Buy New or Used?
Straight verdicts on whether the used-market premium (or discount) is actually worth it.
Klon Centaur & Clones: Which One Should You Actually Buy?
Quick verdict: Buy a clone. Pedals like the JRAD Archer, Wampler Tumnus, or EQD Palisades get you within a hair of the Centaur's sound for $100-$200, brand new,…
Read guide →ProCo RAT: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy new. A current RAT 2 runs $70-90 and gets you 90% of what people love about the RAT. The "vintage chip is magic" argument that drives up used…
Read guide →Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer: Buy New or Used — and TS9 or TS808?
Quick verdict: Buy a new TS9 or TS808 reissue. Both current reissues run the same JRC4558D chip that's central to the pedal's reputation, at $100-115, versus $2…
Read guide →Boss DS-1: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy the DS-1W Waza Craft ($150-165). It's built around the modern circuit but adds a Custom mode specifically designed to fix the complaints play…
Read guide →Boss Blues Driver: BD-2 or BD-2W Waza Craft?
Quick verdict: Skip the standard BD-2 and go straight for the BD-2W Waza Craft ($140-165) — but only if you plan to actually use Custom mode. If you'd run it as…
Read guide →EHX Superego Plus: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy used. This is one of the few pedals on this list where used is the clearly smart move with almost no downside — it's a digital pedal, not an …
Read guide →Fender Player Stratocaster: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy used if you can find a clean example near $500-600 — the Player Series hasn't changed dramatically generation to generation, so the used-mark…
Read guide →Epiphone Les Paul Standard: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy new if you want the current "Inspired by Gibson" tier ($599-799) — it's a meaningfully better guitar than older Epiphone Les Pauls, with genu…
Read guide →Squier Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster: Buy New or Used?
Quick verdict: Buy used. At $330-450 against $499.99 new, a used Classic Vibe saves real money on a guitar whose construction hasn't meaningfully changed since …
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