Pedal Brands That Dominated 2024!
Episode 128: Pedal Brands That Dominated 2024!
Welcome to the Chairmen of the Boards Podcast! The ultimate pedalboard podcast with the foremost rig builders in the world: Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio), Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio), and Mason Marangella (Vertex Effects/The Rig Doctor). We’ve teamed up to democratize great tone and provide you with our best tricks, tips, resources and hacks so you can build the pedalboard of your dreams!
//SPONSORS//
The Guitar Sanctuary – https://guitarsanctuary.com
Mono – https://monocreators.com (use discount code “chairmen” for 10% off)
Best-Tronics – https://btpa.com (use code “dachairs” for 10% off)
//TABLE OF CONTENTS//
00:00 – Welcome
00:40 – Todays topic: current state of the pedal industry
02:56 – Who are the “WINNERS” of 2024?
04:02 – Thoughts on JHS reviving Ross pedals
05:53 – Walrus Audio did an exceptional job this year
08:06 – JHS is always in the conversation
08:28 – Universal Audio and Amp Sims
20:17 – Neural DSP
23:42 – IK Multimedia and ToneX
25:38 – Keeley Electronics
30:05 – Who do you think won 2024?
33:25 – Thoughts on where the industry is going
50:51 -Thanks for watching!
//HOSTS//
Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio)
YT – @GoodwoodAudio
IG – https://instagram.com/goodwoodaudio
Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio)
YT – @omilionaudio
IG – https://instagram.com/omilionaudio
Mason Marangella (Vertex Effects)
YT – @VertexEffectsInc
IG – https://instagram.com/vertexeffects
#guitarpedals #fxpedals #effectspedals
#Pedal #Brands #Dominated
Originally posted by UC0lvt4Tpj5xI4Cfzfz4SHzg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYN-_ucYzR0
size doesn't matter but in pedal world it does????
Not sure if you've heard of Sushi Box FX, his whole deal is doing pedals with tubes in them, his latest pedal (Grand Slampegg) is basically just a Ampeg B-15N in a DI box!!!
The time stamps are all wrong. I think because the video starts maybe 2 minutes late.
ToneX one
Third man Anna sounds La grotte
Owned three UAFX pedals and they only stuck around for six months. Then I thought i may have made a mistake with the Golden and bought it again. But no i wasn't wring and it went back once again.
Hi Mason, on a bass pre-amp DI pedal the XLR output is buffered but is the mono return to your amp a low impedence buffered signal ? obviously it's not balanced but should i add a small standalone Bonafide buffer after the pre-amp DI's bass to amplifier mono out put ? Any help would be appreciated..I think the plastic cased larger Tone X blows away the Quad Cortext's effects, people had to wait a long time for there promises from Quad Cortext….nice 1 box but never heard a multi fx board sound better than good pedals on a pedalboard…it is getting better for sure, like you say people are pushing the envelope which is always a good thing, you do have to try before buying as synergy & a well made pedalboard set up takes a bit of experimenting to get your "dream tone"… i think NU-X have done really well in the last few yrs, i still use the MLD bass pre-amp DI pedal, great switching options, good ir's, 75ohm output & can be used as a re-amping box, practice box with inbuilt drum machine & aux audio input, many bass amps & cabs…cheap as chips but used live people give me compliments, i try & use a mixture of bass amp & cab mic'd upped & mixed with a clean DI signal…
Calling out UA as being disingenuous is rich coming from Mason. Having a single pedal design makes the pedals easier to use. The extra richness to the sounds of these pedals makes up for the lack of midi to a degree, though I’d like to see it. Calling things a cash grab just seems like you have an axe to grind with them. I’m guessing there’s more to the story you’re not telling. That seems disingenuous. Who gives a rip about Dumble owners???this entire rant is meaningless.
Andy wood said he was playing the guitar sanctuary soonish, maybe you guys can get him in for a chat?
the sushibox stuff is amazing for adding a real tube preamp and feel to the backend of an hx stomp. Thats the wave right now in the bass world.
