clones of circuits...isn't everbody guilty???

[groovemeister]

having been lurking here in the building for a few years, i can't help but notice a certain level of hypocrisy when it comes to accusing peeps of ripping off circuits.

eg: klone - soul food, jhs, etc etc
timmy - lovepedal od 11

nearly every booteek pedal builder has clones of 808's, blues breakers, big muffs , blues driver mods, dm-2 clones, phase 90 clones, ce-2 clones , small clone clones, .... the list is endless....

yet people only seem to call certain builders thieves. to me, every pedal builder except boss, ibanez (and ironically) ehx makes a good chunk of their living out of other peoples original ideas, is it time to call a spade a spade???

 

[bloomz]

Spades

Lots of amp builders too.

Double standards galore.

 

[bandofthieves™]

For me ,the guys that copy stuff and say it's a copy,i have no problem with. It's the guys that copy something someone else designed and say it's their creation..I could name a few, BUT the Fanboys would have a field day,the crooks would say it's different because they used sae instead of metric screws,etc..Way to busy making music to feed the trolls and waste my time debating business ethics with some High School kid on an interweb forum. I miss the days when this forum was about making music with pedals.

 

[spentron]

I haven't built a clone circuit, even for personal use, since 1976. Certainly nothing I ever built for sale was. Perhaps almost all successful builders have marketed clones ...

 

[joemiracle220]

probably 90% of the od's out there are some sort of play on the TS or RAT

 

[MogwaiBoy]

The thing that gets me... and you can quote me on this - is when people say BUT WAIT A MINUTE Blahblah is a nice guy.

So I guess Les Paul and Jim Marshall were asswipes because you bought an Agile LP and plugged it into a Ceriatone Marshall clone and had no problem with that...

 

[groovemeister]

For me ,the guys that copy stuff and say it's a copy,i have no problem with.

so merely saying you ripped off somebody's circuit makes it kosher?

ok, so i admit i ripped it off and then i can keep all the cash with a clear conscience haha

 

[rotlung]

It doesn't bother me. I buy what sounds good.

 

[Rogue]

The thing that gets me... and you can quote me on this - is when people say BUT WAIT A MINUTE Blahblah is a nice guy.

So I guess Les Paul and Jim Marshall were asswipes because you bought an Agile LP and plugged it into a Ceriatone Marshall clone and had no problem with that...

Even Marshall was a Fender Bassman "with tweaks".

Tons of clones.

Who are the builders that made something original or from scratch?

 

[Spawn]

This discussion has been beaten to death and everybody's got a opinion, but what I don't get is why can't a builder get his original circuit design patented? If Fender and Gibson can protect their guitar designs, why not a circuit? You would think in this day and age that this would certainly be possible and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[axdxm]

I dont know...but I do find it entertaining when the originators of a lot of classic pedals come out with "vintage spec" versions of their old pedals and charge boutique prices. I also dont mind supporting the little guys who care to make a high quality version of a product that would otherwise cost an arm and both legs. The only ones who bother me are the ones who copy madbean and olc circuits and claim new innovations as their own...plus price it greedily.

 

[GuyBoden]

"The early amp designed where base on RCA amplifier circuits found in there tube application manual. The first Fender amp was made in 1947 and actually had a label stating "licensed under US Patents of American Telephone and Telegraph Company"."

Even the original old RCA based Fender amp were clones.

https://archive.org/details/RcaHigh-fidelityAmplifierCircuits

 

[aman74]

Yes.

It's ok to copy Ibanez because they're part of the machine...but not so and so, because as someone said "they're a nice guy"...funny how that works around here, but it won't end.

The real problem stems from people buying into the mojo in the first place. There's no magic. If you go to any of the other more technically oriented forums, it's amazing how this disappears.

 

[hamerman55]

Some of the problem now is that we are honing in on what an electric guitar should sound like. Consider the demand for "clean" or "transparent" boosts and overdrives. The whole point of these is to preserve the tone of the guitar and amp. Most jazz guys sound identical, and have basically the same gear. A big box Gibson clone and a BF Twin is the deal for them. Electric has more variations, but within a style, there usually is the "tone" for a particular style, and accepted gear to get it. I recall reading an interview with Ronni at Barber Electronics. He does a lot of producing/engineering, and he said invariably, the metal guys would show up with a Recto and a Tube Screamer clone to cut the floppy bass out. He asked why not use an amp with tighter bass, and was told "its the formula". I've also found most people who actually play a lot don't know ear. They are going to use "the formula" for their style, and get on with playing.

 

[thecornman]

Yes.

It's ok to copy Ibanez because they're part of the machine...but not so and so, because as someone said "they're a nice guy"...funny how that works around here, but it won't end.

The real problem stems from people buying into the mojo in the first place. There's no magic. If you go to any of the other more technically oriented forums, it's amazing how this disappears.

This.

 

[JRC4558Dude]

I miss the days when this forum was about making music with pedals.

It still is.

Just ignore the people complaining about cloning.

If I buy a Timmy clone, I'm history's greatest monster, but if I buy a Tonebender clone, it's OK because Gary Hurst doesn't post here?....or something...

 

[Fuzzr]

Yes.

 

[PaulC]

If I buy a Timmy clone, I'm history's greatest monster...

That's a bit extreme

PaulC
Timmy pedals

 

[PaulC]

so merely saying you ripped off somebody's circuit makes it kosher?

ok, so i admit i ripped it off and then i can keep all the cash with a clear conscience haha

It doesn't make it kosher to the original builder, but it helps the customer keep from buying the same thing over and over while thinking it is a new product.

PaulC
Timmy pedals

 

[colinesquire]

"The early amp designed where base on RCA amplifier circuits found in there tube application manual. The first Fender amp was made in 1947 and actually had a label stating "licensed under US Patents of American Telephone and Telegraph Company"."

Even the original old RCA based Fender amp were clones.

https://archive.org/details/RcaHigh-fidelityAmplifierCircuits

This is not exactly true. Those circuit designs were published to encourage amp designs and to sell their tubes. Hardly a clone but this gets mentioned in every thread of this type.