Stomp Boxes: Electronic Guitar Effects

I play the guitar and I have an electric guitar at home. I used to be a "heavy metal head" and that meant that I needed to buy a lot of guitar equipment. I used to buy all kinds of electronic gadgets for my guitar called "effects pedals" or "stomp boxes." These things are distortion type devices that color the sound of a guitar. Jimi Hendrix was one of the pioneers of using these things (he used the Univibe rotary speaker simulation pedal, Wah-wah, and Fuzz Face distortion units and Eric Clapton was big on the Wah-wah too).

In the old days, they used to be manufactured in the good 'ol USA and also Japan. Supposedly the American stuff was the best. Sometimes, they made really good prototypes and sold inferior and stripped down devices "sweetened for the market." This means that stuff sold to John Q Public was easier on the pocket book and easier to sell. See any microeconomics textbook about price elasticity. Eventually, the devices started to be manufactured in Taiwan.

I had an MXR Flanger (AC powered) that I bought off a guy I knew from Chabad Lubavitch years ago and I could never tell the difference in quality between it and the Boss unit, which was much smaller and battery operated. MXR was an American company manufactured in CA and Boss was manufactured in Japan back then. The Japanese always beat us in technological improvements.

MXR used to silk screen their effects lettering and hang the effects out on a clothesline to dry. Sometimes, the paint used to attract bugs, which stuck to the effects.

I also bought a Boss DM-2 Analog Delay pedal used off a guy while I was living on LI for 60 clams and Boss discontinued making analog and only makes digital units. The analog IC chip needed to make them was put out of business for years until musicians clamored for their return. (When I went bust in Israel in '95 I sold all my guitar equipment. That pedal used was $245 in a NY guitar shop off 48^th St some years ago). But Ibanez, Maxon, Behringer and a few other companies make them again.

I used to buy Ibanez, as they were about 70 dollars an effect, but I found that Boss, somewhat more expensive, had deeper effects and were worth the difference in price. MXR tended to be clumsy and pedal boards to house the effects are expensive too. Boss had their own 6-unit effect board and I bought one for 60 dollars once.

People claim that the American stuff was better than the Japanese and the Japanese units are better than the Chinese. I had Japanese and Taiwanese stuff. I am not sure about those claims, as my ear isn't so highly developed that I could notice any difference in quality.

In the old days, I used to buy MXR, Ibanez and Boss pedals primarily but they tend to be somewhat pricey. I found out that a German brand named Behringer, sells this type of gadget for under 30 dollars a pop. The pictures look really good and enticing; it appears that Behringer put a lot of quality into the pedals. For the low prices, I will buy some of them when I get my Stimulus Tax Refund check.

Behringer also makes a digital multi-effect unit for about $100 made to rival the POD Line 6, which is several hundred dollars. I have the Digitech RP50 digital multi-effect unit, which I got off Amazon for under 40 bucks shipped. It is about double that new. And my effect came just mint.

Danelectro also makes budget friendly pedals, but I don't know anything that brand. The units I have seen don't look too impressive to me.

I plan on buying Behringer Analog Delay, Flanger, Compressor and Chorus units. I can outfit myself for $120 not including shipping. Boss pedals (the brand I used the most recently) would cost between $90 to 145 dollars apiece and well, you just do the math!

I'm also planning on picking up a quality phase shifter but I have to shop around. Behringer's unit didn't look so good to me and the other brands are pricey. Maybe I will go with Danelectro on this one?

Musician's Friend and Sam Ash, and Guitar Center have websites and you can compare prices. Usually, these devices are price fixed at any given time.

Harmony-Central has reviews of all these units. It's worth a look to cross compare all ot the prices and the difference in the unit's construction.

When I was in Israel in '95, I got into a conversation with the security guard at Israel's government run employment agency in Jerusalem. I told him how I bought Varta batteries, and the cost of 4 AA batteries was only 3 shekels), which amounted to 1 dollar. Varta batteries are made in Germany. (By the way, the Chinese batteries are terrible. I couldn't use them with my mini guitar amp, as when I hit a note the amp had no sustain).

So the guard told me how Israeli Tadiran batteries were just as good. Actually, they are but they cost 18 shekels and that amounts to 6 bucks a pack. And since I was only getting $250 a month maximum from the New Immigrant Rights, I really needed that money to eat. I was living off of shwarma, pizza, chicken and salami, mostly salami at that.

I'll keep you posted. As Varta and Behringer are made in Germany, it's good to help their economy out as per how the war years ago, tore the country apart. I have heard a Behringer Public Address system that seems OK to me. Then again, I would need to hear it side by side with another company's units.

My father once told me that he never bought any German made goods. I asked him, "What about Zeus?" Zeus was our wonderful, loyal, bodyguard, our German Shepherd! My father got a kick out of my retort!

As a side note, my folks bought an Israeli Tadiran temperature control unit, which had a heater and air conditioner in one unit in the '80s when my family lived in Israel. It never worked right. This was like how American made Radio Shack stuff never worked well years ago. I know because I bought a Radio Shack stereo cassette deck years ago and it broke down after not too much use.

Israeli electronics may be better now than they were but I think that Israel should adopt some Japanese people to help them build and engineer their electronic goodies. I am wondering how good Tadiran stuff is these days.

Jews have a really good study ethic, after all they are known as "The People of the Book," but I think the work ethic needs to be improved. The new Modi'in, not the old Carlebach Modi'in, is into computer chips. Maybe they can make some money off this too.