Cool thread....I tune in and it's part pedal pedagogy, part foodie reviews, part pathology report.......I am trying to resist ordering More, and the fact that the site wouldn't allow me to select a HW More has hitherto made that a shade easier....is it a glitch?
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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
From September on, there will only be a choice between simple and full colored artwork on raw aluminum, or will other finish options exist?
HW More doesn't exist, I've only done an SMD version of it. If a HW version were to be made it would have to be in the same size enclosure as Dr. Wattson.
Raw aluminum (with clear powdercoat over the artwork) will be the only option from September onward. I'm actually thinking about reducing options further and only doing simple, but adding some additional simple artwork to them (like I used to do when I laser engraved everything) and making it the only choice. More on that when decisions have been made. I'm trying to not only reduce the amount of time I spend working on boxes, but also trying to reduce the number of mistakes it's possible for me to make. I don't often send people the wrong artwork, but it has happened a couple times.
UPDATE: While the Buffer buster definitely achieved the goal of eliminating PSU noise between the LR and the DW, I found a better solution. I inadvertently had my Dr. Wattson on a two pedal daisy chain. Putting it on isolated power also eliminated the PSU noise, no Buster needed now.
Since my board is in constant flux, daisy chains became problematic, keeping track etc. So I installed a third PSU under my Gator board, an Eventide branded Cioks. Now, not only do I have everything isolated, I'm also running the HXFX off the Cioks.
I'm excited to start hearing players thoughts on the More vs the Space Heater!
- Feb 16, 2008
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- John K Custom Basses
I'll be honest. This saddens me. The awesome colors were what drew me to SushiBox in the first place because they didn't look like every other pedal out there. I currently have white, green, orange, red, full color, and a raw/simple. Even my SushiBox pedals don't look like any of my other SushiBox pedals. I understand though. I may have to get something in Rainbow's End to signify the end of the rainbow so to speak.
And what does this mean for Fluffy Kitten? I keep that one on display just because of the awesome artwork!
I assume you've already tried pre-finished enclosures? You'd probably have issues with cutting the cooling slots I'd guess.
UA tonestack is a Fender style, DW is a Hiwatt style. They're both treble-mid-bass stacks, but that's where the similarities end. Fender stacks you can set to around 2-10-2 and get a "flat" response, but there's no way to get a flat response out of a Hiwatt stack, it will always have a pronounced mid-bump.
Yup, all Underground Accelerators starting this month (July batch) will come standard with teh tone stack bypass switch.
I know, and it's been a tough decision. Obviously nobody buys pedals 100% for the looks (aside from Fluffy Kitten), but the looks have always been important, and I want people to be able to express themselves. But it continues to be a huge drain on my time, and is frankly the least enjoyable part of building for me, not to mention the part where I'm most likely to mess up and have to re-do things.
I've tried pre-coated enclosures, but you nailed it, the CNC milling process isn't very gentle, and it's too easy to get scratches all over the enclosure before they even get to the workbench. Also if I mess up a print on a raw enclosure I can wipe off the artwork with acetone and re-print, but if I mess up on a powdercoat enclosure, I have to sand the whole top off, re-apply the powdercoat, then re-print.
Fluffy Kitten will remain the one exception. Due to an agreement I have with the artist, Fluffy Kitten has always only been available as full color over white, and it will continue to be only available in full color over white.
I understand where you and where @Sushi Box FX are both coming from on this issue. I hope to be able to get future pedals with artwork as I find the Finally the ugly duckling in my SushiBoxFX collection. I also value my early custom color, laser etched boxes just that much more.
Also the MORE ought to have a big knob, A BIG KNOB, A MORE BIGGER KNOB! Just saying.
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Good call. Choosing your design from the knob and LED color to the design artwork and powdercoat is merely a nice-to-have option. Other brands do one design and that's it - this still leaves room for limited edition runs.
^^^^^^truth^^^^^
I also understand but lament the contraction of finish options but I guess this'll go where most btq pedals have already gone......limited editions that're cool in their own right.
I am planning to go up in size a little for More's knob, but I haven't really committed to one yet. Probably won't go HUGE, but bigger.
And it certainly wasn't my intention. My original goal was to find a turnkey supplier and contract out building of my SMD designs, then I would continue doing handwired builds myself, but I would reduce the number of builds I personally do each month and allow more custom options. So you could have the externally built "stock" SMD pedals, or the "custom shop" pedals still handbuilt by me.Never thought I'd see the day when SushiBox was just like everybody else
This plan fell apart when I discovered how difficult it is to find a turnkey supplier willing to work with tubes. Most of the companies I talked to just said they don't deal with tubes, the one I was able to get a quote from said they could build Dr. Wattson for $320 per unit. That wouldn't be the end price for the customer, that's what it would cost me per unit for them to build it. So obviously I didn't go for that as price is always going to be a sticking point for me. I want pedals at prices that I would personally be willing to pay for a pedal.
I would still like to work toward this eventually. True custom builds are a huge time suck, but I still loved doing it. I love letting the pedals be a further canvas for expression of the player, and that's why I had a dozen colors available for so long. But Sushi Box is still trying to decide what it wants to be when it grows up, and my non-business brain is being forced into making business decisions. I love building things, I hate deciding things.
Anyway, I could keep rambling, but that pretty well covers what's going on in my brain about this stuff. Everyone likes customization, I like customization, but I'm trying to sleep more.
Oh I get it!
What about this....do the change where everything is raw/simple. Then each month, offer 1 different color option. Not sure if that would make things easier while still offering some variety.
One small comment about my SB SBVT, the position of the knobs is hard to see clearly from standing position (I'm getting old) maybe a choice of knobs with a clear marker... (;-)
Something Fuzzrocious has is a custom option where a small hooman applies chaotic swirls of paint to the enclosure, with further handpainted art for labeling optional.
Not to steal the idea outright, but if the occasional unpredictable custom option were offered (like a "surprise me!" sort of thing), it might be relatively fun to do, it would by definition never involve redos, and could have a similar effect of having at least a small trickle of one-off pedals into the world. All at the creator's whim, of course.
Not to steal the idea outright, but if the occasional unpredictable custom option were offered (like a "surprise me!" sort of thing), it might be relatively fun to do, it would by definition never involve redos, and could have a similar effect of having at least a small trickle of one-off pedals into the world. All at the creator's whim, of course.
I have thought about something like this. I still have all the sparkly and translucent powders from the before times, I've considered having a "dealer's choice" option where I pick a color each month and throw it on.
