Members State 6000 Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 These have turned out to be the biggest bitch to sell ever. The plan was to sell a few to augment my non-existant income this semester, but I only made a wopping 10 bucks profit off the first one and I've had to relist this one for a second time because no one bid on it! It's a Distortion+ with a tube in it for heaven's sake! I really hate selling pedals. I'm a DIYer first and foremost, and this mod is something I came up with for myself...and I haven't even made enough dough to make one for myself If anything, I've learnt that: a) Original pedal mods that take 6-7 hours to do and require exotic parts to make don't sell. b) Tubescreamer mods that take 5 minutes to do and require 50c worth of parts sell like hot-cakes at a large profit. From now on all my original pedal ideas aren't for sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robbert Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pwn3d Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 hey, you did it wrong. You have to build gas first. That should be all I have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members State 6000 Posted May 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 lol...yeah. I should have posted a blurry pic of a beat up prototype first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robbert Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 But seriously, you can't expect something to sell right away because it has a tube in it. It takes a little time to build a name or fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dot-dot-dot Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by State 6000 lol...yeah. I should have posted a blurry pic of a beat up prototype first Along with vague claims of wonderful sound - particularly how it "nails" some reference tone through a Pignose. Then refuse to give any details for a month or so, while still bumping the hype thread once a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pwn3d Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by dot-dot-dot Along with vague claims of wonderful sound - particularly how it "nails" some reference tone through a Pignose. Then refuse to give any details for a month or so, while still bumping the hype thread once a day. and remember, the less knobs it has the better. and then you have to have a couple good guys make clips to make it sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members State 6000 Posted May 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 If anyone is interested in a licence to build these, lemmie know. I have enough tubes left over to last until the year 2525 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fernmeister Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by dot-dot-dot Along with vague claims of wonderful sound - particularly how it "nails" some reference tone through a Pignose. Then refuse to give any details for a month or so, while still bumping the hype thread once a day. bump it with obscure chit chat and insider jokes and then you release it give it a different name, different specs and a different price... ...and then re-release it with a different name every few months. remember one design is good for at least five different pedals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dot-dot-dot Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by Pwn3d and remember, the less knobs it has the better. and then you have to have a couple good guys make clips to make it sound The trick there being to play the pedal through a very, very expensive amplifier (and make this clear when posting the clips) so that if anyone says they don't like how it sounds you can shout them down for having cloth ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fernmeister Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by dot-dot-dot The trick there being to play the pedal through a very, very expensive amplifier (and make this clear when posting the clips) so that if anyone says they don't like how it sounds you can shout them down for having cloth ears. or play it through a pod and malfunctioning soundblaster card and blame the technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members State 6000 Posted May 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Bass players are 10x more fickle than guitarists too, because every single one of them seems to own a Bassdrive and consider all other dirt pedals to suck low end...even though I've said about a million times that my mod doesn't suck lows. "I dunno dude, what if it sucks the low end out of my tone?" IT DOESN'T SUCK LOWS "But dude...I need my lows" IT DOESN'T SUCK LOWS "Dude...lows" IT DOESN'T SUCK THEM "Dude" SHUDDUP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ronsonic B Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by State 6000 These have turned out to be the biggest bitch to sell ever. The plan was to sell a few to augment my non-existant income this semester, but I only made a wopping 10 bucks profit off the first one and I've had to relist this one for a second time because no one bid on it! It's a Distortion+ with a tube in it for heaven's sake! If anything, I've learnt that: a) Original pedal mods that take 6-7 hours to do and require exotic parts to make don't sell. b) Tubescreamer mods that take 5 minutes to do and require 50c worth of parts sell like hot-cakes at a large profit. From now on all my original pedal ideas aren't for sale Sorry, but maybe it just isn't a good idea in the first place. I thought it was a spoof at first. The whole stick a tube in it thing is over. That Korg synth with the 12AX7 should've given you enough warning. Now, I do indeed love tubes, but that thermionic devotion is mocked and ridiculed by gratuitous tubery like this and the BK Butler crap and all the other undervolted and abused