Where are the knobs?

J

jcpst

Well-known member
What are you using, where do you get them, do you cast them, etc

Out of everything I’ve tried, for me a prominent indicator is the most important aspect. While I think some of the aluminum cylinder knobs look cool, I have trouble seeing the indicators due to how reflective they are.

I have two favorites these days. Rat knobs, aka ripple @ tayda and brutalist @ LMS. And Davies 1510.
 
Ha! I agree with you 100% and have come to the same conclusions. I like the small Ripple knobs at Tayda and use them all the time. I also love the "Pantherkill" knobs at Love My Switches but haven't bought any for ages because the shipping from the US is crazy these days. They're aluminium but don't have the shine of most aluminium knobs. They look great.

pantherkill.png
 
I basically only buy knobs from Gorva unless I want something colourful. They’re local and cheap enough compared to ordering from abroad, good quality and solid.
 
Most of what I have are from Tayda. My favorite styles are serrated (cupcake) and chicken head (big and small).
The most important aspect for me is the set screw. Some have it located too low, which makes it rub the threads of the pot. Then the knobs need spaced above the enclosure, or spacers on the pots inside the enclosure, or a thicker enclosure.
 
jcpst said:
Out of everything I’ve tried, for me a prominent indicator is the most important aspect.
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Sounds like mylast girlfriend!

But seriously ”Love my Switches" or the local electronics salvage "Electronic Gizmos". As much as I love a big knob, the Davies 1900 has a special place in my heart.
 
I got annoyed about some scratched up knobs from Tayda at some point and switched all my knob business over to StompboxParts.

I factor one dollar per knob into my pedal cost calculations, so I don't normally spend more than that.

Current favorites / stuff from my last couple orders:

"Mr O"
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Davies 1611 clone
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Davies 1400 clone
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Cupcakes
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Small MXR
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Stompbox parts is also my current choice for knobs unless I need something special they don't have. I generally try to go with the knobs that the original pedal had. I'm out of my tayda boss clones, which have the reflective sticker on the middle with the grooves that I hate so now going forward I'll get them from SBP.
 
jcpst said:
What are you using, where do you get them, do you cast them, etc
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Not really a fan of anything that looks like cheap plastic, but I still do end up using stuff like that quite a bit. LMS, SBP, whatever Small Bear is called this week, CE Distribution/Amplified Parts, Mouser, anyone but Tayda. Davies 1611 is probably the most tolerable plastic one, and I'm about to lobby the usual suspects to do those in matte finished aluminum like the 1510s that a few places sell now.

And then I'm still working through my last few dozen of 500+ metal ones I bought over ten years ago as B stock from a studio electronics manufacturer:

Knob_comparison.JPG

I sold enough off on eBay to end up with a few hundred for free. Most were in perfect shape but didn't meet the studio guy's specs for various reasons.

And then several flavors of wood, from Pickknobs (shown below), DK Knobs, THG, Archipelago Glass, various luthiery parts suppliers, etc.



PW100B_panelmock1.JPG

These get used more on booteek basses, like so:

VD4_rev4.jpg
 
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I'm with you on the 19mm Rippel knobs from Tayda. Some of the other suppliers have different colors. My other favorite are the bi 1" MXR knobs
 
Trying to figure out my aesthetic, I’ve got 42 different styles and colors in stock right now…

That said, I’m starting to lean toward a pro audio vibe like the UREI, Neve and API styles from Tayda and the Fairchild look from LMS.

I’d also love to do something inspired by the SSL console style. I found an option but the minimum order quantities were insane.

1770997760013.png 1770997838387.png 1770998465760.png
 
In the past I’ve used Davies 1510 and 1900 clones, they seem to have the widest range of colors of any knobs I’ve found yet.

Used to get them from BYOC 😢 Nowadays, it’s StompBoxParts or Love My Switches. Although BYOC had color options that neither of those 2 have.
Wish I could find the full palette again…

I only recently discovered the 1611 knob (aka ‘mini-1510’). Seems like a cool in-between size. Only downside is it seems to come in even fewer colors than the 1510/1900s.
 
Note that the “rippel” knobs from tayda have a smooth top and painted indicator vs the textured top/molded indicator from LMS and, I think, most of the other usual pedal sites. I think the tayda ones look pretty cheap.

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Tayda’s mxr style knobs are also a bit different from the ones at LMS/SBP/etc. They’re a little bigger (20mm vs 19) and have a longer indicator. I actually really like them, but sometimes they’re too big for a particularly knobby build.

1771012459848.jpeg
 
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