Premier Guitar October is out! DIYSTOMPBOXES!!!!

[aron]

https://digital.premierguitar.com/october-2020?goal=0_93db14e670-04fff682ea-66295985&mc_cid=04fff682ea&mc_eid=9ebde8ab8d#!agents-of-change

[Mark Hammer]

Awright!
Nice piece.  Kudos to Tzvi.  Not NEARLY long enough IMHO, but covers all the bases, and pays homage where due.  Nice that it started off with Craig, an entirely appropriate starting point.  Covered some of the more contentious issues in a fair manner, and summarized the history of DIY nicely as well. 

I've never seen RG without his moustache, so that was a bit of a shock.  Finally, nice to see the piece end with an ad for Walt Jones' Korora pedals.  Had a lovely chat with him at NAMM and we've corresponded since.  Smart pedals from a nice guy.

BTW  I had heard that Robert Keeley  had encountered some health issues recently.  I hope he's okay.  If anyone has any updates on his status, please let us know.

[11-90-an]

And now we see if there is a drastic DIYSB membership increase... 

[strungout]

Just finished reading it. Very cool! Bunch of stuff I didn't know about the diy pedal scene.

I remember my first project, some fuzz box. I used a random, scavenged, germanium transistor, that actually ended up working. I don't remember how I got around here, on this forum, but it's most likely why it did work at all. I sounded horrible. But I was hooked. You're right about empowerment, Aron, I still finish circuits and think about how cool and awesome it is to be able to do this, with very little knowledge, as in my case. Just takes a little smarts and some help!

Congrats!

[aron]

I'm so happy they got in the Hammer!  :-)
I got Ampage.org in too!!!!
I should have mentioned Jack's Fuxx Face!

[Harry Muff]

cool to see peoples faces llol

[Ben N]

Nice! Long overdue, but nice.
Some mistakes: yes, you can (own the) copyright (in) a schematic. Frantone isn't in Brooklyn anymore.
A little thin, too, with no mention of a lot of people who maybe should be mentioned, like Brian Wampler, who, IMHO, may be more representative of the transition from hobbyist to modder/DIY resource to successful boutiquer and at last mass-manufacturer than Keeley and Piera, or of fora beyond DIYSB (although this is clearly the Mothership) and Ampage, or of the amp customization scene.
Odd that Tzvi tells the tale of the exposure of the Danelectro ripoff of Paul Cochrane without mentioning the role of the exposure artists over at "the other forum", which is, IMHO, another important function of the DIY community--exposing the hype & fraud in certain corners of boutiquedom, and giving the non-DIY public information with which to evaluate builders' claims. ("No, no, this isn't JUST another Tubescreamer/Electra Distortion/whatever...") I wonder if this oversight might not reflect the sensitivities of PG's advertiser base.
And finally, the article leaves the impression that the only significance of the DIY community is that it spawned the boutique market.
But, ok, small stuff.

[aron]

I agree, AMPAGE was huge! Tboy deserves a lot of credit! At least I put a mention in there! I was going through my schematics page and it's amazing how many sites are completely gone now. Pretty sad.

[Gus]

I did not read the article because "it wants" information to veiw.

I was remembering when I first found effect stuff on the web I think it was about 96
Did they mention Stefan's (I forget the last name), Justin Pilpott site, Speedracer's JTM45 stuff on ampage(a little off topic) DMZ before AMZ And a few other sites that have gone away.
IIRC The rangemaster ampage threads had drama.

[Mark Hammer]

I'm so happy they got in the Hammer!  :-)
I got Ampage.org in too!!!!
I should have mentioned Jack's Fuxx Face!

And I have to thank you for that, buddy.

As for Steve "Tboy" Morrison and yourself, I think your degree of dedication was somewhat overlooked, or at least understated, in the piece.  We see so many sites come and go, so many links come up as 404, yet both this forum and ampage/MEF seem to have "always been here" for us; geofex too, and AMZ.  One almost wishes the masthead on such sites said "Est. 1998" or something similar, like those historic brands still located in the heritage building the great-grandfather started in.  Would that most marriages or jobs lasted as long.

This hobby, obsession, diversion, or whatever one wants to call it, goes back over 45 years for many of us (I think Steve Daniels and Stephen Giles had pieces in electronics mags before then).  Knowing just how deep the roots go and how much of a tradition and cumulative knowledge-base one can turn to and rely on, should be a source of comfort to those just hopping onto this ride for the first time.  I know the temptation, as a newbie, is to be intimidated.  But it's better to think "No matter what my issue/challenge is, somebody has dealt with it before and successfully wrestled it to the ground".  That's what I mean by "a source of comfort".

Now, if only I could find somewhere in my region that actually carries the paper version of the magazine.  Haven't seen a copy anywhere for over 2 years.

[Rodgre]

Well-said Mark. I will have to find someplace around me that is still in business that carries the paper edition of the magazine as well. This is one to save.

I am another one of those longtime pedal-obsessives that was launched by Craig Anderton in Guitar Player and the book Electronic Projects for Musicians. Back then, there were also great projects in Polyphony/Electronic Musician magazine as well. Things were kind of dormant for a while between Electronic Musician stopping doing DIY articles and the dawn of the internet. It's definitely a golden age for pedal DIYers right now in terms of information and it being easy to get started. So many great kits and PC boards available that make it a breeze to get started, even without a lot of electronics experience. So many smart resources out here, especially this forum! Thanks to you all!

Now I just wish that through-hole components weren't becoming more and more scarce. The older I get, the worse my eyesight gets for such microscopic parts! Ha!

Congratulations to all and eternal thanks for creating such a great community here.

Roger

[kraal]

Thank you and thank you for sharing. Too bad there is no shipping option available to Switzerland...

[aron]

> goes back over 45 years for many of us

WOW! For me, it was 1998 and that seems like EONS ago. I still remember how happy I was to make the electra circuit as well as my goal .. the LBP1!

[bluebunny]

Good article, Aron.  But you weren't wearing your DIYSB T-shirt!   

[EBK]

Good article, Aron.  But you weren't wearing your DIYSB T-shirt!   

I bet he is wearing the DIYSB underwear, but the editor cropped it out. 

[aron]

That's the one and only head shot I ever had in my life from a real photographer! People would always ask for a head shot and finally when I had the chance I did it recently. Good point about the T-Shirt. Need another picture for these types of photos! hahahaha

[bluebunny]

I have been known to be a photographer in a parallel existence.  Cover my air ticket and I'll come and take all the pictures you want.   

[matmosphere]

This is really cool! I've been building for five or six years now, and I've wondered about some of this history for a while.

[Marcos - Munky]

I just took some time to read it. Wow, it brings lots of memories of the forum's early years. Even some names didn't got to appear in the article, I'm pretty happy some of them did, like Mark and Jack. And one of the most amazing things is to read back then we already had names like RG and Mark posting on the forum and helping people, and then we notice they're still here! That's awesome!

Btw, if it's possible to put "custom status" for some users where it's written "member"/"great contribuitor"/"amazing", I'd agree to give those people a custom status like "godfather" (as they're already called in the article)

[Paul Marossy]

I agree, AMPAGE was huge! Tboy deserves a lot of credit! At least I put a mention in there! I was going through my schematics page and it's amazing how many sites are completely gone now. Pretty sad.

Yeah, that's when I got involved... when you were part of the Ampage thing. I guess you can count my website as one of the ones that ain't around anymore.