Cornish pedals and similar expensive pedal makers ?

darcym

yeah, that's why people tour with Dumble amps, Van Wielden amps, bogners, klons and various other off the shelf items.

Heartfeltdawn

p90fool said:

Both offer value in their own way, I'm just not sure that the OP is well served by lumping two completely contrasting ways of building effects together to examine their value-for-money simply because they're both expensive.

He should have done a full analysis of Cornish versus Vertex for pure comedy value. 

randomhandclaps

The thing is both the P1 & G2 are modded Big Muff circuits.  That's not knocking Pete for that but when it comes to invention or circuit wizardry his demonstrable examples are based on personal taste and hold no more merit than the guys who came up with the Musket, the Black Pharaoh or the Swollen Pickle.

Let's be honest about Pete Cornish.  He went and still goes to a lot of trouble to protect 'his' circuits from even being seen.  This could be because he genuinely believes his creations are unique (which clearly he should/would know otherwise), could be that he thinks his design tweaks are perfecting flawed designs or more cynically could be to hide the fact that they in fact tweaked/modded designs.

He's obviously fully aware that his previous designs are 'heavily borrowed' as he went to the trouble of inserting this in the advertising spiel of the CC-1

My new Crunch pedal, which has taken over a year to perfect, is now available to order.

The CC-1™ is not a variant of any existing product but a completely new and original design.

Now he could be telling the truth and the CC-1 is indeed utterly unique.  Baring in mind no-one has seen one I personally would hold fire before betting my house on it.

I've said before that's Pete's stuff is completely worth if it is perfect for you.  It holds resale value really well, and is likely to go up when he croaks it.  If it makes you happy, makes you feel more confident about your playing then like any piece of equipment it's probably worth the value if you can afford it.

Lastly what I will say as somebody who used to be a guitar tech and has built numerous boards up for touring bands as well as toured myself, that @Drew_fx is spot on -

Drew_fx said:

Generally, touring rigs will be full of the most common as muck pedals and amps that you can think of. Real touring guys can't afford for a one of a kind boutique pedal to fail on them, no matter how good it is or unique it sounds.

The most important factor is that if stuff goes tits up it can be replaced, or you have a spare.  Regardless of how bomb-proof any pedal claims to be things still go wrong.  At one stage we were even removing beloved Klons from boards 'just in case' due to the shortage of them and seeking out reliable clones for artist who could easily have afforded the originals. 

As an example one band had two guitarist using Mesa V-Twins.  The lead guitarist used two on stage and had one spare, knowing he could get through a set with just one.  One night the switch went on one V-Twin so he carried on with just the one.  The faulty one was switched out for the spare the next morning.  The absolute priority was then to get the bust one fixed so a spare was in place for that night's show.  It was a simple fix but there's no point in having to send something back directly to the builder to have him say that it's going to take a couple of weeks to fix or six weeks for a new one.

juansolo

Gassage said:

Hmmmm- the CC1 is utterly unique, and the G2 and P1 are absolute class leaders. I'd call that uniquely voiced. No-one's managed to succesfully clone them

Back in the day, FSB pulled apart a G2 and cloned it. It's not a problem. However, due to the costs involved (in buying one to dissassenble and trace) and the fact that FSB got a bit jaded about every boutique pedal they de-gooped being yet another clone of something else. They never did any others.

That said, someone must've done an SS2 as I've got a SS2/G2 multi clone

thisisguitar

@juansolo - Have you had a chance to A/B it?

tone1

Oh dear! I've been on a mission to score 2nd hand Mooer pedals for £30 or less!

Paul_C

tone1 said:

Oh dear! I've been on a mission to score 2nd hand Mooer pedals for £30 or less!

I've got a Pitch Box I could probably part with . . .

juansolo

thisisguitar said:

@juansolo - Have you had a chance to A/B it?

Not the Cornish no (have done with Klons). But other than tolerances in part values, if the schematics are accurate then it will be close as these things are.

thisisguitar

Thanks @juansolo - Just curious as to how it compares.

I would imagine the parts costs aren't that great, but to do it as a business with the margins required to actually keep a premises and pay yourself and others it would soon add up. Thinking about what I charge to teach, compared to say Shaun Baxter, I'd say that that he probably charges a reasonable price given his level of skill.

I always find it amusing how divisive things like this are. Value is in the ear/wallet of the beholder. 

Plus I have to fight his corner, I've bought 3 of his pedals within 2 months :-)

Wazmeister

Drew_fx said:

allicio said:

Problem is if you break the seal you void the warranty

And there are many questions as to why this is so. Some say it's because the innards are bonehead simple.

With all respect Drew, you have to smile at statements like this....

If it is that simple, why aren't there a dozen clones out there ??? PC pedals are surely one of the most ideal to clone... Hard to get hold of, mythical status, expensive to buy new. Klone em, sell em, bingo !

It reminds me of that geezer on here recently selling his 'Bat' G2 clone or something... Better than PC, superior parts etc etc. Went down like a one legged man in an arse kicking competition...

No, imho, PC pedals are quality, unique (in many ways), expensive and at times overhyped maybe. But please, there's not some hidden conspiracy going on here. Buy em, love em, enjoy em. Or choose something cheaper, and let us others who are idiots, doctors, lawyers and fooled enjoy our dellusion too...

