Hindi issue masyado para sa kanila whether or not there were changes to the circuit. Their primary gripe was the use of the madbean PCB layout, which is a supposedly copyrighted intellectual property. And since no light was shed regarding the issue, it was fair for them to presume that it was done so without permission. It was also understandable for some eyebrows to be raised because over a hundred SH's were already sold at that stage. That's already a lot for a relatively obscure small scale builder. May mga hindi masyadong maganda yung bitaw ng salita dun (galing pa sa kapwa Pinoy yung iba, mga member dito). But if anyone read closely, they'd notice that the veterans over there remained fairly neutral and encouraged MarkV to design his own layout so everybody'll be content. I haven't seen a new Shredhead to confirm whether or not Mark actually heeded that advice.
I think the general opinion at FSB regarding the issue is somewhat in-line with that of many of us here.
Personally, as far as the local scene goes, it's not a matter of breaking the law. Chasing down allegedly fraudulent local builders is more trouble than it's worth. They can't even do that within the same country. But it's still very much a matter of ethics. I'm very particular about that whether the other guy I'm dealing with is the seller or the buyer. I believe everyone should.
I'm gonna share all of my thoughts regarding this topic, so please bear with my longer-than-usual post.
Yup, it's really about ethics. Moreso, falsely claiming to be the innovator is a no-no. Basing his project on the MI Audio Crunch Box, Madbean designed his own PCB and defined the values of each component. Now someone directly copying Madbean's work and not giving credit to the real innovator and somehow claiming that all the tweaks done originated from his brain ain't so cool. It's such a shame that one's claim to fame for being a "tone scientist" had to come from directly copying another person's innovations. Moreover, I highly doubt it if Madbean earned even a few Pesos from each unit sold. I was a fan of that pedal for quite a while (I promoted it to everyone within my circle of influence) and I initially gave him the benefit of the doubt when he claimed that he added more components on the other side of the PCB... well, until I reverse-engineered it myself.
Most of the people here know me as a connoisseur of premium pedals but I'm actually very open-minded when it comes to modding, tweaking and so on. I just stick with international brands due to their inherently better resale value. Being an electronics engineer myself, I know the thrill of building electronic circuits and testing them at both signal (oscilloscope) and audio (actual testing) levels. The boutique guys who sell modded versions of classic pedals (Lovepedal, Tim Cochrane, Analogman, Keeley, etc.) all experienced that thrill as well; they did their own R&D for getting the results that they wanted to get. That "R&D" doesn't mean merely logging into FSB or DIY Stompboxes, downloading some circuit schematics, building one of each for "testing" if they works then mass-producing the circuits for personal profit. The ones who ripped off other circuits outright got (and are still getting) a lot of flak from the guitarists/music community for doing so. Globally, if I may add. John Landgraff and the Freekish Blues guys are just a few of them.
It doesn't matter if the modifications are very minimal; what really matters is that they didn't just stop at "Hey I just got a working pedal circuit online, lemme mass produce this for a quick buck!" They innovated; they used their brains to make classic designs sound and function better (e.g. Madbean's idea of bringing out the presence knob, Sean taking out the buffer circuit to create the Eternity, etc.). That's actually what the consumer base is paying for when buying boutique/small-shop pedals; it's the know-how and experience of those builders in designing pedals that function and sound better than the originals. Selling cloned pedals means that the consumer is paying P2.5k-3.5k for roughly P500 in parts, P2k-2.5k for labor and a big fat ZERO for innovation. If I didn't know crap about electronics, I'd rather ask someone knowledgeable to find a nice schematic for me, buy the components myself for P500 and go to my friendly neighborhood electronics guy (who probably has more experience in electronics than most of the guys here) and have him assemble it for me for P500 or maybe P1k even. Now if cheap price is the only consideration, then it can't get any cheaper than that.
It's the consumer's responsibility to judge if the differences do justify the extra cost. But really, there's nothing stopping anyone, including those in our local DIY scene, from adding a premium that they think would be worth their time and effort in meticulously improvising, developing and fabricating quality pedals. That's why I think that the more known boutique builders have the right to charge extra for their products.
It's always an encouragement to see music products being made locally. Sincerely, more power to you guys. I really mean it. But please, directly copying other people's innovations isn't going to put our country on the map. Like what one of the Wampler guys said when he found out that one of their pedals was directly ripped off, they would always welcome the thought of other people modifying their pedals' circuits and adding improvements to what they believe are already great products. That's the challenge to the local DIY/builders' community. Think big, guys. If you're really serious about making pedals, then build well thought-of and innovative products that will compete internationally.
No offense meant, guys. Just being honest and straightforward. Carry on.
