NOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOP

[Gurner]

To those that say run faster - what about the safety pin, paper clip ....perfect for their intended purpose - what if you come up with the equivalent circuit? (ie there is nowhere to run faster to!)

Sure there is. It's called "increased productivity" (and eventually offshore manufacturing...)

I was referring to the design, not how or where its manafactured

[Electron Tornado]

To those that say run faster - what about the safety pin, paper clip ....perfect for their intended purpose - what if you come up with the equivalent circuit? (ie there is nowhere to run faster to!)

You go for better quality and/or more affordable. Some of that has been happening already. There are also many types of paper clip and safety pin out there, and people can use what suits them. I would also say that, while we may have already reached the "paper clip" stage with some effects, that has never stopped a lot of people from trying to compete with what are basically cloned paper clips. In the end, it's not so much whether you have the "best" product, but whether you can convince enough of your consumer market that you do.

If I was competing with a pedal maker who gooped their boards, I would tell people that a gooped pedal is too much trouble to repair or modify. So, if you want a pedal with a gooped circuit, I hope it's cheap enough that you can just by a new one in the event it fails.

[Gurner]

Perhaps I should declare my mindest ...if I lived in the wild west & those pesky injuns captured me ....& were going to make a canoe out of me - Id be stabbing myself all over with a fork.

So yes, while the cloners can plan on making a canoe out of me ..they are gonna take on a bit of water in the process.

[BadIdeas]

I had no idea that idea protection was still an issue. It seems like the only ones who would do such a thing are not in it for the product itself, just the money. I can't see any sense in a grass-root entrepreneur honestly thinking he can keep his circuit design secret (truly original or not) and being able to out-market well-known, larger companies and making a profit. It doesn't seem to me that the large corporations even bother with this sort of thing, but just try to make the product as cheaply/efficiently as possibleMaybe it would make sense to develop a truly original idea in secret and then sell it to a corporation (I'm not sure if this sort of thing is possible without getting ripped off) and afterward help your DIY buddies to clone it for their personal use (clearly the company that does buy your schematic would not want it to suddenly become public knowledge, thereby devaluing their new "advantage").

To me, it smacks of ingratitude and to take the knowledge made freely and openly available on these forums and in these communities, then turn around and produce only shady circuits and leave good musicians either without the creative means they could have, or paying extra for something they already had access to.

I'm not judging the ungrateful, though.  

EDIT: That said, I would like to thank everyone on this forum for how helpful they have been so far and for their willingness to share their ideas. 

[greigoroth]

An interesting example in this conversation is the pedal company Mad Professor. They do all handwired, freaking expensive, boutiquey stuff. They also have the services of Björn Juhl, which means they are offering more than just sons of screamers with a paintjob, but I digress. They have recently released PCB versions of many of their pedals. These go for roughly 1000 Swedish kronor (ca 150 USD) less per pedal than the handwired ones. On MPs website they openly state that the circuits, components and sound of the equivalent PCB and handwired pedals are identical. So they have essentially cloned their own pedals. However, because their brand is so strong, and that "handwired feeling" is integral to the brand, they aren't cannabalising their own sales. The people who want a handwired MP pedal are still going to buy one, because saving 150 bucks isn't what they are after in the pedal. MP are selling more than just a sound. The PCB pedals are simply opening the brand to a new clientele. Zvex is doing the same thing with the Vexter series. Armani does it (sort of) with the Armani Exchange clothing line.

This is pretty basic marketing really - understanding your brand and understanding your customer. I guess it means that small scale manufacturers have to work a bit harder on really establishing their identity, and establishing that sort of brand loyalty, so that if Danelectro comes along and makes a clone and sells it for a fifth of the price it won't effect sales because those sales are coming from another demographic.

- just realised this reads like a promo for mad professor. I should point out I've never played one of their pedals - 3000 kronor is enough to scare me away (just in case I should actually really like the thing ha ha!). Try explaining that one when you get back from the guitar shop... "Hi love, we're not eating this week - or next week, but check out my new overdrive...."

[deadastronaut]

i  re-number all my caps../ trannies / ic's with the wrong values.

and i re-paint all the bands on resistors...

it takes about 3.5 years to finish 1 pedal,...


my other option was to put an improvised explosive device in it...

[IvIark]

I've bought gooped pedals in the past but wouldn't even consider it now unless the manufacturer offered a lifetime warranty, or one failed electrolytic cap and you're left with an expensive doorstop.  The problem with gooping as I see it is that you're almost making yourself a target and there's always someone who's up for the challenge, and it doesn't offer any advantages to your customers who aren't interested in degooping your effect, only more potential future problems. 

I mean come on, some manufacturers even goop protection diodes  

[therecordingart]

True, but then thats also to say that all production pedals are slightly different as well due to tolerances.

In the microphone world you can have two of the same microphone from the same batch measure differently. Depending on the companies accepted tolerance you could get two of the same microphone that sound completely different. See Oktava and Nady.

So yes, component tolerances can make two of the exact same build sound different, but will the difference be enough to hear? Depends.