Hi guys,
I recently had an experience that was so good I had to share and give this guy some press, since his shop is fairly small but his work is world class, and he's an absolute legend when it comes to after service and quality control.
I got an Analog Delay from Smashing Guitars/Endangered Audio Research. I was looking for something sweet, unique.. you can find the details for yourself, but I ended up with a beautiful 4-knob delay with a self-oscillation momentary switch next to the bypass and 300ms of dusky, glittery lo-fi BBD delay, and in these times of economic trouble, all hand-built and sourced from the USA, local powdercoating for the boxes, custom made knobs, the whole nine yards, etc. It's run by a guy named Todd Kelley, and all done pretty much just by him, so it seems, and he can't be beat.
I got another effect from him, the only licensed reproduction of the Throbbing Gristle circuit, and it was a bit wonky but we couldn't figure it out for a long time. Tried different power sources, etc..
Anyway, we couldn't fix this one, which is an issue for me because I live in Seoul, Korea, so if I want to get something, or get it fixed, especially a boutique pedal, the shipping's gonna be an easy 30-40 bucks each way.
So he says, send it back, something's wrong and we can't figure it out since the issue of cutting in and out of the clean bypass, or intermittent signal, etc was really unpredictable.
He also says, I've been working on some upgrades for the delay. Send it along and I'll upgrade it cheaper than normal for your trouble.
So it takes a month or more before we realize there's a defective FET in the circuit, something I would have no way to figure out, and he bumps up the delay to 800ms with all that color and tone that I love in a delay, and he says, pay me 40 bucks. Mostly it's time, and normally I'd charge more, but send that and we'll call it good.
Now, I've had big-name effects before, EHX, MXR, etc, and I've often had trouble with service. Sometimes I can't even get these guys to return an email.
Todd is never quick with his emails, but when he does get back (and he ALWAYS does, even if it's a week later), you get paragraphs, literally, of well-thought out possibilities, options, expertise, and an almost excessive amount of care about his effects, which happily are growing in number slowly.
The box comes to my door, the Gristleizer's fixed and perfect, the delay is killing it, and he's essentially asked for the shipping. I know how much time and thought went into not only the fix but the upgrade.
He's set the standard for what I expect in service.
If you're looking for a sick delay made by a guy who deserves to succeed, check out Todd Kelley and Endangered Audio Research, he's on eBay and his website's in the middle on construction, and he's in Asheville, NC. And he's a legend.
Needless to say, I sent him more than 40 bucks.
