I'm a digital designer, but I dabble in all other fields of design as well. Your example of a phone actually is a lot closer to what you are highlighting in pedals. Phones aren't really advancing much. Your current iPhone just has slightly better chips and cameras than the last 3 or 4 versions. The same can be said for cars, computers, etc. The nuances that new products bring to the market are minimal and have diminishing returns. Designers and engineers today are largely innovating on features, not entirely new products. The same is true with pedals and guitars. Maybe they switch out clipping diodes or add Midi, or add a soft switch or top mount jacks. Most products from shoes, to pens, to cars, to phones, to desks, to TVs... they all have converged on a sort of hegemony. How do we break out of this? Well, I might counter with, do we really need to? Innovation in products is a mechanism of capitalism and the need to acquire more wealth. You either grow or die. Innovation in the 21st century probably looks less like new products and more like improved quality of life. I don't need a new tube screamer, what I actually need is advances in medical treatments and exploration of renewable energy. Innovations in how we make, how we power, and how we consume are likely where the forefront of humanity is. Anyways, sorry for getting existential on a video about guitar pedals :)
Great thoughts and video. I agree with you and I’m glad you briefly discussed the new tariffs. Just saw Templo Devices (Canada) posted about the 25% tariff that they’ll unfortunately have to tack onto unit cost for US (maybe other?) customers. Honestly such a shame. Huge margin
I see a lot of parallels between the pedal market and the craft beer market in the US. Breweries are closing left and right, and the reasons are the same: Market oversaturation, economic reasons, young people losing interest and moving on to different markets. The giants of the industry will be able to adapt and weather the storm, but the little companies will be the ones that die out. Tale as old as the economy.
As a younger gigging guitarist, I just straight up can't justify buying pedals over $150. I'm not really into the whole modeling stuff either, I value the simplicity of just owning and learning to effectively use the analog versions of things. There's so many cool expensive boutique pedals I'd love to learn and experiment with, but I just don't have the time or money to incorporate them into the sound when I've got other expenses and my $90 overdrive is already doing the trick. Some pedals from small builders I've wanted are already discontinued and going for thousands too. I sincerely wish I was in a position to support the market and keep these builders going but it's just not feasible from the trenches at the moment.
I'll say as someone who in the past bought a lot of pedals from "boutique" brands or newer brands, I have found myself lately replacing most of those pedals with companies like Boss, MXR, and EHX. Sometimes the simple old school version of an effect is what I end up personally preferring.
I only started buying pedals in 2019 and skipped buying the boutique pedals and just stuck to Boss etc. and cheap clones, I can say I have never felt like a boutique pedal would get me closer to the tone I want that what I already have!
5:01 I wouldn’t say that the pedal has good marketing based on sounding good and being high quality… those words describe the product itself and its components. Looking good is/can be part of branding. As other comments states, the decline in standalone pedal sales is most probably due to Quad Cortex and Helix types of devices. I personally prefer getting pedals from smaller less known brands who gets their frame from word of mouth. 3LeafAudio for example. Spencer barely does any promotion/ads on his products, but they sound amazing and are almost always sold out because how highly regarded his products are (and also made in limited quantities…)
Very nice groove at the end, dude! And yes, I got bored/annoyed/lost interest in the whole pedal world, as company after company just kept offering the same thing. Some with more knobs and switches, but essentially the same thing, year after year. Pedal co death by natural selection. Or, as Pearl Jam once said, "That's evolution, baby!"
couldn't agree with you more on all these points... saturation is not good, but also not bad as there is just more and more pedal brands and actually if these pedal makers can survive and sell pedals then they still keep the interest for guitar and pedals alive. If it was still only Ibanez, Boss and MXR and 3 more pedal brands still, guitars would all be buried by now...
The best modern iterations will format the product to modern usage and expectation. Make those classics easier to use, less noisy, smaller, sturdier, more energy efficient, more consistent, more reliable, etc. Digital options are more nimble to make those changes.
I feel pedals are like handbags for ladies. Something that's expensive enough to feel special and unique, but not expensive like a vintage amp, guitar or car. You get to buy beauty/personality externally instead of developing yourself. How many overdrives can one really need to be "you", especially in a mix... You say the pedal market is dying, but in the last year alone I've seen perhaps 500 videos about "new" boost/overdrives/fuzz pedals pass my subscription feed. Maybe it's time to thin out the herd somewhat. I just hope that small companies survive the onslaught of big players with their digital platforms and ecosystems. It's hard to compete with a digital platform that keeps growing.
