The Next Big Thing Effect

[dubkitty]

from my admittedly limited time observing i think there are several factors at play:

hype. here i think the Pharoah is a classic example...all of a sudden everyone and their dog on all the forums were saying it was the grreatest thing since sliced bread, a veritable 2008 Joey Logano of a pedal. seldom does anything live up to that kind of hype. with all due respect i still think the Gnomeatron is a local version of this...i'm still not hearing it. i love you guys, but i'm not hearing it.

novelty. something new and exciting, adorable, or intriguing will hit the market, everybody will have to have one because they're just TOO irresistible even though they're kind of crap, and then in 18 months you won't be able to give them away. previous examples: the original 70s Dan Armstrong cubes, Dano effects. next example: Malekko minis, selling at $40 each in the b/s/t summer of 2012. you saw it here first.

features vs. actual sound. i'm starting to see certain of the feature-rich $400-500 tremolos, reverbs, delays, etc. appear in the used market as IMO the buyers notice what i found apparent at the outset: that once you look beyond the impressive functions and programmability the actual sound of the processing is rather flat and artificial [cough]Empress tremolo[/cough].

ass-pain. the preponderance of effect users don't want a device that they have to devote hours to programming. thus a LOT of high-quality processing gear is in the used market because people still don't want to RTFM, and you've GOT to RTFM to get much out of anything programmable. the amount of difference you can make with granular adjustments to, e.g., the amp models on a PodXT is nothing short of astounding, but you have to know how to do it. so lacking the patience to learn how to drive that Lamborghini, they trade it in on a Ford Focus.

[Snufkino]

The Blunderbuss, the way I use it, sounds like my amp exploding. Not breaking, not dying, not running too hot - exploding. I almost feel like Kyle should have printed "Blunderbuss" on the enclosure and refrained from mentioning any relation to the Musket when he released it - it's capable of achieving levels of insanity far outside the reaches of a Musket, and I think people aren't biting because they think it's "just a germanium Musket." You can get normal muff (and even overdrive [gasp!])sounds out of it as well, but who can be bothered with those, right?

I think I'm the only person who never really cared for the Musket. Great, but really vanilla for the price. Nowhere near as tweakable as I thought it would be. Just didn't seem to have much range in the focus and tone knobs. Does the blunderbuss have larger range of controls as well as more volume?

[Wes Mantooth]

I just received a Pharaoh to demo and after jamming on it I can see why it's popular. It's a really solid fuzz with plenty of options as well. I really dig it at least, I can't say I was positively blown away but I definitely see why they got popular.

[StopReferencing]

I think I'm the only person who never really cared for the Musket. Great, but really vanilla for the price. Nowhere near as tweakable as I thought it would be. Just didn't seem to have much range in the focus and tone knobs. Does the blunderbuss have larger range of controls as well as more volume?

IMO, yes.

[MEC]

I just received a Pharaoh to demo and after jamming on it I can see why it's popular. It's a really solid fuzz with plenty of options as well. I really dig it at least, I can't say I was positively blown away but I definitely see why they got popular.

I don't mean to derail this thread but I was wondering how the Pharaoh and Manx compare. In description they sound similar (Muff with James-Baxandall Tone Stack) and I was wondering if the same was true in sound.

A video comparing them on your blog would be

[StopReferencing]

I don't mean to derail this thread but I was wondering how the Pharaoh and Manx compare. In description they sound similar (Muff with James-Baxandall Tone Stack) and I was wondering if the same was true in sound.

A video comparing them on your blog would be

If I may chip in - they don't sound similar to me. Pharaoh's more versatile, Manx is fuzzier.

