Some of us simply can not afford American made, boutique gear. We have to go for the best sound that is the most cost effective. At this point in my life, if I can buy a Firefly and upgrade the hardware and electronics all for less than a quarter of what a new PRS would cost, then that's the way I would need to go.
Yes. Also cheap stuff is so good these days, thought about buying a big muff a few months ago... now that's far from boutique (99€ I think is actually a fair price) but still got that "but what if you don't have to spend that much?". So I thought about getting a kit to build it myself (35€) but then I read the reviews for the Harley Benton mini stomps and bought 5 pedals for 100€😂
I can tell you, once you have ordered pedals off Temu a couple of times, you really won’t be lacking anything. Joyo, Movall, Iset, Rowin, I can witness that all of those devs are right up there with Boss, DOD, etc.
Yes these are 2 very different types of products. Nevertheless, the cheap overdrive is not very nice. Build quality is one issue that a home user can live with, but really poor sound not just falling under high level volume is not of any value
Replying to myself... Don't misunderstand me, there is a lot of very good budget gear around. I have quite a bit of it and it serves a purpose. Also, we see many examples of how big brands are getting a premium for the name and not delivering. Just bear in mind that time spent watching reviews and informing your choice is time well spent and you will either save a lot of time and money if a budget product will work for you, or save a little by avoiding the cheap but wasted money on junk.
I totally get supporting the small business effects pedal companies. They have a musical dream same as the musicians and that relationship is a mutually beneficial one. That being said, not everyone is in a situation economically where they can afford pedals outside of these budget options. Others may strictly consider the economic value (buy a dozen eggs from the local farmer for $12 or a dozen at the store for $6). Most of my pedals are American made, but I just purchased a Temu chorus pedal because I needed to spend a certain amount and I was getting a couple other things so I threw it in there. Thing is, as far as quality goes, they’re more cheaply made so the quality difference might show up in the endurance of the product and whatever warranty is available. As far as the sound goes, the only difference between a cheap pedal and an expensive pedal is a good song. If you create a beloved song with any equipment, people will want that equipment to replicate that sound regardless of whether it’s cheap or expensive.
Every stompbox I’ve ordered from Ali and Temu have been surprisingly good. Boss, MXR etc-level quality for a roll of dimes. It seems like some kind of miracle.
At first, I was taken aback by your opinion these budget pedals, I'm currently one of those who are into budget pedals, but i realized that you were still actually being quite reasonable , you cared more about people having the best , not out of being relevant or up to date with the latest expensive gear, but to ensure what they purchase is something they can at least hold on to on the long run. You are telling people to be cautious because there is some truth to what you say, some of these companies don't actually care. Anyhow, you got subbed, even though im more on the budget side of things, i totally understand your take and it would be good to hear out different takes and opinions. tc and hope to see more videos from you dude. (:
Here is a fairly simple answer. Most people playing guitar are NOT playing professionally. Most are not gigging or selling music. I'd dare say MOST are at or below the average income for American workers. Foo foo pedals are high priced. Yup, they make make neat audio, and may be better than the cheaper budget stuff, but not everyone can afford the expensive stuff, and are satisfied with their cheaper gear. Not everyone is convinced that the higher priced, foo foo boutique pedals are worth the extra cost. If you like the expensive stuff, Cool. If you like the cheap stuff, Cool. There are people who are only going to buy a USA made guitar. There are people that will only buy the cheapest of import guitars. It all makes great sounding music in the right hands. In the end, it's about the talent, not the gear. No one should really care what gear anyone is using. Debating it is like telling someone their choice makes them less of a musician. I don't necessarily gravitate to the cheap end or the expensive end. I have both. I don't care what gear someone uses, I just care that they want to play, and that they are getting involved. I care that they have the gear they want - to be able to make the music they like. Playing music isn't a popularity contest, nor should what gear you have, be either.
I play in NYC, mostly jazz/jazz rock. Nobody cares what pedals I use. Everyone is fascinated by cheaper Chinese pedals because they work, until they don't. Soooo many pros around here have Mooer, Donner, Nux, etc. Nobody cares and cheap pedals create more discussion and questions than a $300 pedal.
This. I understand this guys opinion and if money were no object then I would have no problem buying earthquakers all day. But at the end of the day I have a billion other expenses that aren’t music (which ultimately is a hobby). If somebody wants to fund me some earthquaker pedals I’m down for it but dropping 200$ on a delay just isn’t feasible. Taking donations now lol
As a gigging and teaching guitarist in NYC, no one and I mean no one vibes another musician about their pedals or gear. Maybe some hipster bands but not in the pro circles. In fact, cheap pedals always, always get more questions and interest than "boutique" ones. A close friend just told me last month that he couldn't afford a particular cab-sim pedal he really wanted that was $175. The very same day he bought an Xbox for himself for $450. I can't afford an Xbox. The pedal he wanted could have been bought used for $100.
Nice review and I appreciate your comments on buying local at the end. I didn't notice you "only" had 6K followers until I went to the comments because the quality surely didn't give it away, great video.
Hey thanks a lot for leaving a comment. Glad you like the video. My goal has always been to make the best possible videos I can and hopefully I can grow this channel and keep making interesting videos.
