The psychology of box

[peAk]

If aesthetic weren't important to us we wouldn't be bothering with trivial things like tone, or music for that matter. So graphics are a visual art, tone is aural. They both affect us and when they are combined in the right way they can be more than the sum of their parts. I'm a sucker for good looking gear. And I will say that sometimes even "ugly" is its own cool aesthetic. Like a ratty old tweed deluxe. You just look at it and you know it sounds amazing.

spot on. Hell, the cover art on a bands album even has some influence on our brain when we listen to it. It's all trivial and it all adds up to something.

All this being said, why were care about the insides of a pedal are beyond me   

[Jefe]

All this being said, why were care about the insides of a pedal are beyond me   

Lol, yeah, that's a mystery to me. Don't get me wrong - there's a lot to be said for neat and tidy looking guts. It shows a certain level of craftsmanship, and that can translate to overall good build quality. If it looks super tidy, chances are that the solder joints are good, and that pedal isn't going to die on you in the middle of a song. There are also some cases where wire dress is important, to prevent hum and interference, like in some high-gain circuits.

However, it amuses me how some folks go to great lengths to make sure every component on the circuit board is blue - resistors, capacitors, etc. Or when someone comments how they like when all the wires are one color. That kind of stuff leaves me scratching my head, but hey, to each his own! I'm sure it makes the OCD builder feel better knowing that the inside of their pedal is all matchy. 

[peAk]

All this being said, why were care about the insides of a pedal are beyond me   

Lol, yeah, that's a mystery to me. Don't get me wrong - there's a lot to be said for neat and tidy looking guts. It shows a certain level of craftsmanship, and that can translate to overall good build quality. If it looks super tidy, chances are that the solder joints are good, and that pedal isn't going to die on you in the middle of a song. There are also some cases where wire dress is important, to prevent hum and interference, like in some high-gain circuits.

However, it amuses me how some folks go to great lengths to make sure every component on the circuit board is blue - resistors, capacitors, etc. Or when someone comments how they like when all the wires are one color. That kind of stuff leaves me scratching my head, but hey, to each his own! I'm sure it makes the OCD builder feel better knowing that the inside of their pedal is all matchy. 

While I agree, I now find myself obsessed to make things tidy inside. Had I never seen these neat internal builds on this forum, I would have never even thought about making the insides that clean.

The stress of having tidy builds 

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Of the "few" pedal builds that I have sold around these parts... most of them have been to gigging musicians. I would say 10 in all. And, without a doubt..... 9 out of those 10 didn't give a rat fart about how the pedal looked when I built it for them (outer appearance)

What they cared about was:

#1 - How much it cost!
#2 - Does it work?
#3 - Is it reliable?

So... based on these.... I would have to say that the importance for building for sale (at least, for my limited market and NOT being a booteeker) is the build's SOUND and the build's structural QUALITY.

Wire color, graphics, etc... all really dont matter to the musicians that I have sold to. I can however, realte to the OCD wiring as it relates to the builds reliability. 

EDIT: Out of those 9 mentioned above.... I'd say 7 of them were just bare enclosure builds. Told them they would save a couple bucks if they just marked the enclosures themselves which often resulted in a reply of "HELL yeah.... I can do that anyways..."

[selfdestroyer]

I am at the point where I have learned how to etch enclosures and now I want to go back and update my boxes that are board bound. Its really just for my bennifit.

Since I play everything on my test rig for a week or so before I design a box, the sound of it influences the artwork. If I like the sound the pedal produces and it gets me pumped up for artwork. This may sound stupid but, the music I listen to when designing can also influence the process. Most of the time I can populate a PCB and test it faster than designing the etch mask for a pedal. Mainly due to undecided choices.

Cody

[midwayfair]

9 out of those 10 didn't give a rat fart about how the pedal looked when I built it for them (outer appearance)

I've had a disturbing number of customers ask me for essentially a plain box with labels because they don't care what it looks like.

I have to really fight my gut reaction to this, which is, "Why on earth would you have me do it, then?" because there are lots of people out there who have better soldering and building skills than me, and the only thing I have going for me is the handpainted.

