Community Question: Longest Owned Pedal Recap

A couple of days ago, I unleashed another Community Question to Facebook and Twitter. We had a great response to the question, and I wanted to put some of the answers together as a summary post today. For this summary, I’m only going to include the Facebook responses – since they go in a bit more detail and there were so many!

So the question I posed was:

What is your longest owned AND longest used pedal you play? You know the pedal that just can’t seem to be get knocked out of your pedalboard.

I brought this up thinking about my own board. I owned a Boss DD-7 Digital Delay for years. It’s great for those clear repeats and crazy long repeats. I use this in conjunction with a MXR Carbon Copy for the other side of the spectrum (darker repeats and smaller repeats). Literally, for years, I’ve tried to replace that DD-7 with other delays. I’ve had some great delays in that spot, but that DD-7 usually bumps it out. It really comes down to simplicity for me… and real estate. I was curious if others had pedals that stay on the board.. no matter what. So check out some of these answers!

From Facebook

Alecksyy Pandaa I’ve two, the BOSS TU-3 and the Joyo AC Tone pedal, I won’t gig without those pedals

Lightning Boy Audio Peterson Strobo Stomp since 2006

Mojo’s Army The only ones that will never leave are the Digitech Grunge and the Boss TU-2

Peter Ball My TU2 has been with me for a while but my Radial Switchbone AB/Y is with me for life. I use it to switch between channels of my Deluxe Reverb and it has a clean boost, ideal for solos. Great pedal but the 15v power requirement is a PITA. I use a Burkey adapted with a 15v outlet.

Jason Thompson I have a DigiTech DigiDelay that I just can’t get rid of, and in the past when I’ve tried, I’ve always ended up getting it again. I’m on my 3rd one. I’ve also sold and bought back an OCD at least twice. Those two can cover just about anything.

James Patrick Boss DD-3. I’ve had it longer than a tuner. Never ever a problem, and I’ve found a use for it in every band I’ve done.

Nick Meyer Hardwire DL-8. It sounds great, it’s versatile, and I’m still looking for an excuse to use the reverse delay setting in a song.

Jimmy Knowles I hate to say it, but the Digitech Bad Monkey has been the longest lasting pedal board member. So much so that I own 2. I own an older heavier one that is beat up and a newer lightweight one. On bass I have tried many boutique pedals and spent a lot of money only to sell them at a loss and stick with the Bad Monkey. I have yet to find a distortion/overdrive/fuzz that I like more on bass. NOTE: You can use a Bad Monkey as a flavored compressor with the gain at 0. Check the waveform and it smashes out a fat bass line in a pinch.

Tim Bionda Ic the boss delay next to a lot of really boutique pedals, honestly most professional pedal boards I have ever seen have on

Mario Di Sandro Ibanez TS-DX9 Turbo Tube Screamer distortion pedal. Although, technically it was the Boss original distortion pedal but I gave that up pretty early.

Ian Black My purple Dunlop Wah pedal. I’ve had it for about 18 years and it’s sitting on my pedalboard right now, still works as well as the day I bought it.

Nickolas Lee Paisley Ibanez CP-10 Compressor/Sustainer. Ugly pink box, but I’ve tried other compressors and they squash the signal way too much for my liking. Been on my board for 5 years or so

J.d. Gottlieb Other than my boss tuner (which doesn’t really count imho), it’d have to be my ehx cathedral reverb. It’s been on there the longest and won’t be going anywhere for a while.

Andrew Meyer Probably my Morley Tremonti wah; I’ve had it for about 8 or 9 years now (it’s been on my board for literally every show I’ve ever played). It’s beat to hell, but the thing just keeps kickin’.

Kevin Wolfgang Luechtefeld Vox V847 wah-wah. My first expression pedal! And I suppose I suffered for it, I worked as a dishwasher at a steakhouse for a week and then quit and used my paycheck to pay for it. I was sixteen, it was worth it!!!

Al Sparks Boss Ds-1 It was the first pedal I bought. I’ve had for about 25 years.

