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A Guitar pedal trend I have noticed recently! – A big shift in the pedal market!
Introduction
I have been noticing a guitar pedal trend recently! A few guitar friends of mine (and bass players) have all been doing the same kind of thing! How many pedals and pedal types do people have been using? I have noticed a huge shift in the market, and the amount of pedals I see people with on their boards has come down by a fair amount!
There has been a big shift in what people are using and how they are using it! However, we will get onto this all shortly and go through each point! So let us first go into what I have noticed!
What guitar pedal trend have I noticed?
So what have I really noticed? Well, I have noticed that most people are using fewer pedals! Their pedal boards are getting smaller and simpler! They are using amp gain more and relying on drive pedals less! This is also true with modulation and delays! I have noticed a lot of guitarists using simpler rigs and stripping out a few pedals! But why is this?
I am not saying that everyone has suddenly started using one or two pedals. What I am saying is that people are taking one, two or three pedals less! Removing clutter and unused pedals from their boards! People that used to have boards with five or six pedals on might only have three or four pedals on! Why is this? Well, there are a few reasons that I want to go through! So let us dive straight into it!
"Almost reverting back to basic in regards to their rigs!"
Why could this be?
I think the easiest one to go to firstly is how expensive some pedals have gotten! Even the simplest of pedals have gone up in price. This means people are really having to think if they really need that new pedal; maybe they are thinking that a current pedal they have might do the job or that they don’t need that pedal at all.
On the same lines as the above is that the pedal market is very saturated currently! There are a lot of pedals that are the same. This is good and bad! Good because competition is good and allows progression; however, bad because people might get confused and stressed about buying pedals. So what is the easiest way around it? Not to buy new pedals and make things easy.
More on why!
I believe that people want simpler rigs for their gigs! If you are doing a simple blues gig, then why would you want a huge pedalboard? Also, people are getting their drive sounds from their amps and using their guitar volumes to clean it up. This allows you to remove a few drive pedals! Almost reverting back to basic in regards to their rigs! This means your board will be smaller, a cheaper power supply, less cables, and just around easier and more compact to carry!
Lastly, I think multi-effect pedals have given people the chance to have 100’s of effects pedals for only one pedal. This really can simplify your rig and take 2 or 3 modulation pedals and combine them into 1 pedal. I know Chris Buck is using a HX stomp for most of his modulation pedals (although he still has a fairly large board). With the help of MIDI, you can also expand your sounds and get more out of single pieces of gear!
Is it permanent?
I don’t think this guitar pedal trend is permanent! Just don’t actually think it is something new! I just think I have noticed it more and more in recent times. There have always been a group of guitarists who like to be as close to guitar into amp as possible (myself included). These people have always been around. However, I feel the net has widened and more people are starting to think like that!
There will always be people with big boards! Some people do a variety of gigs and also just love pedals! So they will always have big boards and a lot of pedals! This is just a fact! With the help of Switchers, it is also getting easier to manage your boards! No more tap dancing and pressing several pedals on and off together! You can do it all with the simple switch of a button!
There is also something to be said for amps like the Boss Katana and Blackstar ID:X. These amps are gig-ready and contain 100’s of built-in effects. Meaning using a simple foot switch and one of these amps, you can have all the rigs you will ever need and only need a 4 or 5-way switcher. Add the fact that they are super reliable and super affordable, and you can see why so many people are gigging with these types of amps.
Conclusion
So that is my quick thoughts on a guitar pedal trend that I am seeing! Do you agree? Do you feel like you are using fewer pedals? Maybe you moved to a smaller board but better pedals? Or maybe you have moved the other way, bigger board and lots more pedals. I guess there is almost an argument to be had about smaller boards, smaller pedals but the same number of pedals! What are your thoughts on this guitar pedal trend?
Let us know over on our Instagram or send us an email! I would love to hear what you all think about this topic! Feel free to send us pictures of your rig to prove your point! I am happy to be proven wrong!
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