Why do YOU build pedals?

Why do you build pedals?

  • I want to sound just like what I hear on the record

    Votes: 10 10.2%

  • I need to find my own, unique sound

    Votes: 26 26.5%

  • Hell, I just like to build

    Votes: 73 74.5%

  • Eh, I'm done building for now. I'm just here to troll on people and sell $5 diodes

    Votes: 7 7.1%

  • I want every single Muff/Rat/TS variant there is. Gotta catch em all like Pokemon!

    Votes: 6 6.1%

  • I need a pedal for this one particular part in a song I am writing

    Votes: 7 7.1%

  • People keep "borrowing" my pedals so I need some for me

    Votes: 3 3.1%

  • Booze Money

    Votes: 7 7.1%

  • I can't explain, but it's a form of therapy for me

    Votes: 65 66.3%

  • I need to support Robert through all this tariff BS

    Votes: 13 13.3%
  • Total voters
    98
Several reasons. My grandfather was an engineer for RCA and I always admired that. He’d take broken electronics upstairs to his desk and fix things all the time, and rig all sorts of unique and cool things, like a switch in the kitchen that controlled a colorfully-lighted water fountain outside. As my collection of gear like preamps, compressors, and amps grew, I realized it would behoove me to learn how to repair things. I repaired our family TV which gave me some confidence, but I was trying to think of a way to learn stuff about circuits and schematics. As a guitar player, getting into pedal building seemed perfect. Building my first kit (Ghost Drive) sealed the deal. I started out with the intent to give pedals away… like having Santa’s workshop in my basement was a big motivator for me. However, as I’d give them away, people would encourage me “you really should sell these”, “they sound great”, etc. So, I started thinking on it and would like to work towards making it a retirement gig. I’ve got about 15 years to figure out how to monetize it, and right now am in the stage of gathering parts, learning, figuring out circuit design software, figuring out enclosure graphics, and tinkering with Reverb selling, trying to learn what people go for. My pedals aren’t selling. I’ve still got some learning to do. Plus, it will help me to get my act together. A good sound design. A good enclosure design. A good video demo. Maybe hiring an influencer. But, I’ve got time to figure it out. I still want to give some away, but for me the motivating factor is making it a retirement gig.
 
lowpitch said:
…I do kind of get into the zone though once I actually start soldering. Maximum focus, time flies by, that therapeutic type of shit…
Click to expand...
Yeah, same. I don’t hate soldering. There’s definitely a nice zen focus-in-and-space-out-at-the-same-time thing that happens when I’m building. It’s just that it tends to wear off about 3/4 of the way through the build, and I start wondering why this stupid thing isn’t done yet! ;)

Of course, I do a lot of that to myself, by moving controls around for aesthetic reasons, thus guaranteeing a bunch of off-board wiring…😬
 
Got into it because I was learning guitar and wanted to find a particular doom metal tone over the pandemic. Bought some pedals, but then I was like, how hard could it be to make one? As a historian (hey @Guilherme Collateral !) and a drummer, I understood absolutely NOTHING about electronics and pedals, but I was curious and eager to learn something beyond "does this sound good when I hit it." Did a Meathead Deluxe and some other frustrating stuff from PCB Guitar Mania, and then somebody on reddit strongly suggested PPCB. Came here for the boards, stayed for the community, for real.

Now, curiosity is a huge driver in my PCB builds--like how is this going to sound different? I am definitely circuit-centric even though I love art and have deep graphic arts genetics in my family. But I just want to build another. The exception is PTP, where aesthetics and function and problem solving come together in a very very satisfying way.
 
For me:
- it's fun
- I'm cheap
- I'm always cracking open my gear and messing with it anyways, might as well just do that right from the start
 
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