Time for a rant.

[Willybomb]

This, is bull***t, lol.

This is getting like the Olympics.  The standard of build here just keeps getting better and better every time I look at a build report.

I once started a thread, or posted in one, ages ago somewhere (can't find it here, might be DIYstompboxes) wondering if people actually gig with their pedals, not thinking that DIY could be up to the standard of mass produced "real" pedals - fully knowing that mine weren't likely to be.  A number of people shot me down quite gently fairly quickly.

My boxes are getting there.  I'm *fairly* happy with the last couple of builds and I think I did fairly well with the Random Stranger.  It was certainly my most ambitious build and I had to do a bit of trouble shooting along the way.  Not 100% happy, but it's the result of compounded fixes and lessons learnt along the way.  It might be gig worthy.  It's a shame vero is such a messy format for hooking pots up to in most builds.

But the stuff on here is getting beyond a joke.  Impeccable guts, flawless finishes.  It's a real shame there doesn't seem to be a huge market for overbuilt homemade pedals because, well, just because.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Opinion follows so BEWARE.....

I believe that probably upwards of 90% of the builds posted here are NOT for gigging (or better yet... should not be gigging!). The pedals that I build for myself are usually destined for living room use to be truthful. The difference between my builds for gigging customers and anything else is immense! ZERO exposed connections (i.e. LED leads, open solder joints off the PCB, etc.) also, NOTHING is floating.

I honestly can't see how over 50% of the builds on here would make it through gigging (including some of my own... for me) Although, I think that a lot of the effort is put into the esthetics more than the usefulness or sound. The competitions are a perfect example. How many entries have there been where it is 2 or 3 common builds (YATS, Simple Delay, Vibes, etc) crammed into a single enclosure but DAMN.... the box was etched, primed, hand painted, knobs sourced from unicorn egg-yolks!!  But, in the end... the pedal is what it is right? Its not getting framed!

I am guilty of this as well. SO I am not saying that I am better or worse then anyone else! Just voicing my OPINION!

I do like to see what people are coming up with though. For years a pedal was not considered a "good" build unless it was "Etched." Now, it seems that "Laser engraving" is the apex of "WOW factor" judgement.

In the end... beauty is in the eye of the beholder and personally, I prefer to weigh the beauty of how the pedal SOUNDS more than how the pedal LOOKS.

[pickdropper]

Aesthetics have zero to do with whether or not a pedal can be gigged.

The primary importance for a giggable pedal are:

1.)  Electrical reliability
2.)  Mechanical reliability.

If you lock everything down mechanically, you really don't need to cover every connection with heat shrink.  Open up a tube amp sometime (even from a major manufacturer) and you will notice there are open connections as well.  It helps to use lock washers on the external jacks as they can come loose over time.

The X factor is if you have a battery, it must also be locked down.  If it is loose to short against things, you need to take extra precautions.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Aesthetics have zero to do with whether or not a pedal can be gigged.

AGREED! Although I think you combined 2 different points I was trying to keep seperate. 

The primary importance for a giggable pedal are:

1.)  Electrical reliability
2.)  Mechanical reliability.

I guess my #1 would be how it sounds. It could be the best built pedal in the world... if it sounds like a wet fart... it will be a well built door stop!

Open up a tube amp sometime (even from a major manufacturer) and you will notice there are open connections as well. 

There are also several stickers that say "If you open this...IT CAN KILL YOU!" Also, most people do not stomp on their amps or kick them around stage.

This is just a precaution I take with ALL of my "for client" builds.

In the end, I think yours are some of the most well thought out and executed builds on the forums so your opinion weighs heavily in my mind as it should for a lot of builders. 

[LaceSensor]

I dunno about anyone else but Id like to confess to EPO doping and anabolic steroid abuse.
Its only fair I come clean.

Pickdropper, Rej, Midway...Im looking at you now...

Lets clean up this sport

   

[midwayfair]

I guess my #1 would be how it sounds. It could be the best built pedal in the world... if it sounds like a wet fart... it will be a well built door stop!

As a gigging guitarist who no doubt has at least one build on his board that would make you shudder (I rarely use heat shrink on anything that's not movable, and I often build on perfboard FFS), I can say with 100% certainty that I would never, ever, put up with an unreliable pedal even if it sounded a million times better than my next option. If my choice is between not having a particular effect and having a pedal that might not work when I stomp on it, I will forego the use of the effect, even if it's a delay we're talking about and I'm playing a U2 song.

To be honest, often I don't even care what a pedal sounds like as long as it doesn't sound bad. I have more important things to worry about in the middle of a show, like how to get the bartender to give me a frigging glass of water. (Seriously, I need to know, because I can NEVER make this happen.)

The guts of some commercial boutique builds make me wonder how anyone in their right mind could risk even local gigging, much less touring with them.

Lace: I'm addicted to apathy, is that the same thing as anabolic?

[blearyeyes]

What would be the practical application regarding mechanically sound?

