cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/57490416

EU pedals?

Hi all,

New to Lemmy here, but I like what I’m seeing here! I came in the spirit of moving to buy things from the EU rather than the US and in that vein, I thought I’d start thinking about pedals. Over the past year I’ve been building a pedalboard that I’m quite happy with so far, but the 2/3 of the next pedals I have my eyes on in the long-term are from the US. I was wondering if anyone might have suggestions as to where/what to look for.

I am looking for alternatives either from the EU, or elsewhere other than the US for:

-Low-gain “transparent” overdrive (I was looking at the JHS morning glory)

-phaser pedal (I had been looking at the phase 95 for form factor and I like the phase 45 sound especially)

-a compressor pedal (I did not have anything in particular in mind here, yet).

I won’t buy all these at once, or even in the mediate future most likely, but as i become able to do so, it’s nice to have some ideas in mind.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

  • slurp
    4·
    3 days ago

    The Origin Effects compressors are UK-based (not EU but not US) and very well liked. Where are you based? There may be smaller builders near you that cover your needs.

    • zagreas@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      Oh I’ll check it out! I’m actually headed to the UK a bit later in spring, so could be a good opportunity if I end up liking them.

      I’m based in the NL. I’ve gotten quite a few recommendations in my original post from all over, but I’d love to support a smaller builder/brand if you have any other recommendations.

      Appreciate it!

      • slurp
        4·
        3 days ago

        Andy Demos on YouTube has a few Origin Effects demos that are good. I’ll admit to having bought a Chinese knockoff of one of their pedals because I wasn’t willing to spend that much on a compressor and it’s good enough that I’ll definitely buy a real one if I ever start gigging again (it’s one of the stacked ones).

        You may know this but in case you don’t the Morning Glory is a modified Blues Breaker pedal, so you should be able to widen your search for alternatives with that.

        The pedal brands I don’t think have good European alternatives are Empress, Chase Bliss, and Hologram Electronics because the digital side is strongly copyright protected, which unfortunately means less ability for builders to build on each other’s work. That said, there are still cool non-US pedals out there in that kinda space.

        • zagreas@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          2·
          3 days ago

          I’ll check our Andy Demos. I’ve had the same problem with actually purchasing a compressor. I’ve heard again and again that the empress is great, but I can’t quite bring myself to spend so much on it.

          I did know this about the morning glory/blues breaker lineage. It’s a good point— for quite a while I’d set my heart on MG, but as you pointed out, there’s a whole world out there haha. Appreciate the help!

      • slurp
        3·
        3 days ago

        I forgot to address, I don’t have any good personal recommendations as I haven’t tried many companies but I know there are a number of decent German pedal companies and I’ve heard good things about JAM pedals (Greek) and Thorpy (UK). Poly Effects (Australian but not US) seem to be putting out interesting stuff too.

        • zagreas@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          1·
          3 days ago

          I’ve been seeing thorpy come up a lot! I was actually planning for a while to get a Jam waterfall (chorus) to support a Greek maker a few months back (I’m Greek), but found a used chorus pedal elsewhere that was like 1/4th the price so it was hard to pass up. They’re definitely on my radar