I was shopping at reverb pedals for my organ and was really hoping that something super-cheap would work for me, mostly because that's fun for me, rather than because of budget constraints. Subjective preferences aside, I could not use the bargain pedal because it could not handle the dense bandwidth of the organ. The sound turned into non-reverb digital artifacts when I played big chords. I tried a very popular, more pricey pedal, but even the clean sounds had some modulation that did not sound like the ambiance of an organ playing in a real space. Emily's comment about "achieve what you want" is spot on - it's easy to get distracted by how cool a pedal looks/sounds, how comprehensive the features are, or how popular something is and end up with a pedal that does not do the job you need it to do. Shop with a purpose in mind and you'll get a better result.
@@jessereyna7408 I tried one of the newer Boss pedals. (RV6?) The plain reverb sounds had a touch of modulation that did not sound like a real space to me. I may be behind the times but I associate Line6 with guitars exclusively. My mxr reverb seems to do the job well enough. Its on the subtle side but keeps me from overdoing the effect.
It's pretty common for guitar players that are playing stereo rigs with 2 amps to add a 50ms - 70ms delay to one of the amps to get a thicker sound. The ability to control the right and left delay amount becomes useful in those scenarios.
@@emilyharpist you really do get what you pay for. Some people are so obsessed with saving a buck they’ll buy the cheap product over and over again after constantly fails never realizing they’re spending more money than they would have if they sprung for the quality item in the first place. Then you also have to factor in ethical worker standards in the country of origin. And no, the US worker laws are not worse than they are in China. It’s not even close.
Thanks for taking the time to show the differences between these pedals, some of the cheaper pedals sound fine until you switch to the expensive one and it feels like so much space and depth open up.
After pondering a bunch, I ended up with the Empress a few weeks back and it is indeed fantastic. The others in this video sound great, but when the empress comes on I notice the presence of the harp is much more realistic sounding and forward - maybe that's just me. You don't always need fancy pedals for sure, a pile of these donner ones on a pedal board would be AWESOME, but man is that empress lush.
I was blessed to have an electrical engineer that was my grandfather I had pedals that no one else or has today I have many one of a kind gizmos from my pawpaw
Cheap pedals are great for giving people a sense of how an effect sounds, so they can decide if they want to explore further. Of course, they'll have fewer features than the more expensive pedals but it doesn't mean they all sound bad for what they do. The Mooer Trelicopter is a great tremolo pedal if you just want the basics. I have a Keeley Compressor, but the Donner Ultimate Comp does a great job with fewer options. Then there's my Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz. I bought it for $19 earlier this year (now it's up to a whopping $35) and I'll put it up there with my JHS Bender and Keeley Fuzz Bender. Cheaper pedals can be great, but you have to be discerning and realistic.
@@brymills Yes and no. If you like some effects you can go down the rabbit hole but if you don't like others (for example I don't care for flanger sounds) you can save time and money not going any further.
This is so true!!! I forgot to mention this in the video - budget pedals really help you start to understand what effects work best for you and sometimes it’s the most important small investment to make!!! Thank you all for this thread ❤️
Yes and no - I started learning the guitar back when effects pedals werent very popular and multi-effects units arent where they are today. Manufacturers have spent a lot of money in R&D to give you multi-effects units that can actually sound really good for a decent price. Boss, Line 6, Mooer, Nux etc etc. a lot of these brands have very affordable mult-effects units that even have amp/CAB modelling. Boutique pedals will always be boutique pedals though and thats one of the reasons why they cost as much as they do. I still see people record and gig with old BOSS ME-25s, ME-50s & Line 6 PODs effects units. If i was new or returning musician with not a lot of gear or money, my money would definitely go on a Mooer GE 150 or a NUX around that same level or beyond if i had the budget and was more experienced. Maybe later on down the line i might look at building my own pedal board or maybe just upgrading to a better multi-effects pedal. My first effects unit was a Zoom GFX-4. Its been gigged to hell and back, Its mostly held together with sticky tape. It sounds terrible compared to more modern multi-effects units but it still has a place in my collection because of the amount of shows I played with it. Otherwise a lot of my stuff has been played through and recorded through an old Korg AX3000G which sounds a little better than the Zoom.
i think youre the best youtuber in the whole planet i cant believe that i have 22 and ive been browsing the internet searching for music creators and gear reviewers for like what, 10 years?? and i just knew you LIKE ONE MOTH ago wtf whyyyyyyy YOURE THE BESTTTTTT
What a wonderful video! You didn't spend time ragging on the weaker pedal performances, you let them speak for themselves. I was surprised that I really loved the vowel on harp.
1. Thank you for posting about being intimidated by some of that first looper - I think there's a lot of pretending that we have gear we "won't sell but don't like" and don't like often stands in for "I got intimidated by having no clue what the knobs were really doing and I'm ashamed when I try to sell it someone will ask how they work" 2. I really love effect comparisons just in general, it's always useful to see awesome people demo great gear at every price point. The comparison of the hall reverbs was interesting, showed not just the change in quality but the distinct character that some brands are bringing that goes far beyond any pedal just being a basic effect. I do voice over as a hobby/side gig, way to show why people pay a lot for a good mic in seconds! Lots of cheap mics are fine for lots of things... but there is a difference in consumer vs. professional quality precisely because a creator like you is in a very different category of quality needs. Thanks for another excellent video :)
Thank you so much! I’m definitely not afraid to say that I’m intimidated by that looper hahah YOU HAVE TO USE BOTH FEET ON IT SOMETIMES!! 😂 I’m so glad everyone has responded well to this video, I really would love to do more gear comparison videos!!!
