Midrange Bargain Pedals .... yes I'm at it again!!

LiveeviL2000

LiveeviL2000

Ambassador of Pentagonal Pentatonics
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Now that I have explored the bargain basement (under $30 pedal market) and found a couple of gems. It's time to explore the middle of the road priced stuff. I am talking the $30 - $90 range. Why you may ask, because 1) I am building a board that will remain remotely. 2) I refuse to believe the ONLY way to get quality pedals is by spending well over $100 for an effect. 3) and this is the biggest reason of all .... I love new toys. how can you argue that!

Here are the pedal effects I will be researching for my board
1) Over Drive. Nothing with super high gain, I'm looking at low to mid gain pedals
2) Modulation/Time based. Phasers, Flangers, Reverbs, Delays and Chorus ..es. What is the plural for that, is it like Octopus? Octopi? Chori ... that aint right ... I digress.
3) Misc Pedals. Noise gates, tuners, etc...

I will not look into an EQ since I already found one in Behringer, although the Joyo R-Series 10band does look cool as hell with LED flash lights, but at over $90 for what a $25 Behringer can do, it makes no sense to even explore.

The brands I am going to look at are: Flamma, Donner, and Joyo (I am really becoming a JOYO fan after I tried their mini amps).
I will base my research on price, features, and build. Once I form my own opinion. I'll look at reveiws, YT videos, and everything I can find on the internet.

Stay tuned! Who knows, I might find a couple of really great deals out there.
 
eSGEe said:




its coming.................................just give in man........................... you will get there eventually....................
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I knew this was coming like a run away freight train on a downhill track, it can’t be stopped.
I was going to say something in the original post … but why spoil your fun.
 
I recently got a Zoom MS50 multi pedal. While not that cheap, it covers all the loop effects in one unit and can even run a patch with multi pedals at once. Modulation, tremolos, reverbs, acoustic sim, octaves, plus all the amp sims etc. Nice to have one unit to xover all that ground and sounds really good. Maybe $100 CDN.
I really like it. Will be good for a portable simple unit. Tuner too.


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You might check out the tiny little Joyo Blue Rain overdrive. It's a miniature Bluesbreaker, low to mid-gain.
Transparent, slightly vintagey voicing. Mids are clear and present without being congested or overly humped.
Nice cleanup via volume knob and quite responsive to playing dynamics. Separate Bass & Treble controls.
Small footprint - it'll fit almost anywhere - and the knobs are protected to avoid unintended setting changes.
Around $40. I love mine; might even get another while they're still making 'em.

There are several other pedals in the submini Ironman series that might be worth a look.

That Zoom Multistomp is a good idea, could be cool to have various different modulation needs covered in one box.
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
@Headache is the East River Drive a high gain pedal?
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No, It's a regular tube screamer clone, so a low-mid gain kind of OD. I have dialed the gain up max a few times, but they just get muddy like that.

If you want a straight up distortion pedal that sounds great on the cheap check out the digitech Metal Master. I rocked one of those for years and years.
 
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I have had great luck with the donner mini noise gate pedal. It's super cheap and works great. I think I gave like $25 for mine.

I could add the Joyo Taichi as a very transparent lowish gain OD. That sounds pretty darn good.
(I've got one just sitting on a shelf here if you'd like to try it out.)

Another distortion pedal option could be the nano/pocket metal muff. I like it's tone much more than the larger versions.

I really disliked the Joyo uzi. fwiw
 
Headache said:
I have had great luck with the donner mini noise gate pedal. It's super cheap and works great. I think I gave like $25 for mine.

I could add the Joyo Taichi as a very transparent lowish gain OD. That sounds pretty darn good.
(I've got one just sitting on a shelf here if you'd like to try it out.)

Another distortion pedal option could be the nano/pocket metal muff. I like it's tone much more than the larger versions.

I really disliked the Joyo uzi. fwiw
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I was just looking at the Taichi and Uzi.
I’m staying away from high gain distortion. I already have a RAT (as @Yargnad said, the best gain pedal on my board) and the much argued over BOSS MT-2.
I have a TS9 and love it.
All three of those are main stays on my board.
I want a tube screamer clone in the price range I mentioned. Remember. These pedals are going to be playing with my JOYO amps.
 
I just got a Donner EQ Seeker off Amazon yesterday for $45. Seems like an MXR M108 copy and so far it does the job. Only difference is my M108s stay on unless I turn them off, the Donner I have to hit the footswitch to turn it on every time.
 
Headache said:
I have had great luck with the donner mini noise gate pedal. It's super cheap and works great. I think I gave like $25 for mine.

I could add the Joyo Taichi as a very transparent lowish gain OD. That sounds pretty darn good.
(I've got one just sitting on a shelf here if you'd like to try it out.)

Another distortion pedal option could be the nano/pocket metal muff. I like it's tone much more than the larger versions.

I really disliked the Joyo uzi. fwiw
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x2 for the Donner Noise Killer. Paid $27 for mine and it’s the best noise gate I’ve ever had. Been using it for about a year now and no issues at all. That’s what made me feel comfortable enough to try the EQ Seeker.
 
Headache said:
I have had great luck with the donner mini noise gate pedal. It's super cheap and works great. I think I gave like $25 for mine.

I could add the Joyo Taichi as a very transparent lowish gain OD. That sounds pretty darn good.
(I've got one just sitting on a shelf here if you'd like to try it out.)

Another distortion pedal option could be the nano/pocket metal muff. I like it's tone much more than the larger versions.

I really disliked the Joyo uzi. fwiw
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Just curious, what particularly didn’t you like about the uzi. I watched some videos and some reviews, and it gets high marks.
 
Yargnad said:
I didn't think I liked the Uzi at first either, but after a couple tweak sessions I was able to dial it in with to my amp and got pretty good results. I am not averse to adjusting my signal chain to work with a new pedal if needed.



If we're talking used pedals in this range, I would recommend another option like the Nobels ODR1, which is a spectacular low to mid gain OD with a really balanced and natural drive tone. I now prefer it to TS style drives. Maybe you would find that more interesting since you already have a TS.
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I felt the same way about the Metal Zone. But tweaked it and now it sounds pretty good.
I’ll check out the ODR.
 
Man there are great deals on slightly used pedals. There is a Joyo vintage OD for $19 free shipping ... thats at that why not price tag. From what I read most reviews are positive. It sounds like an Ibanez 808 ... I kinda feel like thats a buy and try.
 
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