I can’t +1 this enough!
I have pedals from every price bracket, $60 to $300+, and there are absolutely no “constants.” No brands that I universally love every single pedal they make, no country of origin, design spec, component type, price, or any other factor that can guarantee me that a pedal will be great.
Now, there are some general rules that tend to be true - often I find more expensive pedals to do their “thing” better than cheap ones, purely because fewer compromises have to be made from a cost of production standpoint. But, it doesn’t always take money to do a pedal right, it’s just depends on specifically what the unit needs to do, and how much the components and build cost for it to do that job best.
Example - best tubescreamer type pedal I’ve owned is a $60 Garagetone Drivetrain. Most others I’ve tried, I like less, some as much if I tweak them just right, but nothing beats that $60 pedal for overall vibe. Another example, other extreme, Bogner Wessex for $220ish - I truly believe something about that Neve transformer makes it special, it is hands down the smoothest breakup I’ve ever gotten from a pedal, nothing else comes close. But, is the Neve transformer best for all pedals? No, I didn’t care for its sibling, the Burnley, at all. Les, I remember you talking about some studio-spec aspects of the Pettyjohn gear that makes them play well with your style and needs, which are obviously studio type work.
