Ugly Commercial Pedals—Repaint, Rehouse, or Cringe?

[Aleph Null]

Have you ever purchased a commercial pedal that you loved the sound of, but couldn't stand the look of? Did you repaint it, rehouse it, or just decide to live with it?



I recently purchased a Morley Twin Mix (I was too lazy to build something myself). The pedal is well built and works wonderfully, but the graphic design is atrocious. I actually think it makes it harder to use.

Please share your thoughts. Or pictures of ugly ducklings!

[m-Kresol]

you could just repaint the thing. Get the electronics out, sand off the paint and go from there.

I know that dminner has rehoused or refinished a few commercial builds to match his style

[Aleph Null]

I'm  considering a repaint. I might add a switch to change it from a twin mix to an ABY. It's the same PCB with some different jumpers.

[matmosphere]

That is pretty ugly. Covering it with duct tape would even be an improvement.

[Stomptown]

If there's a possibility you might sell it down the road I would leave it alone.  If you know you'll keep it forever, give that duckling a facelift! 

[alanp]

What if you're too cheap to actually BUY a pedal?

[GrindCustoms]

What if you're too cheap to actually BUY a pedal?

Haha! That! I'm in your camp Alan! 

[Aleph Null]

What if you're too cheap to actually BUY a pedal?

Depending on how much you value your time, it might be cheaper to buy than build. I decided to buy because 1) I was feeling impatient and 2) it would prevent me from unnecessarily complicating the thing by adding "features".

[dbp512]

Unnecessarily complicating things by adding "features" is half the reason why I got into this!

[Stomptown]

What if you're too cheap to actually BUY a pedal?

Haha! That! I'm in your camp Alan! 

lol. My only non-diy pedal is a Boss TU-2 tuner so I guess I'm a part of the club too.  Oh, and I repainted it... 

[Muadzin]

I'm with Alan. Anything for which a buildable vero exists I will never buy. Anything for which a buildable pcb exists I will never buy. The only effects I still buy tend to be delays and multi FX modelers.

[m-Kresol]

I am also one of the strong DIY supporters. It's just too much fun to build it yourself. I think it is not necessarily cheaper than buying in many cases, but I don't want to pay someone to have all the fun that I could have building it
The only commercial things I have is a poyltune, Boss Volume pedal, Hotone wally looper and a DD-5 from Muadzin, iirc.

Anything for which a buildable vero exists I will never buy.

Anything for which a buildable vero exists, I will design a pcb for and don't hassle with vero 

[raulduke]

I'm with Alan. Anything for which a buildable vero exists I will never buy. Anything for which a buildable pcb exists I will never buy. The only effects I still buy tend to be delays and multi FX modelers.

This is pretty much how I am as well.

I have more than enough dirt/fuzz pedals so don't really take any interest in the stuff that's out there anymore.

Delays however... 

[neandrewthal]

Can't see what's really so bad about it.

If I had a pedal that was unbearably ugly I would just sell it and build a replacement if it has any value. If it would cost more to build one, then hack away!

THESE are ugly. It's almost unfair to post digital multis because they are a class of their own and are always ugly so I will limit them to this one first pic:









And finally, comic sans anyone?

[matmosphere]

What if you're too cheap to actually BUY a pedal?

Wait you can buy these things!? Are they expensive?