They are just to expensive. I love pedals but it really just boils down to this point. The cost of living is to high and people can't justify spending 150-200 bucks on a pedal.
A Tonex One pedal that does "everything", is the cost of another tradinal pedal that does one thing, which you have to add tons of extra pedals to do the same thing, in case you are a guitarist that needs a lot of effects for the music you make.
To elaborate: Pedals are becoming more and more ambiguous and complicated. Most big hyped releases these days look more like studio equipment than something people would be willing to use in a live setting. And don't get me started on complicated with no preset switching, or 4 preset slots. The vast majority of guitar players need a few straight forward effects. Everything else is made for use in a home or professional studio. Very few people actually have a use for the latest Hologram Bliss StooperBloofer.
Guitar pedals aren’t dying. High-priced boutique brands are suffering because eggs are ten bucks. But the guitar pedal industry isn’t going anywhere. Same as tube amps.
Pedal market is saturated with tube screamer and fuzz face clones. You don't even need to know about electronics to make pedals. The guy from Beetronics doesn't know shit about electronics and look at his company.
You can single handedly blame the Quad Cortex and Neural DSP for a lot of the market fading out. I still use every pedal I own in the studio, but the cortex has severely shrunk my rig and desire to go effect hunting unless it's something odd and ridiculous like what most of Chase Bliss or Old Blood Noise does
I agree. I was running 30 pedals and two amps. I use the Fender Tone Master Pro now with 4 of my old pedals. It's way easier to travel with my rig now.
@KoaCharvel I used to lug around full pedalboard/loop station, Revv 120 (dry amp), marshall 1969B (stereo), and a JC120. Now just a 4 pedal wetboard, cortex, Seymour Duncan stereo power amp (if needed) with the same marshall half stack (if needed) saved about 300lbs of gear
@@ryangunwitch-black the fender tone master? I think I've seen one out in the wild, you're not wrong. Every guitarist I know now has a cortex or something like it
I prefer having all in one box like floor modelers and stuff. I just dont enjoy the thought of connecting bunch of stuff that you without tons of extra gear have to step manually on. Easy recallable presets and effect chains is just so much better for me in a live situation with less tap dancing
Nah ! Theres nothing better than jack in a new pedal , like a Habit or a Microcosm, or a 1981 Overdrive , or a Fable Granulater - its about the fun and the portals they open, to new and strange dimensions ! 😜
Lol I can agree there and this is coming from someone who likes the "transparent " variety. Awhile back I realized that I prefer a smaller pedalboard with the basics. I'll always have a tuner a Jfet drive that can do tge fuzzy thing, transparent drive, a tape style delay with a few presets and a modulation pedal. I have enough of these too switch in and out for some variety. Right now I can only think of about 2 or 3 pedals that I'll pick up in the future but for right now I'm set.
Pedals and amps just aren't needed in 2025 to get great tones. Modelers mean no more heavy amps, no mic placement, no power supply compatibility problems, instant rerouting. The sound I have at home is exactly what foh is getting
I don't think so, most people have always known that tube amp overdrive sounds better! That's why a lot of pedals are based on the sound of overdriven tube amps (aka tube screamer, marshall bluesbreaker etc.) You won't hear many people saying an overdrive/distortion pedal sounds better through a completely clean amp, than an actual overdriven tube amp
Mhm still waiting for my amp to sound like an octave fuzz. But joking aside I get your point but I'd say for me it's the combination of pedal and amp gain where thie magic lies. But it's ultimately subjective
Who's getting the pedal at 3:47 ? 🙋♂️
I'm a digital designer, but I dabble in all other fields of design as well. Your example of a phone actually is a lot closer to what you are highlighting in pedals. Phones aren't really advancing much. Your current iPhone just has slightly better chips and cameras than the last 3 or 4 versions. The same can be said for cars, computers, etc. The nuances that new products bring to the market are minimal and have diminishing returns. Designers and engineers today are largely innovating on features, not entirely new products. The same is true with pedals and guitars. Maybe they switch out clipping diodes or add Midi, or add a soft switch or top mount jacks. Most products from shoes, to pens, to cars, to phones, to desks, to TVs... they all have converged on a sort of hegemony.
