So many pedals, so little time…so little money. The boutique FX pedal market has been exploding for the past few years and every day seems to bring more pedals and more builders. And for the tone obsessed , GAS-plagued guitarist, it’s just so many more reasons to go broke trying to find the ones that have the sounds your looking for.
So you hear all this hype about a new pedal, you watch some video demos, your sold -“Sounds like just what I need!” “Oh, there’s a 6 month wait, and you need the $250 up front?. Um..OK.” So you wait. And when you finely get it, and hook it up to YOUR rig, it doesn’t sound nearly so magical as in the demo. So you put it on eBay and continue the search
But lucky for us, there is now a solution to this endless cycle. TryAPedal.net is a new site that allows you to rent pedals for a fraction of what they cost to buy. Having just launched in July, they already have nearly 100 pedals from builders like – Eathquaker Devices, JHS, Wampler, Zvex, Strymon, and many more. And new pedals are constantly being added.
The prices are reasonable too, and are based on the shipping weight, not the pedals value. So most average sized pedals rent for $25 a week, with larger ones going for $35. You can extend the rental to 2 or 3 weeks for $35/$49 and $50/$70. This price includes all shipping charges each way. There is also a rent-to-own option on some of the pedals which seems very appealing. Unfortunately TryAPedal is only available in the US, though Seth says he has worked with some international customers on the rent-to-own option.
It seemed like a great idea, but I wondered about the hassles that could be involved in shipping it back. And what if I forgot to send it back in time? So I contacted Seth White, the owner of TryAPedal and asked if I could give the system a try. He gladly agreed and said I would get the same experience as any user.
The first step was the hardest, choosing a pedal. The site has a demo video of almost every pedal right on the info page for that particular pedal, along with a description. I think I watched every demo on the site, some, several times! It was a really hard choice but I finally went with the Wampler Pinnacle, a sort of Marshall in a pedal.
I placed the order late on a Thursday night. By 8:30AM the next morning I had a shipping confirmation and tracking info. The package arrived Monday by USPS. Included with the pedal were instructions, a return shipping label, TryAPedal decal, and a blank shipping label to be used as tape to reseal the package for return.
The day before I had to send the pedal back I received an email reminder. If I had wanted to extend the rental, I could have by notifying TryAPedal at least 3 days before my rental period was up at a rate of 75% of the one week rental. There are late fees, though they’re not too terrible.
Returning the package was extraordinarily easy. I wrapped the pedal back up in the bubble wrap, used the blank label to seal the box, put on the supplied shipping label and it was ready to ship. And if your label has a large “F” on it, you don’t even have to bring it to the post office, just leave it for your mailman to pick up.
The Pinnacle sounded amazing and did incredible things for my amp. Sure, it’s a $200 pedal and there’s hundreds of other distortion pedals out there. But now I have a benchmark, and the ability to try others and make a decision as to which one to add to my pedalboard based on actual experience with my gear. This service would also be great for when you are doing some recording and need a particular pedal to get a sound or just to experiment with.
TryAPedal is a great idea, and I highly recommend it. Here’s hoping the site is a success, and can continue to expand the amount of pedals and services they offer. Check it out at www.tryapedal.net.
