Hi guys, Jason here invading the blog – this has just come up on Facebook from a customer so I thought I would invade Max’s blog to address it properly!
This has been a hot topic for us for several years now – I am painfully aware of this issue as being the person responsible for every international dealer outside of North America. A lot of “my” dealers around the globe are constantly fighting the proliferation of forged pedals. The issue is simple, they (the forgers) see a great product, they take the circuit from a well known forum and produce it as cheaply as possible and then sell it for their own profit.
Before we get into this properly… in the face of the inevitable question – this is not “yeah, but it’s just a tube screamer, what’s so special about your Clarksdale when I can etc etc”. When we build a circuit that is inspired by another, we take the basic premise of that circuit and Brian explodes it – makes it his own, new EQ stack, clearer gain stages… So, yes – the Clarksdale is a “tubescreamer” but it’s a new take on the classic circuit (after all, there are only so many ways you can clip a circuit and make it sound good).
So, when a company copies your design, puts your name on it and sells it as an original, there is a problem!
Let’s take the Triple Wreck – a much loved pedal in the Far East, it would appear that High Gain is something their market thrives on…
Here is a site that sells a forgery.
As you can see, the products are extremely different – just on atheistics alone they are easy to spot. Wrong fonts, cheap components (check out the input/output jacks) and the lack of consideration of the labelling of the knobs/stomps.
Remember, we build and design our pedals to a specification, not a budget. We offer a 5 year fully transferable guarantee on ALL pedals and make them with pride and passion in America. All of the above would be impossible with a sale price of $68.80 including free international shipping!
If you are in doubt look at the obvious points. If it is too cheap, therefore too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true. If it looks like it’s been made poorly and rushed, it has been. If it’s on a site where you can’t contact the “dealer”, then they don’t want to be contacted… If you are concerned, contact us, we can confirm quickly. However, a quick look at the product will show how authentic it is!