5 Worst Pedals Of 2017

Just as there is best of the year, there is also some pedals that didn't really seem to hit their mark. This isn't to say that they don't do the job their were meant to do, its just that sometimes the fact that they even exsist is a a head-scratcher. Let's take a look at some of the worst pedals of 2017.

EHX Blurst

I wanted to like this thing when I saw it. EHX has the habbit of bringing unexpected and fun products to market, but the Blurst was flirting with line between junk and genius and fell right over to the junk side. This is a pedal that dares you to try and use it. There is are some interesting special effects in this box, but I can't see that anyone could find use for it other than a noise maker. Some may need weird and interesting noises and this will provide, but for many of us, this is a waste of space.

DOD Rubbernecker

This pedal is actually a solid delay. It has some unexpected features and it expands of what you are capable of with analog delay. However, it suffers from timing. The Rubbernecker is now in the shadow of its big brother, Carbon Copy Deluxe. These two delay may possibly share some DNA, but given the choise between the two, most are going to go with the pedigry that the Carbon Copy brings with it.

BOSS/JHS AngeryDriver

This pedal came straight out of left field. The Angery Driver is a colaberation between JHS and BOSS. It combinds the Angery Charlie and Blues Driver. Both pedals are outstanding in their own right. So the decition to combind the two comes as a big surprise. Although, the pedal works on a technical level, it robs itself of some the best qualitiest that come with each respective pedals.

Keeley D&M Drive

What is basically a signature pedal, the D&M Drive actually works against itself. I understand why this pedal happened. These two brits that talk about pedals on the internet have the capability to sell plenty of pedals if they recomend them, so why not give them an endorment deal? Well, the whole perpuse of their show is to help guitar experience many differnent guitar product and maybe help with purchasing choices. If it turns out that they just shill for whoever is lining their pockets, then it doesn't help their credibility.

TC Electronic Rush Booster

This year we saw a whole slew of new pedals from TC Electronic. It's no coinsedence that this come after the buy out of TC by Behringer's parent company. What make the Rush booster worse than most other pedals in the same line is that TC already make a great boost for the same price. The Spark Boost is great and compact. For a one knob boost, you don't need a huge, heavy enclosure. This seems like some kind of oversight.

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic Iron Curtain Noise Gate

Alright, I guess I'm going to to do all of these things. By now, we know that TC is putting out a huge number of pedals that should look familiar to anyone that has been around BOSS or Behringer effect pedals. When I first heard of the people, I thought it was something different. I'll get into that in a second, but now we will take a closer look.

Not A Clone

So Behringer put out direct BOSS clones for a long time. They are still producing cost-effective stomp boxes that are nearly identical to their BOSS brethren. Here come TC and they look like they are upping the ante. They are pretty much taking some of the most successful circuits and stilling them in rugged boxes. Basically taking Behringer's game and raising the bar... kinda. Like we saw with the 3rd Dimension, TC pedals aren't always direct copies. I'm not saying that they aren't up to par, but some of the features don't make to the final product. The same thing has happened here. The BOSS and Behringer pedals both feature an effects loop. This isn't necessary, but it is a noted loss when comparing these very related pedals.

The Competition

Looking at budget noise gate pedals, you won't find many. Most start out well north of the advertised price of the Iron Curtain-$50. The Behringer has a spotted reputation, and the BOSS is twice the price. It's pretty much between EHX and TC at this price point. If you need anything more substantial than what those two pedal can give you, then you should probably take a look at the TC Sentry and stop messing around with bargain bin pedals. Personally, I've never really had any need for noise gate on my board. Not to say that I haven't used them. My experience with the BOSS NS-2 and MXR Smart Gate is enough for me not to recommend them. Even with the limited features, if TC made a solid noise gate at $50, then this is a huge win for guitarists in general.

So Close

They had the name and the look, but if they just could have made this a Russian Big Muff clone I think I could have forgiven the lack of green. I know this is on the heels of EHX releasing their Green Russian, but imagine for a second a world that had a choice of Russian Fuzz clones. Maybe this one goes for more of a Black Russian feel? What makes it worse is that they put out a Muff Clone in the line. The demo did sound pretty low-gain, so maybe it's going for a Russian feel... but that just makes it worse. You were so close TC!

