Sunking costs?

[jtn191]

I'm thinking about making a couple Sunkings for me and my friends, so to the veterans out there:
How much do the materials cost you? In charging the friend, I'm hoping materials+time to build>$100
thanks

[jkokura]

I don't build anything for less than 150 for someone else. I've done so many pedals, I have a very accurate idea of what it costs me in parts per pedal, but I also have a very good idea of how much time it takes me to build. A basic build requires enough effort and time for me to charge at least 150. I would also suspect that I'm much faster and have fewer errors than the average builder. I'm not in it to race, I've just got a lot more practice than most builders (I think I'm closing on 80 builds...).

Parts wise, I have a hard time, because I've built up a stash of parts that's worth quite a bit. If you were to go to Smallbear and order every part, including the shipping and enclosure and switch you'r looking at 25 bucks right there. Include Jacks, LED, Knobs and power stuff and that's another 5-7 bucks, add in the resistors at $.20 each (30x.2) and that's 6 bucks, add in the caps at an average of $.30 each (22x.3) and that's another $6.60, sockets would be 1.65, Pots are another 5 bucks, and the IC's are 4 bucks. 1 buck for your Diodes, and now you have to drill, paint, apply graphics, and then wire it up. It's hard to quantify the costs of all of those, but my example would be to use a pre painted enclosure (add 4 bucks), use someone elses drilling equipment, and when I do graphics I assume a cost of 5 bucks AT LEAST. Wire can be bought from smallbear too, but you won't use all of it.

All told, you can go through and add it up, but what I recommend you do is actually GO to smallbear electronics and build yourself a cart just using the parts from the BOM. Make sure you TRIPLE check you have everything included, and then see what it costs for yourself. It shouldn't take you an hour.

The hardest part to quantify for me is the shipping and extra costs of all the extra stuff I do. When I order parts I order LOTS of parts, and when I order enclosures I order 6-10 of them. So if it costs me 35 bucks to ship 7 enclosures, I need to add 5 dollars to the actual cost of the enclosure, so instead of it costing me 10 bucks for a powdercoated enclosure from PPP, it ACTUALLY costs me 15 bucks. So it's not just the cost of parts that makes my price, it's the time spent ordering, researching and making sure I have all the parts I need and they're the right part, then it's the time spent sorting out the parts, drilling, applying graphics, clear coating (which is the single most time consuming part of my builds), and the off board wiring. In comparison, if I have all the parts out, I can fully stuff and solder a Sunking in a half hour. It's the offboard wiring, and all the stuff that really explains why I charge what I charge.

Jacob

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

Yea I did my first customer build for 100 dollars. I could have charged more but it was my buddy. Jacob is totally right. The most time consuming is the wiring and enclosure detailing. And you should charge for your time. I think if your buddies getting a klon clone for $100 thats a hell of a deal!

[pauloman80]

Yea I did my first customer build for 100 dollars. I could have charged more but it was my buddy. Jacob is totally right. The most time consuming is the wiring and enclosure detailing. And you should charge for your time. I think if your buddies getting a klon clone for $100 thats a hell of a deal!

You got that right.  Wired up my Klon today, just missing the 10kB pots (dang Smallbear forgot to ship them along with the rest of my order).  Definitely worth the extra effort to keep everything clean, but dang if it didn't take a good amount of time.  Were I building it for a friend (and I might, I've got another board and a guy who's very interested), I'd probably start at $150 for a friend, $200 otherwise.  I will have spent probably $80-85 on mine just for parts.  Granted I got a custom finished enclosure and also bought a faceplate from Madbean, but even so I think I did quite well against the original one a fellow builder here in town saw for sale on craigslist... dude is asking $795 for a "well-loved" Centaur.    Methinks $150 is the deal of the century compared to that.

[jtn191]

sweet, I ordered a couple boards. I've got a recording project coming up--hoping to attract the attention of some more guitarists by suggesting they use my slambox build  

[juansolo]

I'm thinking about making a couple Sunkings for me and my friends, so to the veterans out there:
How much do the materials cost you? In charging the friend, I'm hoping materials+time to build>$100
thanks

Think I worked out that a Sunking costs 40 or so UKP in raw materials near 50 when shipped insured. I charged £100 each for the 3 of them I sold to friends which I consider to be very cheap considering the work involved and what I get paid per hour for my day job (which takes a lot less effort).

Essentially I just build a few pedals every now and then for other people to fund building pedals for myself. I don't exactly make much on them at all, but it keeps me in my habit.

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

dude is asking $795 for a "well-loved" Centaur.   

That guy is totally insane. Do they really go for that much?

[jkokura]

I've heard them go for as much as 1500.

Yes, the current price for them seems to be around 800 for the good 'special' ones. The less sought after are still at least 650.

For that price you can buy a decent tube amp.

Jacob

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

I've heard them go for as much as 1500.

Yes, the current price for them seems to be around 800 for the good 'special' ones. The less sought after are still at least 650.

For that price you can buy a decent tube amp.

Jacob

Dude my buddy got a 71 Marshall Super Lead off craigslist for $600. Now given the guy didn't know what he had, it needed about $500 dollars of work and my friend just plain lucked out i would say he came across a deal. Now i feel like that is the total opposite. To spend $800 on a pedal to replicate the tone of an amp just seems absurd to me.
But on the other end you must feel real "good" about your new $1500 klon...hahaha