Art vs no art for resale

[Synchrony Pedalworks]

I am curious to know others opinions and experiences about placing art on the pedals and resale.

I am typically making pedals for my own desire, but if the pedal doesn’t suit me, I will sell it. Usually, I don’t make much or break even.

I have done pedals with UV art, plain, or with vinyl/metal decals. From my limited perspective, it seems that buyers in this market do not care much or pay more for the UV art. Most of these buyers want the costs as low as possible, but a solid pedal.

Is this other people’s’ experience or am I wrong?

Thanks!

PS- If you can’t tell, I am trying to determine if I continue using UV prints for all my pedals.

 

[Fingolfen]

I always do art - for resale or otherwise...

 

[cwsquared]

I always do art - for resale or otherwise...

I, for one, am glad you do.

I think I would do different art for resale pedals. Something a bit "more professional". Most of my personal pedal art ideas are based on dumb shit, that I find amusing.

EDIT: I realize I didn't actually answer the question. At a minimum, control labels. As a buyer, it's gotta have that. Beyond that, icing on the cake. I think the more important thing is what is inside the enclosure. If you are building for yourself, then I am sure this is a non-issue.

 

[dawson]

One thing for certain is that nobody will ever care as much about the art I put on my pedals as I do- which is one of the reasons I only gift/trade with people I like. Good artwork and control labels add a couple dollars-worth of value to the pedal, but you have to weigh that against your time spent making the art and cost of your supplies or printing.

I think for one-off builds headed toward these penny-pinching customers, only the most efficient methods will keep you out of the red- for example @DGWVI with his badass rubber stamp collection.

These buyers kinda' sound like dweebs though. Maybe the best idea would be to build all your pedals how you'd like them?

 

[Harry Klippton]

I think pedals without control labels are an atrocity

 

[Nic]

I do art for my own pleasure, if I dont like the pedal, eventually someone will show interest. I do like to know what knob is doing what. And I prefer switches to be labeled for every positions, not always easy.

 

[Guardians of the analog]

I don't build to sell, I build for purpose. That might be for me, a gift or the occasional commission. Everyone knows they are getting a comic theme from me so they are either on board are they aren't . I agree with others that blank enclosures are not where it's at. Low ballers are the worst and will not get my attention. When I sell something I have a price and they either buy it or they don't. Don't sell yourself short synchrony, know your worth and build however you get the most fulfillment.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Art for art’s sake; money for god’s sake!

Yeah, no, as far as I’m concerned, art is a must.

I view my pedals as functional art pieces just as much as I view them as tools. I personally will not build a pedal until I have a fully formed visual concept attached to the project, be it a minimalist user interface that just marks the name, controls, and maker name, or a fully composed visual work.

Absolutely nothing against those who choose not to contribute artwork their own builds, but if you have the creative means to produce a visual expression on any of the pedals you build, then you have an obligation to do it for all of them.

 

[Joben Magooch]

I have kind of found the same. Nice art, mediocre spray job, unlabeled enclosure, straight up bare aluminum… none seems to have a huge impact on resale for me. Of course I'm not in it to make money or whatever but at this point I pretty much only bother with nicer aesthetics when I KNOW its something I want to keep for myself or is specifically requested by someone.

 

[Paradox916]

If you love what you do then others will too, the pedals I have gotten the most offers on were the ones I 100% build for myself and never intended to sell. people can smell when it’s not up for grabs.

 

[spi]

I really don't care whether they have art or not (whether I make them or buy them). But if I buy something, I want the knobs to at least be labeled.

 

[kristopher]

All of the 30+ pedals that I have built for myself, most do not have Labels. None have art. All have been polished to a lovely sheen. Which takes about 10 mins a box.