Wow so cool thanks for making this!!! I know how long a video like this can take to make. Your work is appreciated so much in the harp community and beyond!!
Loving this demonstration, really, this shows off a ton of these effects so much better than guitar videos I’ve seen made to show these. That Blooper pedal just was fantastic goodness! Thanks for the showcase!
I love your videos because you are so down to earth, you have a great self-deprecating sense of humor and you know your stuff! Keep doing what you're doing!
When I started music period like 12 years ago I started with cheap pedals and I made music with what I had. You learn what good cheap and bad cheap is and you do what you feel you wanna do and when you get better pedals you appreciate them. And my favorite pedal of alllll time is exactly $20.😁 My Behringher Super Fuzz never leaves the table. 😂😂😂 Cheap fuzz meannnnn boost setting lol.
@@emilyharpist Is it a great fuzz eh kinda has two modes and a boost, mode 1 is my fav but the boost into distortion is gain nasty. Plus it does play well with other fuzz pedals weird as that sounds it and my DOD Carcosa are def buddies. 😁
I have the SF300 on my bass, tuned to A. Once it gets a bit of a volume boost from a sansamp after the SF300 it gets a bit feedbacky so I have an Iron Curtain at the end.
It is really fascinating to me, as a not so musical person, to see all these pedals. Terribly interesting machines, they are, I'm a student of comp sci, so I often visualize the universe as series of functions that you can use to construct a program, so it's really mesmerizing seeing all these bits of "universe code" being displayed together.
This is such a good idea for a video - thank you! I was impressed by the vowel pedal, which seems really useful. The fact that there are so many options for people with different budgets is something that impresses me about pedals. Even if you don't have a lot to spend you still have a lot of choices.
I absolutely love this channel! You guys cover very interesting, fun, and educational content🤗 more artists should use pedals for their respective instruments.
That Donner delay sounds great. It's a great feature that you can set the left and right channels to different subdivisions. I'm very tempted by that one
@@emilyharpist It's a rare feature I wish more stereo delays had. Often they only feature the stereo field in the ping-pong delay mode, with the other modes operating in mono with the dual outputs functioning merely as a channel splitter.
@@binface9 you’re right!! I personally don’t have a use for the function but it’s really cool knowing that others do! I personally prefer the ping pong type stuff!
I've totally been thinking about snagging that thing for a little while now. I feel like it has a great tape delay sound and especially for the price! The stereo function basically makes it like two delays in one, right?
@@emilyharpist I don’t have experience with pedals, but the feature is in most delay plugins I’ve used. Great for generating syncopated beats when you vary the timing between the two channels.
Dudette, if the folks at Guitar Center had your sales skills, apartment would be full of soooo much gear. For flanger, see if you can get ahold of an old Ibanez FL9 pedal to try. You might like that one.
I think the Donne wah worked better in that scenario too!!! The Rossie is really incredible though, it really shines in the auto-wah and step filter category!
actually having seperate controls for different sides of the stereo delay is something that is very useful for creating spatial effects especially in using delay in mixing...cool to know that has that....not very common unfortunately...
Don’t a lot of people running stereo use wet/dry setups? I’d like to hear it in a wet/dry/wet setup. Probably would be perfect for something like that.
Your videos are so awesome and educational. I learned from you that you can take the harp to a whole other level of sound. So fascinating. It's a real joy to look at your videos.
Love this video! Lots of fun was had making this ✌ Great demos, Emily! That Loop pedal that plays backwards was tight. I can't believe how many pedals you have 😉👍
some of the sounds in this video were the best of sounds, loved to hear the variations too. from a novice cellist pov, i can appreciate seeing you appreciate the sustain, strings make world go brrr ^___^
I'm not a musician and very much appreciate this kind of comparison. it helps me understand and appreciate the tools and choices that go into playing and making music expressive in a wide variety of ways. I'd love to see more videos like this. I'd especially like to understand how you combine pedals and and ultimately route them to your computer/amp? Forgive my ignorance but it is interesting and your always entertaining to boot. Keep it up and thanks!
I think in some cases it boils down to getting what one pays for. Not always, of course. More features, better components, level of craftsmanship, quality, and innovation/ design all factor into the higher end gear. Not saying the inexpensive pedals are bad- they do their thing, and it works as intended. Also, a good place to start. Thank you, Emily (and Russ!) 🙏
since I watch your channel, i finally understand, for what this kind of pedals are made. I use with guitar for 30 years only Distortions. 😀 Beautiful playing, as always. Thank you for this creative show. Very sympathic style of representation.
This is one of the best pedal demos I've ever seen. And a great demo by an awesome harpist at that! Had to watch this several times and decided to buy a couple of the Donner pedals. Make more demos please!
Just like everything in life, there's going to be fancy, high dollar stuff and more accessible "good enough". I'm not above paying for a premium effect, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the lower end items sounded pretty good. Did they have as many "features"? No, but if they do what you need them to do with a single knob or a modest set of features, then they're fine. Where you see most of the difference is with the quality of components in most cases. Of course, "your mileage may vary"... ;) I really enjoy all of your videos; they're informative and fun to watch. I especially enjoy the difference of harp versus guitar. It's a nice change of pace from all the other pedal demos on RUclips. Of course, it doesn't hurt that you have an infectious smile, too. Keep up the great work!