I appreciate the complete honesty about the Temu stuff. Most people make videos like this and say they r good just because of the price and maybe they are getting something out of it. Also, I like how u pointed out some things that other people might not notice or didn't want to mention like fitting the power cable for the power supply through the holes in the board. Also, u actually measured the power supply pocket to show the actual size. Idk if I have seen anyone do that before. 👍
I think it’s hard to draw a fine line between using cheap gear made in China and buying expensive boutique gear. A lot of musicians, especially younger musicians just don’t have the money to spend 200 on one pedal. Some bands using a behringer whatever distortion is cool because it opens accessibility to a demographic interested in music without there being a (huge) paywall between being able to play the music they like. Sourcing stuff ethically is also hard and no one is doing that correctly or even recycling correctly so it’s irrelevant (only because every company is bad at it, consumers are different category). Cheap gear that is good enough is cool and has a place and money should be the last thing stopping people and especially kids from creating. Whenever I can, I hire my friends to do stuff for me. And whenever I’m broke I order from China if I need something I can’t afford. I think it’s good that you brought up the topic for discussion and if you never have to order from China, hell yeah, good on you man! All love 💧
If there are pedals which I'm beyond familiar with it is cheap pedals made in China. Name the brand and I've owned one, or 2. I know 2 pedal makers who have had there designs blatantly ripped off w/no recourse. That's when I stopped. That was my greater point. It took me 5 years to afford to replace cheap Chinese pedals for better pedals made in the U.S., Brazil, Greece, France, and several other countries. Many of us jazz players use a few cheap pedals because we only need them once or twice a gig. Because I'm not in a position to buy expensive pedals, I took a lot of time to save up, research, and purchase (used) better quality pedals. For me, the best for way to know if an effect will work for me is to buy a cheap one then replace it with something better when I can afford it. I don't know why but if a pedal company offers good benefits for their employees, there's a better chance I'll purchase from them. Having said all of this, I love my Wish Klon clone. Open it up and look at the construction, pretty nice with quality parts.
I love your opinion on why buying pedals from places that "do the same" for cheaper might not be the best option. If nothing else then buy what you can afford and replace that junk with pedals that matter from brands that matter. Part of the fun of playing guitar and getting into pedals is finding the secret sauce that makes your tone truly inspire you to keep playing and making music and potentially inspire the listener. No hate to anyone who refuses to pay more and no hate to people who refuse to be nothing more than a consumer.
I bought a cheap tuner pedal, a power supply, and a couple of "deluxe" gig bags. Haven't tried the tuner pedal or power supply. The "deluxe" gig bags . . . well, they were shown as two-tone brown with 1/2" padding, backback straps, and multiple pockets. What I received were basically garbage bags which were barely 1/2" thick when folded twice to fit into their 9"x11" plastic envelopes. One pocket, one strap - not that I'd ever put in a guitar and try to lift it with the strap - absolutely zero padding, this was a single very thin layer of something that could charitably be called vinyl. Couldn't even use it to keep off dust, unless one doesn't care about the zipper chewing up the guitar, and although I don't care about the color, they were black - I mention it only to show that literally every single detail shown or noted in the ad was a lie. Oh, and they stunk, because why wouldn't they? The only bright spot was that Temu refunded my money and didn't even want them back. Oh, one other bright spot - our garbage service is monthly so I don't have to pay extra to have this garbage hauled off to the landfill. My first Temu purchase and most definitely my last.
I bought a cheap Donner guitar for a student of mine. It came damaged but fixable. Donner said keep it, we'll send a new one. I guess it's cheaper for them than us sending it back.
so many of my pedals are from temu. and you MIGHT find some duds but it’s just like if you ordered on amazon but it’s not 100$ a pedal. and sometimes you get surprised. it’s fun especially if you’re just getting into them or on a budget. but yeah dude a lot of these pedals are great. even the shit ones might give you some new tones. cause if you think about it. the goal is to make it sound bitter sweet. anyways, great review bro & anyone scared to try temu pedals - have fun with the process 🤘🤘🤘 that’s the best part
Also your thoughts on the board was kinda off. It’s if you looked like OJ trying to put on the glove. Is it cheap? Yes. But putting a boat of a pedal on it kinda was ridiculous.
@@DrewCreal no…… but mainly because I have one but if I wanted a quick and dirty shop board where IDGAF if it get gnarly or beat up? This would do the job nicely. Also when you buy things cheap I have no problem modifying it for my personal specs.
@@LollygaggerFX a lot of my pedals are huge, I guess that just how things have worked out, I think my smallest pedal is a few Boss pedals, I guess I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really fit my current stuff on the board, I feel like it would be great for a mini pedal board though. Anyways dude, thanks for watching, I'm always trying to make better videos and share my thoughts in a more constructive way.
@@DrewCreal I guess my point is you could have said the same about a small pedal train board. I think the case is ……. Order the thing that fits your needs. Yeah there isn’t any specs but if you had looked at the pics that had pedals on it …. It might of help you make a different decision.
I have that pedal board and some cheap Donner pedals and a couple of boss pedals running through a Boss katana mk2 50 watt. It's perfect for a hack like me.
bottomline everyone loves a bargain or a good deal. Sometimes cheap stuff is all you need - in most industries you will see different customers ranging between bargain basement and hand made custom - all is not equal granted but for me these pedals may be the starting point for someone interested in music to get started with a guitar, cheap amp and a few experimental pedals, maybe its for a pro who has his pedals get destroyed or lost every month gigging. For me I just watched your vid because you had a pretty cool heavy sound and great playing on your temu metal guitar video! I am more into easy simulated guitar effects apps on amps with bluetooth like spark - less fuss - totally portable.
I dont mind buying temu or aliexpress stuff cause those people are building them in a factory for a paycheck and trying to bring home the bacon just like everybody else in the real world that have to work for a living .
