# Slash pedalboard on a budget

> Build an affordable Slash pedalboard with 9 cheap pedals, each matched to a documented position and priced with its trade-off.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/budget/slash/blues-ball-tour-2024/
- Machine-readable index of the archive: https://pedalboardarchive.com/llms.txt
- Evidence and reconstruction conventions: https://pedalboardarchive.com/methodology/

A budget rebuild is the archive’s editorial opinion, not an observation. The substitutes were chosen here; the artist never used them. Prices are new listed prices at a named retailer on the date below and move without notice.

- **Rebuilds:** [Slash — Blues Ball floorboard](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/slash/blues-ball-tour-2024/) (2024)
- **Original board total:** ≈ $1,317.81
- **Budget rebuild total:** ≈ $472.40
- **Saving:** ≈ $845.41 (64%)
- **Prices checked:** 2026-08-20
- **Currency:** USD

Slash's Blues Ball board is the cheapest rig he has toured in years and it still costs about thirteen hundred dollars, because almost none of it is one of the famous pedals. It is a strobe tuner, a wah with a range selector, a line driver, a Tube Screamer, a phaser with a script switch, two different vibes and an amplifier selector — nine boxes, each bought for one specific job. This page pairs each of them with the cheapest pedal that credibly does that job: a Behringer TO800 for the TS9, a Mooer Ninety Orange for the EVH90, a Behringer 69 Vibe for the BBE Soul Vibe, a Harley Benton D-SEED for the DD-3. Both sides are priced, and every row says where the cheap pedal stops being a substitute.

## How to sound like Slash on a budget

A cheap Slash pedalboard cannot be everything the original was: this rebuild targets the nine floorboard jobs and documented order from Slash's 2024 Blues Ball tour. It does not reproduce Slash's guitars, amplifiers or playing, and the cheaper pedals retain the stated job rather than every original control and circuit.

## Swaps

Every placement on the board it rebuilds is answered exactly once. Fidelity says how near the stand-in gets: **Same circuit** — The substitute is built on the same circuit as the pedal it replaces. Expect the difference to be in the enclosure rather than the sound. **Same topology** — The substitute shares the design the original is built on, but not its exact component choices or full control set. **Same job** — The substitute only shares what the unit does on this board. It sounds like itself, and the row says where it stops matching.