Sometimes (when I get the sense it's appropriate), I paint something fun on it anyway and they're even happier because of it. (The exception is that someone specifically said that they really, really, really didn't want anything on it, not even labels.)

Which just goes to show that even many of the people who SAY that they're not interested in aesthetics actually care about them. They just don't give it as much consideration or ... they're just saying they don't because they don't want to come across as the kind of person who listens with their eyes.

Basically, you can't take anyone's word for what they say they want or don't want, because human beings are visual animals. Everyone listens with their eyes whether they want to or not. It's subconscious. Psychoacoustics are one hell of a drug.

[Leevibe]

9 out of those 10 didn't give a rat fart about how the pedal looked when I built it for them (outer appearance)

Basically, you can't take anyone's word for what they say they want or don't want, because human beings are visual animals. Everyone listens with their eyes whether they want to or not. It's subconscious. Psychoacoustics are one hell of a drug.

I kind of think you might be right

[Jefe]

We're definitely visual animals. Despite anything I may have said earlier in the thread about looks, I definitely care about looks, lol. It's just usually directed at other things than what's on the floor in front of me.

I almost always prefer black pickguards, for some reason. And I doubt I would ever have the cajones to play something like a Hello Kitty guitar on stage. Speaking of being on stage, I want to look "cool" up there, meaning 9 times out of 10, I'll be wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.

And all that said, I definitely DO care what my pedals look like to an extent. See the pedal in my avatar? I made that from a junction box cover from a electric motor. These covers are sometimes referred to as a dog house, or a pecker head, for some reason, lol. When I first saw a box of these in a pile of junk at work, my first thought was "wow, that would make a cool looking pedal".. Then I thought about the ergonomics of the sloped front, etc. I guess I like an "industrial" look. I also really dig the "distressed" look, like the stuff Grindy does.

So when I say "looks" don't matter, I'm full of crap! Lol.. In reality, I just don't like to spend a lot of time doing a finish on the outside of my boxes, because I know they're going to get messed up anyways. I mean, it's a foot pedal, it's meant to be stepped on! And sometimes it's gonna get banged around, beer spilt on it, etc.

Much respect for those of you with the patience to do them up all fancy, though.

[Leevibe]

We're definitely visual animals. Despite anything I may have said earlier in the thread about looks, I definitely care about looks, lol. It's just usually directed at other things than what's on the floor in front of me.

I almost always prefer black pickguards, for some reason. And I doubt I would ever have the cajones to play something like a Hello Kitty guitar on stage. Speaking of being on stage, I want to look "cool" up there, meaning 9 times out of 10, I'll be wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.

And all that said, I definitely DO care what my pedals look like to an extent. See the pedal in my avatar? I made that from a junction box cover from a electric motor. These covers are sometimes referred to as a dog house, or a pecker head, for some reason, lol. When I first saw a box of these in a pile of junk at work, my first thought was "wow, that would make a cool looking pedal".. Then I thought about the ergonomics of the sloped front, etc. I guess I like an "industrial" look. I also really dig the "distressed" look, like the stuff Grindy does.

So when I say "looks" don't matter, I'm full of crap! Lol.. In reality, I just don't like to spend a lot of time doing a finish on the outside of my boxes, because I know they're going to get messed up anyways. I mean, it's a foot pedal, it's meant to be stepped on! And sometimes it's gonna get banged around, beer spilt on it, etc.

Much respect for those of you with the patience to do them up all fancy, though.

I love that enclosure, Jefe. I bet it sheds beer better than the average box! I think that enclosure would look amazing done up all steampunk. And that would definitely make for inspired playing!!

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Basically, you can't take anyone's word for what they say they want or don't want, because human beings are visual animals. Everyone listens with their eyes whether they want to or not. It's subconscious. Psychoacoustics are one hell of a drug.

Funny you say this. One of the guys I built for (Just a basic Dist+ with some mods) specifically said they wanted NO markings or ANYTHING on the pedal. Just a completed PCB wired up inside an aluminum enclosure with switches, jacks, toggles, knobs, etc.