[hazelwould]

from my admittedly limited time observing i think there are several factors at play:

hype. here i think the Pharoah is a classic example...all of a sudden everyone and their dog on all the forums were saying it was the grreatest thing since sliced bread, a veritable 2008 Joey Logano of a pedal. seldom does anything live up to that kind of hype. with all due respect i still think the Gnomeatron is a local version of this...i'm still not hearing it. i love you guys, but i'm not hearing it.

novelty. something new and exciting, adorable, or intriguing will hit the market, everybody will have to have one because they're just TOO irresistible even though they're kind of crap, and then in 18 months you won't be able to give them away. previous examples: the original 70s Dan Armstrong cubes, Dano effects. next example: Malekko minis, selling at $40 each in the b/s/t summer of 2012. you saw it here first.

features vs. actual sound. i'm starting to see certain of the feature-rich $400-500 tremolos, reverbs, delays, etc. appear in the used market as IMO the buyers notice what i found apparent at the outset: that once you look beyond the impressive functions and programmability the actual sound of the processing is rather flat and artificial [cough]Empress tremolo[/cough].

ass-pain. the preponderance of effect users don't want a device that they have to devote hours to programming. thus a LOT of high-quality processing gear is in the used market because people still don't want to RTFM, and you've GOT to RTFM to get much out of anything programmable. the amount of difference you can make with granular adjustments to, e.g., the amp models on a PodXT is nothing short of astounding, but you have to know how to do it. so lacking the patience to learn how to drive that Lamborghini, they trade it in on a Ford Focus.

While I think you have some good theories, I disagree. I've had similar ideas on "hype" and flavor of the week pedals. But I've been on here for a while, and have seen things come and go (Warhorse). And stuff get recycled (manglers), and alot of other stuff on ILF. But it's still out today, and it'll go through it's waves of "hype." But overall, fourms are filled with trend following and the latest "look what i have and you dont." But frankly I don't agree with your examples of these things.

On ILF there is stuff (wolf computer) that almost all of us owned over the past few years. There is a good amount out there with in the community, and at this point it's still nothing earth shattering. But it's still a coveted pedal.

With the Pharaoh. If you want doom, it's doom in a box. Simple enough. If you don't want doom, it'll be to bassy or dark.

The Gnomeratron will more than likely never have enough produced to ever really satisfy demand on ILF. So it'll never get to the point of being labeled as a "flavor of the week." Not the VTF anyways.

With the Malekko's. They're analog pedals in mini boxes. Unless pedals in general lose their value, I don't see those as being something everyone flips for $40 in the summer of '12.

These trends are VERY clear on HC and TGP. Less so textbook here, IMO.

[Wes Mantooth]

I just received a Pharaoh to demo and after jamming on it I can see why it's popular. It's a really solid fuzz with plenty of options as well. I really dig it at least, I can't say I was positively blown away but I definitely see why they got popular.

I don't mean to derail this thread but I was wondering how the Pharaoh and Manx compare. In description they sound similar (Muff with James-Baxandall Tone Stack) and I was wondering if the same was true in sound.

A video comparing them on your blog would be

Oh I plan on comparing the Manx, Pharaoh, Fuzz War and ECT in a high gain fuzz shootout!

Just waiting on my laptop to get fixed so I can record again I'll try to have it up in a week

I haven't done them side by side but I have played them both a fair amount. I can say that they are more different than I expected. The Pharaoh sounds a bit thicker and just has a bit more low end punch than the Manx. The Manx on the other hand is very clear, never gets muddy and has pretty tight bass for a fuzz (though it's a little too easy to dial in boomy bass, not good bass.). I'll to a side by side today and elaborate on my findings

[MEC]

I don't mean to derail this thread but I was wondering how the Pharaoh and Manx compare. In description they sound similar (Muff with James-Baxandall Tone Stack) and I was wondering if the same was true in sound.

A video comparing them on your blog would be

If I may chip in - they don't sound similar to me. Pharaoh's more versatile, Manx is fuzzier.

I just received a Pharaoh to demo and after jamming on it I can see why it's popular. It's a really solid fuzz with plenty of options as well. I really dig it at least, I can't say I was positively blown away but I definitely see why they got popular.

I don't mean to derail this thread but I was wondering how the Pharaoh and Manx compare. In description they sound similar (Muff with James-Baxandall Tone Stack) and I was wondering if the same was true in sound.