Conclusion

I'm actually pretty surprised that I have so many feelings about a Noise Gate. But honestly, this pedal does seem to feel a bit of a gap in the market. The lack of features does give me a little bit of pause. If I were to find myself in need of a noise gate and had the option of the Iron Curtain and the Silencer, then I might just get the Silencer on the features alone. I mean, seven dollars buy quite a bit more. Then again, noise gates are a hard thing to get right, and I haven' really see TC drop the ball on any of these pedals, so it might come down to a dual.

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electron Honey Pot Fuzz

In the ever-expanding line of TC Electronics value based effect, the Honey Pot Fuzz is just one of the latest offerings. Currently available for pre-order from most major online retailers, not much is known about the fuzz. Most of the information currently know is based upon the demo TC posted directly after the announcement of their release. So what do we know about this pedal, and should we be looking forward to its release?

Don't We Already Have One Of These

Yes. The Initial release of these pedal included the Rusty Fuzz. However this was a silicon fuzz based on the Fuzz Face. For those unfamiliar with fuzzes, there are just as many fuzzes to have as there are overdrives. Does that mean that they are all different? I'll answer that question with another question. Are all overdrives different? Let's just think about how many "different" Tube Screamers there are. Sure, there may be some slight differences for one manufacturer from another, but for the most part a Tube Screamer is a Tube Screamer. But a Tube Screamer isn't a Blues Driver. 

Ruby Fuzz is to Fuzz Face as Honey Pot Fuzz is to...

Big Muff. Yes, the Honey Pot seems to be a clone of the EHX Big Muff Pi. It's also been suggested that even the name may be a reference to same anatomical location as the Muff. The largest hint as to what the circuit is based upon are the label given to the knobs. Volume and Tone are pretty basic stuff, but Sustain on a fuzz usually point in one direction, Big Muff.

Which Muff Is This Muff?

This is where it get a little trickier. The Big Muff Pi has several versions to choose from when cloning. From the Triangle to the modern USA version, there are at least a handful of circuits and sounds that we could expect from this pedal. If I had to take a guess, I'd say that we might be getting a Russian variant of the pedal. This may be wishful thinking on my part, or it may be due to the fact that another pedal announced along side this one is call the Iron Curtain (far better name if this is a Russian version). The main reason I think this is that it sounds rather tame. The Russian Big Muff is one of the lower gain version of the pedal. In any case, we probably aren't looking at a clone of the modern Big Muff Pi.

Conclusion

Yes, these pedals are bulky little tanks, but given their relationship with Behringer I'd rather have these than those. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of TC's dirt pedals. The Mojo and Dark Matter were both rather underwhelming But with the new line of "inspired" pedals, TC might just have my attention. A $50 Muff clone has my attention. But if this really is a Russian Big Muff, then it could possibly take the wind of the resent EHX Green Russian release. But for the love of Pete, they should have name this one the Iron Curtain... Such a better name!

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic El Mocambo Overdrive

Upon the announcement of the new El Mocambo, Tore himself practically called the new pedal a Tube Screamer. Uncertain whether this is a TS-9 or TS-808 clone, the allusion to "the most ledgendary overdrive circuit ever designed" almost assures it is one of the two.

Why Do We Need Another TS Pedal?


Short answer is that we don't. But, when you are cranking out pedal after pedal for your corporate overlords, a tube screamer is a sure-fire win. It's a simple circuit, so all you have to do is give it a cool name and mount it in a decommission soviet tank and call it a day.


Who really Needs To Buy A Pedal


I own two tube screamers (a TS-9 and TS-808) but I have many more that give me that same feel. Honestly, I prefer an OCD to either of my TS pedals. But, I can't deny the fact that I have a morbid curiosity when it comes to this pedal. I want to know what it sounds like compared to my other mid-humped overdrive. I know it's going to sound the same... but the marketing it too strong.


Conclusion


If you are trying to move to all your pedal having top jacks, or if you need a pedal that you could break a car window or fight out an attacker with, then you might want to check out this pedal. However, if you already have a TS type people, maybe try before you buy. If you've never used a TS or you want a TS but want to spend a little less, then maybe this pedal is for you.

