Small Bear shutting down

[BuddytheReow]

There's a lot on the site. Not sure how to choose? I'm interested in building BMP, fuzz face, tone bender, a few old Boss pedals, etc. Can you point me in the right direction what I should be looking for?

 

[Robert]

Does anyone know why it's called Small Bear? Is Steve particularly bear-like?

Where did you get the company name?

It arose from private jokes between me and my much-beloved wife, Judy, concerning my appearance and demeanor on getting out of bed. Well, you asked…

 

[Coda]

There's a lot on the site. Not sure how to choose? I'm interested in building BMP, fuzz face, tone bender, a few old Boss pedals, etc. Can you point me in the right direction what I should be looking for?

Grab some of the Russian Ge: GT404 and 403, if I remember. They would work in a tonebender and/or a fuzz face…depending on the hfe/leakage. Big muff works great with a 5088, which you can get anywhere for a song. Most of Boss stuff is Jfets.

 

[BuddytheReow]

What about ICs? I've got the standard lot (074, 071, 4558, ne5532, op07, lm324, etc.) Any "weird" ones I should get?

 

[almondcity]

huge bummer for sure but I'm happy that he gets to retire

 

[Dan0h]

I went with about $50 worth of yummy transistors. I have a pile of randoms already but I feel like when I get the time to breadboard some cool ideas can try many different options. And since I socket 99% of my builds I can always revive some older builds with new flavors.

 

[finebyfine]

I'll be able to turn the bittersweet of him retiring and moving on into just plain happy if he answers the email I'm about to send asking where they source the contempo series of knobs from lol. Smallbear, LMS and a synth place in the UK are the only places I've *ever* seen them even after hours of digging on alibaba, american knob manufacturers, etc, etc. I've learned far too much about knobs just trying to pin down where they're from. I found some frustratingly close, but they aren't exact. More than happy to order from LMS but their black stock sells out so fast.

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

I'll be able to turn the bittersweet of him retiring and moving on into just plain happy if he answers the email I'm about to send asking where they source the contempo series of knobs from lol. Smallbear, LMS and a synth place in the UK are the only places I've *ever* seen them even after hours of digging on alibaba, american knob manufacturers, etc, etc. I've learned far too much about knobs just trying to pin down where they're from. I found some frustratingly close, but they aren't exact. More than happy to order from LMS but their black stock sells out so fast.

I ordered some "RIPPEL" knobs from Tayda and they're pretty much identical to the Contempo (the large ones) I got from Smalbear last year.

 

[finebyfine]

I ordered some "RIPPEL" knobs from Tayda and they're pretty much identical to the Contempo (the large ones) I got from Smalbear last year.

Is the top surface (with the white indicator line) the same as SB/LMS or is it smooth? I got the Rippels from Omter directly a few weeks before they showed up on Tayda and the top is smooth and as a result scratches easily. Also the full size contempos sit flush against an enclosure which these don't.

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

Is the top surface (with the white indicator line) the same as SB/LMS or is it smooth? I got the Rippels from Omter directly a few weeks before they showed up on Tayda and the top is smooth and as a result scratches easily. Also the full size contempos sit flush against an enclosure which these don't.

You're right Alex. I just checked and the top is indeed smooth as opposed to a more rugged feel on the Contempo. And the line indicator is painted in a groove on the contempo where it's painted on the surface on the Rippel.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Maybe with some encouragement from the community, Lawrence at BLMS will expand his product line to at least partially cover the gap left by SB. He already has the Brutalist knobs.

 

[finebyfine]

You're right Alex. I just checked and the top is indeed smooth as opposed to a more rugged feel on the Contempo. And the line indicator is painted in a groove on the contempo where it's painted on the surface on the Rippel.

Sorry if me pointing them out makes them bother you anywhere near as much as it bothers me! Hahaha

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

Sorry if me pointing them out makes them bother you anywhere near as much as it bothers me! Hahaha

All good, the pedal I put the Rippel now as my first UV print order and it has a little mistake + I scratched it, so it won't bother me much, as it looks way better with those knobs than the previous ones.
Just wish the shipping up North wasn't so prohibitive, it stopped me from a couple orders at SB and LMS in the last year as I don't tend to order in bulk.

 

[PapaBear]

Calm down fella's the sun will rise again tomorrow, no need to rush the bank as they say, and besides I need a minute to get my order squared away!

 

[Harry Klippton]

Well shoot I put in another order today

 

[benny_profane]

Folks looking for a new knob source: get in touch with synthcube to expand their inventory.

 

[BuddytheReow]

After reading thru various threads on various forums I come to the conclusion that everyone is in panic mode and for once I am not concerned at all. Smallbear has been an invaluable resource to many, myself included. When I first started building pedals I used them as a one stop shop.
As I started building more I used them less and less. In the past couple years I have only really bought 3 things, germanium, ldrs/vactrols and wire when it's in stock. I can get better deals on most things elsewhere. I've also learned that there is always an equivalent part/substitute. In the begining I had to have mojo parts, now I just want parts that work without breaking the bank.
Places will come and go and the finite supply of parts is only getting less. The shift to smd is the future. Until we are all doing full smd boards there is still is shit ton of components out there. Between tayda, mouser, digikey, stompbox parts , cabintech, and lms we are gonna be ok. I have seen so many group buys recently that it looks like many have figured out what to do.
In all Honesty I think it's time to refocus our efforts on being more creative rather than worrying about parts. I think part of the reason they are sending the generic response to everyone about sourcing parts and his IP is that Steve built it from his kitchen table, invested everything in it, the first store for pedals, the best for rare parts, and he went out on top on his terms. He doesn't want to sell because it's his legacy. First he giveth then he taketh. Figure it out, and figure it out we will!

Well said, good sir

 

[wintercept]

What stage of grief are we on?

 

[BuddytheReow]

I feel the same way. I heard the news and was convinced I’d have tons of stuff I wanted there. Granted, I’ve always ordered tons of thing from Small Bear but since they were calling it quits I was sure I’d NEED tons of things.

Turns out, I don’t. A few choice Silicons I love and a few diodes. My $200 cart went to $150, then $100 and I’m settled at $82.

Discovering Tayda was a boon for me and learning that the tone is in the tuning, not the components, changed how I look at things.

I will miss Small Bear as I miss anything that elicits a specific nostalgia and warm, fuzzy, good feeling. Yet I don’t NEED them anymore.

I was actually the opposite at first. I always stayed away from Small Bear since I found what I really needed for cheaper elsewhere. I also just bought parts for a pedal or two and no extras for a 'free' build. Yes, I knew that SB had lots of oddities or one-offs, but I ignored them simply because of price ($3 per transistor was a bit much for me to stomach at the time since I didn't have the need for them).

Fast forward to today and I’ve been buying tons of extras of everything for breadboarding and/or 'free' builds when I found a circuit I liked. Obviously, I'm more into the experimental phase of building and I will eventually go back to making more stock builds out there. Now that SB is phasing out, the panic buyer in me is saying to stock up on those odds and ends just in case. I've got probably $75 sitting in my SB cart right now and has been idling for the past few days. Do I really NEED the perfect matched set of fuzz face transistors, the unicorn LM308 for the dream Rat pedal, or the hard to find germanium transistors of yesteryear? No, I don't. This is a want rather than a need. At the end of the day these are merely nice to have just in case and nothing more. I'm also telling myself if I don't get these from a reputable dealer out there I may dump even more money on ebay, etc in the future.

sigh...

 

[BuddytheReow]

I said 'screw it' and just dropped $70 on germainiums mostly. So much for discipline...