The Nu-X MG100 MFX pedal I bought way back 2016 has a more aggressive distortion than that distortion pedal just by the stock presets it has and that's one of the cheaper options back then
Thanks Drew. Also, cheap pedals are not good for independent pedal makers. Cheap manufacturers "steal" schematics from pedal makers, which are patented, and manufacture them from poor quality solder, diodes, transistors, etc (which are not independently tested). Many "boutique" pedal makers will use Chinese manufacturing and don't tell the consumer because it was assembled in the US (they have the same quality parts being used but the manufacturing is 85% less than if done in the U.S.) If you designed that pedal for a boutique company who's doing that, many will drop royalties for each pedal sold while still charging the same original price to the consumer. This is true for almost any product but this discussion is about pedals.
Thanks for weighing in on this Ray. I feel like reverse engineering and copying schematics is so normal in the effects pedal industry. Though I can't guarantee that my favorite pedal builders use the best quality parts, but there are different grades to metals, plastics, transistors, diodes, pots and jacks and I try and find companies that I like, who will typically hand select the best versions of those parts they can find to make a much more consistent and BETTER sounding and long lasting pedal. That's what it's about I think.
Exactly. I live in NYC and know 2 pedal designers who have seen there pedals change from personally sourced parts to ones purchased in bulk, thousands at a time, or to being made in China but still hand assembled in the US. If there's one thing great pedal designers/makers love to do is source the best components. They are obsessed with it. They also know when cheaper, mass produced components are just as reliable as expensive ones, that I appreciate- they are intimately aware of electronics so I trust that they are right. @@DrewCreal
Agreed, 100%. I'm specifically and only referring to 2 Chinese pedal companies were guilty of reverse engineering 2 pedal designed by friends. A family member of mine was their attorney. If say it was Norway that did that, I would have only mentioned them. There was no recourse for compensation- impossible to sue. China is often mentioned because they have the highest (28.4%) of all the Global Manufacturing Output in the world. I'd say well over 90% of all less expensive pedals are made in China. I also don't know any country that has more brilliant engineers than China: Cherub Technologies who owns several pedal companies in Cina (like NUX) are killing it quality wise as well as JOYO, China also has some excellent luthiers who are overlooked because of folks perceptions of quality. When you're the biggest player in the world in pedal production, you get noticed. Now, the U.S. is 2ndi. 16% GMO (2nd largest pedal manufacturer too) and plenty of pedal builders here have been sent cease and desist letters for copyright infringement. Here, thankfully, there is recourse. @@LollygaggerFX
Sorry but, while buying local is admirable, you must keep in mind that a US manufacturer would do the same exact thing...make a pedal board that only works with their own pedals. And, you can't expect something that costs $20 bx $200 to be identical. The point is whether it is worth the reduced price...and most purchasers of Temu goods say the items are well worth their price. I challenge you to review the $33 M-vave programmable pedal and find a US-made equivalent that costs under $400.
I appreciate the challenge, maybe I'll check out the M-Wave in the future. I find that spending a little more money on a quality piece of gear, that lasts a long time and sounds great, is almost always the best option, rather than tossing your money away on Temu pedals that might break, or don't really sound good to begin with. That's my opinion, you are free to have your and disagree, no problems there. I appreciate your comment, keep shredding!
Why would you buy stuff you don't know the size of ?? 99% of items on TEMU have the sizes in the description, read them. Sounds like your complaints are just cause you didn't pay any attention to the products you bought. 😏 Sounds like you have more money than sense. and that's not a good thing really.
You're probably right, I should have read the size chart. But this plastic board is a pedal board that you can really only use with Temu pedals, and that's a bummer. I buy stuff to make video for viewers, it's an investment in what I'm trying to achieve, an informative TH-cam channel that helps views. Hopefully you got something good out of it.
Looking at that Rockhouse pedal board over at Ali right now and it's 20 euros cheaper there. Exact same thing, 50x20x6 centimeters, in 3 colors too (all the same price, not like Temu where every color has its own price). Not that I need a board, I already have 2 from Thomann but just saying. Temu is not as cheap as people think. The M-Vave Mini Universe reverb? It's like 10 euros cheaper at Ali as we speak. That includes free shipping to NL, EU VAT and free return within 90 days too. There's no such thing as Temu or Ali pedals, they're just 2 different platforms selling the same brands. Some sellers at Ali also offer the entire Dolami series, I got one for less than 20 euros a while ago, it wasn't bad at all, just not my cup of tea, so I gave it to my little nephew along with a bunch of other items. He is still in his learning years so I helped him out with some stuff.
I do get the argument about people being unable to afford the things pensive option, it’s why Squier are a thing, it’s why Pacificas sell well… …the problem here is that when quality brands are undercut to such an extent, they fail because they can’t reduce their prices enough to compete, so you’re left with a poorer quality product, because, as is said in the video, the people making them don’t care about the sound, they just care about churning out as many units as possible.
Thanks for the video. I suppose ethically sourced products have their place but let's be real here. I can guarantee that most of what you own is made in China like the rest of us. And I bet like most people, you don't give it a second thought. I get where you're coming from but it would be way too time consuming to check where every component for everything you buy comes from. If the product is decent and the price is right then why not. Metal Zone by Boss is too expensive and is the most unpopular pedal they ever made and I personally think the Temu pedal sounds better. Keep rocking bro!
Agreed. Here, I'm only talking about pedals, not toasters or clothing. Just pedals. China in the last 10 yrs has produced some great pedals. I just do what I can, when I can to support independent pedal makers.
