Savvy Musical Electronics Buyer: What is the (re)purpose of building electric guitar effects devices out of recycled materials? And why would I buy one? Can’t I just go down to Guitar Center (the Walmart of the guitar world) and get the floor manager Fang to set me up with a bullet-proof Boss effect in a bright eye catching color that he assures me will “totally nail that Mastodon sound dude”?
Corpulent Odiferous Online Legate: Sure, if you want a cookie cutter looking (and sounding) box that will encase your tone in the same plastic film that most of its wires and components are covered with. Let’s face it, very few manufacturers today make electronic components of the quality you can find in most mid to high end stereo and hi-fi equipment manufactured through the seventies. Those present day companies that do make quality parts don’t sell them cheaply. For this reason, they don’t usually end up in mass produced guitar effects, which are built as cost effectively as possible in order to maximize profits for shareholders. (Nothing against capitalism folks, I use it myself. I am just pointing out how profiteering can sometimes dull cutting edge ideas and sounds).
S.M.E.B.: OK smarty-pants, I’ll just go buy one of those cool high quality component boutique effects everybody’s talking about with funny names like the Great Big Suckling Pig or the Bucktooth Squirrel.
C.O.O.L.: Go ahead. Spend the extra scratch. You will get your money’s worth in a great sounding effect built by someone dedicated to their craft and the quest for great tone… and I like funny names. But if you don’t have the extra cash and you still crave great tone with a non-plasti-coated soul, we here at SoaringTortoise Electronics have the same dedication and quest for tone as the boutique guys. We merely try to achieve this with the best sounding parts we can remove from obsolete and non-functioning electronics of the past. And because our parts are sourced from electronic detritus we have very little, if any, material costs in our effects and amps. We try to pass this savings on to you in the form of a unique, one of a kind, hand-made effect that sounds every bit as good as those from the boutique gentlemen. Our effects and amps may not have computer controlled solder robot perfect circuit boards, or perfectly square enclosures with eight unblemished coats of lemon yellow metal flake paint, but they do sound superb… and some even have funny names.
Corpulent Odiferous Online Legate: Sure, if you want a cookie cutter looking (and sounding) box that will encase your tone in the same plastic film that most of its wires and components are covered with. Let’s face it, very few manufacturers today make electronic components of the quality you can find in most mid to high end stereo and hi-fi equipment manufactured through the seventies. Those present day companies that do make quality parts don’t sell them cheaply. For this reason, they don’t usually end up in mass produced guitar effects, which are built as cost effectively as possible in order to maximize profits for shareholders. (Nothing against capitalism folks, I use it myself. I am just pointing out how profiteering can sometimes dull cutting edge ideas and sounds).
S.M.E.B.: OK smarty-pants, I’ll just go buy one of those cool high quality component boutique effects everybody’s talking about with funny names like the Great Big Suckling Pig or the Bucktooth Squirrel.
C.O.O.L.: Go ahead. Spend the extra scratch. You will get your money’s worth in a great sounding effect built by someone dedicated to their craft and the quest for great tone… and I like funny names. But if you don’t have the extra cash and you still crave great tone with a non-plasti-coated soul, we here at SoaringTortoise Electronics have the same dedication and quest for tone as the boutique guys. We merely try to achieve this with the best sounding parts we can remove from obsolete and non-functioning electronics of the past. And because our parts are sourced from electronic detritus we have very little, if any, material costs in our effects and amps. We try to pass this savings on to you in the form of a unique, one of a kind, hand-made effect that sounds every bit as good as those from the boutique gentlemen. Our effects and amps may not have computer controlled solder robot perfect circuit boards, or perfectly square enclosures with eight unblemished coats of lemon yellow metal flake paint, but they do sound superb… and some even have funny names.
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