Top three for difference between cheap and expensive (to my untrained ears) were the chorus, flanger and camera mic. I also generally found the stereo pedals to be louder than the mono equivalent. Thanks for the demo!
Thanks!! I felt the same way!! I think the biggest thing with the stereo pedals is that the perceived loudness is a lot higher, not the actual loudness, because the sounds are widened over the stereo field. But if you’re playing them both through a mono setup, I think that opens some new questions! (See the hall reverb segment where I play the stereo reverb in mono) thanks so much!!!
I usually do consider cheaper clones of whatever effect I'm shopping for, but I usually go for more expensive brands when actually making a purpose, even if they sound near identical side by side. I feel more confident that they will last forever, I like supporting smaller companies and they usually look more like pieces of art than mass-produced pedals. I'm in no way saying expensive options are objectively better, there's just something about receiving a product that's been built with love and care. If that means I can only get one pedal instead of five, so be it. Beautiful playing as always, that Empress Reverb is something else!
There are hundreds if not thousands of cheap pedals that sound actually good, i think price is something that shouldn't matter when you pick a pedal as long as you like it and the sound is good, josh scott has many videos talking about cheap pedals and how much he likes them, i'm not a pedal expert but he is and i trust the man i mean c'mon he doesn't have eye brows how can't you trust a man that looks like a fuzz face pedal
Blooper is pretty cool. The more pricier pedals definitely give more depth and options, cheaper pedals do let you dip your toes..and that might be fine for some stuff, or the tone just fits. Check out the Strymon Big Sky reverb..nice one.
Flanger sounds AWESOME on harp! I was with you, I'm not a big fan of flanger, but even the cheapie sounded amazeballs, then the Pyramids, damn! Freaking awesome!
Reverb, delay and uni vibe are the only effects I spend real money on. Fuzz and drive circuits are simple and cheap to produce. "Boutique" builders are just taking the piss when they ask for more than $100 or $125 for a slightly modified version of a cheap fuzz/bluesbreaker/rat circuit.
I think it depends on application to some extent too. As someone who plays through a very loud amp, the quality of the electronics in the effects can be really important. Things like noise floor, switching silence, digital audio quality, transparency/tone suck, etc tend (in my experience) to be superior from more expensive pedals. That's not to say you can't get that on cheaper pedals. One of my favourite pedals is the TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 and that's about a 100 quid. I also find the Fender range of pedals great value-for-money.
oh yeah like number 100, and because of my budget(spending most of my money on my car and drumset) what little money I put towards my guitar setup i usually go cheap, but you get what you pay for. But I like hearing your reviews on these pedals because I trust you opinion. Thanks for the great content!
Its fun to see the Dark Mouse show up in this, I have that pedal! Don't use it very often though, but your use of the pedal has given me an idea that I want to try now for a song (I play guitar and drums).
Ooh, this one is right up my alley. I'm a reverb guy mainly, with tremolo and various light overdrives and a compressor at times. Most of my stuff is Behringer, which are apparently clones of classics like the Tube Screamer, etc. But good reverb is hard to get on my budget. I finally found one I love, the Flamma FC02. It does regular reverbs really well, gets really extreme yet not awful sounding, and does a nice ambient thing too. Can't stop playing it! Makes me sound like I'm hearing myself from a juke joint 5 miles away as I pass by cautiously on foot. Pretty cool! But yeah, it'd be fun to play around with some of them fancy ones y'all have.
You do get a few flavours usually with the clones, especially if you go for the Pack Rat. I saw on JHS the build quality is poor on some of the modern rats. I have the Dark Mouse and with the two circuits and three knobs it fulfills my Rat sound needs.
Quite neat...I love what you're doing with coupling harp with electronics. But as for the Chinese pedals, one thing I've found is that they're great building-blocks for adding to FX chains...so I might follow something like my Chase Bliss Mood with a Cuvave or Sonicake or Rowin delay, as those can add a degree of "character" to the outputs of other, more expensive pedals. But one way to REALLY push what's possible with cheap effects is to use them in a parallel arrangement. Some time ago, I got a stomper that does exactly that: the Electro-Harmonix Tri-Parallel Mixer. It's deceptively simple...but it allows you to stack up three parallel effects paths, and that sort of "doubling" really kicks the Chinese pedal capabilities into wholly new timbral turf. I thought it worked so well that I put together a similar but much more elaborate system in my studio, which uses a stereo distro amp for the eight stereo "sends" and employs a Rane SM 26B to mix the "returns" into a single stereo signal. That pair of devices can easily be interfaced with AUX send/returns on the desk, too, allowing for the potential of many rack effects and stompboxes to be controlled by a single stereo AUX send and a single stereo return.
great comparison video! looks like you kind of get what you pay for, more salty pedals have more options and stereo. all sound nice tho and enhance well. Cheers!!
@@emilyharpist Yes, running a series of cheap pedals in either series or parallel (or even both!) through a mixer and taking just tiny amounts of signal from each pedal can really bring dividends to how instruments can sound. 🤗
The "oceans 12" by electro harmonix is nice. It has a spring reverb, too. Love the RC-30 looper. It is very confusing. I got my girlfriend the nicer looper from Donner with the build in drum machine and she loves it. For a hundred bucks you can't beat it.
