Jamiroking, I appreciate you bringing that to a public discussion. Since you are posting it here on the MBP forum, I will of course remind everyone that the majority of the PCBs and PCB artwork that are available here is for non-commercial/DIY use. I've always tried to be reasonable about how much control I can actually have over that sort of thing, and I think the policy of doing "one offs" now and then (and of course, selling of your own personal builds that you don't want) is a fair attempt to keep customers and community members happy (while maintaining some ethical standard for how my own work is used).
But, I do have to draw the line somewhere, and the line is no commercial production. That's pretty easily defined by 1) being a commercial pedal maker, i.e. you advertise, have an online presence through a website or through eBay or 2) offering yourself as "work for hire" on a regular basis. If you fall into either one of these categories, you need to bone up and do the work yourself, i.e. create your own layouts or hire someone to do them for you. And, you should want to do this anyway if you are going to be a legitimate presence in the pedal business.
Also, let me be clear that my main concern revolves around the projects that are clones of current production, "boutique" effects. Stuff like the Klon, ZenDrive, the zVex stuff, etc. I don't care if people use Mudbunnys or GreenBeans to build Big Muffs and Tube Screamers, or Fuzzes and Rangemasters, etc...even on a semi-regular basis. I haven't been more explicit in stating that because 1) I don't offer bulk discounting and 2) if anyone planned on doing those kinds of effects in quantity they will pretty quickly figure out that it is much cheaper to have their own design made in bulk by a PCB manufacturer than to buy my PCBs.
Just to give you an example that I mean what I say: a few months ago a very well known pedal maker asked me to remove a certain PCB I was offering for sale. We came to an agreement since he was pretty nice about it, and the pedal maker offered to buy the remaining PCBs to build some one offs for his customers. I refused, reminding him that the PCBs were for DIY use only. IOW: I'm serious!
Personally, I don't care who builds clones or what...my only interest as far as MBP is concerned is that people understand that the restrictions I place on usage is for the good of my business and reputation. When I see folks (and there have been a few but none of the regular members here, thankfully) selling Klon clones or the like on eBay filled with MBP boards it really frustrates me. And, my overall tone here is probably a little negative only because I've gotten pretty hardened to this sort of thing. I guess having people outright lie to my face (which has happened) about what they are doing with the MBP stuff has made me a lot less trusting, in general. Even further: I have no financial interest in the boutique clone stuff because I don't sell those anymore....the only ones currently offered for sale are the EgoDriver and LaVache (both of which have been modded from the original design). While I could just take all the other stuff down, I haven't because I think it would be a real disservice to community members. MBP is not just a commercial enterprise---it's also a DIY resource.
Obviously, that has nothing to do with you...you are being honest and totally upfront. So, while I do not want to drag you into the muck here, I do want it to be clear and unequivocal: If you want to be a commercial builder or a work for hire I totally support you, but please do not use MBP artwork or PCBs to do so. Build what you want, of course, but do the work. Anything less is a short-cut.
Now, on a positive note, I very much hope that MBP will be a sort of "training ground" for future pedal manufacturers and king-makers. I would be honored to play some small part in influencing the future careers and endeavors of pedal hobbyists as they make the transition into their own small business. It's actually a training ground for me as well, because it has allowed me the opportunity to learn a lot about effects design and building...stuff that I will take with me when I launch my own pedal company someday. So, we are all very much in this together and that's something I care deeply about.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm doing two "one offs" myself right now (a "two off?)--a delay and a phaser for two different customers who approached me. I agreed because both sounded like fun and were not the standard "will you build me a Klon" type request. These are actually the only two pedals I've built for money in about 4 years. Of course, I don't expect people to limit their "one offs" in terms of years...I'm mentioning this to illustrate that I do my best to follow the rules, too.
These are not even boutique clones---they are classics.
Anyone reading, please feel free to give feedback if you think I've missed the mark here in this (incredibly long) response. I always welcome comments so long as they are honest and fair.