TheCount

The schematic floating around on the internet for the G2 is wrong, I breadboarded it and it sounds nothing like a G2 - much to dark and muddy. I remember reading page after page on the G2 thread of people trying different diodes to brighten it up, when actually the feedback caps are the wrong value;)

juansolo

Wazmeister said:

If it is that simple, why aren't there a dozen clones out there ??? PC pedals are surely one of the most ideal to clone... Hard to get hold of, mythical status, expensive to buy new. Klone em, sell em, bingo !

Quite frankly other pedals out there are more desirable, simpler to build and easier to shift. Otherwise believe me, people would.

juansolo

TheCount said:

The schematic floating around on the internet for the G2 is wrong, I breadboarded it and it sounds nothing like a G2 - much to dark and muddy. I remember reading page after page on the G2 thread of people trying different diodes to brighten it up, when actually the feedback caps are the wrong value;)

Weirdly of the few I've built none of them could be described as dark or muddy. Then again I modded* mine slightly to taste and can't remember what I wasn't keen on as it was a long time ago. It's a bit of a one trick pony IMO (great for thickening up a strat) and really needs to stack with something else to get the best out of it.

*aaah the beauty of DIY, don't quite like the way something sounds, change it.

ThePrettyDamned

darcym;438085" said:

yeah, that's why people tour with Dumble amps, Van Wielden amps, bogners, klons and various other off the shelf items.

Yup, and boss pedals and Dunlop pedals and fender amps and mesa, Marshall and peavey...

Pro level is pro level. If a pro player loves the sound of a particular piece of kit, they'll use it. Pro players are not necessarily swung by cost - they don't need to worry as much.

Loads of people thought the alpha drive was a solidly built boutique box of pro level drive.

Wazmeister;438344" said:

Drew_fx said:



allicio said:

Problem is if you break the seal you void the warranty










And there are many questions as to why this is so. Some say it's because the innards are bonehead simple.












With all respect Drew, you have to smile at statements like this....



If it is that simple, why aren't there a dozen clones out there ??? PC pedals are surely one of the most ideal to clone... Hard to get hold of, mythical status, expensive to buy new. Klone em, sell em, bingo !

It reminds me of that geezer on here recently selling his 'Bat' G2 clone or something... Better than PC, superior parts etc etc. Went down like a one legged man in an arse kicking competition...

No, imho, PC pedals are quality, unique (in many ways), expensive and at times overhyped maybe. But please, there's not some hidden conspiracy going on here. Buy em, love em, enjoy em. Or choose something cheaper, and let us others who are idiots, doctors, lawyers and fooled enjoy our dellusion too...

I agree, but there are some cornish clones out there. That dude was shot down because he came on here advertising, saying he'd improved it, and info was found online suggesting he'd only just started building kit pedals very recently - not because people think cornish are magic. I've read posts from people who have cloned a Cornish muff and they usually say it's a really nice pedal.

Ultimately, they're all just electronic parts in a box, and that's something any electronics dude can make. And I think cornish charges a fair price for his kit.

If it was cheaper, he'd be so popular the waiting list would be years, and he would be churning out as many pedals as possible per day. I suspect he also still builds boards, switching kits, rack stuff etc for touring musicians and that's going to be where a great deal of his income is from, the pedals are likely a cherry on top to give us mere mortals a taste of stardom.

But then I don't think there is any such thing as a "best" pedal for anything. If you want to sound like a certain guitarist, using his kit helps a lot. I like sounding like John frusciante - he uses a boss ds-2. Internet wisdom says the boss ds-2 is a shite distortion pedal. Best judge pedals on there own merits I think.

Drew_TNBD

Wazmeister said:

Drew_fx said:

allicio said:

Problem is if you break the seal you void the warranty

And there are many questions as to why this is so. Some say it's because the innards are bonehead simple.

With all respect Drew, you have to smile at statements like this....

If it is that simple, why aren't there a dozen clones out there ??? PC pedals are surely one of the most ideal to clone... Hard to get hold of, mythical status, expensive to buy new. Klone em, sell em, bingo !

It reminds me of that geezer on here recently selling his 'Bat' G2 clone or something... Better than PC, superior parts etc etc. Went down like a one legged man in an arse kicking competition...

No, imho, PC pedals are quality, unique (in many ways), expensive and at times overhyped maybe. But please, there's not some hidden conspiracy going on here. Buy em, love em, enjoy em. Or choose something cheaper, and let us others who are idiots, doctors, lawyers and fooled enjoy our dellusion too...

I'm not quite getting your point.

jonnyburgo

Growing a moustache does not make you Burt Reynolds

joeyowen

jonnyburgo;438469" said:

Growing a moustache does not make you Burt Reynolds

Or a WW2 fighter pilot....

randomhandclaps

jonnyburgo said:

Growing a moustache does not make you Burt Reynolds

Couldn't agree more.  In the Deliverance he doesn't even have a 'tache.

TheCount

allicio said:

Problem is if you break the seal you void the warranty

And there are many questions as to why this is so. Some say it's because the innards are bonehead simple.You can buy the seals 

You can buy the exact same seals on Ebay  The innards aren't that complicated, but what gain pedal is?? I think he goops them for the simple reason he doesn't want to make it easy for someone to copy it, and so far it's worked

joeyowen

TheCount said:

You can buy the exact same seals on Ebay