How do we break out of this? Well, I might counter with, do we really need to? Innovation in products is a mechanism of capitalism and the need to acquire more wealth. You either grow or die. Innovation in the 21st century probably looks less like new products and more like improved quality of life. I don't need a new tube screamer, what I actually need is advances in medical treatments and exploration of renewable energy. Innovations in how we make, how we power, and how we consume are likely where the forefront of humanity is.
Anyways, sorry for getting existential on a video about guitar pedals :)
Totally agree 👍
Great thoughts and video. I agree with you and I’m glad you briefly discussed the new tariffs. Just saw Templo Devices (Canada) posted about the 25% tariff that they’ll unfortunately have to tack onto unit cost for US (maybe other?) customers. Honestly such a shame. Huge margin
I see a lot of parallels between the pedal market and the craft beer market in the US. Breweries are closing left and right, and the reasons are the same: Market oversaturation, economic reasons, young people losing interest and moving on to different markets. The giants of the industry will be able to adapt and weather the storm, but the little companies will be the ones that die out. Tale as old as the economy.
In most cases people just wanna get drunk and not spend lots of money on every drink.
As a younger gigging guitarist, I just straight up can't justify buying pedals over $150. I'm not really into the whole modeling stuff either, I value the simplicity of just owning and learning to effectively use the analog versions of things. There's so many cool expensive boutique pedals I'd love to learn and experiment with, but I just don't have the time or money to incorporate them into the sound when I've got other expenses and my $90 overdrive is already doing the trick. Some pedals from small builders I've wanted are already discontinued and going for thousands too.
I sincerely wish I was in a position to support the market and keep these builders going but it's just not feasible from the trenches at the moment.
I always enjoy your videos !
Thank you for sharing you point of view !!
GAS is here to stay.
I'll say as someone who in the past bought a lot of pedals from "boutique" brands or newer brands, I have found myself lately replacing most of those pedals with companies like Boss, MXR, and EHX. Sometimes the simple old school version of an effect is what I end up personally preferring.
I only started buying pedals in 2019 and skipped buying the boutique pedals and just stuck to Boss etc. and cheap clones, I can say I have never felt like a boutique pedal would get me closer to the tone I want that what I already have!
Interesting video, well presented. Thanks, Eirik
Not here, just ordered 2 more today 😅
5:01 I wouldn’t say that the pedal has good marketing based on sounding good and being high quality… those words describe the product itself and its components.
Looking good is/can be part of branding.
As other comments states, the decline in standalone pedal sales is most probably due to Quad Cortex and Helix types of devices.
I personally prefer getting pedals from smaller less known brands who gets their frame from word of mouth.
3LeafAudio for example. Spencer barely does any promotion/ads on his products, but they sound amazing and are almost always sold out because how highly regarded his products are (and also made in limited quantities…)
Very nice groove at the end, dude! And yes, I got bored/annoyed/lost interest in the whole pedal world, as company after company just kept offering the same thing. Some with more knobs and switches, but essentially the same thing, year after year. Pedal co death by natural selection. Or, as Pearl Jam once said, "That's evolution, baby!"
The Tariffs will make things interesting. Maybe the used market will go wild. Who knows?
couldn't agree with you more on all these points... saturation is not good, but also not bad as there is just more and more pedal brands and actually if these pedal makers can survive and sell pedals then they still keep the interest for guitar and pedals alive. If it was still only Ibanez, Boss and MXR and 3 more pedal brands still, guitars would all be buried by now...
Ultimately, the best thing to do is just keep playing and practicing
The best modern iterations will format the product to modern usage and expectation. Make those classics easier to use, less noisy, smaller, sturdier, more energy efficient, more consistent, more reliable, etc.
Digital options are more nimble to make those changes.
I feel pedals are like handbags for ladies. Something that's expensive enough to feel special and unique, but not expensive like a vintage amp, guitar or car. You get to buy beauty/personality externally instead of developing yourself. How many overdrives can one really need to be "you", especially in a mix... You say the pedal market is dying, but in the last year alone I've seen perhaps 500 videos about "new" boost/overdrives/fuzz pedals pass my subscription feed. Maybe it's time to thin out the herd somewhat. I just hope that small companies survive the onslaught of big players with their digital platforms and ecosystems. It's hard to compete with a digital platform that keeps growing.
They are just to expensive. I love pedals but it really just boils down to this point. The cost of living is to high and people can't justify spending 150-200 bucks on a pedal.
