Question for those who have had original pcb's manufactured

[shawnee]

Hey guys,
     I was at a friends new studio and brought along a pedal that I built years ago to get some feedback. The owner, engineer, and the artist recording all freaked out and begged me to build one for them. They were saying that they knew a lot of people who would have to have one as well. There's no way I'm going to hand build a bunch of these on vero or anything like that but would like to see where this goes if I did a small run of maybe 20-50. The pedal is based off of a Plexitone (with some component value changes) but runs at +/-15v with added treble, mid, and bass with a few other tweaks/adds. Nothing earth shattering but it really does sound and react like a good plexi on just about any amp. I think the changes make it different enough to warrant producing it but that doesn't mean everyone else will. So my questions are:
1. Is it different enough to ethically do this?
2. Who would I get to design the board and how much would it cost?
3. Who makes your pcb's and at what quantity/cost?

Thanks for any insight!

[cooder]

Realistically I would say that with the changes you mention there it is a fair change to the basis of Plexitone which itself is made up out of existing building blocks like so many other pedals and drives. So that would be similar or already more of a change than quite a few commercial pedals out there like from JHS (Morning Glory is pretty close to the Bluesbreaker for example, Supro is a ROG knock off, Vemuram Jan Ray is just a Timmy in disguise, and just look at Lovepedal stuff... not to mention other 'scandals' like the Freakish Blues saga of reboxed Joyo OCD clone...what a Rabbit Hole...)

I'm currently on a pcb design binge so if you would like me to look into it I'm happy to design stuff as I feel I learn lots at it. Shoot me a pm if you like.

As for pcb fab houses there's lots choices these days and prices may depend on quantity and size of pcb, but are generally more affordable than you might think. I have used JLCpcb recently and found them good, no problems and prompt work.

[madbean]

There's nothing wrong with cloning for DIY or for profit. My only advice is if you do it for profit, be honest about what it is. If it's a Plexitone with some mods, then say so. This actually gets a lot more respect in the pedal world than trying to pass it off as something else. Someone will find out the truth of it eventually. So much of the analog pedal world is branding and brand loyalty. It's very rare that it has much to do with originality (for analog pedals).

KIM - there is nothing new under the sun in terms of analog pedal design and this has already been true for many years.

[shawnee]

Thank you cooder! I'll be in touch soon.
Thanks Brian! I totally agree.