Nah bro that Moen pedal sounds just like a Behringer ultra metal pedal,but in a much better looking case.rather save some extra coins and grip the Metal zone instead.🤘🏻🔥🌹
For you guys complaining about him being critical of inexpensive gear… STFU. You don’t need to buy strymon or walrus audio to get a good tone. You just need to know how to shop. I’m on a budget and there are these great pedals by a company called Boss that sound great and are built for the long haul. If you need a budget pedal collection instead of spending 20-40 bucks a bunch of times over and over trying to find quality stuff that sounds good. Buy right the first time. I have a pedal board that’ll kick the shyt out of anyones and I’ve never paid more than 60 bucks for a pedal because I buy smart and used! I have a new pro co rat, EHX big muff fuzz, and a boss sd1 for my drives, an EHX stereo mistress that has flanger and chorus, a boss super chorus, (yeah I’m an 80’s guy love the modulation) an EHX Echo #1 Delay and I plug that all into the clean channel of a red stripe USA peavey bandit I paid 100 bucks for. My main guitar of choice is a USA made peavey predator with fender staggered tuners that I paid 115 for and put a dimarzio 36th anniversary paf in the bridge of with two fender Texas specials in the middle and neck. My whole gig rig cost me under 750 bucks. You could gig that rig anywhere, I have no noise issues. I have no reliability issues. Each and every piece of kit I have is professionally built by real companies that are built to last and sounds great at any volume. Find me another rig that’s half USA made that costs 715 bucks or less like mine and sounds as good. By the time you cycle through all the budget crap to find something decent you will have spent more money than me and have a way worse rig than me. Cheers to my fellow cheap bastards out there.
The components alone if you baught them to build yourself and they were cheap shit even at trade prices would exceed the purchace price of the pedal.Ok they are not boutique quality but for the normal ''Joe'' in the street they are good enough.
I agree with most of this but I’ve had a donner power supply like 3 years or so and my pedals are fine so idk why u said they are loud or destroy pedals
@@DrewCreal yea I think I’m going too I just wanted to say for most people who are watching and stuff donners are perfectly fine most just jam out or do gigs but I gig in a band so I’m gonna get a new one soon
Not common lol I have around 30 usa made pedals I've collected over the last few years and only 1 has Jack's on the top all the rest are side Jack's and power supply
That’s cool man, I’m talking mainly about the pedals and brands I’ve featured on my channel. Here’s a list of pedals with top mounted jacks, which are more convenient in my opinion: Earthquaker Devices, Does it Doom, Void Manufacturing, Electronic Audio Experiments, Space Man Effects, Walrus Audio, Lichtlaerm Audio, Frost Giant Electronics, Fuzz Imp….and there are many others.
Well, about the end video discussion... I play for 10+ years and have only had one amp and never had a pedal. So yeah It's about the money. And the "hype" becomes guilt, and doubt now...
Buy whatever pedals you want my friend, no shame there. I just think you could find a used Boss pedal for around the same price. Sounds like you're using the gear that you have, and that's the whole point. I do enjoy having some different options, which is why I have a small collection of gear.
One thing to keep in mind with sites like that, the stuff comes straight from china to you. Now with pedals you should be fine mostly but i would never ever buy something that can burn my house down if the ROHS or CE label is fake😂
“Cool company”…in business and economy does not exist…especially when all sourced materials come from the same places in the global south! If anything you should encourage someone who used to make fridges and pivoted into making these products because this is really how we make new sounds and innovate!
I appreciate the perspective, but from what I can tell, Temu doesn’t have an RnD department where they are generating new sounds, they’re copying existing circuits on the market and making them with cheaper components. I agree with you though, Yamaha has made some amazing pieces of equipment over the years for guitar, and they make a slew of other products in other sectors of the economy.
My concept is if it works and sounds nice then buy it. Why spend so much when you can get an equal fair product with almost equal sound? Well I don’t support slave labour though
The virtue signaling goes both ways, people love to congratulate themselves for buying cheap pedals. I guess I don't understand why that's worth celebrating. If music is your life, put your money where you mouth is and buy quality stuff. If there was a cell phone manufactured in the US, I'd buy it.
@@DrewCrealeverybody is bound with their own "if"s. The notion that an expensive pedal is required to create quality music is just a myth, else many "influencers'" music would've been quality content, which is far from reality. If it sounds good and fits within their budget, people who bought those pedals have every right to congratulate themselves regardless of what the rich kids thinks of their "cheap" possession.
@@trollgag5221 there’s no argument about the fact that cheap equipment can make great music. I simply find that type of signaling in forums quite cringe. My point in that people shouldn’t cut corners when it comes to music equipment. Get the stuff the sounds great and is reliable and you’ll save yourself some money in the long run.
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Some of us simply can not afford American made, boutique gear. We have to go for the best sound that is the most cost effective. At this point in my life, if I can buy a Firefly and upgrade the hardware and electronics all for less than a quarter of what a new PRS would cost, then that's the way I would need to go.
Hey man, nothing wrong with going that route. Music doesn't usually pay back what most of us put into out gear.
Yes. Also cheap stuff is so good these days, thought about buying a big muff a few months ago... now that's far from boutique (99€ I think is actually a fair price) but still got that "but what if you don't have to spend that much?". So I thought about getting a kit to build it myself (35€) but then I read the reviews for the Harley Benton mini stomps and bought 5 pedals for 100€😂
I can tell you, once you have ordered pedals off Temu a couple of times, you really won’t be lacking anything. Joyo, Movall, Iset, Rowin, I can witness that all of those devs are right up there with Boss, DOD, etc.
Yes these are 2 very different types of products. Nevertheless, the cheap overdrive is not very nice. Build quality is one issue that a home user can live with, but really poor sound not just falling under high level volume is not of any value
Replying to myself... Don't misunderstand me, there is a lot of very good budget gear around. I have quite a bit of it and it serves a purpose. Also, we see many examples of how big brands are getting a premium for the name and not delivering. Just bear in mind that time spent watching reviews and informing your choice is time well spent and you will either save a lot of time and money if a budget product will work for you, or save a little by avoiding the cheap but wasted money on junk.
