Expensive VS Affordable Drive Pedal Challenge! Is It Worth It?
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- čas přidán 23. 03. 2017
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I think you guys just sold another couple thousand of golden plexi pedals for tone city. :D
Wow! This is a BAD day for the makers of that expensive pedal.
I agree ... £300 ... no thanks...Free? No thanks... I prefer the Golden Plexi :)
Sure is! Any Mark Knopfler fans here?
The Golden Plexi might sound good too but I know which one would stop working in less than two years due to quality issues...
when 95% of the people talking here can't notice the HUGE tone difference between the 2, yeah the plexi pluged in your Roland cube 10x would be fine x)
If you prefer the Plexi you can still buy several replacements for a fraction of the price of the Vemuram
Golden Plexi *killed* it, detailed, crisp, authentic amp tone. The Vemuram sounds woofy/muddy, like a pedal played through an amp with a blanket over the speaker.
Challenge Idea:
STOLEN GEAR CHALLENGE
You're on tour, halfway through. But guess what? Last night, you got all your gear stolen. You have at least 15 more dates on your tour. Armed with only the 500 pounds you earned last night, what gig-ready, theatre-rocking rig (guitar, amp, and at least one pedal) do you come up with??
BLUES Vs. SHRED TOO!!
I've seen at least three bands live that have had this happen to them, so it's a really realistic predicament.
they've done that one before it was a £500 gig rig challenge
Link me bro.
Don't know if you found it yet, but if not, here you go. czcams.com/video/cWsQt5ptnMc/video.html
If that happens, other bands on tour usually lend gear.
The Vemuram is really dark and choked sounding compared to the Golden Plexi. The Golden Plexi would be better for a metal tone with lots of definition, where I think the Vemuram would be better for a more blues sound.
Just my two cents. I personally prefer the Golden Plexi.
Cameron Crowley you've got a point, wonder how it would sound if rob wasn't playing ripping rock chords
The thing is, how are you going to get more tone through the Vemuram?
With the Plexi, you can just use your guitar tone control rolled back and you have the sound of the Vemuram.
The Vemuram almost sounds like a combined fuzz/gain pedal to me, especially at the higher gain levels, while the Plexi is at half the level for the same gain and much more brightness, so I agree the Vemuram is probably a better blues-style pedal, but I agree with Chirn70 that the Plexi can do that same dark/fuzzy sound by rolling back the guitar.
Golden Plexi is quite "Rock 'n' Roll" a la '80s or even '70s. The Karen can do that too, but it indeed has a more "woman tone" going on as well.
"woman tone"
prepare to sell thousands more Golden Plexi's.
I'm sold, but they're all out of stock
they shouldn't be out. they just got a shipment of Tone City stuff in on Wednesday
Op success
Listen to Tim Pierce demo the Karen and you’ll change your mind on the pedal real quick. He made it sound amazing as it was meant to sound. It’s a great pedal.
Cheap Miku vs Expensive Miku?...
Which one is just hiring an actual Japanese singer?
is there a copy of the miku ? since the original is not available as far as i know
You can find em on eBay.
The gain knob on the golden Plexi seems to have no effect at all. I watched him turn it up and down and the sound hardly changed at all. The expensive one is too dark for my taste, others will prefer it. I'm actually most impressed with how the little one stayed together even when he was playing high up past the 12th fret because THAT'S usually where you hear the cheaper pedals start to fall apart and reveal themselves to be pedals.
I have to say I disagree with them there is a whole lot difference between them
So the expensive one is like $400 US? That's absurd. I just cloned an actual Plexi amp for 50% more than this pedal.
I own an Ethos Overdrive Preamp pedal that was a little more than This pedal, so I'm not adverse to expensive gear. The Ethos however is an actual 2 channel Preamp, with DI out, mid boost, effects loop and an almost daunting amount of control, and not insignificant is that it's emulating an absurdly expensive amp. a $400 Marshall in a box though?
