(I Can’t Get No) Motivation…

[Coda]

For many years I have lusted after a single fuzz tone: the solo tone from My Eyes Have Seen You, by the Doors. In fact, I love ALL of Robbie Krieger’s fuzz tones. I have known for a very long time that he played an FZ-1…though the only photo sources of him playing ANY fuzz shows a Vox Tonebender…

When I started building pedals (May 2020), I decided to finish something I started over a decade before: build a Fuzz Face. Done and dusted. About this time was when I learned that my Dream Fuzz (FZ-1) was like catching smoke with sugar…or something like that.

6 months ago I decided to breadboard an FZ-1, and start working at it. Bingo. Age, experience, thousands of dollars in parts…who knows what made it click. But I finally had at my flingertimps THAT tone. I decided to BUILD IT…

That breadboard has been sitting on my desk for months. Next to that is a pile of PCBS (Electric Mistress, Mutron III, Mutron V, Bi-phase, Bassman, OD-3, Blues Driver, MXR flange, BF3). Beyond that is a big Tayda ziplock bag full of various parts: matched jfets, measured Ge, diodes in every flavor, a bit of rope, a prize from a box of crackerjacks, hey! My little orphan Annie decoder ring…I’ve been looking for that!…anywhay…

I have had no motivation to build anything. Part of that may be due to me focusing more on playing. Of course, I am getting better (I know 4 chords now!), but I WANT to build. Part of the issue could be convenience: sometimes, I don’t want to spend the time to put an order together. Sometimes I get real close, but back out in the end (pedal buildus interuptus). I almost started work on a homebrew Helping Friendly Pedal (iykyk)…but I canceled it when I realized the best I could do for artwork was Dynco label maker…like all my other pedals…and that made me sad.

So…what do you do for motivation? How do you get back on the wagon (off the wagon?).

I do have parts on the way for a guitar mod. I’ll do a fun thread with sharcoot and three part harmonies and 25 glossy color photographs and all that. Maybe that will get me back on the train…

And if you’ve gotten this far. Thanks.

 

[Erik S]

When I get a spark of motivation it can get extinguished pretty quick if there are obstacles in the way of what I want to do. I keep my guitar out of the case, plugged in, and in a spot I walk past it 100 times a day. That way any time I feel like sitting down and playing for 5 minutes it's ready to go. I try and leave my workbench clean and organized for the same reason. If there's a chore in front of the fun part, I might never get through it.

I try not to think too many steps ahead or worry about the end product too much. I like to sit down and work on something and just try and enjoy the process.

Also - I've always been a big fan of those Dymo labels. I think it's a rad look. To me the coolest thing about a DIY pedal is that it's hand-made. I like when you can tell.

I also want to do some more breadboarding. If you get something going on breadboard make sure you post it. I could use the motivation.

 

[BuddytheReow]

I think we've all experienced this at some point in our build journey. I haven't touched a guitar in probably 6 months until last week. That was due to either playing around with Bass, building pedals, house projects, family, or whatever. Sooner or later you'll pick it back up. What helped me get back into building was to CLEAN UP MY WORKBENCH. I try to clean up my bench after each project or before starting a new one, but it doesn't always happen. Seeing the mess constantly didn't make me want to build anything since I would have to take the time first to clean up all the leads/wire jackets. Once that was all cleaned up I ran out of "me time" for the day, but I knew I could hit the ground running when I got the motivation. Sooner or later it creeped back up and I started building.

Either wait for the motivation to build or force yourself to build and hope the fun kicks in as well.

 

[BuddytheReow]

I keep my guitar out of the case, plugged in, and in a spot I walk past it 100 times a day. That way any time I feel like sitting down and playing for 5 minutes it's ready to go.

Many people have a home gym too, but hardly use it. They just walk past it everyday and say "eh, I'll do it tomorrow"

 

[Coda]

When I get a spark of motivation it can get extinguished pretty quick if there are obstacles in the way of what I want to do. I keep my guitar out of the case, plugged in, and in a spot I walk past it 100 times a day. That way any time I feel like sitting down and playing for 5 minutes it's ready to go. I try and leave my workbench clean and organized for the same reason. If there's a chore in front of the fun part, I might never get through it.

I try not to think too many steps ahead or worry about the end product too much. I like to sit down and work on something and just try and enjoy the process.

Also - I've always been a big fan of those Dymo labels. I think it's a rad look. To me the coolest thing about a DIY pedal is that it's hand-made. I like when you can tell.

I also want to do some more breadboarding. If you get something going on breadboard make sure you post it. I could use the motivation.