Stephen Harrison DOD FX65 Chorus. I’ve used it consistently since I got it in 1990. I usually dial it in for a faux Leslie sound.

Daividh Burns MXR/CAE Bob Bradshaw Wah. I don’t use Wah a lot but of all the wahs I’ve had over the years this one sounds the best to me and has been in my various boards for years.

Peter Rendes Strymon timeline, best pedal ever.

Lex Koopmeiners Custom made Basscreamer from Technophobia (made in holland). Its like a Fulltone Bassdrive but its a bit more mid and treble tuned. That way it cuts more through the mix. No low end loss and a cleanblend. Also it has a boost switch and a compcut switch. Great overdrive/distortion pedal for bassguitar.

Fred Seymour Tech21 SansAmp GT2. I hardly ever play electric guitar without it. Great amp modeling if I want to run direct to console, also works as a ridiculously versatile overdrive if I’m using an amp.

Andrew Shore Joyo Voodoo Octave

Andrew Shore Joyo Voodoo Octave. I tried on many occasions to knock it off my chain. But it just retains my bass signal so well . I just can’t. It’s the reason I own like 20 fuzzers

Poul Svarre Xotic X-Blender! Not really an effect on it’s own, but the most versatile piece of kit ever owned

Avery McKenzie I’ve got a few Digitech and DOD death metal pedals they’re cheap and do great for everything from sloppy punk distortion to noise signal generators God they’re fun to circuit bend too

Arnold Nieborg Marshall Guvnor (the old black one) with a tubescreamer to boost it. Been using those for 25 years

Marcus Dembinski EHX Small Clone. Great Chorus. Also a boss DD3 delay, which I’ve since modded to cut some of the high end and give it a more tape delay sound.

Fredrik Nytorpe The DL4 has been the go to pedal for ten years or so. Still I miss it every time it’s not there…

Mark Marshall Effectrode Tube Drive is always on my board. Only time I don’t use it is when I can the a non master volume amp full out.

Ivan Lopez Garrido But the longest lasting item on my board must be my Cioks Big John Power supply. It has been there for 15-20 years.

John Danchisko Wow, other players start with something besides a DS-1? I stood in line at a Guitar Center opening for 3 hours for it. Young and dumb.

Neill Nation Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor. Huge footprint, but even bigger tone. Guitar, bass, whatever you throw at it, it stands up.

Drew Baker Ibanez DE-7. At one point I even had two of them.

Stephen Hales Dunlop Crybaby I think I got it 95? It’s still on my board but soon getting retired.

Matt Meyer Electro Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff. I bought it for $50 in 1995 and still have the wooden box. Nutty that these sell for 8 times that now

Dan Furr Boss DD-3 digital delay. A great bit of kit.

Gavin Thorpe Boss TU-2 aside, it’s my Line 6 Echo Park. An ugly duckling amongst the boutiques, but the Terminator foot does some lovely swells.

Iain Gorrie DD-6 was one of my first (excluding my tu2) and is still on my board 12yrs on! But I think my DOD 250 has got some staying power too…

Dwarfcraft Devices DL4 forever!

Jim Tyyska I had an ’85 ProCo Rat that lasted up until a year ago… I was seriously upset when it quit working.

Eli Slate Crybaby Wah. Wah will never go out of style, I don’t care what anyone says.

Voodoo Stef Cry baby wah. Nearly 20 years and still on my board.

Andrew J. Masterson Guyatone MD3

Malcolm Lusby Boss tu 3.

Erik Burke Boss PS-5 supershifter!!!! I have 2 and need more. So much fun. Beat to shit. Halfa speed knob is missin. Boss needs to make a programmable shifter. Pleeeease!

Stefan Hansson An Austone millenium overdrive has permanent residency together with a sonic research turbo tuner.

Nick Sena Digitech Digidelay! Built like a tank and does exactly what it’s supposed to.

Mark Young Fulltone Fulldrive II – 17 years.