I totally get supporting the small business effects pedal companies. They have a musical dream same as the musicians and that relationship is a mutually beneficial one. That being said, not everyone is in a situation economically where they can afford pedals outside of these budget options. Others may strictly consider the economic value (buy a dozen eggs from the local farmer for $12 or a dozen at the store for $6). Most of my pedals are American made, but I just purchased a Temu chorus pedal because I needed to spend a certain amount and I was getting a couple other things so I threw it in there. Thing is, as far as quality goes, they’re more cheaply made so the quality difference might show up in the endurance of the product and whatever warranty is available. As far as the sound goes, the only difference between a cheap pedal and an expensive pedal is a good song. If you create a beloved song with any equipment, people will want that equipment to replicate that sound regardless of whether it’s cheap or expensive.
Great points here, thanks for watching!
Well said fellow rocker
Every stompbox I’ve ordered from Ali and Temu have been surprisingly good. Boss, MXR etc-level quality for a roll of dimes. It seems like some kind of miracle.
At first, I was taken aback by your opinion these budget pedals, I'm currently one of those who are into budget pedals, but i realized that you were still actually being quite reasonable , you cared more about people having the best , not out of being relevant or up to date with the latest expensive gear, but to ensure what they purchase is something they can at least hold on to on the long run. You are telling people to be cautious because there is some truth to what you say, some of these companies don't actually care. Anyhow, you got subbed, even though im more on the budget side of things, i totally understand your take and it would be good to hear out different takes and opinions. tc and hope to see more videos from you dude. (:
Well thanks for watching my man 🙌 new video drops tomorrow!
Here is a fairly simple answer. Most people playing guitar are NOT playing professionally. Most are not gigging or selling music. I'd dare say MOST are at or below the average income for American workers. Foo foo pedals are high priced. Yup, they make make neat audio, and may be better than the cheaper budget stuff, but not everyone can afford the expensive stuff, and are satisfied with their cheaper gear. Not everyone is convinced that the higher priced, foo foo boutique pedals are worth the extra cost. If you like the expensive stuff, Cool. If you like the cheap stuff, Cool. There are people who are only going to buy a USA made guitar. There are people that will only buy the cheapest of import guitars. It all makes great sounding music in the right hands. In the end, it's about the talent, not the gear. No one should really care what gear anyone is using. Debating it is like telling someone their choice makes them less of a musician.
I don't necessarily gravitate to the cheap end or the expensive end. I have both. I don't care what gear someone uses, I just care that they want to play, and that they are getting involved. I care that they have the gear they want - to be able to make the music they like. Playing music isn't a popularity contest, nor should what gear you have, be either.
I play in NYC, mostly jazz/jazz rock. Nobody cares what pedals I use. Everyone is fascinated by cheaper Chinese pedals because they work, until they don't. Soooo many pros around here have Mooer, Donner, Nux, etc. Nobody cares and cheap pedals create more discussion and questions than a $300 pedal.
This. I understand this guys opinion and if money were no object then I would have no problem buying earthquakers all day. But at the end of the day I have a billion other expenses that aren’t music (which ultimately is a hobby). If somebody wants to fund me some earthquaker pedals I’m down for it but dropping 200$ on a delay just isn’t feasible. Taking donations now lol
As a gigging and teaching guitarist in NYC, no one and I mean no one vibes another musician about their pedals or gear. Maybe some hipster bands but not in the pro circles. In fact, cheap pedals always, always get more questions and interest than "boutique" ones. A close friend just told me last month that he couldn't afford a particular cab-sim pedal he really wanted that was $175. The very same day he bought an Xbox for himself for $450. I can't afford an Xbox. The pedal he wanted could have been bought used for $100.
Nice review and I appreciate your comments on buying local at the end.
I didn't notice you "only" had 6K followers until I went to the comments because the quality surely didn't give it away, great video.
Hey thanks a lot for leaving a comment. Glad you like the video. My goal has always been to make the best possible videos I can and hopefully I can grow this channel and keep making interesting videos.
I appreciate the complete honesty about the Temu stuff. Most people make videos like this and say they r good just because of the price and maybe they are getting something out of it. Also, I like how u pointed out some things that other people might not notice or didn't want to mention like fitting the power cable for the power supply through the holes in the board. Also, u actually measured the power supply pocket to show the actual size. Idk if I have seen anyone do that before. 👍
Thanks Steve, I do my best here, it means a lot to me when someone notices those details, thanks for pointing that out. Cheers man!
I think it’s hard to draw a fine line between using cheap gear made in China and buying expensive boutique gear. A lot of musicians, especially younger musicians just don’t have the money to spend 200 on one pedal. Some bands using a behringer whatever distortion is cool because it opens accessibility to a demographic interested in music without there being a (huge) paywall between being able to play the music they like. Sourcing stuff ethically is also hard and no one is doing that correctly or even recycling correctly so it’s irrelevant (only because every company is bad at it, consumers are different category). Cheap gear that is good enough is cool and has a place and money should be the last thing stopping people and especially kids from creating. Whenever I can, I hire my friends to do stuff for me. And whenever I’m broke I order from China if I need something I can’t afford. I think it’s good that you brought up the topic for discussion and if you never have to order from China, hell yeah, good on you man! All love 💧
If there are pedals which I'm beyond familiar with it is cheap pedals made in China. Name the brand and I've owned one, or 2. I know 2 pedal makers who have had there designs blatantly ripped off w/no recourse. That's when I stopped. That was my greater point. It took me 5 years to afford to replace cheap Chinese pedals for better pedals made in the U.S., Brazil, Greece, France, and several other countries. Many of us jazz players use a few cheap pedals because we only need them once or twice a gig. Because I'm not in a position to buy expensive pedals, I took a lot of time to save up, research, and purchase (used) better quality pedals. For me, the best for way to know if an effect will work for me is to buy a cheap one then replace it with something better when I can afford it. I don't know why but if a pedal company offers good benefits for their employees, there's a better chance I'll purchase from them. Having said all of this, I love my Wish Klon clone. Open it up and look at the construction, pretty nice with quality parts.