I think we've all experienced this at some point in our build journey. I haven't touched a guitar in probably 6 months until last week. That was due to either playing around with Bass, building pedals, house projects, family, or whatever. Sooner or later you'll pick it back up. What helped me get back into building was to CLEAN UP MY WORKBENCH. I try to clean up my bench after each project or before starting a new one, but it doesn't always happen. Seeing the mess constantly didn't make me want to build anything since I would have to take the time first to clean up all the leads/wire jackets. Once that was all cleaned up I ran out of "me time" for the day, but I knew I could hit the ground running when I got the motivation. Sooner or later it creeped back up and I started building.

Either wait for the motivation to build or force yourself to build and hope the fun kicks in as well.

Cleaning up would probably help tremendously. Thing is it gets overwhelming. Perhaps I'm easily disheartened, but cleaning a mess makes my head hurt sometimes...for the same reason I've never been good a math, I reckon. I need to just power through it, honestly. Of course, a lot of the fun for me is having a new pedal to make noise with. I like the adventure a new pedal takes me on. Sometimes the build process gets too stressful, which leads to mistakes/less that satisfactory results...

 

[Erik S]

cleaning a mess makes my head hurt sometimes

Same here.

Sometimes the build process gets too stressful, which leads to mistakes/less that satisfactory results...

The fastest route to the finish line is to take your time. I have to learn that lesson over and over. Maybe some day it'll stick.

 

[Coda]

If it will be some sort of motivation, I'd gladly put a board together and artwork and drill plans for Tayda.

Maybe envisioning the final result will be a bit of motivation.

I appreciate the offer. It has given me an idea…

One of the hurdles I seem to keep getting stuck on is I lose interest when I realize I cannot make the artwork happen. I think it may be time to learn how to do artwork for Tayda. Sure, not a big thing, but it’s a little bit of a phobia of mine. I have always struggled with art…I can’t make my brain pictures look pretty in real life. I’ve always assumed I could never have artwork on pedals. Maybe I’ve plateaued, and it’s time to challenge myself with a new…challenge?…

 

[Feral Feline]

...
One of the hurdles I seem to keep getting stuck on is I lose interest when I realize I cannot make the artwork happen. I think it may be time to learn how to do artwork for Tayda. Sure, not a big thing, but it’s a little bit of a phobia of mine. I have always struggled with art…I can’t make my brain pictures look pretty in real life. I’ve always assumed I could never have artwork on pedals. Maybe I’ve plateaued, and it’s time to challenge myself with a new…challenge?…

THIS. So much THIS.

Car season is over and I thought I'd get cracking on some pedals. Yet... Struggling, still.

What has helped me is a PCB donated to me. It would not be cool to let this one (and others I've received through others' kindness) languish as some already have. I'm determined not to let this PCB be added to the pile of purchased PCBs that I'm not getting to.

The person who gave it to me has an extremely high-level of build quality, so I'm pushing myself to move towards that, and the number one thing that keeps me from even posting build reports is artwork and realising what's in my brain on an actual pedal (or at least coming close).

However, some here eschew artwork altogether, even labelling. The number of builds that people push out who don't have fancy artwork has made me think: build it, the artwork will come, in time." Better to have built something (without art or minimalist) than to not have built at all.


I never learned Photoshop, Illustrator, Designer or any of those programs' counterparts. I've tried to learn Gimp, Inkscape, some others and now I've paid for ... can't even remember the name, ever, always have to search for it just to launch it... AFFINITY. So now I'm trying to learn Affinity.

For example: my Creamy Mayo mashup of the Creamy Dreamer and Mayonnaise circuits — the graphic is a mashup, too, in the style of Hellmann's and Kraft's mayo labels but with my labelling. How to manipulate the company labels I've DL'd, layers and then texts fonts...?

A reverb I'm waiting to build because I want the graphic to be a B&W etch of a cave that's a colour photograph. I can't even figure out in Affinity how to convert the pic to B&W, let alone add control labels and the pedal's name.


I want cool art, I have ideas, I just have no facility nor patience to execute them.

 

[drgonzo1969]

I struggle with this too. I usually just trudge on through the obstacles with my artwork and end with something entirely different from what I set out to make. I am mostly computer illiterate. I use Microsoft paint haha

 

[music6000]

Are you happy in your personal life, that has a big influence on how you get motivation.

 

[Feral Feline]

I’ve found an investment in a good graphic design software to be I valuable in many ways.

Drill plans, layout planning, graphics.

Hell, I made my Son’s 5th grade youth basketball handbook in Corel.

Just 'cause I can buy an F1 car doesn't mean I can
A) Fit inside it
B) Know how to use it, even if I know already how to drive a street car

I've invested in the software, I've still no idea how to derive drill plans, lay out parts, design and generate graphics. The learning curve is steep, I watch tutorials that aren't doing specifically what I'm trying to learn. I get frustrated and walk away...

Anyway, I learned the basics of DIYLC — so I'll learn (albeit slowly) the ways of Affinity.

 

[RetiredUnit1]

Have you, by any chance, not been playing guitar lately?