Do I need the CXM, probably not. I’m not a pro, my touring days are probably behind me. But dammit to hell, I can hear and feel the difference . I strictly play acoustic guitar and The depth and space that the CXM adds to my guitar is very noticeable. It’s magical. Plus the ease of use is fantastic! Love your show! Love your personality. My 6 year old daughter learning to play the violin thinks you are super cool too!
My first venture into pricy pedals was an Effectrode PC-2a, worth every penny, it’s an always on effect for me. Makes everything sound better!… Only issue is tubes/valves do have a lifespan, so I loved it to death (thousands of hours), and had to send it in to get a new one!
oh my god blooper is incredible, ive been holding off on getting chase bliss stuff simply because.... i know its gonna open up a money pit lol, cause they rule
By Ableton I meant in terms of effects and recording and organizing ideas. Sometimes the music writes itself. Only thing is to back up your work Incase that computer goes bad. Wow you sound sooo good.
![50 Effects Pedals on Harp [The Same Phrase with 50 Different Pedals]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bU_OdU9NDtc/mqdefault.jpg)
![50 Effects Pedals on Harp [The Same Phrase with 50 Different Pedals]](/img/tr.png)
I was shopping at reverb pedals for my organ and was really hoping that something super-cheap would work for me, mostly because that's fun for me, rather than because of budget constraints. Subjective preferences aside, I could not use the bargain pedal because it could not handle the dense bandwidth of the organ. The sound turned into non-reverb digital artifacts when I played big chords. I tried a very popular, more pricey pedal, but even the clean sounds had some modulation that did not sound like the ambiance of an organ playing in a real space. Emily's comment about "achieve what you want" is spot on - it's easy to get distracted by how cool a pedal looks/sounds, how comprehensive the features are, or how popular something is and end up with a pedal that does not do the job you need it to do. Shop with a purpose in mind and you'll get a better result.
YESSS this is exactly it!!! also I would LOVE to hear an organ through pedals!!! If you ever publish anything, send it my way!!
Did you try Boss and Line 6 affects?
@@jessereyna7408 I tried one of the newer Boss pedals. (RV6?) The plain reverb sounds had a touch of modulation that did not sound like a real space to me. I may be behind the times but I associate Line6 with guitars exclusively. My mxr reverb seems to do the job well enough. Its on the subtle side but keeps me from overdoing the effect.
@@billgrabbe9992 I recommend the neunaber Immerse (first one) or the Strymon Big Sky
Have you considered a second-hand Lexicon unit? My $40 MPX 100 compliments the Ferrofish b4000+
It's pretty common for guitar players that are playing stereo rigs with 2 amps to add a 50ms - 70ms delay to one of the amps to get a thicker sound. The ability to control the right and left delay amount becomes useful in those scenarios.
I’m presently building a wet/dry pedalboard. It’s gonna be pretty damn huge.😳😯😧😲😁
Dope
and then they stick me on the left side of the stage
It seems like every hobby or profession has this "cheap vs expensive" rabbit hole to dive down lol! Very interesting video :)
Haha they really do!! I actually did one for harps too!! It’s so interesting but most of the time you really do get what you pay for!
And theeeeeen there is D.I.Y.... its like a amusement park of rabbit holes xD !
I’m too poor to buy cheap tools.
@@emilyharpist you really do get what you pay for. Some people are so obsessed with saving a buck they’ll buy the cheap product over and over again after constantly fails never realizing they’re spending more money than they would have if they sprung for the quality item in the first place. Then you also have to factor in ethical worker standards in the country of origin. And no, the US worker laws are not worse than they are in China. It’s not even close.
Whoever invented the harp:
- this instrument will make sweet innocent sounds
Rat equipped Emily:
-Hold my beer
Lmaooo that’s what my channel’s all about!!! I love a good rat with harp :)
The reverb comparison reminded me why my Empress Reverb is one of my mostly prized possessions haha. Great video!
I LOVE EMPRESS REVERB!!!
Thanks for taking the time to show the differences between these pedals, some of the cheaper pedals sound fine until you switch to the expensive one and it feels like so much space and depth open up.
No problem!! Thanks so much for being here ♥️
I mean for $450 the empress sounds absolutely AMAZING. Expensive yes but so very very good compared to the rest.
I love Empress Reverb so much!!! It’s honestly like the ultimate reverb!!! Haha
After pondering a bunch, I ended up with the Empress a few weeks back and it is indeed fantastic. The others in this video sound great, but when the empress comes on I notice the presence of the harp is much more realistic sounding and forward - maybe that's just me.
You don't always need fancy pedals for sure, a pile of these donner ones on a pedal board would be AWESOME, but man is that empress lush.
I was blessed to have an electrical engineer that was my grandfather I had pedals that no one else or has today I have many one of a kind gizmos from my pawpaw
I’m so jealous!!! That sounds amazing!! I’d love some one-of-a-kind devices like that! :)
The Blooper sounds absolutely gorgeous. The instabiliy/modulation combo gives off major Moon Shaped Pool vibes.
Amazing video!
Omg yes I LOVE moon shaped pool. And blooper! Hahha
The Empress Reverb is clearly the superior option. It has a beer setting.
Hahah RIGHT?! 😂🍺
As a bassist, you're the best harpist in the world.
*47 strings upright bassist*
Hahaha thank you so much!!!!