What would it take to make a gigable pedal at home?

[Govmnt_Lacky]

@Jon

I said that the SOUND would be my #1 concern... NOT my ONLY concern 

My point was going more towards some of the builds that I see here, and other areas on the interwebz that have the lazer etched, polished, LED-lit enclosures and the PCB inside is floating, the LED is held in with hot glue, and there are 150 different exposed leads EVERYWHERE!

Just personal taste I suppose... to each their own my friend! 

P.S. The comments here and above ARE IN NO WAY DIRECTED SPECIFICALLY AT SOMEONE!!! ThankYou! 

[pryde]

I am not sure why a mass-produced pedal would be considered more reliable than a decent home-built one. Good solder joints, clean wiring, and snug lock washers/nuts would make it as reliable as the best production pedals out there no?

For customer builds I worry most about the reliability of the good-ole' blue 3PDT switches more than anything else.

[flanagan0718]

Most of my builds look like a turd that was set on fire and put out with a wet blanket (compared to most of the builds posted on here). They sound good tho, that's all I care about. I don't really sell pedals, I just build them and if someone wants a specific one I put MUCH more time into the aesthetics. As far as "gigable" goes, they go on a board and stay there. Yeah there is the occasional beer or the rogue falling mic stand but, most people have a board now-a-days even if it is for 2 or 3 pedals.  I certainly do agree with Willybomb tho, as inspiring as most of the builds are I feel as though I'll never really hit that level of expertise...and I'm ok with that. I'm happy and proud of my builds, they may look like a wet dog, but they sound great! The eye candy that you guys post is amazing! I'll never stop loving the 1590A builds that Dave (pickdropper) does, and the hand painted stuff the Jon (midwayfair) puts out...come on those rule! Then there are the water slides that Jimi (jimilee) does, and the worn look that Rej (grindcustoms) pull off. Awesome stuff guys! 

[juansolo]

Pedals I build for me or Cleggy are not gigged. The majority of pedals I build for other people are, so I try to go the extra mile to make them as reliable and robust as possible. Still occasionally I get the odd one back with a problem, they get fixed/uprated and returned.

[timbo_93631]

I build mine to be gig worthy, everything else is secondary.  When someone buys a pedal from me I give an unconditional guarantee that I'll fix it for free if it ever breaks, or in the case of negligence, cost of return shipping and parts. 

[juansolo]

For customer builds I worry most about the reliability of the good-ole' blue 3PDT switches more than anything else.

By far the biggest cause of failures that come my way are down to 3PDT stomps. It's why I only use them in exceptional circumstances.

[blearyeyes]

Juan, you go the momentary / relay route?

[pickdropper]

Aesthetics have zero to do with whether or not a pedal can be gigged.

AGREED! Although I think you combined 2 different points I was trying to keep seperate. 

The primary importance for a giggable pedal are:

1.)  Electrical reliability
2.)  Mechanical reliability.

I guess my #1 would be how it sounds. It could be the best built pedal in the world... if it sounds like a wet fart... it will be a well built door stop!

Open up a tube amp sometime (even from a major manufacturer) and you will notice there are open connections as well. 

There are also several stickers that say "If you open this...IT CAN KILL YOU!" Also, most people do not stomp on their amps or kick them around stage.

This is just a precaution I take with ALL of my "for client" builds.

In the end, I think yours are some of the most well thought out and executed builds on the forums so your opinion weighs heavily in my mind as it should for a lot of builders. 

Hey Greg,

I wrote the above post quickly before heading off to a meeting, so it probably came off as more terse than I meant it to.  I commented on a couple of points in your post, but I wasn't digging at it, nor did I feel that I was being dug at.  The only real point of yours I disagreed with is that idea that every connection needs to have heat shrink on it.  The reason that pedals don't have warnings about lethal voltages is because the vast majority of them don't contain lethal voltages.  If it is connected to line level, then then rules change a bit and it is worth making sure the connection is very well isolated because it can be dangerous (in many ways).  But at that point, there are UL regulations that come into play as well.  I do agree with the importance of locking everything down as well as possible as pedals are usually not treated gently on the road.

I think audio quality and whether or not it can be gigged are two separate things entirely.  Obviously, I'd personally only want something that I liked the sound of and was reliable, but for gigs, reliability has to be top.  I think that's why so many pros just use Boss pedals.  Over the years, they've developed a certain level of trust that they will work.

And, for what it's worth, I appreciate hobbyist builds of all skill levels and styles.  I think it's great when somebody picks up a soldering iron and decides to make something that is uniquely theirs.  But one of my pet peeves is "boutique builders" that throw together poorly made pedals I believe the rules are different for hobbyists than those who are trying to start their own pedal business as I believe it reflects poorly on everybody that in the industry when lower quality product is put out there (and there are some established builders that do this, too).  Everybody will have failures (I'm no exception) but a few good manufacturing practices go a long way.