I love your opinion on why buying pedals from places that "do the same" for cheaper might not be the best option. If nothing else then buy what you can afford and replace that junk with pedals that matter from brands that matter. Part of the fun of playing guitar and getting into pedals is finding the secret sauce that makes your tone truly inspire you to keep playing and making music and potentially inspire the listener. No hate to anyone who refuses to pay more and no hate to people who refuse to be nothing more than a consumer.
I bought a cheap tuner pedal, a power supply, and a couple of "deluxe" gig bags. Haven't tried the tuner pedal or power supply. The "deluxe" gig bags . . . well, they were shown as two-tone brown with 1/2" padding, backback straps, and multiple pockets. What I received were basically garbage bags which were barely 1/2" thick when folded twice to fit into their 9"x11" plastic envelopes. One pocket, one strap - not that I'd ever put in a guitar and try to lift it with the strap - absolutely zero padding, this was a single very thin layer of something that could charitably be called vinyl. Couldn't even use it to keep off dust, unless one doesn't care about the zipper chewing up the guitar, and although I don't care about the color, they were black - I mention it only to show that literally every single detail shown or noted in the ad was a lie. Oh, and they stunk, because why wouldn't they? The only bright spot was that Temu refunded my money and didn't even want them back. Oh, one other bright spot - our garbage service is monthly so I don't have to pay extra to have this garbage hauled off to the landfill. My first Temu purchase and most definitely my last.
I bought a cheap Donner guitar for a student of mine. It came damaged but fixable. Donner said keep it, we'll send a new one. I guess it's cheaper for them than us sending it back.
so many of my pedals are from temu. and you MIGHT find some duds but it’s just like if you ordered on amazon but it’s not 100$ a pedal. and sometimes you get surprised. it’s fun especially if you’re just getting into them or on a budget. but yeah dude a lot of these pedals are great. even the shit ones might give you some new tones. cause if you think about it. the goal is to make it sound bitter sweet. anyways, great review bro & anyone scared to try temu pedals - have fun with the process 🤘🤘🤘 that’s the best part
There's a lot more options these days for affordable pedals, which is sick!
Hold on, back up.... What was that guitar your are playing? It's beautiful and odd and looks like 8 or 9 strings
The metal one sounds really good for what it is. Really good
Also your thoughts on the board was kinda off. It’s if you looked like OJ trying to put on the glove. Is it cheap? Yes. But putting a boat of a pedal on it kinda was ridiculous.
Thanks man, quick question, would you buy one of those boards?
@@DrewCreal no…… but mainly because I have one but if I wanted a quick and dirty shop board where IDGAF if it get gnarly or beat up? This would do the job nicely. Also when you buy things cheap I have no problem modifying it for my personal specs.
@@LollygaggerFX a lot of my pedals are huge, I guess that just how things have worked out, I think my smallest pedal is a few Boss pedals, I guess I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really fit my current stuff on the board, I feel like it would be great for a mini pedal board though. Anyways dude, thanks for watching, I'm always trying to make better videos and share my thoughts in a more constructive way.
@@DrewCreal I guess my point is you could have said the same about a small pedal train board. I think the case is ……. Order the thing that fits your needs. Yeah there isn’t any specs but if you had looked at the pics that had pedals on it …. It might of help you make a different decision.
I love how terrible that metal distortion sounded
No faults at all especially as a beginner. Value is what im talking about
Absolutely.
I myself I like the boss pedals that’s all I own from metal zone to chorus, delay and everything in between
You can't go wrong with Boss, and you can find some killer deals on Facebook Marketplace!
I have that pedal board and some cheap Donner pedals and a couple of boss pedals running through a Boss katana mk2 50 watt. It's perfect for a hack like me.
Rock on!
bottomline everyone loves a bargain or a good deal. Sometimes cheap stuff is all you need - in most industries you will see different customers ranging between bargain basement and hand made custom - all is not equal granted but for me these pedals may be the starting point for someone interested in music to get started with a guitar, cheap amp and a few experimental pedals, maybe its for a pro who has his pedals get destroyed or lost every month gigging. For me I just watched your vid because you had a pretty cool heavy sound and great playing on your temu metal guitar video! I am more into easy simulated guitar effects apps on amps with bluetooth like spark - less fuss - totally portable.
I dont mind buying temu or aliexpress stuff cause those people are building them in a factory for a paycheck and trying to bring home the bacon just like everybody else in the real world that have to work for a living .
The Nu-X MG100 MFX pedal I bought way back 2016 has a more aggressive distortion than that distortion pedal just by the stock presets it has and that's one of the cheaper options back then
Last week i bought a metal distortion from temu and it arrived today but i haven't trst it yet. It looks kinda weird but authentic at the same time.
Which one did you get? Do you like it?
I believe that hole in the side of the pedalboard is for water drainage.
I do believe you are correct about this, thank you for clearing this up.
Some of the Boss & Mxr pedals etc are made in China and Taiwan. Most likely the same factory as these Temu pedals for all we know.
You might be right about that! Boss and MXR are much superior quality than the Temu pedals though.