Multi-Effects cheapest v most expensive.
Zoom ♥
In that case it really would be clear as day what would win. The cheapest wouldn't have nearly as many effects and whatnot to play with. It would be a zoom or digitech or something of the likes up against an Axe FX
krulty Boss MS-3 has changed my whole pedal board layout completely.
Zoom versus Helix Effects
@@ryanhadfield8866 Or a Vox Stomplab if they have one in stock or in the warehouse
cheapest reverb vs most expensive reverb? also maybe with delay?? you could have a series going on here! it's so entertaining!!
Cristiano Salgado does not matter, Neunaber Immerse reigns supreme
That, or the Strymon pedals
Yeah! They could call it David versus Goliath, oh wait I think that's taken.
I prefer the MXR to the Neunaber, it's a nicer sounding pedal.
I LOVE the HOF reverb. for the price, its hard to beat.
Most expensive Cable vs Affordable, great series.
past a quite low quality threshold, cables don't perceptibly affect the signal tone
the cheapest one is probably crap, but second most affordable just as good as the most expensive
that would be a very boring test, but it would prove a point
Milton Velosa Not a bad idea I got an expensive cable and it died on me at a gig and I've been using a cheap cable I've had for 3 times as long and it works just fine
Durability
Construction and whether the shielding is braided or spiral will effect durability, memory (how long it holds its coil after its wrapped), how it moves or doesnt etc as well.
None of these make cable expensive to make, though.
so for 300 extra, you get a muddy tone. I never have had any issue cutting tone (there's a knob on the guitar if I'm really at a loss).. but it's impossible to brighten up and add clarity back to a pre-muddled sound.
Urban Weekend Warrior it wasn't always muddy, I would say it has a much warmer tone, the Plexi sounds very bright next to it. they both sound really good, but for the money I would choose Golden Plexi.
its called treble boost. theres also hi-fi and different passes read about it.
If you listen closely the Vemuram has much better note definition and way better dynamics, that's what you're paying for
MrTrollinglol Not what I'm paying for. lol
nah, the tone city sounds reaaalllly thin
to my ear the expensive one sounded like someone putting a blanket over the speaker cab at least till he turned up the tone control but i would prefer the Plexi it seems more transparent and doesn't colour the character of the guitar too much
damn, plexi wins for me.
so true
yep sounds way clearer and you can buy like 9 of them for the price of one Karen.
Matt Chapman it's more aggressive and middle scoope
Wow...I knew the Tone City stuff was good for the price, but this wasn't even close. Golden Plexi sounds like a real amp, the Karen sounds like a pedal.
Matt Chapman I agree. I like the tone of the plexi more than the karen. sounds more fat and full with better mid and bright bite than mostly dark and smooth karen tones. but I guess it's based on my style of music and playing as well.
I think, someone should open a golden plexi, and see if the gain knob is even connected to anything.
Rofl
yup the 'gain' circuit really should have been a bit beefier, good tone and volume though....
Ludwig Gärtner haha
All change down at the bottom of the knob - sign of a cheap circuit/pot. Sounds fucking great though.
Ludwig Gärtner it's the same as the pedal it copies. Purple plexi.
Golden Plexi is worth the $$!
Veruram is not worth the$$$!
Yes I am a fugal musician! :)
RenoNuski I
*fungal
frugal?
The cheap ones gain is bad, so as always I would choose the one that is a bit cheaper than the middle (but I don't have money to buy more than an epiphone lp special 2 and a practice Marshall amp so whos thinking about pedals)
So cheap couldn't afford a r for frugal.
Ha. NO WAY would I spend £320 on that. What a fcking ripoff. I could pretty much buy a Fender Bassbreaker 15w amplifier head for that...
Cheap vs most Expensive tuning pedal
...cheap apps available on phones...
VS Riotact There are even free ones that do a great job. But you need silence for them working good.
