Your best and worst pedal hot takes? 🔥

[jesuscrisp]

The internet is a great place to argue with strangers on very subjective matters. So why not drop some controversial statements here and start arguing with fellow pedal nerds?

Here's some of mine:

• Clipping switches are mostly overrated when it comes to "versatility".
• Clean blends on the vast majority of dirt circuits are stupid unless it's for bass.
• If unity gain is below 9 o'clock on anything but a boost pedal: learn when to use log tapers. I know there are loud pedals that use log taper volume knobs, but more often than not it's just linear ones to give the illusion of loudness and headroom.
• Trim pots and dip switches that vastly change how a pedal sounds should either not exist or be external controls.
• There's nothing wrong with SMD assembled pedals, but if you're selling a 200$ SMD fuzz face with zero extra controls, no pickup simulator or similar quality of life improvements, it just seems like a bad deal no matter how cool the enclosure looks.

 

[Aentons]

I disagree with some of your statements, but I like your idea. Let's argue

 

[jesuscrisp]

That's the spirit!

 

[cdwillis]

People that whine about the mid scoop on big muffs just don't know how to use their equipment.

 

[GizzWizzKing]

• Muffs > Rats.
• If your pedal hits unity gain early, cry about it and then leave it alone like we do with all our volume knobs. It's a knob. It's position does not matter except in your head.
• JHS is still making more money than us in the DIY world.... that one is just a fact so lets live with it.
  

 

[Aentons]

Distortion pedals should not have tone controls. That's what eq pedals are for.

 

[szukalski]

Muffs and Rats sound like crap.

 

[jesuscrisp]

It's position does not matter except in your head.

It matters to me because it makes the usable range super narrow.

Distortion pedals should not have tone controls. That's what eq pedals are for.

And I thought I had some controversial ones.

 

[synthesiserror]

If your tone stack needs a bypass, your tone stack sucks.

 

[cdwillis]

I'm confused about the volume knob taper. Are you saying linear taper pots are better or worse than logarithmic pots?

 

[jesuscrisp]

I'm confused about the volume knob taper. Are you saying linear taper pots are better or worse than logarithmic pots?

They are worse 90% of the time. Unless your pedal barely gets above unity, there's no good reason to use linear in my humble and correct opinion.

 

[mybud]

I'm confused about the volume knob taper. Are you saying linear taper pots are better or worse than logarithmic pots?

Yes. And no.

 

[Harry Klippton]

This isn't even a hot take but pedals are not amps and do not sound like amps.


all tube screamers sound bad

 

[Aentons]

If your tone stack needs a bypass, your tone stack sucks.

It's not that it needs a bypass. It needs to be fully featured like a graphic or parametric. Plus you can move it before or after.

 

[Aentons]

This isn't even a hot take but pedals are not amps and do not sound like amps.

They are solid state pre-amps. Just saying...

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

People that say they get all they need from just plugging straight in don't know how to have a good time.

 

[finebyfine]

HOT ONE:
Fuzz faces, and most fuzzes in general, sound better with a buffer before them

 

[jesuscrisp]

The are solid state pre-amps. Just saying...

Talking about preamps, the term "preamp" is used in such an inconsistent way these days in marketing, whole generations of guitar players don't get that what is or isn't considered a preamp anymore or where to run their pedals in a chain.

HOT ONE:
Fuzz faces, and most fuzzes in general, sound better with a buffer before them

There's HOT. And then there's WRONG.

 

[Visceri]

Clean blends on the vast majority of dirt circuits are stupid unless it's for bass.

Not only do I disagree, but I’ll do you one worse. I think the implementation of most clean blends for bass absolutely suck. You should only really be blending in the low end of the clean signal, not the entire thing. Darkglass X and Damnation MBD did it right. If bass were my primary instrument however I would have bought a splitter/parallel mixer right after a compressor so I could use anything I want

Clean blends for guitar are an absolute godsend if you are gain stacking. Best way to do the HM-2 thing imo is to blend it before a more focused distortion/overdrive. I don’t care what entombed/at the gates did, it sounds better this way

I agree with you about the diodes. It’s the bare minimum you can do to alter a pedal and rarely are there multiple options where I think to myself “wow I’m glad I have germanium clipping but I’m feeling a little LED-ish today”. You’re the designer, I’m paying for YOUR take. Take some initiative and just use the diodes YOU think sound best

 

[benny_profane]

Rats sound like crap.