Cheap pedals are great for giving people a sense of how an effect sounds, so they can decide if they want to explore further. Of course, they'll have fewer features than the more expensive pedals but it doesn't mean they all sound bad for what they do.
The Mooer Trelicopter is a great tremolo pedal if you just want the basics. I have a Keeley Compressor, but the Donner Ultimate Comp does a great job with fewer options. Then there's my Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz. I bought it for $19 earlier this year (now it's up to a whopping $35) and I'll put it up there with my JHS Bender and Keeley Fuzz Bender.
Cheaper pedals can be great, but you have to be discerning and realistic.
You mean cheap pedals are like a gateway drug to the rabbit hole of effects pedals?
@@brymills Yes and no. If you like some effects you can go down the rabbit hole but if you don't like others (for example I don't care for flanger sounds) you can save time and money not going any further.
The MS50G is the best cheap pedal ,especially as an introduction to all kinds of effects
This is so true!!! I forgot to mention this in the video - budget pedals really help you start to understand what effects work best for you and sometimes it’s the most important small investment to make!!! Thank you all for this thread ❤️
Yes and no - I started learning the guitar back when effects pedals werent very popular and multi-effects units arent where they are today. Manufacturers have spent a lot of money in R&D to give you multi-effects units that can actually sound really good for a decent price. Boss, Line 6, Mooer, Nux etc etc. a lot of these brands have very affordable mult-effects units that even have amp/CAB modelling.
Boutique pedals will always be boutique pedals though and thats one of the reasons why they cost as much as they do.
I still see people record and gig with old BOSS ME-25s, ME-50s & Line 6 PODs effects units.
If i was new or returning musician with not a lot of gear or money, my money would definitely go on a Mooer GE 150 or a NUX around that same level or beyond if i had the budget and was more experienced. Maybe later on down the line i might look at building my own pedal board or maybe just upgrading to a better multi-effects pedal.
My first effects unit was a Zoom GFX-4. Its been gigged to hell and back, Its mostly held together with sticky tape. It sounds terrible compared to more modern multi-effects units but it still has a place in my collection because of the amount of shows I played with it.
Otherwise a lot of my stuff has been played through and recorded through an old Korg AX3000G which sounds a little better than the Zoom.
i think youre the best youtuber in the whole planet i cant believe that i have 22 and ive been browsing the internet searching for music creators and gear reviewers for like what, 10 years?? and i just knew you LIKE ONE MOTH ago wtf whyyyyyyy YOURE THE BESTTTTTT
"it's the pedal I dipped in sauce" was my favorite part of the video
Lmaoooo I’m so glad I dipped it in sauce!
Thank you kindly... Youre my fave pedal review
Thank you Barry!!!
What a wonderful video! You didn't spend time ragging on the weaker pedal performances, you let them speak for themselves. I was surprised that I really loved the vowel on harp.
Thanks David!!! I loved the vowel too honestly!!!
Like my neighbor's friend's Mom's Sister's Pastor used to say... "Mo Knobs = Mo Money"
LMAO that’s what my cousin’s best friend’s neighbor’s cat used to say as well!
A bit of modulation on a harp sounds sooo good
absolutely love the sound of that harp through both rat pedals
When it comes to looper pedals, simplicity of controls is often a good thing, especially when used in live performance situations.
I agree!! Loopers can be the most intimidating sometimes!!
1. Thank you for posting about being intimidated by some of that first looper - I think there's a lot of pretending that we have gear we "won't sell but don't like" and don't like often stands in for "I got intimidated by having no clue what the knobs were really doing and I'm ashamed when I try to sell it someone will ask how they work"
2. I really love effect comparisons just in general, it's always useful to see awesome people demo great gear at every price point.
The comparison of the hall reverbs was interesting, showed not just the change in quality but the distinct character that some brands are bringing that goes far beyond any pedal just being a basic effect.
I do voice over as a hobby/side gig, way to show why people pay a lot for a good mic in seconds! Lots of cheap mics are fine for lots of things... but there is a difference in consumer vs. professional quality precisely because a creator like you is in a very different category of quality needs.
Thanks for another excellent video :)
Thank you so much! I’m definitely not afraid to say that I’m intimidated by that looper hahah YOU HAVE TO USE BOTH FEET ON IT SOMETIMES!! 😂 I’m so glad everyone has responded well to this video, I really would love to do more gear comparison videos!!!
Wow so cool thanks for making this!!! I know how long a video like this can take to make. Your work is appreciated so much in the harp community and beyond!!
thank you so much, Adrienne!!! that means so much to me coming from you!!! 🥰❤️
Love how the thermae works with your playing!
That’s my favorite delay!
This was fantastic from start to finish! Thank you Emma
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
Loving this demonstration, really, this shows off a ton of these effects so much better than guitar videos I’ve seen made to show these. That Blooper pedal just was fantastic goodness! Thanks for the showcase!
Wow thank you so much!! I really appreciate it :) thanks for being here!!!
When you hit that first chord with Rat clone: PURE BLISS!
Thanks David!!! I think so too hahaha
I love your videos because you are so down to earth, you have a great self-deprecating sense of humor and you know your stuff! Keep doing what you're doing!
Thanks so much, Scott!! I’ve been having so much fun with the channel lately!!! 😊
When I started music period like 12 years ago I started with cheap pedals and I made music with what I had. You learn what good cheap and bad cheap is and you do what you feel you wanna do and when you get better pedals you appreciate them. And my favorite pedal of alllll time is exactly $20.😁 My Behringher Super Fuzz never leaves the table. 😂😂😂 Cheap fuzz meannnnn boost setting lol.