Malcolm Powder the cheapest tuner I have is my ears, or the adjacent string. Not the best I have to admit, lol
Tone city for the brightness I reckon.
Malcolm Powder vs Ears
3 and a half minutes in and the Tone City Golden Plexi batters the other for me :P
Yep, me too. The Golden Plexi actually sounds like a Plexi, and the Vemuram sounds way too "woolly" to my ears. Mind you, could be the balaclava that I'm wearing... :O)
the golden plexi craps all over that other pedal imho #deminishingreturns
Same, the other pedal sounds like the amp is in another room and i'm hearing it through the wall.
good description, thats exactly how it sounded
Also seems to be a lot more tweaking of the more expensive pedal....
Fucking brilliant playing on this one Chappers.
Joseph Tiano well said man. Chapters knocked it out the park. Sensational.
I don`t think the Vemuram can cut the mix if you`ra in a band with two guitarplayers. I personally liked the Golden Plexi way more in this video.
The Golden Plexi sounds too thin and harsh for my liking. Would be a disaster if i plug in my tele (like it was with a boss ds-1). But I think it works with a Les Paul whereas the Vemuram might be too dark for a Les Paul and fit a tele better.
My recollection of those old Vintage Marshall's back when they were new, that the Vermuram is supposed to be emulating, is that they were hard, bright and edgy especially up close. You had to work to get subtle tones out of them. The Plexi reminds me more of those than the Vermuram.
Yeah, I guess I'm not a fan of Marshall-type overdrive sounds.Wasn't happy with any Marshall tube amp in the guitar store, but when I'm playing at home with my Line 6 HD 500 the plexi emulation is by far my favorite sound of all those amps in there. Finding yourself a nice overdrive sound is a total mystery I guess.
Gummmibaer you have to be kidding me...
That's what the tone knob is for.
Reuben Solly this, 100%
before you buy any pedals or tweak any of the settings on your amp you should really play with the tone and volume controls on your guitar. it'll take a few weeks but over time you'll find different "sweet spots", combinations of volume,tone and pickup.
Here's an example: I've got an aria pro ii strat copy thing from the 70's and it's got a brass nut, as a result the thing screams and twangs like no tomorrow,it actually hurts my ears at normal volumes if I have everything on my guitar at 10 because it's so damn twangy. so I roll the tone halfway and the volume to 8ish for rithym playing and then any time I need a little extra or I have to cut through I just turn up the controls on my guitar. you could also set the gain on your amp for just a smidge more than you'd actually use durring rithym playing to account for the fact your rolling it back on the guitar a bit, that way you've got lots left in the tank for when you go to dial it up for lead playing.
(Other Guitars I'd like to See)
- Cheapest Fender v. Most Expensive Fender
- Cheapest Gretsch v. Most Expensive Gretsch
- Cheapest ESP v. Most Expensive ESP
- Cheapest Schecter v. Most Expensive Schecter
- Cheapest Ibanez v. Most Expensive Ibanez
Cheapest Jackson v. Most Expensive Jackson
Also I love the Les Paul that Rob has, I have the exact same one (Gibson Les Paul Goldtop 1950s Reissue)
I wouldn't do cheap*est vs dear*est, because that limits your choices. I'd do cheap vs expensive in the same category/brand.
+Gary Smith Isn't that what I suggested...? But anyway I think I understand what you meant
+Andrew Pappas pretty sure its a les paul classic t from the gibson 2017 range
I certainly didn't notice a $250 difference! The Golden Plexi is a pretty good sounding pedal for the price.
Testing pedals like this is a good idea because most of them are essentially the same thing but their prices vary wildly. Testing cheap guitars and amps by price is a little different because there are so many different parameters to compare.
I thought they both sounded damn good. The Vemuram sure as hell didn't sound 10 times better thats for sure!
Steve Floyd maybe not better but definitely different.
Yeah they definitely had a different tone for sure.
Blindfold overdrive pedal challenge please.