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic Crescendo Auto Swell

If you think like me, and let's be honest who wouldn't., then you think that volume swells in guitar-based music is just the bee's knees. No better way to make you guitar sound spooky, seductive, and whale-ish (welsh?) than to add some volume swells. In fact, volume swells are so prevalent in you guitar work that you don't have time to work a knob, and a volume pedal doesn't fit on your board because you added yet another transparent overdrive that you absolutely need for "that" tone. (That last klone totally makes your amp sound just like a modded Fender Dumble.)

Hot Take

This pedal is just a reheat BOSS SG-1. Behringer made a clone and this is that in a TC electronic box. All these things are probably true and that is complete fine. I'm ok with TC electronic doing this. I mean, it's not like this is the first straight copy of the Slow Gear. There have been clones and DIY kits for ages. My Line6 M5 has an auto swell effect among the five thousand other ones. Did I buy it for that one effect? No. Do I use it consistently? Also, no. I mean, I do have a volume pedal...


Same Old Problem


So, I have story about how the SG-1 came about. Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is in any way true. It's just something that I heard once. It sounds like a think that might be kinda true. As it goes, The guys at BOSS were putting out pedals left and right and making a ton of money because pedal just love the guitar pedal things. There was only one problem. The line of BOSS pedals had been pretty fleshed out and there wasn't a huge outcry for anything more. BOSS had to come up with a new idea. You see, BOSS wasn't always a huge company that followed trends only five years too late. They were once a young, innovating company with ideas. At this particular time, they were having a lot of trouble coming up with anything. That is until someone had the idea to make a pedal that was basically the inverse of a Noise Suppressor which they already made. So, the SG-1 Slow Gear was born. It worked, but it's a little crude. VFE make a similar pedal that fine tunes the idea. The Slow Gear was never supposed to be the end-all be-all of swell pedals, but the limited run made it rare and so it can fetch a high price. This, incorrectly, gives some the impression that it somehow superior to other auto swell pedals. So, if this is a faithful copy of the original, then we are getting a pedal that someone at BOSS pulled out of their butts when they couldn't think of anything better.


Conclusion


I'm only human. Even though I explained that the Slow Gear is nothing special, and despite the fact that I own Two pedals that can reproduce this effect, I still want one. I wouldn't mind owning an actual SG-1, but I probably wouldn't put the Behringer pedal on my board because I'm vain like that. So yeah, this is a compromise that spares my ego and lets me not spend $500 on vintage pedal I'd hate to take out of the house.

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic 3rd Dimension Chorus

TC Electronic showed us the next line of their smorgasbord line of effects. There were several interesting things to note. Probably the most noted was the chorus. We are so used to looking pedals with some arrangement of knob that when we see something the 3rd Dimension it is quite striking. A pedal with the non-familiar shape and size of the new TC boxes with four push buttons instead of our trusty knobs. Is this a better way to do chorus? Maybe, maybe not, but let's take a look at it.

Reboxed Behringer?


At first glance, this pedal looks to be a direct reboxing of a Behringer Chorus Space-C with one glaring exception that we'll talk about later. TC is now owned by Behringer's parent company, so they have been put to task taking care of the most repeated complaint of the Behringer effects, their plastic boxes. So now these pedals have a case that, along with a poster a Raquel Welch, could easily aid your escape from prison. To me, the new box seems to be a serious upgrade to the Behringer. Maybe "upgrade" it too strong a word...

Where's the Stereo?


Both the Space-C and the BOSS DC-2 it was based off of took a single input and provided two outputs. However, the 3rd Dimension doesn't provide the 2nd output. Personally, I don't run a stereo rig or stereo effects, so it doesn't really effect me much, but many people do, and those people would benefit from a faithful reproduction of the classic chorus. However, let me remind you that TC teased a Juno-106 type chorus, and people lost their minds. That pedal was also mono.

Limited


The first question I asked when I saw a push button pedal was, "But, how do I dial-in my tone?". Watching the video the TC put out, Tore talks about spending hours fine tuning a chorus sound. Help me out here, but has anyone spent hours doing this? Most of chorus experience has been CE-2 based, so there wasn't much to mess with. I'd think that four buttons lacking any label, other than being numbered, would be harder to tune than clearly labeled knobs, but that would be an unforgivable deviation from the classic... shm.


Conclusion


To the average player who is not worried about the heritage of there chorus, this is a very interesting pedal. The demo that TC did sounded fine. I'm not a huge chorus user, but it can add a little complexity to your sound when needed. I probably won't pick one of these up. Not because I don't like the 3rd Dimension, but because my Lyon (by Washburn) chorus is meeting my chorus needs. Plus... it's Stereo.

Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic Eyemaster Metal Distortion

So, today TC Electronics let us see what they were teasing us about recently. They gave us a full frontal view of 8 new pedals they are releasing. For the most part, these are very interesting. There is a push button chorus, fuzz, tremolo, auto swell, and noise gate. I've checked out all the available information about these pedals and they seem much like the affordable pedal that they released a few months ago. Where TC has done a great job so far, there seems to be a rotten egg in the bunch. If you read the title of the post you already know what I'm going to say. Let's take a look at the Eyemaster Metal Distortion.

Just... Wow

Ok, if there is one thing that I've learned about the state of big pedal developers releasing their pedal via social media, it is that they have everything optimized before launch. They show us glamour shots on Instagram and they post well produced demo videos on YouTube. That is what TC Electronic did for each one of their new pedals. Each pedal had a video that did no less that convince me to buy every single one. I probably won't, but when I watch those videos, I absolute knew that I needed to buy whatever it was. The final video that I watched was for the Eyemaster. Why did I watch it last? Because that was the order that YouTube gave it to me. Ok?! Just like the other videos we have "Pedal Jesus" tell us just how great this pedal is, and we have an impressive guitarist giving us a demo. Only, I'm not really understanding what I'm hearing. Everything sounds awful. There is a chugging riff and some talk about brutal death-metal. I enjoy a nice chuggy metal riff, but do not dig the sounds on this video. I checked out the comment section to make sure I wasn't crazy. What had been a sea of praise for the other pedal release along side this one, was now a list of complaints.

Simpler Than-Thou

So, I copy-pasted that from the TC website. This pedal has two knobs. That is completely fine. However, the sounds that were coming out of this pedal is not fine. I know that TC can produce a video with great sounding metal riffs (just check out the Mimiq Doubler pedal they have). So it leads me to believe that this pedal just isn't holding up. It sounds like the intro of a song that uses a lofi filter before restoring the low end frequencies and becoming something worth listening to. The sounds aren't brutal. They are thin, scooped, and fizzy. They are a number of HM-2 comparisons being made, but to me it sounds more like a MXR Prime Distortion. Whatever the actually heritage of this pedal, the video does not do much to make me want the thing. After doing some digging, there is a "sound" that the pedal seems to go for, but it "sounds" like a MT-2 at a horrific setting to me.

Who's To Blame?

Here's the deal. Tore (I think that's the guy's name) is kind of an odd dude. Odd in this case refers to the fact that he doesn't agree with me all the time. I don't particularly like most of the distortion/overdrives from TC. So I think there might be some ideological differences between me and the people making decisions at TC. This is all totally fine, but I don't seem to be the only one finding the Eyemaster a little hard to handle. Why does this pedal sound like this? Seems like the TC guys have a thing for distortions with this particular palate. Or, It could be Behringer/Music Group to blame. Many people accuse TC of reboxing Behringer pedals. So maybe it's due to the designs being out of TC's control and not up to their standards. TC makes top notch pedal in nearly every category. There are even fans of the drive pedals... go figure. Or possibly, The amps they were using just didn't like working with that particular pedal. If Tore is to be believed, it may have been too metal for that poor Bugera amp. According to the videos in this series of demos, the amps used were Bugera. In the video is question, there was a close up of a Marshal Plexi, but that amp wasn't even turned on (note the unilluminated status light). This may indicate the use of the Bugera Plexi clone. 

Conclusion

Does this pedal dish out brutal and raw metal tones inspired by classic Swedish death metal? honestly, it might, I'm not up on my classic Swedish death metal. However, I can really recommend this pedal. Very few people have had a chance to play this pedal since it has only just been announced, but for what I can tell, this one is a swing and a miss. TC Electronics does such a great job on nearly everything it sets out to do, but issuing a two knob metal distortion just seems... limited. Here's hoping that this pedal has some internal controls to tweak.

Best Delay Under $50

A delay pedal is one of the most intimidating pedal-decision that a guitarist can make. There are endless features, staggering costs and tons of options. Despite this, a delay is a core effect on the pedalboard of most guitarist. The first time I bought a delay, I just asked the guy working at the guitar shop what the best one was. I bought it. And that was it. I spent over 200 dollars and luckily ended up with a great pedal that I enjoy, but I easily could have ended up with a turd. So here is a list of pedals that are cost-effective and useful.  If you are in the market for a "cheap" delay, then here is my list of the top eight pedals to take a careful look at.


