Freekish Blues Boutique pedal scam!

thecornman

thecornman

BREAUX
So I was bored last night and sitting on the computer when I came on to some stuff about this Freekish Blues Pedal scam that happened a couple years ago! Found it intriging so I dug in and read as much as I could find about the whole situation. Holy shit did this guy pull the wool over a lot of peoples eyes. I know this old news for most out there, but I had never looked into the extent of just how bad this dude fucked over a whole lot of people. There is even glowing reviews in guitar magazines of this guys boutique bassment built pedals that ended up with research from guitar nerds to be nothing, but cheap chinese clones with the casings repainted,rebranded, goop on components, and marked up to elite boutique prices. Due to his marketing sceme and a whole lot of hype tons of people were fooled into thinking he was the next big thing including those people with the keen boutique ears that would not be caught dead with a chinese knockoff. It is funny how those same people were so impressed with just how great these pedals sounded untill they found out what they really were. Also crazy how certain forums were doing everything they could to hide the truth when it came out.

Reading all this just reinforced my views of how the whole boutique pedal world is a joke built on hype full of people that believe they are going to find some kind of voodoo or mojo in one of these boxes to make them sound better. Also makes my wallet feel good when buying these cheap clones that sound just as good even to gear snobs unless they actually know what they really are.
 
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I agree with you that FB was pretty ridiculous......the rest of your post is a bit out in the weeds.
 
Yeah..that guy is a nutjob. His posting on HC was a pretty good indicator of that.

While I agree that there are a lot of boutique builders that are just copying old designs and repainting boxes for a giant upcharge there are quite a few builders that actually are making some great stuff that I think is worth $169 for a crunch pedal or in the case of strymon $450 for a multi effects pedal. I use gear from Xotic, Suhr, Barber, Wampler, Van Amps, Voodoo Lab, Fulltone, Sonic Research and Mojo Hand FX on pretty much every gig and after going through probably hundreds of pedals over the years I can safely say that the stuff I have now makes me happy and sounds how I would like to sound onstage. And I'm not saying that cheaper pedals can't sound good either but I think that writing off an entire segment of an industry because of nutjobs like FB or the behavior of people on TGP who spend more time shopping for the flavor of the month than actually playing their gear isn't fair.

This is my "large gig board"

994011_10151993932892425_373719594_n.jpg


This is my "small gig and rehearsal" rig:

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Lerxst said:
I agree with you that FB was pretty ridiculous......the rest of your post is a bit out in the weeds.
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To each their own. People should do whatever they want with their money, but money will never compensate for skill and the work it takes to get there which many seem to think it will.
 
Mark Wein said:
Yeah..that guy is a nutjob. His posting on HC was a pretty good indicator of that.

While I agree that there are a lot of boutique builders that are just copying old designs and repainting boxes for a giant upcharge there are quite a few builders that actually are making some great stuff that I think is worth $169 for a crunch pedal or in the case of strymon $450 for a multi effects pedal. I use gear from Xotic, Suhr, Barber, Wampler, Van Amps, Voodoo Lab, Fulltone, Sonic Research and Mojo Hand FX on pretty much every gig and after going through probably hundreds of pedals over the years I can safely say that the stuff I have now makes me happy and sounds how I would like to sound onstage. And I'm not saying that cheaper pedals can't sound good either but I think that writing off an entire segment of an industry because of nutjobs like FB or the behavior of people on TGP who spend more time shopping for the flavor of the month than actually playing their gear isn't fair.

This is my "large gig board"

994011_10151993932892425_373719594_n.jpg


This is my "small gig and rehearsal" rig:

1466052_10152136113117425_1899303984_n.jpg
Click to expand...

You are right and some of these guys are being innovative and putting some original stuff out there! People should buy what they want and what makes them happy. I am not a very material person myself (frugal) and i guess i just am satisfied easy. I feel like I can take pretty much anything and dial in a good usuable sound out of it that works well in my band format. I guess I am from the mojo comes from my fingers school of thought. Honestly I have no problem with other people being into the whole boutique thing. I feel there is a lot of hype going on there and the prices of some of this stuff is way ridiculous for what you get when I can find something that works just as good for me at a small fraction of the price, but again that is just me being thrifty. I do however think some of the gear snobs on TGP are just trying to compinsate for lack of ability by having the coolist toys to show off. I have never admired a player for what they use. I admire them for what and how they can play using whatever they might have.
 
Yeah, I think that the real difference between boutique and cheap, mass produced stuff is not the base circuit itself. Those are common, can't be patented, and anyone can use them.

The difference is in creative modifications that change the functionality of the circuit, the creativity in the enclosure finish (if that matters to you), and the time taken to select quality components.

The only thing in all of that that truly changes the tone is the modifications, but that doesn't change what the base circuit was in the first place.

Even those manufacturers that are now mass, or at least batch, producing still have the mods on their side in terms of the boo-teek element. And the creative finishes, but there's no lock on creativity. Just look at the rehousing movement where mass produced stuff is getting moved into pretty boxes in order to better fit the aesthetic of the rest of the pedal board...or just fit better.

So, if the mods get copied, what's left? Quality components, care in manufacturing, and the finishes on the boxes.

There's value in that. How much? That's entirely up to you to decide.
It's about what you need from the product and how much it's worth to you.

A working musician is going to like the consistency that quality components and care in manufacturing brings to the table.

At the same time, there are sounds that you can get out of a cheap pedal that just fit and is worth the risk of it failing during a gig. I'd bet there is a better quality pedal that is capable of the same sounds...if not, that would be a good business plan - build better quality knock offs of the knock offs. (And knock off is not a fair term because all pedals are emulating something else.)
 
dodgechargerfan said:
Yeah, I think that the real difference between boutique and cheap, mass produced stuff is not the base circuit itself. Those are common, can't be patented, and anyone can use them.