When I realize the pedal circuit I gassed for isn’t for me, it goes into the pile of “to be boxed up and labeled”.
Once they are boxed, and labeled, I offer them to friends at cost.
I currently have ten unboxed, functioning boards, that I still audition when the moods hits.
I sand and drill an enclosure every now and then, but I’d rather be playing guitar.
Time is limited in my daily routine, and I’d rather play/practice an hour a day, then sit at the workbench, or sand and drill enclosures. But I do enjoy all the steps of building.

I fully understand and appreciate the pedal art. And I’m amazed at the quality and creativity I see on the forum. And a goofy name wouldn’t prevent me from buying used or trading.

 

[Big Monk]

@Betty Wont kills with no art.

Graphics, however, is probably my favorite part of building.

 

[jhaneyzz]

Or just make one knob pedals… if they can’t figure it out with no label, they have no business using pedals.

 

[Synchrony Pedalworks]

I really appreciate all the comments. It has helped me think through issue. Money has not been the issue, but like you all have mentioned, we would like our work to be appreciated and valued.

I think my issue is that I box up every circuit, even if it doesn’t suit me. Afterwards, I feel guilty for not playing it and feel obligated to sell it. It may be best to rig a better audition set up and only box the pedals that I want to keep and/or sale.

For the most part, i like doing the art, but dislike Adobe fleecing of our pockets. I should give Affinity Design a trial and see if I can get it to function well.

Thanks again for helping me think through it. All of you all rock.

 

[Nic]

I need to get a breadboard for that exact reason. Once I have the board, I need to build it and once built it needs a pretty box. Only then I figure if I like the circuit or not...

 

[HamishR]

I don't really care for artwork on a pedal. If I only ever used one pedal then maybe I would. But artwork on a pedal which is then placed on a board with other pedals can end up looking like a tattoo. A mess of colour with no form in a sea of the same. A Ferrari on a crowded freeway is just another car. Avoiding the mess is an artform in itself.

I'm a minimalist and prefer the least markings on a pedal I can have. It's not something I planned, it's just how I am. But I appreciate that not everyone is like me! So recently when I decided to make a run of a pedal I had designed I had to come up with artwork. Once it's done I will post it here. The artwork is merely type, with the name of the pedal, the purpose of the knobs and my business name.

I made up a board not long ago. It has one of the new Peterson Strobo mini tuners, which is black. It has my favourite combo OD-with-booster pedals in a 1590BB box which is black. It also has a Strymon Flint - oh, that's black. Lastly it has a Universal Audio Starlight Delay which is, um, black. As a board it looks pretty darn cool! It all works together nicely.

I am blown away by some of the pedals I see guys making here. I am so impressed with the clever, beautiful and intricate artwork and creativity. It is a form of expression, and as such is truly impressive. My style is different though, and I would feel fake to try to compete with it. I don't think my style is better necessarily but it suits me.

 

[Erik S]

Regarding the resale question - Lack of art certainly wouldn’t stop me from buying a pedal I was interested in, but art I don’t like might. And even the best art I’ve ever seen isn’t going to sell me a pedal I don’t already want.

Like @HamishR I’m blown away by a lot of the UV prints I see here, but I think with the AI prompt stuff in particular there’s a risk of overdoing the complexity. For a pedal I appreciate art that still works on a 2 inch wide print viewed from 6 feet away.

I think the JHS approach of giving each pedal a simple recognizable single color icon/ logo is very good.

I also appreciate the Earthquaker stuff. Even though some of it is more complex, I like that they’ve stuck with mostly single color stuff that looks like it could have been screenprinted.

Unless you’re trying to sell a million pedals though, I think the consensus here is right - make things you like looking at. You’ll find enough people who agree with you to sell off your extras.

 

[Harry Klippton]

I've bought lots of pedals just because I like how they look. It's often disappointing but at least they look good

 

[vigilante398]

As a builder, I at least put labels and a name on everything so people know what the pedal is and what each control does.

As a buyer, if I see a pedal in a completely blank enclosure, it's an immediate skip for me, I won't even consider it.