Is there a future for analog pedals?

I guess these analog pedals are going to stay around as long as we play wooden guitars with pickups made out of a magnet with wire wrapped around it.
I think this is an important point. Analog pedals are logically downstream of the electric guitar. If the technology of the electric guitar doesn't change significantly, then pedal technology probably won't either.

Areas where we have utilised digital replacements are because of significant practical issues with the existing analog gear. We have amp sims mainly because real amps are expensive, loud, and heavy. Mythical overdrives aside, analog pedals don't really have any of those problems.

FWIW I play a hybrid setup with analog drive pedals, digital modulation and wet effects, into a digital amp sim pedal using studio IRs. I'm happy with a best of both worlds approach. I get better tones now than I did with a Marshall tube amp.
 
Can't wait for my Christmas vacation so I can spend it wailing through my Collactive Dritchod dirt pedal with my Chibson all into a Crate GX15.

That goofy ass AI pedal did give me an interesting idea of exposing wires in my pedal "snake-style" in and out of the top surface of the pedal.......
 
Haven't read through the whole thread. Dunno if this is gonna be redundant.

But: that all depends.

It's doubtful that folks will ever truly abandon analog pedals, at least before climate change kills us all.

Too many components exist. Even if production of all through-hole components was to cease, folks could mine old junk for repair parts for decades. Or they'd create adapter boards for SMD components.

Digital, on the other hand...well...

There's some problems in the digital space. DSP chips require code, which is typically secret, and over subsequent generations the chip's architecture tends to change. It's impossible to simply transplant code from one DSP chip to another unless they're specifically designed to do so, and if a company locks into that sort of paradigm they may very well lock themselves out of future advancements and improvements that improved processes can bestow.

It's all gotten very good, don't get me wrong. But it's also heavily dependent on continuing support of the software and the DSP chips that make it all possible. As older chips are discontinued, the software that utilized those chips could very well die unless development continues.

I'm a big believer in digital stuff. I use a fractal FM9 for amp sims, delay, and reverb. But everything else is analog: either the pedals I buy or the pedals I build.

Then again, some day if I decide to play shows again, I might choose the simplicity of the all digital setup for the sake of my aging back.

But...nah. I think there's plenty of market space for both. As long as components keep being made.
 
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