twin triodes. Besides the tube should stick out on the other end, less likely to get stepped on. Ron:freak: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KBN Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 yeah, move the tube. As soon as I saw the picture I wasn't interested. It may very well be a brilliant pedal, but the ergonomics of it are bad. Keep refining your product. Don't give up because the first couple things you make move slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HeHateMe Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by KBN yeah, move the tube. I would kick the {censored} outta that thing within 5 minutes. But I like the idea. Do you have any clips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members (((echo))) Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 there is no way i'd buy a pedal with a tube sticking out of the bottom.. i question if that thing would last three stomps, i honestly wouldn't feel comfortable with it anywhere but inside the housing.. but that's just personal taste. i think you'd find a lot more interest in it if you rehoused the whole thing.. more time and expense but you'd definitely get a better return Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speeddemon Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by dot-dot-dot Along with vague claims of wonderful sound - particularly how it "nails" some reference tone through a Pignose. Then refuse to give any details for a month or so, while still bumping the hype thread once a day. I have NO idea who you guys are talking about. nudge, nudge, wink, wink, eh, eh, say no more. (and I totally agree!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tetrapod Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by State 6000 Bass players are 10x more fickle than guitarists too, because every single one of them seems to own a Bassdrive and consider all other dirt pedals to suck low end...even though I've said about a million times that my mod doesn't suck lows. Couldn't you sell a simpler pedal first to build some kind of reputation? A DS-1 or distortion plus based that didn't suck lows would be easier to make. After word gets around you might have a market for your tube pedal. It seems a shame to have to give up on what is an interesting new idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 blame the customer !! Originally posted by State 6000 These have turned out to be the biggest bitch to sell ever. The plan was to sell a few to augment my non-existant income this semester, but I only made a wopping 10 bucks profit off the first one and I've had to relist this one for a second time because no one bid on it! It's a Distortion+ with a tube in it for heaven's sake! I really hate selling pedals. I'm a DIYer first and foremost, and this mod is something I came up with for myself...and I haven't even made enough dough to make one for myself If anything, I've learnt that: a) Original pedal mods that take 6-7 hours to do and require exotic parts to make don't sell. b) Tubescreamer mods that take 5 minutes to do and require 50c worth of parts sell like hot-cakes at a large profit. From now on all my original pedal ideas aren't for sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fatbackribs Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 Originally posted by Ronsonic B Sorry, but maybe it just isn't a good idea in the first place... ...the tube should stick out on the other end, less likely to get stepped on. Ron:freak: big +1 ...but don't let the peanut gallerey get you down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 My first thought on seeing State's plans to sell these was he underestimates the difficulty of getting established on the Internet. It can be hard and slow to even give away stuff (downloads) much less sell unknown products. Familiarity and connection to already-sought after gear does help; guitarists overall tend to be pretty conservative. The other issue is price and value. Even without the tube sticking out, it's just too expensive compared to competing options. Needs to be cheaper or better. Most of the time mods are used to save money and this is in the range of original pedals. I'm guessing the big problem is the use of a new Distortion+ pedal which both costs too much and isn't really suited to the product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phyrexia Posted May 21, 2006 Members Share Posted May 21, 2006 I would never buy a pedal that has a tube sticking out of it. A little window to see the tube, sure, ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted May 22, 2006 Members Share Posted May 22, 2006 Most people surely think tube=high voltage hazard but that's one thing not an issue here. Still a lose-lose since the alternative is to make a big deal about how little voltage is actually used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fourth Floor Posted May 22, 2006 Members Share Posted May 22, 2006 Not a bad idea, but the tube looks like you could snap it off in that position. What if you installed the tube on the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members State 6000 Posted May 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted May 22, 2006 The funny thing about price is that consumers are used to seeing cheap boutique pedals these days. Being based in Australia puts me at a dsadvantage because it costs around US$110 to buy a new Distortion+ here, and another US$15 to ship over the rare tube socket I use. Add the cost of the tube, the extra components, and the 6-7 hours labour...and you can see it's not exactly economically viable when selling to the US market. Ironically enough, I studied marketing for about 2 years ages ago. Perhaps I should actually put what I learned to good use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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