Super Fuzz for the win.
I gotta try that Super Fuzz!
@@emilyharpist Is it a great fuzz eh kinda has two modes and a boost, mode 1 is my fav but the boost into distortion is gain nasty. Plus it does play well with other fuzz pedals weird as that sounds it and my DOD Carcosa are def buddies. 😁
@@flux1968 All day best $20 I ever spent
I have the SF300 on my bass, tuned to A. Once it gets a bit of a volume boost from a sansamp after the SF300 it gets a bit feedbacky so I have an Iron Curtain at the end.
It is really fascinating to me, as a not so musical person, to see all these pedals. Terribly interesting machines, they are, I'm a student of comp sci, so I often visualize the universe as series of functions that you can use to construct a program, so it's really mesmerizing seeing all these bits of "universe code" being displayed together.
Thanks Marcos!! I’m so happy I could help give you some insight into these machines :)
The best pedals don’t have any computers inside at all.
This is such a good idea for a video - thank you! I was impressed by the vowel pedal, which seems really useful. The fact that there are so many options for people with different budgets is something that impresses me about pedals. Even if you don't have a lot to spend you still have a lot of choices.
Thanks Simon!! I definitely want to make more of these!!
I absolutely love this channel! You guys cover very interesting, fun, and educational content🤗 more artists should use pedals for their respective instruments.
Loved the playing in the reverb section 🎉
That Donner delay sounds great. It's a great feature that you can set the left and right channels to different subdivisions. I'm very tempted by that one
I’ve never seen that function in a pedal before! It’s very different haha but it sounds good!! Ryan from 60 Cycle Hum did some cool stuff with it!!!
@@emilyharpist It's a rare feature I wish more stereo delays had. Often they only feature the stereo field in the ping-pong delay mode, with the other modes operating in mono with the dual outputs functioning merely as a channel splitter.
@@binface9 you’re right!! I personally don’t have a use for the function but it’s really cool knowing that others do! I personally prefer the ping pong type stuff!
I've totally been thinking about snagging that thing for a little while now. I feel like it has a great tape delay sound and especially for the price! The stereo function basically makes it like two delays in one, right?
@@emilyharpist I don’t have experience with pedals, but the feature is in most delay plugins I’ve used. Great for generating syncopated beats when you vary the timing between the two channels.
DEMOS IN THE DARK you tube channel is live with Emily & Russ tonight at 9 pm eastern, 6 pacific.
Surprised by how much I enjoyed that $25 flanger!!
Dudette, if the folks at Guitar Center had your sales skills, apartment would be full of soooo much gear.
For flanger, see if you can get ahold of an old Ibanez FL9 pedal to try. You might like that one.
Hahaha thank you so much Tim!!! I gotta check out that flanger!! Thank you :)
So soothing to watch
Phenomenal educational video! And the music is DREAMY! Like you. Always! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks so much, Kory!!! 🥰
The donner wah sounded way nicer than the expensive wah
I think the Donne wah worked better in that scenario too!!! The Rossie is really incredible though, it really shines in the auto-wah and step filter category!
actually having seperate controls for different sides of the stereo delay is something that is very useful for creating spatial effects especially in using delay in mixing...cool to know that has that....not very common unfortunately...
You’re so right!!!
Don’t a lot of people running stereo use wet/dry setups? I’d like to hear it in a wet/dry/wet setup. Probably would be perfect for something like that.
When you go from any mono pedal to a stereo one I get chills (with headphones on) Stereo is the way to go. Thanks.
I agree!!! I love stereo hahaha thanks so much
Your videos are so awesome and educational. I learned from you that you can take the harp to a whole other level of sound. So fascinating.
It's a real joy to look at your videos.
I like how you say "sauce."
I'm, like, 15% here for the accent alone
Lmaoooo thank you guys so much!!! I’ll try to say sauce in as many future videos as I can!
you look so pleased while playing and after each piece ends, this is a great video!
Thanks so much!!! Hahaha I love playing harp!!
Best use of Thermae I have heard. :)
Thanks so much!!! It’s one of my favs, and if you haven’t seen my full demo, definitely check it out!!
Very cool comparisons, loved the Rat clone part! Very metal indeed!
Thank you!! I love those too 🥰
Love this video! Lots of fun was had making this ✌ Great demos, Emily! That Loop pedal that plays backwards was tight. I can't believe how many pedals you have 😉👍
THANKS PIG IN BOOTS!!! I LOVE Blooper, I’ve had it almost a year and I should probably do a full demo with it soon hahaah
Yes! Thankyou! Great demos!
Thanks Anthony!!!
After watching dozen of vids of pedal with guitars it was refreshing to hear them with a different instrument
The Empress Reverb on harp might be the coolest thing I've heard.
I absolutely love flanger effect on non-electric instruments. Sounds so good with your harp. Great comparison and video editing
Thanks so much Kane!! I think flanger is growing on me! Haha
some of the sounds in this video were the best of sounds, loved to hear the variations too. from a novice cellist pov, i can appreciate seeing you appreciate the sustain, strings make world go brrr ^___^
I'm not a musician and very much appreciate this kind of comparison. it helps me understand and appreciate the tools and choices that go into playing and making music expressive in a wide variety of ways. I'd love to see more videos like this. I'd especially like to understand how you combine pedals and and ultimately route them to your computer/amp? Forgive my ignorance but it is interesting and your always entertaining to boot. Keep it up and thanks!
Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate you!
I think in some cases it boils down to getting what one pays for. Not always, of course.
More features, better components, level of craftsmanship, quality, and innovation/ design all factor into the higher end gear.
Not saying the inexpensive pedals are bad- they do their thing, and it works as intended. Also, a good place to start.
Thank you, Emily (and Russ!) 🙏
You guys are awesome. I love the no bs reviews, your wide vision and willingness to try these.
Thanks so much Nick 😊 that means a lot to me!
Wow! This video answers a question I had, but certainly was not aware off. The playing is beautiful as well. Thanks!
since I watch your channel, i finally understand, for what this kind of pedals are made. I use with guitar for 30 years only Distortions. 😀
Beautiful playing, as always. Thank you for this creative show. Very sympathic style of representation.
This is one of the best pedal demos I've ever seen. And a great demo by an awesome harpist at that! Had to watch this several times and decided to buy a couple of the Donner pedals. Make more demos please!
Thank you so much!! That means so much to me :) I’m working on more demos as I type this!! Hahah
The dark mouse was killing it. Never though of heavy metal and harp music together. The right song might be killer.
Just like everything in life, there's going to be fancy, high dollar stuff and more accessible "good enough". I'm not above paying for a premium effect, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the lower end items sounded pretty good. Did they have as many "features"? No, but if they do what you need them to do with a single knob or a modest set of features, then they're fine. Where you see most of the difference is with the quality of components in most cases. Of course, "your mileage may vary"... ;)
I really enjoy all of your videos; they're informative and fun to watch. I especially enjoy the difference of harp versus guitar. It's a nice change of pace from all the other pedal demos on RUclips. Of course, it doesn't hurt that you have an infectious smile, too. Keep up the great work!
Top three for difference between cheap and expensive (to my untrained ears) were the chorus, flanger and camera mic. I also generally found the stereo pedals to be louder than the mono equivalent. Thanks for the demo!
Thanks!! I felt the same way!! I think the biggest thing with the stereo pedals is that the perceived loudness is a lot higher, not the actual loudness, because the sounds are widened over the stereo field. But if you’re playing them both through a mono setup, I think that opens some new questions! (See the hall reverb segment where I play the stereo reverb in mono) thanks so much!!!
That was a really useful video, thank you for putting that together.
Thank you, Pat!!! It’s a video I’ve been wanting to do for a while!!
You make everything sound expensive
I usually do consider cheaper clones of whatever effect I'm shopping for, but I usually go for more expensive brands when actually making a purpose, even if they sound near identical side by side. I feel more confident that they will last forever, I like supporting smaller companies and they usually look more like pieces of art than mass-produced pedals. I'm in no way saying expensive options are objectively better, there's just something about receiving a product that's been built with love and care. If that means I can only get one pedal instead of five, so be it.
Beautiful playing as always, that Empress Reverb is something else!
This is one of your most informative and nicely edited videos. Bravo.
What a great channel. Amazing dude.
Thank you so much!!!
Trying to imagine what all if this would sound like in person if you had massive orange or marshall amps behind you. Possibilities are endless!
I would just be louder I think.
There are hundreds if not thousands of cheap pedals that sound actually good, i think price is something that shouldn't matter when you pick a pedal as long as you like it and the sound is good, josh scott has many videos talking about cheap pedals and how much he likes them, i'm not a pedal expert but he is and i trust the man i mean c'mon he doesn't have eye brows how can't you trust a man that looks like a fuzz face pedal
I have grown
To appreciate
You and your blonde hair man
The humor is my great fun
Also skill level
Man, that Empress Reverb is AMAzing!!! ♥️
Thanks, I was on the market for a new looper
I’m so glad I could help!!! 😊
The Donner pedals are the cutest.
Hahah THEY ARE!! Especially that ‘lil wah!!
I love that iSet Flanger!!!
It’s pretty good!! Probably the best value in this video!
Blooper is pretty cool. The more pricier pedals definitely give more depth and options, cheaper pedals do let you dip your toes..and that might be fine for some stuff, or the tone just fits. Check out the Strymon Big Sky reverb..nice one.
Flanger + harp woah that's cool
Thanks!!! I’m starting to warm up to it hahaha
Flanger sounds AWESOME on harp! I was with you, I'm not a big fan of flanger, but even the cheapie sounded amazeballs, then the Pyramids, damn! Freaking awesome!
Reverb, delay and uni vibe are the only effects I spend real money on. Fuzz and drive circuits are simple and cheap to produce. "Boutique" builders are just taking the piss when they ask for more than $100 or $125 for a slightly modified version of a cheap fuzz/bluesbreaker/rat circuit.
I like the RAT ones best, with that evil sound. bet they'd be great on my SG.
The RATs are so good!!! These were actually my first two rats ever!!
I think it depends on application to some extent too. As someone who plays through a very loud amp, the quality of the electronics in the effects can be really important. Things like noise floor, switching silence, digital audio quality, transparency/tone suck, etc tend (in my experience) to be superior from more expensive pedals. That's not to say you can't get that on cheaper pedals. One of my favourite pedals is the TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 and that's about a 100 quid. I also find the Fender range of pedals great value-for-money.
oh yeah like number 100, and because of my budget(spending most of my money on my car and drumset) what little money I put towards my guitar setup i usually go cheap, but you get what you pay for. But I like hearing your reviews on these pedals because I trust you opinion. Thanks for the great content!