YES
Yeah like if they had to guess the pedal based on just hearing while blindfolded. That would be fun.
great idea
Coming from someone normally opposed to distortion pedals of any kind (gain straight from the amp is the way to go, IMO), that Plexi sounds amazing.
You were able to get the tone very close to matching with the dials. You guys made this fun though :) Fight!
should have done it as a blindfold test....
call me crazy, but I much prefer the Golden Plexi. love the brighter tones it can get. Although I do not like how that gain knob reacts. I also agree you guys should do Wah pedals next!!!
YES, you are going to be so much bigger in a live mix with the tone city :)
i thoguht the plexi one was the 300 usd one?
I have a Golden Plexi and it's gain knob definitely works throughout the spectrum, so either they had a duff one, or they changed the specs of the pedal since I got mine.
They had the amps set on just break up so your getting amp compression as soon as your pushing the pre section then your part comparing the op amps in the pedals
You need to listen to them with your own guitar / amp, I wouldn't have touched either with the H&K, from the demo the cheap one is well worth considering but there's a lot of questions on how they were running the amps. I've tried and ditched cheap pedals in the past due to hum / ground noise with my gear and O/D can be very picky. I agree the clone pedals are getting better and better but if it doesn't sound right when you get it home it doesn't matter weather it costs 30 or 300 your not going to use it.
Love your show guys. Really enjoyed this segment. Great fan of "cheapest vs most expensive!! If I may offer a suggestion. Maybe next time try a "blind test', and see if you can tell the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive. Keep up the great work!!!
That is amazing.... The Golden Plexi blew the Vemuram to bits! No contest!
Why don't you do another guitar mod episode but with Rabea as well and a higher budget!!
p l e a s e
This
Jackson0Music they should...
yes
I also think it should be blindfold so they aren't influenced by knowing which is which
I love these videos because they help you avoid a lot of crap. I don't think there's any doubt that the Plexi is miles better, and while you can argue Vemuram might be more suitable to certain situations, with Plexi you're still looking at a pedal that is 270£ cheaper and sounds way clearer. So unless money grows in trees for you, there's literally no reason to get Vemuram over the Plexi, when the quality is so good. And honestly, a case made out of brass? Who gives a fuck. That's how they always get you, just like with guitars, they have gold knobs and diamonds in the fretboard, and while the quality is still good, does the useless extra shit you get justify the cost? Fuck no. Plexi all the way.
You guys are worth your wait in gold
Thanks for this. I think this shows the law of diminished returns once again.
Would like to see analog delay next
Golden Plexi sounded better to my ears. Great video!
Can you do cheapest vs most expensive multi effects professor pedal like zoom vs boss/Roland etc? :)
dpajc056 I said the same thing lol
Total hobbyist myself, so I think that would be really interesting
That little cheap golden plexi is amazing! It’s on my list!
Tone City hands down.
yay new chappers vid at 2 am!!!
Rob I could listen to you play all day long.
The captain tried so hard to save vemurum's face, but the golden plexy just blew it out of the water. I feel sorry for him. 😂😂
Most expensive squier strat v cheapest fender strat?
they've done it. search and you will find.
The video, but not 2 strats (Squier Tele/Fender Tele): czcams.com/video/oKbWEbowzas/video.html
Straight away the Plexi sounded better personally. Has more mid-range and a better 'lead' tone, plus it's a fecking steal for the price :D
The Vemuram seems to have the power amp type break up going on - but for £280 more, nah. Buy an Angry Charlie!
Love these videos!
Can't get enough of tone city at the moment, hats off to them!
i would choose the Golden Plexi in a heartbeat ,sounds better and costs less.The vemuram sound like shit.
Especially if one is using it as a clean boost.
Love the DFA knob on the golden plexi.
