Vintage Effects Pedals

Fatfingers

Is anyone else a sucker for a vintage pedal? If so, stick them up here.

Here's my Fuzz-Wah. I had one as a teenager branded Hohner, but this is unbranded, although exactly the same otherwise. It was made by Shin-ei in Japan. It sounds ace, although it needs a new wah pot. Does a great Led Zep No Quarter sound.



And here's my latest buy. I have to admit I only bought it because when I first had an electric guitar I had no amp or pedals. My uncle leant me his Fal 100 watt tranny amp (awful) and one of these.

It sounds very warm, although a touch muddy for my taste. Looks cool though and provides the required nostalgic hit.



The 9V DC in is a five pin DIN socket with a plug that shorts out two of the pins and connects the internal battery when you're not using a power supply.

Fatfingers

Just me then. That's weird. Lots of people like old guitars and amps, so why not effects?

richardhomer

Fatfingers said:

Just me then. That's weird. Lots of people like old guitars and amps, so why not effects?

I like the idea of them - it's just like old guitars and amps, they've become very expensive - and are potentially a liability if a no-longer-made component fails.

I own a modified mid-80s Boss CE-2 but other than that, all my pedals are modern (for ease of replacement, I only have one which could be considered 'boutique').

Fatfingers

I've just realised that my Boss SD-1 overdrive and DD-3 delay are both original 1980s units. I hadn't even considered them as 'vintage' but it seems some do!

dogload

Fatfingers said:

I've just realised that my Boss SD-1 overdrive and DD-3 delay are both original 1980s units. I hadn't even considered them as 'vintage' but it seems some do!

On that score I do use my original Boss CS-1 and '81 (ish) SD-1, as well as my '82 Ibanez BC-9 Bi-mode Chorus and occasionally my old (1983) Schaller volume pedal. I also have a Boss PN-2 on my board (1991 I think).
It's true though, I don't think of those little Boss-types as being vintage. Possibly because they have been such a constant over the years and don't seem to look as archaic as some other pedals. 

Skipped

I sold my Rams Head Big Muff here on the forum. I think I got between £300 and £400 for it. The buyer was a guy somewhere in Europe who retails a wide range of new pedals online (and collects vintage pedals). He seemed very pleased with the pristine condition pedal that I had cherished.

What was funny was that a guy came on the thread and said it was a shame about the 3 large round knobs not being  original. Strange that. Seeing as i bought it brand new....one of the first batch to arrive in the UK..... 

glynes

Skipped said:

What was funny was that a guy came on the thread and said it was a shame about the 3 large round knobs not being  original. Strange that. Seeing as i bought it brand new....one of the first batch to arrive in the UK..... 

A lot of people on this forum have absolutely no clue about anything beyond Tubescreamers and Strymon echoes.

Moss

glynes said:

Skipped said:

What was funny was that a guy came on the thread and said it was a shame about the 3 large round knobs not being  original. Strange that. Seeing as i bought it brand new....one of the first batch to arrive in the UK..... 

A lot of people on this forum have absolutely no clue about anything beyond Tubescreamers and Strymon echoes.

I wouldn't really say that

Every forum has its 'boutique TS Clones are the best' people but there's plenty of people around here with interesting and eclectic effects on their boards

professorben

Hmmm did a bit of digging and I've an old Ampeg A5 flanger in my mums loft, along with an Arion Sad-1 analog delay and a Boss DF-2 distortion feedbacker. 
Might have to dig em out and see if they still work. 

pintspiller

glynes said:

Skipped said:

What was funny was that a guy came on the thread and said it was a shame about the 3 large round knobs not being  original. Strange that. Seeing as i bought it brand new....one of the first batch to arrive in the UK..... 

A lot of people on this forum have absolutely no clue about anything beyond Tubescreamers and Strymon echoes.

Not everybody. Mind you, I am probably equally as blinkered. I do have a MIJ thing with pedals.

dogload

professorben said:

Hmmm did a bit of digging and I've an old Ampeg A5 flanger in my mums loft, along with an Arion Sad-1 analog delay and a Boss DF-2 distortion feedbacker. 
Might have to dig em out and see if they still work. 

Oh, I forgot about my SAD-1! I used that for years on my board for mad flying saucer sounds. Great pedal.

glynes said:

Skipped said:

What was funny was that a guy came on the thread and said it was a shame about the 3 large round knobs not being  original. Strange that. Seeing as i bought it brand new....one of the first batch to arrive in the UK..... 

A lot of people on this forum have absolutely no clue about anything beyond Tubescreamers and Strymon echoes.

I disagree. I value opinions from this board far higher than some other forums I've used... much less blinkered opinions, generally.

lasermonkey

I have plenty of stuff from the 80s, all of which I picked up fairly cheap. I'll DIY anything that is reasonably possible to DIY anyway, so a good many of my pedals are clones. I think I'd rather have the same sound, but in a smaller package with modern amenities, such as a DC jack or an onboard voltage inverter.

earwighoney

I have a few 80's pedals, nothing exciting though.  Small Stone Phaser & DOD 280 Compressor. 

Use them all the time. 

JezWynd

earwighoney said:

I have a few 80's pedals, nothing exciting though.  Small Stone Phaser & DOD 280 Compressor. 

Use them all the time. 

The DOD 280 Comp sounds wonderful. I have a few old comps including a Guyatone which is v similar to original Dyna Comp,  but with superior build quality.

boogieman

I part ex'd all my old pedals for the first version of Zoom multiFX, a beige and grey plastic thing that looked like a Walkman and clipped to your guitar strap. They'd be worth a lot of money now I'd guess. Unlike the Zoom. Ho hum. 

Grunfeld

boogieman said:

I part ex'd all my old pedals for the first version of Zoom multiFX, a beige and grey plastic thing that looked like a Walkman and clipped to your guitar strap. They'd be worth a lot of money now I'd guess. Unlike the Zoom. Ho hum. 

I know this one:  I sold my little Roland drum machine, analog, for a few quid which I put towards a fancy pants Yamaha drum machine with that new-fangled "digital" stuff.
No prizes for guessing that was the wrong choice. 

JezWynd

I like the big plastic buttons on old stuff. You feel like you made a decision.



@Fatfingers, thanks for your review of Phaser Tone, I'd been hovering over the buy button on that one, think I'll pass.

Sassafras

Absolutely agree. Far better than scrolling through menus by pressing a tiny little button millions of times.

pintspiller

I have one of each of the Locobox pedals from the 80s (some are marked Sound City). All I need to complete collection is the Sound City Echo Compressor.

They are okay, but the only ones worth using are the Comp and Delay.

Fatfingers

JezWynd said:

I like the big plastic buttons on old stuff. You feel like you made a decision.



@Fatfingers, thanks for your review of Phaser Tone, I'd been hovering over the buy button on that one, think I'll pass.

There are a couple of adjustable presets on the board though. I might have a tweak and see whether I can brighten it up.

impmann

Most of my pedals are hard to get to at the mo due to moving but I've got...

Pearl Octaver - bonkers fun
Arbiter Power Booster - not *that* transparent boost. Sounds great
Boss DSD2/3 Digital Sampler Delay - still my fave delay pedal. I've got two or maybe three of them... I forget 
Dod Stereo Chorus - crap chorus but sound great at extremes especially when treating keys or voices

I love older pedals but they have to be useful - and I refuse to pay more for an older unit just because of its age.