Sweetwater Welcomes JHS Pedals

[Clayford]

I just get a weird vibe of JHS in general. I'm not 100% sure what it is, but something just seems a bit off kilter about the way they operate.

I cannot say it better. strong +1.

I think there is some "cray-cray" bleeding through. I've heard interwebz rumors that Mr. JHS is a member of an allegedly "fringe" faction of Christianity that allegedly has some "unconventional" views.

Political and religious affiliations aside... the off kilter observation is still correct. 

[playpunk]

Josh is associated with IHOP - international house of prayer - which is a charismatic church that is a little goofy. This is an evaluation by a conservative Christian organization: http://carm.org/ihop.


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[rullywowr]

Josh is associated with IHOP - international house of prayer - which is a charismatic church that is a little goofy. This is an evaluation by a conservative Christian organization: http://carm.org/ihop.


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I love IHOP's pancakes! 

[pryde]

Josh is associated with IHOP - international house of prayer - which is a charismatic church that is a little goofy. This is an evaluation by a conservative Christian organization: http://carm.org/ihop.


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I love IHOP's pancakes! 

Well played sir, well played 

[madbean]

So I am a little late to the game here.....

Did JHS used to be a member here?

Josh was actually one of my earliest customers back before JHS was a major player. This was back when I did orders via email. I didn't really get to know him, though. His emails were...laconic, let's say.

This was my problem with him. There are pictures of his early Sweet Teas that were etched boards for the Tonepad El Griton for the TS side and Brian's Krunkee (MI Audio CrunchBox) for the other side.

Yeah, that was kind of lame. But, he eventually switched to his own layouts for his products so it is all cool. Back then I was a lot more concerned about that kind of thing. Overall, I think he's come a long way from where he started although he's had a few missteps on the way.

[jkokura]

I think that's a very normal element of business. From his perspective, I bet he didn't see much wrong with using other layouts, thought of it more as an expanded DIY thing. Then, when he learned that was poor form, he made the switch. Part of it, I bet, was because it's actually much more effective to develop your own layout when you're doing production style stuff as opposed to DIY.

Anyway, I don't know Josh from a hole in a wall, and I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt more often than not.

Jacob

[culturejam]

Part of it, I bet, was because it's actually much more effective to develop your own layout when you're doing production style stuff as opposed to DIY.

Totally. Using somebody else's layout for larger runs is often one of those penny-wise/pound-foolish decisions. You save a little upfront on development, but you lose your ass on the backend to inflated labor.

[selfdestroyer]

The more I think about this situation I really wonder if the problem was just like other small/ish boutique pedal companies. You start out making some nice looking/great sounding clones and mods and people in the forums want to buy one. Then they tell friends and do nice reviews on your stuff and demands start being generated. The decisions to use others layouts might have been out of desperation or a "just until my own layouts are complete" kind of thing. I really think the thought of "making it big" can cloud a lot of good judgment and add a hint of greed in there can be disasterest. I really think it all comes down to how you handle the situation. I can only imagine how hard it would be to go from DYI hobbyist to a small pedal company and all the decisions that need to be made to make that happen.

Cody

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I honestly don't know HOW people can make it as a new Booteek pedal company now. There are SO many names out there that the market seems completely flooded.

I guess the creme rises to the top though... 

[rullywowr]

Part of it, I bet, was because it's actually much more effective to develop your own layout when you're doing production style stuff as opposed to DIY.

Totally. Using somebody else's layout for larger runs is often one of those penny-wise/pound-foolish decisions. You save a little upfront on development, but you lose your ass on the backend to inflated labor.

Exactly this.  A good example is Catalinbread.  While Catalinbread (and designer Howard Lee) have been doing their own (great, I might add) layouts from the jump, they have moved to PCB mounted everything in the last couple years because of labor costs and efficiency.  When you are making 1,000s of something as opposed to 10s... your mindset must change in order to keep up with demand while delivering a solid product.  They claim reliability is better than ever and of course assembly and build times have decreased.  It's impossible to make those types of changes if you are just using someone else's layout.

JHS has also (allegedly) used "tactics" such as intentionally mounting component under the board and underneath other components to obfuscate the origins of circuits... if this turns out to be true, it certainly leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I honestly don't know HOW people can make it as a new Booteek pedal company now. There are SO many names out there that the market seems completely flooded.