Alan Angel Does Fuck All loooooool
I really appreciate you guys making all the content you do. As far as I can tell it always seems like you try to be honest, as opposed to just jocking the thing with the best margin. Sorry I don't really buy stuff from you. I'm in the U.S. and with customs fees and the wall, it's just not entirely feasable.
wow, y'all have made my morning!!
Reverb and/or delay pedal shootout would be awesome!
wow $10 worth of electronics vs $10 worth of electronics with a higher price tag. That's all i see as an electronics student.
kohit7 aside from the brass casing which has nothing to do with sound yeah.
Most of the cost comes from the design. The box really can make a difference. You need a great ground and strong isolation. That said, I loved the plexi. What value.
kohit7 try to see the labour tho.
@@tolkienfan1972 You just said that to an electronics student. Do you have a background in electrical engineering/electronics?
@@tolkienfan1972. Not $300 difference. Not even $20 difference. Ground is ground and insulation is cheap.
I like the Plexi the most, surprisingly enough. I felt the Plexi's tones, especially through the H&K, were a lot clearer and sharper. Might have to get a Plexi sometime.
Sure am glad I bought the Golden Plexi! If there's too much high end you can dial that down on the amp, but you can't get rid of the muddy sound of the Vemuram!
Gotta go with the Golden Plexi. Seems to have more Balls.
Vemuran seems good for muted notes, but I think I prefer the brighter aggressive sound from the plexi
Both work .. I like the expencive one best, but the plexi is badass too.
hey guys! very cool show... I also am a Vemuram user for a few years. It sounded a lil different than my rig in this video. Mine sounds truly amazing. My suggestion is also to tweak the mid gain knob (on the upper back panel of the pedal) with a mini screw driver. This will impact your sound significantly. By tweaking you can truly achive some mind blowing bright tones! :) cheers
It's an odd one this; the Vemuram has more range in the controls and the Tone City is a one-trick pony with a single sound. However, the Vemuram is incredibly limited in how you can use it, whereas the Tone City is going to be useful in a lot more genres and contexts. Also...I don't like how the Vemuram sounds, and I love how the Tone City sounds...ergo, Tone City win.
The golden plexi can be used as a boost because the volume is really powerful.
Hi Rob... Love the vids... Please FINISH YOUR WEBSITE so I can drool over all the new lovelies.
This site is up!!! Thanks man!!!
Always nice when Rob dresses up for the challenges.
there's such a specific amp like break up that comes from higher end drives. its pure joy
Golden plexi for me with the buckers you guys were playing through. Don't know about a strat or tele though.
I just saw the manual of Karen, There's screw on the side, which is called Gain trimmer, you should manipulate to get more gain boost
They purposefully under biased it to sound "muffled" in comparison to the Golden Plexi. This whole thing was made to sell Golden Plexi's.
@@enkiea8322 Gain doesn't muffle anything - that's down to the internal structure of the distortion and the tone control. Even at low gain distortion the Plexi sounds way clearer. I actually like the sound of the Karen for some Queens of the Stone Age type stuff, but it's definitely not what I'd choose for a basic Marshall tone.
Spot on Chappers, the more ££ you ask for something the higher peoples expectations. If it was marketed at £80 it would have joined the legions of £80 drive pedals and gone unnoticed. It did sound smoother than the plexi though. Yes do the wah pedals.
The Tone City overdrive is more suitable for the genre of music I play. However, I really like the Vemuram because it gets an earsplitting amp volume sort of drive to it, which I really like by the way.
Most expensive potato vs most expensive banana.
Bloody hell! That Golden Plexi was considerably better!
That Golden Plexi is the ass slapper for sure man! And there's a few quid left over for a backup Squier. Nice.
Great video, more please.
Golden Plexi by a mile (or 1.6 kilometers) 👍
Tone city has great heavy distortion. For some reason, I preferred the Vemuram Karen better, more crunchy midrange low-end sound to it, like a worn in tubed amp. Vemuram kinda a Klon feel to it. But still for the price, I couldn't justify buying it for that much.