Jair Rosa dunlop cry baby 535q

Lightning Damien Thibodeau Boss EQ

Troy McGee Keeley Katana, irreplaceable

Thelorddread I have a big muff v6 that just can not be beat by any other fuzz I A/B with.

Brett Husebye Eagletone otd-100 This pedal oozes rock and roll. Slap the Twin Reverb to 10 with a Vox Ice 9 and a fuzz you will have a smile on your face that will last all day!

Mitch Kelly Boss CE3 Chorus, Its almost irreplacable

Matt Wellendorf Barber Direct Drive SS….ive tried just about everything under the sun. I don’t think its going anywhere.

Brian Jay Mr carbon copy  It’s the same story of your dd7

Jarrett Palmer the purple dan electro delay

Noel Lairson Boss PS-2

Yannis Xatzitheoxaris zvex fuzz factory

Kaia Fischer Longest standing is, of all things, an MXR Micro Flanger. Continuously since like ’98

Wax Warwick hmm ive upgraded but my holy grail

Bill Brons modded ds-1

Flavine Slordel Blackstar ht metal (with perso stickers)!!

Jobz Punzalan Boss MT2, but I’m not using it anymore, now I’m using Shredhead, and MXR Ditortion III. These two are awesome!

Matthew Gordon Stock TS-9. Great pedal, by itself or in front of a fuzz.

Nikolas TheMute Boss oc2

Michael J Aylward my old 1973 big muff since 74 and a dod 250 1983?

Nicholas Greenwood I can’t quit you, Boss PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay! (Going on seven years at this point.)

Justin Wright Visual Sound Rt. 66, TS-808 and Ross Compressor clones. Crybaby wah, DL4

Tim Wendland Katana

Ivan Lopez Garrido My Korg DT10 tuner. Been there for 10 years, and will only buy new, if it breaks.

Joseph Clemens Boss ME-30

Kevin Nel Keeley Lina drive mk1

Julien-Pier Bélanger Boss DD3, Pitchblack Tuner and Moog MF Drive and the mainstay in my rig since forever (even tho the MF Drive hasn’t been out for long; I bought it the day it became available)!

Ryan Remington Blues driver..or as I call it …the cunt driver…love that pedal .

Brett Black Eagle bbe sonic stomp

William Heryanto Lim fuzzrocious rat tail

Dan Leary Earthquaker Grand Orbiter. The old one.

Ryan Lynch black arts toneworks black forest. always on. always.

Nicolò Bordoli Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man…13 years old. Unreachable!

Arturo Andrés Ríos Labrín Boss EQ MIJ, modified and with a beautiful and shiny blue led installed

Nel Gómez Ts9 works perfectly fine with other drives, distortions and alone of course!

Ggiiaaxx Seldon Pigtronix philosopher king!

Clarence Mayhew Music Mine is a Boss TW-1 but it’s on its last leg now.

Brian Chapman DOD FX10 BI-FET Preamp. Can’t kill it.

Kangass Kangassius Black Broken dl4 which I repair by myself stay in my board for about 5 years. New switches, new leds, corected powersource. I buy it for about 50$

Ben Brandt I think my Supernatural is the only pedal I’ve never switched out. Best reverb pedal on the market IMO.

Hythem Almansoury Same . Altho i dont like boss pedals . But the dd7 just made it

Douglas Holm I’ve had a dd7 before and it’s next on my list to reaquire.

Michael Perkins OD 250

William Crown Boss SD-1. So flexible for use as a boost or adding some more dirt in addition to my better overdrive pedal.

Roff Colombo DD7 for me, too. I usually have some sort of big muff but fuzz addiction and finite funds lead to that spot swapping around regularly.

Glenn RIchards DOD American metal.

Darin Sullivan American Metal!!!!!

I was really impressed with these answers. Some of you had similar experiences to me. I liked some of the odd-ball pedals too.. which makes me want to take a closer look at some of those older pedals. If you missed out on the Community Question on Facebook, please feel free to continue the discussion by commenting below!

Thanks everyone for your great responses!