When I see someone wearing a Cult Leader shirt, I give them a sub
Thanks Drew. Also, cheap pedals are not good for independent pedal makers. Cheap manufacturers "steal" schematics from pedal makers, which are patented, and manufacture them from poor quality solder, diodes, transistors, etc (which are not independently tested). Many "boutique" pedal makers will use Chinese manufacturing and don't tell the consumer because it was assembled in the US (they have the same quality parts being used but the manufacturing is 85% less than if done in the U.S.) If you designed that pedal for a boutique company who's doing that, many will drop royalties for each pedal sold while still charging the same original price to the consumer. This is true for almost any product but this discussion is about pedals.
Thanks for weighing in on this Ray. I feel like reverse engineering and copying schematics is so normal in the effects pedal industry. Though I can't guarantee that my favorite pedal builders use the best quality parts, but there are different grades to metals, plastics, transistors, diodes, pots and jacks and I try and find companies that I like, who will typically hand select the best versions of those parts they can find to make a much more consistent and BETTER sounding and long lasting pedal. That's what it's about I think.
Exactly. I live in NYC and know 2 pedal designers who have seen there pedals change from personally sourced parts to ones purchased in bulk, thousands at a time, or to being made in China but still hand assembled in the US. If there's one thing great pedal designers/makers love to do is source the best components. They are obsessed with it. They also know when cheaper, mass produced components are just as reliable as expensive ones, that I appreciate- they are intimately aware of electronics so I trust that they are right. @@DrewCreal
People here have been doing the same for decades. I think the more important thing is to call out the act…… not the country.
Agreed, 100%. I'm specifically and only referring to 2 Chinese pedal companies were guilty of reverse engineering 2 pedal designed by friends. A family member of mine was their attorney.
If say it was Norway that did that, I would have only mentioned them. There was no recourse for compensation- impossible to sue. China is often mentioned because they have the highest (28.4%) of all the Global Manufacturing Output in the world.
I'd say well over 90% of all less expensive pedals are made in China. I also don't know any country that has more brilliant engineers than China: Cherub Technologies who owns several pedal companies in Cina (like NUX) are killing it quality wise as well as JOYO,
China also has some excellent luthiers who are overlooked because of folks perceptions of quality. When you're the biggest player in the world in pedal production, you get noticed.
Now, the U.S. is 2ndi. 16% GMO (2nd largest pedal manufacturer too) and plenty of pedal builders here have been sent cease and desist letters for copyright infringement. Here, thankfully, there is recourse. @@LollygaggerFX
Sorry but, while buying local is admirable, you must keep in mind that a US manufacturer would do the same exact thing...make a pedal board that only works with their own pedals. And, you can't expect something that costs $20 bx $200 to be identical. The point is whether it is worth the reduced price...and most purchasers of Temu goods say the items are well worth their price. I challenge you to review the $33 M-vave programmable pedal and find a US-made equivalent that costs under $400.
I appreciate the challenge, maybe I'll check out the M-Wave in the future. I find that spending a little more money on a quality piece of gear, that lasts a long time and sounds great, is almost always the best option, rather than tossing your money away on Temu pedals that might break, or don't really sound good to begin with. That's my opinion, you are free to have your and disagree, no problems there. I appreciate your comment, keep shredding!
Why would you buy stuff you don't know the size of ?? 99% of items on TEMU have the sizes in the description, read them. Sounds like your complaints are just cause you didn't pay any attention to the products you bought. 😏 Sounds like you have more money than sense. and that's not a good thing really.
You're probably right, I should have read the size chart. But this plastic board is a pedal board that you can really only use with Temu pedals, and that's a bummer. I buy stuff to make video for viewers, it's an investment in what I'm trying to achieve, an informative TH-cam channel that helps views. Hopefully you got something good out of it.
Looking at that Rockhouse pedal board over at Ali right now and it's 20 euros cheaper there. Exact same thing, 50x20x6 centimeters, in 3 colors too (all the same price, not like Temu where every color has its own price). Not that I need a board, I already have 2 from Thomann but just saying. Temu is not as cheap as people think. The M-Vave Mini Universe reverb? It's like 10 euros cheaper at Ali as we speak. That includes free shipping to NL, EU VAT and free return within 90 days too. There's no such thing as Temu or Ali pedals, they're just 2 different platforms selling the same brands. Some sellers at Ali also offer the entire Dolami series, I got one for less than 20 euros a while ago, it wasn't bad at all, just not my cup of tea, so I gave it to my little nephew along with a bunch of other items. He is still in his learning years so I helped him out with some stuff.
I do get the argument about people being unable to afford the things pensive option, it’s why Squier are a thing, it’s why Pacificas sell well…
…the problem here is that when quality brands are undercut to such an extent, they fail because they can’t reduce their prices enough to compete, so you’re left with a poorer quality product, because, as is said in the video, the people making them don’t care about the sound, they just care about churning out as many units as possible.
Thank you, very well said 👍
I could not get past the security part at least 4 times, so I didn't see anything.
Thanks for the video. I suppose ethically sourced products have their place but let's be real here. I can guarantee that most of what you own is made in China like the rest of us. And I bet like most people, you don't give it a second thought. I get where you're coming from but it would be way too time consuming to check where every component for everything you buy comes from. If the product is decent and the price is right then why not. Metal Zone by Boss is too expensive and is the most unpopular pedal they ever made and I personally think the Temu pedal sounds better. Keep rocking bro!
Agreed. Here, I'm only talking about pedals, not toasters or clothing. Just pedals. China in the last 10 yrs has produced some great pedals. I just do what I can, when I can to support independent pedal makers.
I have a hard time believing there is such thing as an ethicality sourced resistor or input jack that these American companies are using.
Nah bro that Moen pedal sounds just like a Behringer ultra metal pedal,but in a much better looking case.rather save some extra coins and grip the Metal zone instead.🤘🏻🔥🌹
OD, Gate, Delay, EQ, Channel. No need for anything else. lol.
