SOUNDCHECK
FOR DECADES THE boutique pedal market consisted mostly of builders who refined somewhat low- to middle-tech designs and relied heavily on obscure and obsolete new old stock parts that were too rarified for mass consumption. Sophisticated, high-tech effects were the domain of bigger companies with bigger budgets and armies of engineers, which led to some stellar innovations that unfortunately often lacked the personality and quirk that comes from more individual creativity.
However, recently the boutique pedal realm has undergone a renaissance of