| # | Original | Original price | Substitute | Substitute price | Saving | Fidelity | Why | Trade-off |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [StroboStomp HD](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/strobostomp-hd/) | ≈ $149.00 | [TC Electronic PolyTune 3](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/tc-electronic-polytune-3/) | ≈ $63.90 | ≈ $85.10 | Same job | What a player buys a Peterson for is strobe resolution, and the PolyTune 3 is the only tuner near this money with a real strobe display mode — accurate to 0.02 cents, which is finer than the pedal it replaces. It also carries the buffer this board wants, because a wah treadle sits directly behind it. | You lose Peterson's Sweetened tunings, its variable-colour high-definition screen and the buffered-monitor mode that lets a tech listen while the stage is muted. The saving here is the smallest on the board, and it is the one row where paying the difference is a defensible choice. |
| 2 | [Cry Baby 535Q Wah](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/cry-baby-wah/) | ≈ $179.99 | [Behringer HB01 Hellbabe](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/behringer-hb01-hellbabe/) | ≈ $54.90 | ≈ $125.09 | Same job | The 535Q is not a plain Cry Baby: it is bought for the six-position range selector that moves where the sweep sits. The Hellbabe is the only wah under it with a range control of its own, so it is the only cheap treadle that can be aimed at the setting Slash's is taped to rather than left wherever it landed. | An optical sweep and an inductor sweep do not share a voice, and the Hellbabe has no variable Q and no boost — two of the three things the 535Q's badge stands for. The plastic-topped chassis is also not what you want under a boot for a hundred shows. |
| 3 | [CAE Boost / Line Driver](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/cae-boost-line-driver/) | ≈ $110.87 | [TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/tc-electronic-spark-mini-booster/) | ≈ $42.90 | ≈ $67.97 | Same topology | Both are single-knob discrete analogue clean boosts of about 20 dB with no tone control, sitting in the same place for the same reason: more level into an amplifier that is already doing the distortion. | The MC401 is a line driver as well as a boost, built to hold a signal up across a long, busy chain; the Spark Mini is a boost that happens to be clean. On a nine-pedal floor run into long cable that difference is real, which is part of why the tuner's buffer is worth keeping on the row above. |
| 4 | [TS9 Tube Screamer](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/ts9-tube-screamer/) | ≈ $99.99 | [Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/behringer-to800-vintage-tube-overdrive/) | ≈ $28.90 | ≈ $71.09 | Same circuit | This is the closest swap on the board. The TO800 is a Tube Screamer circuit — the same 4558 op-amp and the same symmetrical clipping in the feedback loop — and the long-running player comparisons keep landing on the enclosure rather than the sound as the thing that separates them. | The TO800 follows the TS808 output stage, so it is fractionally warmer and quieter than the TS9's brighter, louder one; wind the tone past noon and the gap mostly closes. Plastic housing and a plastic jack surround: fine on a board, wrong for a van. |
| 5 | [EVH90 Phase 90](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mxr-phase-90/) | ≈ $139.99 | [Mooer Ninety Orange](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mooer-ninety-orange/) | ≈ $57.00 | ≈ $82.99 | Same topology | The EVH90 is a Phase 90 with one speed knob and a switch between the softer script voicing and the harder block one. The Ninety Orange is an all-analogue Phase 90-style phaser with one speed knob and a switch between vintage and modern, which is the same choice under a different word. | It is a micro enclosure with a smaller footswitch and no headroom trimming, and the EVH90's 1 megohm input stage is part of why that pedal does not thin a signal the way small phasers can. Nobody will mistake a plain orange box for the striped one, either, if the look is part of what you are buying. |
| 6 | [Soul Vibe](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/soul-vibe/) | ≈ $139.99 | [Behringer 69 Vibe](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/behringer-69-vibe/) | ≈ $76.90 | ≈ $63.09 | Same topology | The Soul Vibe is a lamp shining on four photocells — BBE's sealed, road-proof take on the Uni-Vibe — with volume, intensity and speed. The 69 Vibe is an all-analogue photocell Uni-Vibe clone with volume, intensity and speed. Same circuit family, same three controls, same job in the same place on the board. | The Soul Vibe is voiced darker and rounder than a straight Uni-Vibe, and it has an internal trimmer for exactly that; the 69 Vibe has no such adjustment and reviewers agree its chorus mode can thin the low mids. It is also a much wider box on a board that has a treadle at each end. The Soul Vibe itself is out of production — the price here is the last new listing, not what a used one costs. |
| 7 | [DD-3 Digital Delay](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/boss-dd-3-digital-delay/) | ≈ $153.99 | [Harley Benton D-SEED](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/harley-benton-d-seed/) | ≈ $63.00 | ≈ $90.99 | Same topology | The D-SEED carries the DD-3's control set almost knob for knob — mix, mode, time and feedback — and its copy mode is the clean, bright digital repeat the DD-3 is bought for, out to 1000 ms against the Boss's 800. Two switchable channels mean the set can hold a slapback and a longer echo instead of one setting. | No Hold function, and tap tempo needs both footswitches at once, which is awkward mid-song. The DD-3's real advantage is that it is a Boss compact: thirty years of them have survived being stood on, and a Harley Benton has not proved that yet. |
| 8 | [M68 Uni-Vibe](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/uni-vibe/) | ≈ $159.99 | [Mooer Soul Shiver](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mooer-soul-shiver/) | ≈ $66.00 | ≈ $93.99 | Same job | The M68 is the board's second vibe, closing the chain with level, speed and depth and a chorus-or-vibrato switch. The Soul Shiver has volume, speed and intensity and a switch between chorus, vibrato and rotary, so it covers the same two modes and adds the rotary voice the pedal two places earlier is providing. | The M68 does its work in analogue, with FETs standing in for photocells; the Soul Shiver is a digital emulation, and it is the weakest-reviewed pedal in Mooer's modulation range. If you only want one vibe on the board, put the money here and drop this row instead. |
| 9 | [Selector A/B Box](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/selector-a-b-box/) | ≈ $184.00 | [Harley Benton MiniStomp Intersection](https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/harley-benton-ministomp-intersection/) | ≈ $18.90 | ≈ $165.10 | Same topology | This is the biggest saving on the board by a distance. Both boxes do one thing: send the finished signal to one destination or the other. The Intersection routes A, B or both from a common jack, with a lamp that changes colour to say which, which is the whole of what the split at the end of Slash's chain asks for. | The Whirlwind is an active, buffered switcher and the cheap box is not, so at the end of nine pedals and a long run to two amplifiers you may hear the difference the buffer was paying for. It is also a mini enclosure being asked to take a boot every night, and the LEDs go dark without a power supply. |

## Method

Every swap keeps the pedal's job on this board rather than its badge. A pedal is only called a close clone when the circuit is the same one; where the stand-in shares the topology the row says so, and where it only shares the function it says that too, with the trade-off written out. Every substitute is a current product that can be bought new. One of the pedals Slash runs is not: the BBE Soul Vibe is out of production, and the figure on its row is the last new listed price rather than what a used one changes hands for. Prices are the listed new price captured on the date below, before shipping and tax, and they move — treat them as the shape of the gap, not a quote. No retailer is linked or endorsed, and no maker was consulted.