Hey Mason, this was one of my fav podcasts on your channel. i like the other guys, they are good people but it just flowed way better here. i would come back to listen to more content in this format.
I like modelers! What I don't like is that you basically need an actual rig to run them so why not just get an amp and some pedals? Love the idea of midi / presets on analog pedals
In my area though our PA's normally suck unless youre playing one of the more popular venues. The in house sound guys are also usually very lazy when it comes to the mix.
Thanks for the super kind words Mason! <3 My entire team has been trying to reach the next level since about the time of the Noble Screamer. That was the time when our own marketing and "brand" really came into focus. Once we got the laser and press brake to support the powder coating, uv-printing, and smt/pcb manufacturing – we were firmly in place to take our brand to the next level.
I'm pretty sure Grant has used a Kingsley preamp as a tube pedal with a modeler and he really liked it.
I built a board with a Kingsley preamp –> Kingsley Low Gain Page Tube Boost (as faux power tubes) –> Ox Stomp and it's absolutely killer
UA is the king of getting people to buy the same thing again. Plugins in pedal form and the same enclosure for all. Look at what IK packs in with tonex one or line 6 with the hx stomp and then consider what 1 amp, compressor, reverb from UA costs.
concerning the Dumble thing: leave the church in the village as we like to say in Germany. Only time has healed your wah wah wounds….
More programmable analogue pedals is definitely the way forward, I feel some pedal manufacturers might find themselves falling by the wayside if they don’t move beyond basic expression and control switch facilities
Whilst not a tube product, I use the new DSM Humboldt SimplifierX, it has stereo in (you can choose to have 2 separate amps, or mix them), stereo line and XLR out, and an effects loop. It’s all analogue and at home I just run into two powered monitors; it sounds great and even feeds back!
The industry miss the amps for the modellers. I would like an small Guitar combo only with a poweramp with the possibility to connect a second box for stereo. Thats it and nothing more. The FR amps are expensive and i want guitar speaker. Alternatively more pedalboard poweramps in pedalforn. There is not a lot to choose on the market in the range of under 200€. People have the sounds and only want them coming ou of a speaker.
Great discussion, thank you.
1. I got suckered into purchasing two mini pedals only to find their footprints are only slightly smaller than standard pedals. When i realized that i immediately regretted them both.
2. I wish more manufacturers put input/output & power on the tops of their pedals. It's such a small thing that makes a big difference in real estate. Not to mention the clean look it creates.
I'd say Jackson Audio won in 2024 and King Tone is a solid runner up.
Robert ‘s enclosures are almost identical to the Soldano pedals also
What I find very odd is there isn't an affordable 50 Watt tube power amp with a volume knob and a XLR balanced in for guys with modelers or in my case a Friedman IR-X tube pre to plug into for guys that have an old school backline. I just leave my PLEXI at home and use an Art SLA-2 plugged into the cab I used for my Plexi. It works totally fine but I would prefer a tube power amp.
I wish there would be some kind of MS 3 upgrade pedal. Boss MS 5?
I think we'll see fewer but larger multi purpose pedals on boards, in a bid to minimise analog digital conversions, plus power and patch cable resources. Typical pedal board might be a digital header, a series of traditional analog pedals mid board, with a digital back end (intrgrated stereo modulation delay & reverb).
A header pedal might be a combi tuner-buffer-boost, MIDI controllable, with effects loop out for a fuzz or wah.
On the amp front, IMO two notes have been pretty innovative with tube preamps and cabinet emulations, and blackstar too with things like the St James with lightweight transformerless tube power sections. Victory also do a range of tube preamp, class D power amp amps, with cabinet emulation. Seems a flexible and modern take on a tube amp.
These modern amps may mean there's a battle brewing between traditional guitar speakers and FRF cabs. Which will live players pick for their personal monitoring on stage? (PA / front of house will be nearly universal method for main volume, even for small gigs)