Behringer DD600

This pedal is inspired by the BOSS DD6. Behringer has done a decent job of copying BOSS pedals. The feature list is nearly unheard of on a pedal in this price bracket. The availability of tap tempo and tons of different delay modes make this pedal a tempting pick. I'd encourage you to test one out. There are reports of noise with this pedal, so be sure to test drive before you buy.


Behringer EM600

This pedal is a long time favorite. This is based off the Line6 Echo Park. The Echo Park is still loved by a loyal set of fans. The Swell effect only made this pedal very desirable. Besides that, you have analog and tape filters included in this digital delay. Tap tempo and available Mod filters on your delay tails add a cherry on top. As of a few weeks ago, this pedal was difficult to get a hold of, so prices might top $50 on the used market, but keep an eye out for one of these.


Ibanez DE7

The Tonelok series from Ibanez was unfairly overlooked. Fortunately, you can still find these pedals relatively easy and for $50 or less. 2600ms with an available 'echo filter' give you plenty to play with. Solid metal enclosures are a plus over the plastic Behringer boxes, but the feature list takes a bit of a hit. Overall this pedal is a solid choice with few drawbacks. Not to mention the key feature of these pedals: the set-it and forget-it knobs. If you have a core sound you can lock it in and not worry about it getting knocked around.


Danelectric D-8 FAB Delay

This is one of the cheapest options for a standard type delay. At $25 this pedal is tempting to pick up just because. Obviously, there are limited features on this pedal, but it's a solid choice for bargain-ben prices. It has about 600ms of delay which is decent for half of some of the other pedals on this list. It's another plastic pedal, so it's not one to beat around. If you don't ask much from your delay and want to save some money this one might be one to consider.


DigiTech Digidelay

This is another full-featured delay that has come and gone. Although you can't pick one up new from the store, there are plenty out there to be had. Up to 4 seconds of delay and handful of useful modes, including looping, make this a top contender for best delay under $50. The used market goes up and down, but you can find these hanging around $50 fairly common. All this and tap tempo make this a must watch.


TC Electronic Prophet

Fair new to the market is the TC Prophet. This is a simple digital delay. The most impressive features of this pedal are structural. Top jacks and super-solid construction make this pedal impressive just to hold. Features wise, this pedal doesn't really impress. There are three modes, but they aren't extremely useful. For being one of the most impressive on this list, the features of the actual delay doesn't seem impressive, but this pedal probably has the best "feel" on the list. Street price on these pedals is $60, but I've caught them on sale for well under $50.


Behringer VD400

Another bargain is the Vintage delay from Behringer. Plastic? Check. But you get the feel of an analog delay for under $30. Your delay time is limited, but if you don't like the D-8 but want to find a bottom dollar delay, then give this pedal a try. This is another one you want to test drive. Find a local dealer is see if it's right for you.


TC Electronic Echobrain

Everything that you can say for the Prophet you can say for the Echobrain. The delay time is limited, but it's built like a tank and the delay sounds great. This is probably the best/interesting sounding delay on the list. While the digital delays do their best to sound like analog, this pedal delivers on the authentic analog sound. It's a little on the dark side, but that's what the appeal of these pedals is. Dark, dirty delays are what this pedal does. Again, the list price is over the limit, but if you want to check one out, then wait until they go on sale and snap one up.

WHAT NOT TO BUY:

JOYO Digital Delay

This pedal did not make the list, but I thought that I'd put it on this post in case you were looking at inexpensive delays. This pedal has an issue with passing signal while in bypass. Don't buy this pedal. There are better options. In my opinion, every pedal is a better choice than this one. This pedal also goes by the name "Time Space" but I'm pretty sure it is the same pedal. Check out the full review of this pedal here.



Conclusion

These pedals aren't in any kind of order. All of these pedals are worth a look if you want to spend minimal dough. I've played all these pedal personally and tried to share some useful information to help you make your delay decision. There are several from Behringer. I don't particularly like their pedals, but they have a large list of inexpensive pedals. So, what do think? Did I miss any pedal that should have been on the list? Leave it in the comments below!