I don't mean to sound glib, but how hard is it to read the instruction manual and/or use your ears? I never had any issue with one of those DOD's. The manuals told me what every knob did.
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Why don't more pedals have cool art?
- Thread starter Obsidiann
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- art pedal pedal board
It's not. And I did exactly that with the DOD Ice Box I used to own. It was just irritating that I had to take time and remember instead of glance to adjust a parameter.
I enjoy great art on a pedal but I can dig a streamlined, clinical vibe as well.
I have a few pedals that I've painted and decorated myself.
The thing that irritates me is a pedal with super intense, blinding lights. I usually tape over them.
I have a few pedals that I've painted and decorated myself.
The thing that irritates me is a pedal with super intense, blinding lights. I usually tape over them.
Thankfully art, like opinions, is subjective.
I have an ancient rackmount (no special graphics) labeled "Buzz / Punch / Crunch". I think they're the guys on the Rice Krispies cereal box.
Riis
What about the people who want to look at pedals AND use them? The two aren't mutually exclusive.
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I do enjoy looking at my Fairfield Barbershop just as much as my DVK Hairball:
So ... ^ what's "SAG" and what's the difference between "TONE" and "TIMBRE" on the above pedals? "Sag" is a voltage constriction, labelled "Starve" on another pedal and could be just as easily called "Regulator" or "Juice". What is "Tone"? On the above pedals, one has a switch labelled "Tone", the other has a potentiometer labelled "Tone". What do they actually DO when you flip the switch or turn the knob? Doesn't matter, trust your ears. So...
NAMES ARE ARBITRARY.
What is "LEVEL"? Does that mean a control at the beginning of the circuit that actively amplifies the signal, aka GAIN or does it mean a passive potentiometer that dumps the signal to either ground or the output in varying "Levels"...
Sometimes pedal companies mislead you, I've seen "Gain" called "Vol", often, if it's a one-knob pedal.
Pedal manufacturers call something a "Tone" control, when what it's really doing is a high-treble cut, or controlling both a HPF & LPF or... whatever.
"Low Mids" can mean slightly different things to different companies, too. Why not just label the range of Hz? Would clear up any confusion...
Labels only have the associated meaning we attach to them.
I've no problem with creative pedal-control nomenclature, makes it even more fun and interesting. Besides, I turn a knob and use my ears — does it do something I like? Turn it more; don't like what I hear? Turn it back. If it's labelled "PUNCH", "POMEGRANATE" or "PUKE", that's far more interesting to me than Tone, Gain, Drive.
TB's servers and owners are based in the US, but TB has a wide user base that extends past the US boarders. I've seen TBers hail from all of the Americas including the rest of North America, Central America and quite a large number of South Americans such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile... Indeed, TB members come from around the globe, and could be from Australia to Zimbabwe...
So is it really such a stretch that there would be different tastes in graphics?
...I guess I wouldn't mind the Mona Lisa with a big knob on her face...or a Fresco with sliders or Midevil church paintings with LED's hanging on the walls of art museums.
Generally, though, I see the utility in settings being easy to use...I did however, chuckle when this came my way...
Generally, though, I see the utility in settings being easy to use...I did however, chuckle when this came my way...
...lighten up, the blokes from a land down under...Traveling in a fried-out Kombi On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said:
Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover!
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I like the art on the Blurst
Blurst! | Modulated Filter - Electro-Harmonix
It's eye-popping, eye-catching, and funky, yet it doesn't get in the way of the pedal's functionality.
Blurst! | Modulated Filter - Electro-Harmonix
It's eye-popping, eye-catching, and funky, yet it doesn't get in the way of the pedal's functionality.
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Yes.
To add: I'm plenty familiar with it. Doesn't make it ok. It's culturally accepted in some countries to marry your cousin, and in some it's perfectly fine to enter an arranged marriage to a 12 year old. Doesn't make it any less ****ed up whether it's cultural or not.
It's cultural! Therefore this morally reprehensible thing may exist.
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This reminded me of the Klon KTR statement "Kindly remember: the ridiculous hype that offends so many is not of my making". Not a political statement, but a pointed message intended to needle online communities. The pedalboard equivalent to a band stopping a show to lecture their rapid fanbase. It was a bold move that alienated current fans and appeals to those who would never buy it anyways.
Back in the day when I saw Nirvana, many in the crowd started clapping along to the intro of 'Heart Shaped Box' until Kurt shouted "shut up!" which they did. Needed to be said...
Huh I read that as him simply not being comfortable with the ridiculous exclusive hype and prices for the relatively rare original Klon pedals when he decided to release the KTR. People had probably been harassing him for years to make more Centaurs to feed their need to get a fix. The KTR was specifically released at a price that was more attainable (though still firmly “boutique” prices back then) and a design that was mass-produceable, though now the prices on even those have blown up since they are no longer being made (despite him making a ton of them at the time). Of course people pissed about not being able to afford a Klon probably held/hold him responsible for their limited availability, though all he did was build the things and release them as he wished- the hype was not created by him. It’s not his fault they are so coveted, nor his responsibility to keep cranking them out when he’s got other plans for his life that don’t revolve around building guitar pedals. People were also pissed that he was one of the first pedal builders to immerse the components in epoxy so that they weren’t easy to trace and copy, which is why the market wasn’t flooded with tons of Klon clones made by people trying to capitalize off his designs over the years like many other “boutique” pedals.
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I like the full art and unlabeled look. Here's one of my favorites from A.I.B Custom FX
OH MY GORD! IT DOESN'T HAVE KNOBS LABELLED IN A NONSENSICAL MANNER, NO HIEROGLYPHS FOR THE KNOBS, NOT EVEN "FOREIGN" WORDS — IT HAS NO LABELS AT ALL !
The world has ended, the sky has fallen, Armageddon is here because AIB didn't label anything.
PS: GREAT-looking pedal, would love to have that.
The world has ended, the sky has fallen, Armageddon is here because AIB didn't label anything.
PS: GREAT-looking pedal, would love to have that.
I realize as a collective here we all make music for many different reasons as diverse as the crowds that come to the bars, seedier nightclubs, Sunday services, or family oriented daylight picnics.Maybe it's because I grew up in the 70's and 80's but I prefer a solid color and just a label like Boss, MXR, DOD and Ibanez used to do it...
I really don't like people ogling my pedals too much on stage. I especially stay away from demonic or sexual imagery or labelling. When folks see that it tends to spark questions and dialogue I'd rather nor engage in. I even had a guy question me about the bridge on my bass saying "badass" on it. "Are you sure you're ok with taking that bass into a church?"My bright orange Phase 100 doesn't start awkward conversations.
That said, I personally didn't or wouldn't join any bands that aspire to impress my mom or grandma Agnes, and the places we play don't allow kids (thankfully!)