I guess the creme rises to the top though... 

Simple. 
1)  Get a card table to build on
2)  Use unobtainum components which add "mojo" and be quite vocal about it
3)  Create high demand by offering low supply and high prices
4)  Profit!

[culturejam]

While Catalinbread (and designer Howard Lee) have been doing their own (great, I might add) layouts from the jump, they have moved to PCB mounted everything in the last couple years because of labor costs and efficiency. 

The last couple C'bread pedals I looked at had the pots wired off-board, but everything else was on board.

[pickdropper]

I honestly don't know HOW people can make it as a new Booteek pedal company now. There are SO many names out there that the market seems completely flooded.

I guess the creme rises to the top though... 

I honestly don't know how some of the ones that are out there have survived.  I just had a discussion with a potential dealer last weekend and showed him a couple of FFX prototypes.

He commented about how nice they looked compared so some of the other "boutique" builder pedals he gets.  Among his recent shipments included:

1.)  Pedals that came in no packaging at all.  Just bagged and ready to go.
2.)  Pedals that used a cheap vinyl sticker as a label.  I don't consider this as bad as some of the other things but it bothered him.
3.)  Pedals that came without the bottom plates screwed on.  The screws came with in a separate bag so it was easy enough to put them in, but he thought that was a bit lame.

And this doesn't even address some of the poor "mojo" wiring and things like that.

I agree that the market is getting crowded and it is getting hard to differentiate.  The better examples of smaller companies (like Catlinbread, Wampler and Earthquaker to name a few) have their act together and seem to be doing very well for themselves.

[rullywowr]

1.)  Pedals that came in no packaging at all.  Just bagged and ready to go.

What?  Seriously?  I can understand no UPC, but no box or label?  Sheesh.

2.)  Pedals that used a cheap vinyl sticker as a label.  I don't consider this as bad as some of the other things but it bothered him.

Devi (cough cough) Ever?  Sticker and bare aluminum. 

3.)  Pedals that came without the bottom plates screwed on.  The screws came with in a separate bag so it was easy enough to put them in, but he thought that was a bit lame.

WTF?  Seriously?  I think it would be harder to keep the bottom cover from getting beat up if it was rattling around.  Like it saves you so much time to not screw on the bottom panel (SMH).

I know you guys know how to make a quality product, and I wish you all the best with your pedal company endeavor.  If the prospective dealer can notice the great quality right off the rip, I'm sure discerning end-users will as well.   

[alanp]

2.)  Pedals that used a cheap vinyl sticker as a label.  I don't consider this as bad as some of the other things but it bothered him.

PD, I dare you to do a bare-metal enclosure build and, before you do your trademark I-wish-my-bought-pedals-looked-that-good graphics, put some Dymo labelling on and show it to him

[pickdropper]

1.)  Pedals that came in no packaging at all.  Just bagged and ready to go.

What?  Seriously?  I can understand no UPC, but no box or label?  Sheesh.

2.)  Pedals that used a cheap vinyl sticker as a label.  I don't consider this as bad as some of the other things but it bothered him.

Devi (cough cough) Ever?  Sticker and bare aluminum. 

3.)  Pedals that came without the bottom plates screwed on.  The screws came with in a separate bag so it was easy enough to put them in, but he thought that was a bit lame.

WTF?  Seriously?  I think it would be harder to keep the bottom cover from getting beat up if it was rattling around.  Like it saves you so much time to not screw on the bottom panel (SMH).

I know you guys know how to make a quality product, and I wish you all the best with your pedal company endeavor.  If the prospective dealer can notice the great quality right off the rip, I'm sure discerning end-users will as well.   

Yeah, I have no explanation for not screwing in the baseplate.  That is unprofessional by any standards.  The lack of shipping box (even a plain cardboard one) seems a bit odd.

The sticker thing really depends on execution to me.  I got the impression that it was a cheap bumper sticker type thing randomly stuck on the enclosure, but I didn't actually see it.  Some companies have done nicer adhesive type labeling and it's been OK.  In defense of Devi Ever, at least she kept the prices really low and stickers were applied reasonably well.  It wasn't a $350 Tube Screamer with a sticker on it.  People will put up with a little bit of "rough around the edges" when they are paying $100 vs. a whole lot more.