Pedal flipping is all about the quest. It's about finding new tones and exploring new gear through an addictive routine of buying, trying, selling and buying again. It's a lifestyle that's common to the Reverb community and one that's fueled a dynamic used market where tastes, trends and the laws of supply and demand dictate ultimate resale values.
With the Reverb market specifically, when a pedal sells, we record the transaction to our Price Guide to give us constant insight into shifts in velocity and pricing, which we sometimes refer to as "pedal hotness." Today, we're going to take a look at five cases where we've seen distinct upticks in the resale price of specific used pedals. In some examples, there are clear explanations for this, and in other cases the market forces are murky at best. I'll do my best to make sense of it below, but if you have better insight, let us know in the comments.
Please note, the graphs shown on this page are built to update as more transactions are recorded to the Price Guide. If you see this article weeks or years after its publication and the trend lines don't quite make sense, it's a good indication that the bubble around that particular pedal has plateaued or burst entirely.
Line 6 Echo Park Delay
Of course, one of most the obvious catalysts for a pedal going up in price is it being discontinued by the manufacturer. This appears to be the case with the Echo Park from Line 6, which was dropped from the catalog at some point in the last couple years. Though the pedal originally sold new with a price of $149, for a while, used prices were hovering around $70 to $90 mark. More recent sales have come in at closer to its original new price for a used example.
You would think that if the pedal was that in demand, it never would have been discontinued to begin with, but it's possible that the true merits of this particular delay weren't widely known till after production ceased. There is, of course, plenty to like about the Echo Park. Its delay models are based on those of the widely popular DL-4, so the Echo Park may be viewed as filling a niche for DL-4 devotees who want the same sounds without filling up too much space on their board.
Analogman King of Tone V4
Like the Echo Park, the Analogman King of Tone reflects another instance of the supply of new pedals affecting the used market. As the forum denizens out there will know, the waiting list for this mythic overdrive can span years, which means used specimens tend to sell quickly. What's odd about this recent price surge, though, is that buying a new KoT from Analogman has carried a lengthy waiting list for years. Analogman even has a page on their website detailing the long delays, which go back at least a decade. So what accounts for the more recent jump?
When I first noticed prices on the most recent version of the KoT trending upward, I emailed AnalogMike himself for insight. According to him, production on this pedal ceased for a bit over the past six months so new models were even harder to come by than normal. As production on the KoT ramps back up, the used market might settle down again (which looks like it may be happening already). If you own a KoT you're not using, now might be the the time sell and get in on the peak of the King of Tone market.
Danelectro Spring King Reverb
There are actually a number of these colorful old Danelectro pedals that seem to be making a resurgence lately, including the very nifty Reel Echo. I credit a certain tonal archeology mindset that some players experience where there's an appeal in uncovering some magic sounds from overlooked gems. We see the same thing with funky vintage guitars and synths.
In the case of the Spring King — an honest-to-goodness analog spring reverb — I can actually point to one key motivation for increasing prices (within the context of the Reverb market anyway), and that's a video we posted a little while back showcasing the merits of this funky little effect. Watch that video and tell me you don't want a yellow box of your own to kick around.
Ibanez PT9 Phaser
If you need evidence of the resurgence of the once-passé sounds of the phase shifter in the pedal market, take a look at all the new models hitting the streets from the who's who of boutique makers or give a listen to bands like Tame Impala, who seem to put phasing on every track. I haven't found any real clue as to why this particular vintage Ibanez Phaser is inching back up in price, but I suspect it has something to do with the reputation early '80s Ibanez/Maxon pedals have for tried-and-true performance and tone. If anyone from Ibanez is reading this: might be time for a reissue.
Behringer EM600 Echo Machine
The final example on today's list might be the most confounding of all, considering that this pedal is still in production and that "Behringer" can be a bad word for the tone snobs of the world. But I suppose if any Behringer pedal is going to heat up, it may as well be their take on a tape machine-style delay — a category usually reserved for the boutique and vintage. And if it sounds a little scratchy or glitches here and there, that's part of the appeal of tape, right? Last year, the EM600 was regularly selling for under $20, but today, prices for used pedals crest close to the price of a new one.
The Reverb Price Guide