A Tonex One pedal that does "everything", is the cost of another tradinal pedal that does one thing, which you have to add tons of extra pedals to do the same thing, in case you are a guitarist that needs a lot of effects for the music you make.
Sure hope so.
To elaborate: Pedals are becoming more and more ambiguous and complicated. Most big hyped releases these days look more like studio equipment than something people would be willing to use in a live setting. And don't get me started on complicated with no preset switching, or 4 preset slots. The vast majority of guitar players need a few straight forward effects. Everything else is made for use in a home or professional studio. Very few people actually have a use for the latest Hologram Bliss StooperBloofer.
And while I am on this soap box I'd like to propose an industry wide ban on compact pedals with 2 switches on them.
Guitar pedals aren’t dying. High-priced boutique brands are suffering because eggs are ten bucks. But the guitar pedal industry isn’t going anywhere. Same as tube amps.
I can’t find a pulse on any of my pedals!
Digital is probably the next frontier. That’s where innovation still happens. Analog pedals are basically rehashed nowadays.
Pedal market is saturated with tube screamer and fuzz face clones. You don't even need to know about electronics to make pedals. The guy from Beetronics doesn't know shit about electronics and look at his company.
You can single handedly blame the Quad Cortex and Neural DSP for a lot of the market fading out. I still use every pedal I own in the studio, but the cortex has severely shrunk my rig and desire to go effect hunting unless it's something odd and ridiculous like what most of Chase Bliss or Old Blood Noise does
I agree. I was running 30 pedals and two amps. I use the Fender Tone Master Pro now with 4 of my old pedals. It's way easier to travel with my rig now.
@KoaCharvel I used to lug around full pedalboard/loop station, Revv 120 (dry amp), marshall 1969B (stereo), and a JC120.
Now just a 4 pedal wetboard, cortex, Seymour Duncan stereo power amp (if needed) with the same marshall half stack (if needed) saved about 300lbs of gear
😂 There aren’t that many people using those.
@@ryangunwitch-black the fender tone master? I think I've seen one out in the wild, you're not wrong. Every guitarist I know now has a cortex or something like it
This what over saturation looks like....IMO.
Rest in peace in peace? 😂
It's a pretty widespread joke to write it like that 🤝
I prefer having all in one box like floor modelers and stuff.
I just dont enjoy the thought of connecting bunch of stuff that you without tons of extra gear have to step manually on.
Easy recallable presets and effect chains is just so much better for me in a live situation with less tap dancing
Nah ! Theres nothing better than jack in a new pedal , like a Habit or a Microcosm, or a 1981 Overdrive , or a Fable Granulater - its about the fun and the portals they open, to new and strange dimensions ! 😜
Wow, people are getting board with 1, 989 different "transparent" overdrives. Who knew.
Lol I can agree there and this is coming from someone who likes the "transparent " variety. Awhile back I realized that I prefer a smaller pedalboard with the basics. I'll always have a tuner a Jfet drive that can do tge fuzzy thing, transparent drive, a tape style delay with a few presets and a modulation pedal. I have enough of these too switch in and out for some variety. Right now I can only think of about 2 or 3 pedals that I'll pick up in the future but for right now I'm set.
Modeling, I think is way more available for people kids
What happens when the software dies or they don’t support it anymore? Uh-oh….
@@75YBA Buy another software that is supported. Still cheaper and more practical than a pedalboard.
Pedals and amps just aren't needed in 2025 to get great tones. Modelers mean no more heavy amps, no mic placement, no power supply compatibility problems, instant rerouting. The sound I have at home is exactly what foh is getting
There are also just way to many pedal companies and everybody trying to out do the others….
To give a short answer, NEVER!
Could it be that guitar players are finally starting to realize that tube amp overdrive sounds better than pedal overdrive?
I don't think so, most people have always known that tube amp overdrive sounds better! That's why a lot of pedals are based on the sound of overdriven tube amps (aka tube screamer, marshall bluesbreaker etc.) You won't hear many people saying an overdrive/distortion pedal sounds better through a completely clean amp, than an actual overdriven tube amp
@@monsandreasnyquist8444 I think aside from Smoke on the Water, that is the first thing you learn about guitar
Mhm still waiting for my amp to sound like an octave fuzz. But joking aside I get your point but I'd say for me it's the combination of pedal and amp gain where thie magic lies. But it's ultimately subjective