I took it upon myself to simply paint the box a semi-matching yellow color merely for protection. 

It almost became a DEAL BREAKER!  He told me he really didn't care for the paint. His exact words were "I didn't want it painted. I don't care what it looks like! I only care about how it makes me sound!" This was after I told him that I wasn't going to charge him for the paint at all! 

He ended up taking it home anyways and later told me that it replaced his beloved original Dist+ so it worked out but, a prime example of Function over Fashion! 

[Leevibe]

Basically, you can't take anyone's word for what they say they want or don't want, because human beings are visual animals. Everyone listens with their eyes whether they want to or not. It's subconscious. Psychoacoustics are one hell of a drug.

Funny you say this. One of the guys I built for (Just a basic Dist+ with some mods) specifically said they wanted NO markings or ANYTHING on the pedal. Just a completed PCB wired up inside an aluminum enclosure with switches, jacks, toggles, knobs, etc.

I took it upon myself to simply paint the box a semi-matching yellow color merely for protection. 

It almost became a DEAL BREAKER!  He told me he really didn't care for the paint. His exact words were "I didn't want it painted. I don't care what it looks like! I only care about how it makes me sound!" This was after I told him that I wasn't going to charge him for the paint at all! 

He ended up taking it home anyways and later told me that it replaced his beloved original Dist+ so it worked out but, a prime example of Function over Fashion! 

Except that if he says he doesn't care what it looks like, why would he be upset about it being painted? See? Aesthetics rearing its ugly (beautiful?) head again!

[midwayfair]

It almost became a DEAL BREAKER!  He told me he really didn't care for the paint. His exact words were "I didn't want it painted. I don't care what it looks like! I only care about how it makes me sound!" This was after I told him that I wasn't going to charge him for the paint at all! 

This is why I said "when I think it's appropriate" ... every once in a while, you just KNOW that the customer actually cares about something. I hate to be cynical, but what it sounds like was actually going on here is that he DID care what it looked like -- he wanted it to look like he didn't care what it looked like. I might even go so far as to say he wanted it to look like something that would make people go, "What's in that?" and he gets to tell them "Oh it's just something this really little known builder made for me. It's like a Distortion+ but its sounds sooooo much better."

You know. The gearhound version of

[peAk]

It almost became a DEAL BREAKER!  He told me he really didn't care for the paint. His exact words were "I didn't want it painted. I don't care what it looks like! I only care about how it makes me sound!" This was after I told him that I wasn't going to charge him for the paint at all! 

This is why I said "when I think it's appropriate" ... every once in a while, you just KNOW that the customer actually cares about something. I hate to be cynical, but what it sounds like was actually going on here is that he DID care what it looked like -- he wanted it to look like he didn't care what it looked like. I might even go so far as to say he wanted it to look like something that would make people go, "What's in that?" and he gets to tell them "Oh it's just something this really little known builder made for me. It's like a Distortion+ but its sounds sooooo much better."

You know. The gearhound version of

you making pedals for the Amish?

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I have seen this guy play out before and I have seen his "gear." Trust me.... He really DOESN'T care what it looks like.

Regardless.... my point was that most of the musicians I have sold to favored the sound of the pedal far more than what it looked like. I am not saying it is not important to value esthetics. Just offering a personal observation 

I have NEVER has a customer say to me "Dont worry about how it sounds... as long as it LOOKS good"

I have had customers tell me SEVERAL times "Don't focus too much on the look... make sure it sounds great!" 

[pickdropper]

I think that with boutique effects it is more common for people to expect good looks AND good sound.  It all kind of feeds into the specialized market that commands higher prices than your typical Boss or MXR pedal. 

Certainly there are plenty of people that don't care much about looks.  No doubt gigging musicians are likely to care far more about reliability and sound (probably in that order) than looks.  But gigging musicians aren't the only purchasers of pedals.  There are tons of hobbyists and collectors that have plenty of time to dwell on all aspects, including the aesthetics of the box.

I've had a couple of people tell me they didn't care what was on the box, but most of them actually did.  The majority of people cared quite a bit about what it looked like.  They also care about the aesthetics of their guitars and amps.