A video comparing them on your blog would be

Oh I plan on comparing the Manx, Pharaoh, Fuzz War and ECT in a high gain fuzz shootout!

Just waiting on my laptop to get fixed so I can record again I'll try to have it up in a week

I haven't done them side by side but I have played them both a fair amount. I can say that they are more different than I expected. The Pharaoh sounds a bit thicker and just has a bit more low end punch than the Manx. The Manx on the other hand is very clear, never gets muddy and has pretty tight bass for a fuzz (though it's a little too easy to dial in boomy bass, not good bass.). I'll to a side by side today and elaborate on my findings

Thanks to both of you.
I already have 2 Pharaohs( ) but I'll definitely need to hear more of the Manx to decide if I should get one.
I look forward to the demos.

[dubkitty]

@ hazelwould: of course i don't expect everybody to agree with my view or examples, and i may not have made my distinctions with crystal clarity. first of all, i should have been clearer that my remarks were addressed to forums in general, and were not ILF-specific except when directly mentioned as such.

when you talk about "hype" and compare the current Pharoah situation to the Wolf Computer, there are important differences, most importantly that the WC has never been made in quantities sufficient to satisfy demand (i've posted in the Mellowtone forum that Eric should build more WCs and MWCPUs for the good of the business because they always sell out instantaneously) and that the Pharoah, as a Muff-esque device, is a more "mainstream" box that gets hyped to more of the TGP/HC market and inherently is a higher-demand item. and when i talk about "hype" i'm mainly talking about fan-boi raves on the forums...someone's gonna be insulted, but some of the Gnomeatron talk gets into that territory to me. i'll stop there because this isn't the Gnomeatron thread, but it's occasionally uncomfortably close to the TGP guys who say that the Klon Centaur gives their wives better orgasms if they leave it under the pillow.

i'm sticking, though, to my belief that if the upcoming mini-Malekko boxes have the same kind of ratio of adorable vs. useable/sounds good as the current models (my rating: cuteness: 8; functionality: 3.5) they'll wind up as the kind of boxes that show up in everybody's periodic sell-offs of their second/third tier effects. in my world, tiny @ $120 doesn't beat fully-functioned @ $150.

[SmallEQ]

i'm sticking, though, to my belief that if the upcoming mini-Malekko boxes have the same kind of ratio of adorable vs. useable/sounds good as the current models (my rating: cuteness: 8; functionality: 3.5) they'll wind up as the kind of boxes that show up in everybody's periodic sell-offs of their second/third tier effects. in my world, tiny @ $120 doesn't beat fully-functioned @ $150.

You might be right on the bang/buck ratio thing, but there is no way they'll be anywhere close to $40 average in just slightly over a year. The Cbread mini's never got anywhere near that point either.

[dubkitty]

that's probably true. sometimes i overstate for effect. probably all the Hunter S. Thompson and Frank Zappa when i was a kid.

[starcastic]

I plan on comparing the Manx, Pharaoh, Fuzz War and ECT in a high gain fuzz shootout!

Looking forward to this! Just got my Manx and I'm loving it. I've only been able to play it at apartment volume, but so far I can tell that it will absolutely RIP with my live setup. I've had a few Muffs before... 90's NYC reissue, a 70's Little Big Muff, XO LBM, reissue black Russian, vintage green Russian, and a BYOC Large Beaver Triangle. With my gear, the Manx is the best sounding variant of the circuit I've tried yet. And it's stupid easy to dial in. Can't wait to see how it stacks up against the Pharaoh, Fuzz War and ECT!

[aen]

ILF is made of Gear Slutz. Always buying, always selling.

[hazelwould]

that's probably true. sometimes i overstate for effect. probably all the Hunter S. Thompson and Frank Zappa when i was a kid.

lol, yea frankly I don't care too much either way. I actually really hope they get to the $40 price point. They sound great and aren't big.

I will say they'd actually have to sell exceptionally well to ever reach a "market saturation" level where the prices would be really low. Example: Boss.