Its fun to see the Dark Mouse show up in this, I have that pedal! Don't use it very often though, but your use of the pedal has given me an idea that I want to try now for a song (I play guitar and drums).
Hehehehhehehehehe
Ooh, this one is right up my alley. I'm a reverb guy mainly, with tremolo and various light overdrives and a compressor at times. Most of my stuff is Behringer, which are apparently clones of classics like the Tube Screamer, etc. But good reverb is hard to get on my budget. I finally found one I love, the Flamma FC02. It does regular reverbs really well, gets really extreme yet not awful sounding, and does a nice ambient thing too. Can't stop playing it! Makes me sound like I'm hearing myself from a juke joint 5 miles away as I pass by cautiously on foot. Pretty cool! But yeah, it'd be fun to play around with some of them fancy ones y'all have.
Strangely informative for purchases for guitar rigs.
Hahaha thank you!!
Such a cool video idea! Also I thought the cheap flanger sounded great on those but chords!
Thanks so much :) That iSet flanger sounded great!!!! I should do an affordable pedalboard video next 🤔
It should be noted that the RAT pedal itself is a cheap pedal. Even now, it sells for about $70 brand new.
This is true!!!! I actually didn’t know this until I looked it up after reading your comment!! Thank you :)
You do get a few flavours usually with the clones, especially if you go for the Pack Rat. I saw on JHS the build quality is poor on some of the modern rats. I have the Dark Mouse and with the two circuits and three knobs it fulfills my Rat sound needs.
@@stuartchapman5171 I also have the Dark Mouse and I like it a lot.
Quite neat...I love what you're doing with coupling harp with electronics. But as for the Chinese pedals, one thing I've found is that they're great building-blocks for adding to FX chains...so I might follow something like my Chase Bliss Mood with a Cuvave or Sonicake or Rowin delay, as those can add a degree of "character" to the outputs of other, more expensive pedals. But one way to REALLY push what's possible with cheap effects is to use them in a parallel arrangement. Some time ago, I got a stomper that does exactly that: the Electro-Harmonix Tri-Parallel Mixer. It's deceptively simple...but it allows you to stack up three parallel effects paths, and that sort of "doubling" really kicks the Chinese pedal capabilities into wholly new timbral turf.
I thought it worked so well that I put together a similar but much more elaborate system in my studio, which uses a stereo distro amp for the eight stereo "sends" and employs a Rane SM 26B to mix the "returns" into a single stereo signal. That pair of devices can easily be interfaced with AUX send/returns on the desk, too, allowing for the potential of many rack effects and stompboxes to be controlled by a single stereo AUX send and a single stereo return.
Such good stuff, thanks for your hard work 😊👍
Also, definitely keep doing finger guns as an outro 😁
Hahaha thank you Bryan!! I’ll be sure to bring the finger guns back 😂
great comparison video! looks like you kind of get what you pay for, more salty pedals have more options and stereo. all sound nice tho and enhance well. Cheers!!
Sometimes you really do get what you pay for!!!
I believe in mixing both cheap and not so cheap pedals together to get a more interesting texture in sound.
That’s a great strategy!!!
@@emilyharpist Yes, running a series of cheap pedals in either series or parallel (or even both!) through a mixer and taking just tiny amounts of signal from each pedal can really bring dividends to how instruments can sound. 🤗
I liked how going through the GFI Rosie made your harp sound like a Rhodes!
Yeah!!! It’s so cool
You just NEED the Chase Bliss Thermae pedal 👍👌
Right?! It’s SO GOOD
Great work. You have a the makings of a killer board.
I neeeed to do a board build video soon!!
hi,
so quiet and relaxing !
i think after decades of saturation, comes again the joy of clean, spaced sounds, and the right place of the voice too ?
Yes!!!!! I think so too :)
The "oceans 12" by electro harmonix is nice. It has a spring reverb, too.
Love the RC-30 looper. It is very confusing. I got my girlfriend the nicer looper from Donner with the build in drum machine and she loves it. For a hundred bucks you can't beat it.
Beautiful sounds from you!!!...
Thanks Pablo ❤️
Do I need the CXM, probably not. I’m not a pro, my touring days are probably behind me. But dammit to hell, I can hear and feel the difference . I strictly play acoustic guitar and The depth and space that the CXM adds to my guitar is very noticeable. It’s magical. Plus the ease of use is fantastic! Love your show! Love your personality. My 6 year old daughter learning to play the violin thinks you are super cool too!
My first venture into pricy pedals was an Effectrode PC-2a, worth every penny, it’s an always on effect for me. Makes everything sound better!… Only issue is tubes/valves do have a lifespan, so I loved it to death (thousands of hours), and had to send it in to get a new one!
I’ve never tried that one!!! I’m gonna add it to my list 😊
oh my god blooper is incredible, ive been holding off on getting chase bliss stuff simply because.... i know its gonna open up a money pit lol, cause they rule
Chase Bliss is so good!!!
This was good. I like Donner reverb with hall. Pretty good you list which you have purchased vs given. Always good content, plus you said sauce.
Thanks so much!!!
By Ableton I meant in terms of effects and recording and organizing ideas. Sometimes the music writes itself. Only thing is to back up your work Incase that computer goes bad. Wow you sound sooo good.