Unnecessarily Aesthetic Pedals

Another random thing I’ve found surprising is that there seems to have been relatively little marketing yet?? (I guess perhaps funds went to enclosure machining…)

I feel like normally when you have a pretty “aesthetic” pedal or the like… that’s the type of thing where you expect to see a pretty heavy marketing blitz with all the usual suspects pointing at a pic of the pedal, mouth agape on their YouTube thumbnails that all drop the same day… thus far it looks like they’ve been out a few weeks but only see two YouTube channels (neither of which are particularly huge) having produced any content on them…
 
Apple is complicated too.

Pros and cons. It's hard to argue re: their influence on the rest of the market.

On the pro side: they tend to make very good hardware that is user friendly.

On the con side: their obsession with aesthetics has led to some real duds that actively harm the durability of the end product and lock folks into their ecosystem. Those changes end up getting copied by a million other manufacturers.

The pivot away from user-accessible batteries, the elimination of the 3.5mm jack, that trend during the late 2010's towards curved screens on all smartphones. Gah.
 
tegendemuur said:
  • Switchcraft and Lumberg Jacks
  • Demont soft-touch mechanical switch
  • Proprietary turret+PCB design
  • NOS Germanium transistors
  • NOS Ero, Vishay, Philips, CDE, Sprague, Dearborn and other premium quality audio-grade capacitors
  • Dale Military spec metal film resistors
  • Silver-coated solid core teflon wire
  • Hand-wired and assembled in California
  • Custom tin 'lunch box' carrying case
  • Hand silk-screened customized ID tag
  • Custom maple and steel etched bartender's bottle opener
  • Custom art print and instruction card
Click to expand...
My impression is that if someone is flexing with stuff like that, it's because they don't have anything else to flex about. Y'know, like the circuit itself.
 
vigilante398 said:
My impression is that if someone is flexing with stuff like that, it's because they don't have anything else to flex about. Y'know, like the circuit itself.
Click to expand...
Yeah, pretty much that... and I feel like for whatever reason (I don't know if it actually has a tangible impact on sales, but people seem to keep doing it), there's this belief/perception that having a "brand" attached to some of these things makes them seem superior, I guess?

Like, if my ad copy says "Has resistors and capacitors," well, duh. That doesn't really mean anything.
But if someone reads it and says "DALE resistors and VISHAY capacitors," it doesn't matter if a person knows a lick about those manufacturers or what those components do or what difference it makes (or doesn't). The fact that it's "named" automatically makes people perceive it as superior to a similar unnamed product, I guess.
 
I, for one, believe that using awesome name-brand components with fancy sounding names is a fantastic means of giving the component manufacturer more of the money that you would otherwise be pocketing, cause god knows it doesn't increase the price one can command for a stompbox.

I mean, there is something there. What difference does it make if you have a table made out of Cherry-veneered MDF or solid Cherry?

They both do the same job. They both are similar looking on the outside. But the fact that one is using *real* cherry to build a table could be an indicator that the craftsman cared about more than just churning out a cheap product for as much profit as possible.

God knows you can't do mortise and tenon joinery with MDF. At least, not with the same structural advantages that you get with solid wood. The MDF table is probably all pocket holes.

Granted: does it matter? Maybe. Maybe something breaks on a stompbox and you open it up, and are pleasantly surprised at the clean layout and can clearly follow what's supposed to go where and a little quick dash of the iron gets you back on track.

But I'm the kind of guy that doesn't much care for MDF, and because I like the feel and strength of solid wood, I decided to learn how to do a little bit of woodworking...so I can make my own pieces of furniture. That aren't entirely terrible. Mostly.

My point: materials can be a proxy for the presence of passion. Somebody who really enjoys creating what it is that they create, and wants to use *special* ingredients to make their creations. Like, because it makes their stick hearts feel good. It can also be a stupid cash grab for marketing's sake.

Which, in my upcoming business venture, I plan to fully exploit as I abuse the customer into accepting my position that pedals are art, worth romanticizing, and also very very expensive give me all your money bitch right now in the bag this is NOT A FUCKING JOKE THIS IS A ROBBERY.
 
I think it's important to at least use decent jacks. Cheap jacks are bad and will fail. Good jacks don't cost enough to not use them. But as much as I like how CNC machined enclosures can look I do wonder how efficient and eco friendly that is. Think of all the aluminium which is machined away - the vast majority of the billet. Yes I know it will be reused as more aluminium billet, but what's wrong with the (admittedly boring) cast enclosure?

My favourite enclosures are the J Rockett Road Series boxes. Bent out of heavy gauge sheet steel, very compact and tough. Beautifully finished too.
 
They're selling a product. I think we can agree that all the sounds have already been made. So the only differentiator left is the packaging and marketing.

Providing (or providing an illusion of) a quality product lets you adjust the pricing accordingly. More margin, less work. Good on them and great for us to have a laugh about the marketing spiel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top