## Sources

14 cited sources across 12 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once.

1. [Slash's Blues Ball Band Rig Rundown](https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/slash-2024) — Premier Guitar (Primary source · rig-rundown), published 2024-07-10, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `premier-guitar`
2. [What Gear Does Slash Use? A Look at His Tour Pedal Board](https://www.backgroundanimal.com/articles/slash-gear-rundown) — Background Animal (Specialist source · article), published 2024-11-11, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `background-animal`
3. [TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Polyphonic LED Guitar Tuner Pedal with Buffer](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PolyTune3--tc-electronic-polytune-3-polyphonic-led-guitar-tuner-pedal-with-buffer) — Sweetwater (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `sweetwater-polytune-3-listing`. Current new listing used to verify price and the two claims this rebuild rests on: a strobe display mode accurate to 0.02 cents and a switchable BonaFide buffer.
4. [Cry Baby 535Q Multi-Wah](https://www.jimdunlop.com/cry-baby-535q-multi-wah/) — Dunlop (Primary source · official), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `dunlop-535q-page`. Maker's page for the wah Slash runs: a six-position range selector, a variable Q control that moves the response from narrow to broad, and a switchable boost of up to 18 dB.
5. [MXR MC401 CAE Boost/Line Driver Pedal](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MC401--mxr-mc401-cae-boost-line-driver-pedal) — Sweetwater (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `sweetwater-mc401-listing`. Current new listing used to verify price and the specification the swap is judged against: one knob and up to 20 dB of clean boost, with no room in the enclosure for a battery.
6. [Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-9 vs. Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive TO800](https://www.tdpri.com/threads/ibanez-tubescreamer-ts-9-vs-behringer-vintage-tube-overdrive-to800.166854/) — Telecaster Guitar Forum (Community lead · article), accessed 2026-08-17, independent group `tdpri-to800-vs-ts9`. Player thread comparing the two side by side; the recurring verdict is that the enclosure, not the circuit, is what separates them.
7. [Ninety Orange](https://www.mooeraudio.com/products/26.html) — Mooer Audio (Primary source · official), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `mooer-ninety-orange-page`. Maker's page for the phaser: a full analogue circuit on one speed control with vintage and modern voicings, which is the script and block distinction the EVH90's own switch makes.
8. [The BBE Soul Vibe](https://www.vintageguitar.com/35672/the-bbe-soul-vibe/) — Vintage Guitar (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `vintage-guitar-soul-vibe`. Explains the circuit Slash's rotary pedal runs on: a sine-wave oscillator driving a lamp that shines on four photocells, with BBE's fix for the original Uni-Vibe's drifting bulb and cell alignment.
9. [Behringer unveils a $69 take on the Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe](https://www.musicradar.com/guitars/guitar-pedals/behringer-unveils-69-dollar-69-vibe-chorus-vibrato-pedal) — MusicRadar (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `musicradar-69-vibe`. Confirms the 69 Vibe is an all-analogue photocell Uni-Vibe circuit with volume, intensity and speed controls plus an expression input.
10. [Behringer 69 Vibe demo. Authentic Univibe on a budget?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FU7uFnLZDw) — YouTube (Community lead · article), published 2026-01-15, accessed 2026-08-17, independent group `youtube-behringer-69-vibe-demo`. Demonstration of the 69 Vibe's chorus and vibrato modes against the vibe sounds a Rotovibe is bought for.
11. [Harley Benton D-SEED](https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_dseed.htm) — Thomann (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `thomann-dseed-listing`. Current new listing used to verify price, the mix, mode, time and feedback controls, the copy, analogue, modulation and reverse voices and the 1000 ms range.
12. [MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Review](https://www.premierguitar.com/gear/mxr-m68-uni-vibe-review) — Premier Guitar (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `premier-guitar-m68-review`. Review of the pedal that closes Slash's modulation section: a Phase 90-sized box with level, speed and depth and a chorus/vibrato switch, built on FETs rather than the original lamp and photocells.
13. [Soul Shiver](https://www.mooeraudio.com/products/20.html) — Mooer Audio (Primary source · official), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `mooer-soul-shiver-page`. Maker's page for the micro modulation pedal: chorus, vibrato and rotary voices on volume, speed and intensity controls.
14. [Harley Benton MiniStomp Intersection](https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_ministomp_intersection.htm) — Thomann (Specialist source · article), accessed 2026-08-19, independent group `thomann-intersection-listing`. Current new listing used to verify price and the routing set: A, B or A+B to a common jack, with a three-colour status lamp.