Seems like the Golden Plexi is more AC/DC and the Karen is more ZZ Top
I like em both
To my ears the more expensive pedal was a little smoother but worth the extra expense for non-pro hobbyists?....NOPE I thought the Plexi was just fine for what it was.
Btw guys I just love your comparison videos. I watch them often even when I am not shopping around or in need of buying anything. God bless you, you are performing an important public service and your videos are also just a lot of fun to watch.
I've been playing guitar since 1971 and to this day, I have never found a drive pedal that sounds as sweet as my original 1980 vintage Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer. I'm including the re-issued Tube Screamers in my comparison... they don't sound as good as the original TS-9's either, probably because the original op-amp chips (TL4558P; JRC4558) used in the old Tube Screamers haven't been manufactured for about 25 years now. A nice idea might be to purchase a new TS-9 and then search for an old NOS TL4558P op-amp, and then just replace the stock chip with the older (and better) chip. Not cheap, certainly... but they sound like buttah.
at around 5:45 there's one change where i hear literally zero difference. plexi wins just because of that.
I heard a little bit of a tighter mid range bite on the golden plexi when it changed. definitely a win.
Sorry Capt. Golden Plexi had way more to go... Way more
sorry, thats what I meant... more volume...
Well done Tone City!
A 400$ v 50$ overdrive pedal. I agree with your suggestion that you design a pedal and call it the pysco somatic. The 50$ pedal sounded better IMHO. I enjoy ykur side by side vids.
Rock On.
Bad horse vs one of those overpriced klon yokes please please please
Wow. I really want to try and like the Vemuram but that was just sad. The Tone City blew it away. Is it me or are the functions of the top right and bottom knobs not even noticeable on the Vemuram??
Alex Price I don't about the Vemuram, but the gain knob on the plexi seemed to not do much at all. Though I do believe the plexi wins by a long shot.
Yeah totally agree the tone of the golden plexi has everything treble mid and just the right anount of low end the other pedal was just missing some tone very very muddy I dont mind a little muddy but not like that the golden plexi is just an amazing pedal one of the best sounding pedals out and for the price how can you lose zi really really like it but all of tone city pedals are amazing
Your right it doesnt seem to matter what the captain does its muddy
......one more plexi coming off your warehouse shelf! great review. Now i'm off to see any reviews on other TC pedals although not heard as much buzz about their other efforts.......
that plexi plus the victory sounds so sweet
Well I for one cannot hear £280 worth of difference between the two pedals. For the dearer pedal, you should be able to hear quite a lot of tonal richness, dynamics and general harmonic loveliness, but I certainly couldn't!
Golden plexi sounds fucking great!
very cool video you guys should choose like 5 licks that remain constant and then compare THOSE directly, after or before that test with a battle still just a few constant riffs to really compare tonality would be sick
Mate that Tone City Golden Plexi is the one for me, it just sounds killer!
the golden plexi is so so so SO better.
I prefer the golden plexi. Has a clearer tone and more able to hear notes. the expensive one to me actually sounds more muddy. The expensive one sounds too compressed too
I absolutely love the captn's playing
Could not tell the difference from my TV speakers, but that's not a real test. Thanks for the review.
Schrödinger's pedal
1:13 someone is playing cliffs of dover in the background. Hha
Chapper's best shredding so far imo. Downright delicious
I’ve had a Golden plexi on my list of things to buy ever since I saw you guys show it off. It’s pretty damn great, and own a good deal of distortion and drive pedals.
Don't mess with G-Plex.. #teamgplex
yah, the expensive one is way overpriced!
But I can ear a high frequency fizz on the Super Plexi that I absolutely hate on dist pedals. The boss Metal zone is the king of that awful fizz
God DAMN Rob was playing his ass off on this one! Also I prefer the golden plexi
Watching in 2019 I own a golden plexi the issue with the gain knob has been corrected because it definitely does now function through the sweep.