Let's be real for a moment: ALL guitarists have bought & sold pedals throughout their lives. It's okay. There are plenty of reasons why.

Here are mine:

1: I don't use this pedal anymore.

2: I need the cash...yesterday!

These are just MY reasons why I sell my pedals. Everyone else has their reasons and motivations. But regardless of what the reasons may be, we all inevitably regret selling some of those pedals. Today, I'm going to tell you about the ones I wish I still had.

So why in the world would I sell it? Well, I didn't use it AND I needed the cash. Oh well...maybe ONE DAY I'll get it back in the arsenal. We'll see...we'll see...

The Riot was viewed by many as an "OD-100 in-a-box" pedal. It was amongst the best (and probably was THE best) of the amp-in-a-box distortion offerings of the time. It's nuts to think how far pedals have come in just 10 years. At the time, I was using mine as more of a "crunchy" distortion for a mid-gain sound. Since I used my Rockerverb 100 for my main high-gain sound, I wanted something that would keep a similar character BUT would be less saturated.

Looking back, I really wish I still had this pedal. It sounded so good. But it's nice to know that Suhr has increasingly upgraded the pedal so I can only imagine it would be BETTER than I remember!

The Airplane Flanger borrows heavily from the ADA Flanger BUT does also share some sonic character with the Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress, both of which Paul Gilbert has used over the years. I had mainly been used to the MXR Flanger and the Airplane Flanger offered me a different "color". The sound of the flanging was more "watery" and "swirling". I could even lapse it into a mode that was a bit like a chorus effect...just like Andy Summers of The Police.

So why would I get rid of it? Well, I stopped needing a flanger for much of my music AND all our gigs required me to use a VERY SMALL pedalboard. So I listed it on Reverb and, lo and behold, a close friend bought it AND he's still using it! So all ended well...

Greer Amps has made quite a few pedals church guitarists love. Yet I have not seen the Tomahawk on their boards. In my opinion, they're missing out! The Tomahawk is meant to capture the sound of a cranked Fender Tweed Deluxe amplifier. The sound is wildly dynamic and can get fuzzier the harder you push it. It responded well to many different guitars and was quite touch-sensitive. Had I been playing in church all those years ago I would have immediately put this on the board for a distinctly "American" overdrive flavor! Sadly, it is no longer with me but we can hope for its return sooner or later.

Now, the Philosopher's Tone CAN do that whole "sustainer" thing. But it does the job better than most any compressor because the sustain effect doesn't create any unwanted distortion. But it can also do what a compressor is MEANT to do: control your dynamics and even out the transients! But Pigtronix was never a company to rest on their laurels. In addition to the clean sustain they also added a blend-able, highly compressed distortion via the "Grit" control. A truly unique sound that I used for years! Eventually, I parted with it because I came across other compressors that suited my needs better...looking at you Keeley Compressor and Orange Kongpressor...but I still think I should have kept the PT. I can see it working REALLY well for those ambient volume swells I love.

If this were all the pedals I wish I hadn't sold, I could live with it.

BUT...there are TWO pedals I parted with that I regret SO BADLY I'm currently scouring Reverb

and Craigslist in and effort to replace them...

The Fuzz Factory & Super Duper 2-in-1 by ZVex Effects

Why do these ones hurt so much? Well, for starters ZVex Effects was the company that TRULY kickstarted my obsession with small, boutique pedal builders.

And it didn't hurt that both pedals came HIGHLY recommended by a band I admired.

I bought the Fuzz Factory for myself as a High School graduation present (the same day I bought my first tube amp). Boy, was I in a fuzz-laden heaven!

And very shortly after this I bought the Super Duper 2-in-1...and boom! Aggressive distortion and bright clean boost dreams abound.

Both pedals served me INCREDIBLY well over the years. INCREDIBLY well! As you can see in the picture above, the Super Duper 2-in-1 was on my board for some of my earliest gigs. And once again, we have another old-school "Stompbox Saturday" episode that shows off the beauty of the Fuzz Factory!

NOW WHY IN THE HECK WOULD I HAVE SOLD THESE TWO PEDALS?

FOUR WORDS: I REALLY NEEDED MONEY.

When I first moved out of my parents' house and struck out on my own (with the future Mrs. SPJ alongside of me) I struggled big time. I had held a series of unfulfilling part-time jobs for many years and despite being a two-income household we were always short on cash. Couple that with a failing effort to teach music lessons and a house flood and it just was NOT good times. Back then it was common for a used ZVex pedal to fetch quite a good sum of money.

And in one of those moments where cash was short, I made the heart wrenching decision to let go of these two pedals.

Looking back, it wasn't exactly a "hard choice" to make seeing as both pedals hadn't been used in some time. But it was hard considering what they had meant to me. I associated them with some of my earliest inspirations and a time in my life that was full of musical wonder and discovery. They were with me through college, through meeting my wife, through starting Cockeyed Optimist and finally moving out and getting married.

It's like Toy Story 3...but for guitar pedals.

I'm not crying...YOU'RE CRYING!

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