For you guys complaining about him being critical of inexpensive gear… STFU. You don’t need to buy strymon or walrus audio to get a good tone. You just need to know how to shop. I’m on a budget and there are these great pedals by a company called Boss that sound great and are built for the long haul. If you need a budget pedal collection instead of spending 20-40 bucks a bunch of times over and over trying to find quality stuff that sounds good. Buy right the first time. I have a pedal board that’ll kick the shyt out of anyones and I’ve never paid more than 60 bucks for a pedal because I buy smart and used! I have a new pro co rat, EHX big muff fuzz, and a boss sd1 for my drives, an EHX stereo mistress that has flanger and chorus, a boss super chorus, (yeah I’m an 80’s guy love the modulation) an EHX Echo #1 Delay and I plug that all into the clean channel of a red stripe USA peavey bandit I paid 100 bucks for. My main guitar of choice is a USA made peavey predator with fender staggered tuners that I paid 115 for and put a dimarzio 36th anniversary paf in the bridge of with two fender Texas specials in the middle and neck. My whole gig rig cost me under 750 bucks. You could gig that rig anywhere, I have no noise issues. I have no reliability issues. Each and every piece of kit I have is professionally built by real companies that are built to last and sounds great at any volume. Find me another rig that’s half USA made that costs 715 bucks or less like mine and sounds as good. By the time you cycle through all the budget crap to find something decent you will have spent more money than me and have a way worse rig than me. Cheers to my fellow cheap bastards out there.
The components alone if you baught them to build yourself and they were cheap shit even at trade prices would exceed the purchace price of the pedal.Ok they are not boutique quality but for the normal ''Joe'' in the street they are good enough.
I think you’re right man
I agree with most of this but I’ve had a donner power supply like 3 years or so and my pedals are fine so idk why u said they are loud or destroy pedals
Nah dude, spend the money and get a real power supply.
Let me rephrase this, if you have a pedal worth over $50 USD, get a nice isolated power supply that delivers clean power.
@@DrewCreal yea I think I’m going too I just wanted to say for most people who are watching and stuff donners are perfectly fine most just jam out or do gigs but I gig in a band so I’m gonna get a new one soon
I bought some stuff from Temu. Never again.
Not common lol I have around 30 usa made pedals I've collected over the last few years and only 1 has Jack's on the top all the rest are side Jack's and power supply
That’s cool man, I’m talking mainly about the pedals and brands I’ve featured on my channel. Here’s a list of pedals with top mounted jacks, which are more convenient in my opinion: Earthquaker Devices, Does it Doom, Void Manufacturing, Electronic Audio Experiments, Space Man Effects, Walrus Audio, Lichtlaerm Audio, Frost Giant Electronics, Fuzz Imp….and there are many others.
Man i thought you're mark hoppus
I AM Mark Hoppus!
A fuzz box is a fuzz box, more or less.
Well, about the end video discussion...
I play for 10+ years and have only had one amp and never had a pedal. So yeah It's about the money. And the "hype" becomes guilt, and doubt now...
I'm trully sorry, but i hope the world understands if i buy this Metal Moen pedal... 😢
Buy whatever pedals you want my friend, no shame there. I just think you could find a used Boss pedal for around the same price. Sounds like you're using the gear that you have, and that's the whole point. I do enjoy having some different options, which is why I have a small collection of gear.
I got the chorus for £1.76. My review is here - th-cam.com/video/WNb_zJJTTF4/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing!
One thing to keep in mind with sites like that, the stuff comes straight from china to you. Now with pedals you should be fine mostly but i would never ever buy something that can burn my house down if the ROHS or CE label is fake😂
“Cool company”…in business and economy does not exist…especially when all sourced materials come from the same places in the global south! If anything you should encourage someone who used to make fridges and pivoted into making these products because this is really how we make new sounds and innovate!
I appreciate the perspective, but from what I can tell, Temu doesn’t have an RnD department where they are generating new sounds, they’re copying existing circuits on the market and making them with cheaper components. I agree with you though, Yamaha has made some amazing pieces of equipment over the years for guitar, and they make a slew of other products in other sectors of the economy.
But, Most of us Shop Walmart or Dollar Store or Grocery and that’s All China. Just do as much research as possible first
My concept is if it works and sounds nice then buy it. Why spend so much when you can get an equal fair product with almost equal sound?
Well I don’t support slave labour though
The application has to be considered, I'm not sure I'd rely on these if I was playing gigs on the road every night. But hey, maybe they hold up?
Why would place a pedal with an over hang that way anyways. Just move it up so it’s solid. Problem solved. Know a few guitarist that would that.
The pedal simply doesn't fit on the board. The dimensions are not tall enough to fit most pedals...except for the ones you find on Temu.
I'd love to virtue signal but then I remember who manufactures the IC, chipset of my mobile, my computer and my pedalboard.
The virtue signaling goes both ways, people love to congratulate themselves for buying cheap pedals. I guess I don't understand why that's worth celebrating. If music is your life, put your money where you mouth is and buy quality stuff. If there was a cell phone manufactured in the US, I'd buy it.
@@DrewCrealeverybody is bound with their own "if"s. The notion that an expensive pedal is required to create quality music is just a myth, else many "influencers'" music would've been quality content, which is far from reality. If it sounds good and fits within their budget, people who bought those pedals have every right to congratulate themselves regardless of what the rich kids thinks of their "cheap" possession.
@@trollgag5221 there’s no argument about the fact that cheap equipment can make great music. I simply find that type of signaling in forums quite cringe. My point in that people shouldn’t cut corners when it comes to music equipment. Get the stuff the sounds great and is reliable and you’ll save yourself some money in the long run.