The difference is in creative modifications that change the functionality of the circuit, the creativity in the enclosure finish (if that matters to you), and the time taken to select quality components.

The only thing in all of that that truly changes the tone is the modifications, but that doesn't change what the base circuit was in the first place.

Even those manufacturers that are now mass, or at least batch, producing still have the mods on their side in terms of the boo-teek element. And the creative finishes, but there's no lock on creativity. Just look at the rehousing movement where mass produced stuff is getting moved into pretty boxes in order to better fit the aesthetic of the rest of the pedal board...or just fit better.

So, if the mods get copied, what's left? Quality components, care in manufacturing, and the finishes on the boxes.

There's value in that. How much? That's entirely up to you to decide.
It's about what you need from the product and how much it's worth to you.

A working musician is going to like the consistency that quality components and care in manufacturing brings to the table.

At the same time, there are sounds that you can get out of a cheap pedal that just fit and is worth the risk of it failing during a gig. I'd bet there is a better quality pedal that is capable of the same sounds...if not, that would be a good business plan - build better quality knock offs of the knock offs. (And knock off is not a fair term because all pedals are emulating something else.)
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Good post and I can agree with it! Thing is in my experience the boutique don't hold up any better then some of the cheaper stuff! I had three boutique pedals that crapped out on me in the past. Two were the switches and the other one was lose wiring. In 27 years of playing I have never had a Boss pedal die on me. I know the looks of a pedal matter to some people, but again it is just not something I could care less about. I don't spend much time looking at my feet when I am playing with my band.
 
Not all 'boutique' pedals are priced that highly. A brand nice pedal from Boss or Ibanez is in some cases only $25 - $40 less than some of the boutique makers. But having owed both I can tell a difference - but a lot of that also comes from the sound you are looking for.
 
Denverdave said:
Not all 'boutique' pedals are priced that highly. A brand nice pedal from Boss or Ibanez is in some cases only $25 - $40 less than some of the boutique makers. But having owed both I can tell a difference - but a lot of that also comes from the sound you are looking for.
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Application is everything. If it works who cares who built it or how much it cost? Until it died my main chorus was an Arion SCH-1 that I got used at Pro Music Exchange for $29. But replacing the sound that THAT pedal made to my satisfaction cost a lot more money.
 
Sound is what we hear in our head and not someone else's. As discussed before alot of the tone comes from ones style and hands and this is away from the gear. This is why comparison videos are bad but it is our source next to trying an item ourselves. Take any two players on the forum - one at a time running through the same gear. They won't sound the same and their thoughts on that product will have different results.
 
Modern Saint said:
Sadly a lot of the money is in the finishes which take the most time on building a pedal.
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This is true. Sadly.

After making my phaser I was asked per PM by a former member here if I could make another and turned it down because the kit plus materials plus my time would have made it run over a hundred for it to be worthwhile for me.
 
The easy way to solve this problem is to never buy direct. Always buy from a reputable distributor.

All of my pedals were built either by friends, industry contacts, or well known corporations. They range from $40 to $500.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
The easy way to solve this problem is to never buy direct. Always buy from a reputable distributor.

All of my pedals were built either by friends, industry contacts, or well known corporations. They range from $40 to $500.
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But there's this guy who builds these pedals in his basement that everyone on TGP says makes THE best Klone clone and dumble simulator ever and he only has a 7 month wait list with full payment up front. YOU HAVE GOT TO GET ON THE LIST!!!111!!!!1!
 
Mark Wein said:
But there's this guy who builds these pedals in his basement that everyone on TGP says makes THE best Klone clone and dumble simulator ever and he only has a 7 month wait list with full payment up front. YOU HAVE GOT TO GET ON THE LIST!!!111!!!!1!
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If you want to be a baller and have the flavor of the moment pedal, you've gotta roll the dice. :wink:

The thing that blows my mind is how once a builder goes flakey or proves to be unable to deliver product, there are still idiots lining up to give them money.
 
Lerxst said:
If you want to be a baller and have the flavor of the moment pedal, you've gotta roll the dice. :wink:

The thing that blows my mind is how once a builder goes flakey or proves to be unable to deliver product, there are still idiots lining up to give them money.
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I love the shit storm threads on tgp once one of these guys goes sideways. And every day now it seems like these is a thread where someone it bitching about getting hosed by a dealer or manufacturer.
 
Mark Wein said:
I love the shit storm threads on tgp once one of these guys goes sideways. And every day now it seems like these is a thread where someone it bitching about getting hosed by a dealer or manufacturer.
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I think there's a lot more noise than there is substance. Many complaints are the equivalent of "I sent an email at 4:53pm on a Friday before a holiday weekend! It's 10am the following Tuesday, and I STILL haven't gotten a response!" Or worse, they complain on TGP before even contacting the company. How can anyone help you if they don't know you have a problem? And is airing your dirty laundry in public going to do anything but cover you in your own shit? I'm not inclined to think so.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
I think there's a lot more noise than there is substance. Many complaints are the equivalent of "I sent an email at 4:53pm on a Friday before a holiday weekend! It's 10am the following Tuesday, and I STILL haven't gotten a response!" Or worse, they complain on TGP before even contacting the company. How can anyone help you if they don't know you have a problem? And is airing your dirty laundry in public going to do anything but cover you in your own shit? I'm not inclined to think so.
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Yeah. most of those threads are stupid. The one I actually watch is the one for Rogue Guitar Shop since I had a problem with them a year or so ago myself.
 
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