The brain actually grows when you start playing music, it adds brain cell connections to enable you to process all the stuff that needs to happen at the same time. If you stop playing music, that part of your brain gets zero exercise. Unused brain cells get cranky, like a pissed off senior citizen with nothing to do.

This can lead to apathy and loss of motivation. Been there. I make sure I play guitar AT LEAST three times a week for at least an hour. And normally on the weekend I'll get in about 4 to 6 hours. So, basically, playing the blues can prevent the blues. Go grab a guitar!!!!

 

[SillyOctpuss]

@Coda @Feral Feline I'm going to be working on the graphics for my next batch of pedals soon. We can do a Google hangout call and I can share my screen if you want to join me? That way you can ask questions and follow along or even screen record bits?

No pressure if it's not for you. The offers there anytime you want.

 

[Passinwind]

I appreciate the offer. It has given me an idea…

One of the hurdles I seem to keep getting stuck on is I lose interest when I realize I cannot make the artwork happen. I think it may be time to learn how to do artwork for Tayda. Sure, not a big thing, but it’s a little bit of a phobia of mine. I have always struggled with art…I can’t make my brain pictures look pretty in real life. I’ve always assumed I could never have artwork on pedals. Maybe I’ve plateaued, and it’s time to challenge myself with a new…challenge?…

Maybe you should consider using Amplifyfun for starters instead of Tayda? They send you an actual proof for approval before printing, for me there have been zero surprises so far out of a dozen plus jobs they've done for me. No complaint with Tayda's work when things go right though, to be clear. When it went wrong it was on me in every case, and a simple proof would've given me a chance to fix things relatively painlessly.

 

[Feral Feline]

It'd be great if there was something like an Amplifyfun / Tayda-art department in Canada.
That could potentially bring a lot of the costs down for Canucks.

 

[music6000]

It'd be great if there was something like an Amplifyfun / Tayda-art department in Canada.
That could potentially bring a lot of the costs down for Canucks.

Your right next door to the USA, how come it cost as much as Buying & Sending A Product Down Under for you Canucks?

 

[HamishR]

It's interesting that you are concerned about the art and that's putting you off. I don't care in the least about artwork - other than as something which involves labelling the knobs art work is pretty much irrelevant to me. It's all about the sound for me. Sure, I make them as neatly and technically well as I can, and I like a cool enclosure. But the artwork is not something which means a great deal to me. If I can see myself using a pedal and enjoying the sounds and what it can bring to the experience of playing - well, that's what motivates me. I only ever got into building pedals as a way to get the particular sounds I wanted, and also because it's cheaper than building amps.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Your right next door to the USA, how come it cost as much as Buying & Sending A Product Down Under for you Canucks?

Canada's still paying economic sanctions for Celine Dion and Bryan Adams. The rest of us pay everytime we hear My Heart Will Go On.

 

[Feral Feline]

Your right next door to the USA, how come it cost as much as Buying & Sending A Product Down Under for you Canucks?

We have the most expensive mobile phone-services in the world; sure the distances are great and the populous is small, but we're basically suffering extortion by the oligopoly service-providers. We're getting shafted in a number of ways for a number of things.

It's interesting that you are concerned about the art and that's putting you off. I don't care in the least about artwork - other than as something which involves labelling the knobs art work is pretty much irrelevant to me. It's all about the sound for me. Sure, I make them as neatly and technically well as I can, and I like a cool enclosure. But the artwork is not something which means a great deal to me. If I can see myself using a pedal and enjoying the sounds and what it can bring to the experience of playing - well, that's what motivates me. I only ever got into building pedals as a way to get the particular sounds I wanted, and also because it's cheaper than building amps.

Sound is first and foremost for me as well, yes.

Some don't care about tidy wiring, or flux left on the board, some want it to look home-made and as far from a commercial product as possible via felt-markers or Dymo-tape — to each their own, there's room for all types of pedal-builders here.

I've got enough builds and commercial pedals already to get the tones I want. Building more variations on what I have is a luxury
— ultimately I still want to get the graphic in my head on the pedal I'm building.

 

[Coda]

It's interesting that you are concerned about the art and that's putting you off. I don't care in the least about artwork - other than as something which involves labelling the knobs art work is pretty much irrelevant to me. It's all about the sound for me. Sure, I make them as neatly and technically well as I can, and I like a cool enclosure. But the artwork is not something which means a great deal to me. If I can see myself using a pedal and enjoying the sounds and what it can bring to the experience of playing - well, that's what motivates me. I only ever got into building pedals as a way to get the particular sounds I wanted, and also because it's cheaper than building amps.

I think it stems from a sort of overstimulation. Sure, this new OD is gonna sound AWESOME…but so do the other 90 OD’s I built. Why should this one be any different…maybe if it looked different?…