi effects but I like the look of both the flexibility and quality it offers. 

joeyowen

Way Huge

Have some amazing fuzzes/drives/delays but you just don't see them often compared to other brands.

The green rhino is one of the best ts sounds, and the conspiracy is a phenominal klone (imo).

Plus, top mounted jacks!

ICBM

joeyowen said:

Plus, top mounted jacks!

Minor thread diversion... but I've never understood this phrase. You mean *rear* mounted jacks... unless I'm missing something . (I've seen plenty of Way Huge pedals.)

These are top mounted jacks .

personalnadir

ICBM said:

joeyowen said:

Plus, top mounted jacks!

Minor thread diversion... but I've never understood this phrase. You mean *rear* mounted jacks... unless I'm missing something . (I've seen plenty of Way Huge pedals.)

These are top mounted jacks .

Looks like a robot with a goatee. Also faintly upsetting. Where’s the online petition to get the jacks moved?

hollywoodrox

Joyo , wide range of sounds for affordable price , also ,nux ,donned ,Sonicake 

Lestratcaster

The one that make the Bad Monkey tubescreamer type pedal. Very good for the money.

Fuengi

TC Electronic make some great sounding pedals. 

dilbert

hollywoodrox said:

Joyo , wide range of sounds for affordable price , also ,nux ,donned ,Sonicake 

I'll add Tomsline/Aroma and Mosky to the list. I'm playing through mini pedals now as much as I am full size and the quality is just fine.
 

tweedphan

Wazmeister said:

PTD

Strymon - too many dismiss them as they appear mainstream, but are extremely creative.

Chase Tone - the pre amp thingy is superb.

EHX - some really creative stuff.

Another vote for Chase Tone preamp. I now have two - one for mini board and the other for main board. Fatten up and enhance both clean and overdrive tones. 

joeyowen

ICBM said:

joeyowen said:

Plus, top mounted jacks!

Minor thread diversion... but I've never understood this phrase. You mean *rear* mounted jacks... unless I'm missing something . (I've seen plenty of Way Huge pedals.)

These are top mounted jacks .

Lol, you clearly don't stand your pedals up on the board do you rookie.

Did you not know tone is best when you have to toe poke it on